Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tanklor1]

I swear, some things I've come across during this contract has made my brain hurt. Mainly because of the rules that are set-up at my school. Since I started my contract, I've been asked:

Why I don't give out stickers

To stop teaching the ABCs in class because a parent complained that they had sent their child to the school for "fun and conversation"

and more recently: When a kid said "*beep* you" to me, I sent the kid to the library for the remainder of the class, after which I decided that a little detention was in order. but before I could deal it out, I was interupted by my partner-teacher who wanted to send him home. I refused stating that he was going to stay an extra hour writing sentences. The co-teacher then flipped out, getting the head teacher to set the rouge straight. They sent the kid home and proceded to tell me why me trying to punish a kid after class was wrong, which led to a verbal lashing from the head Korean teacher about my teaching ability. I responded by reminding her that this is not my first teaching job and I know what I am doing. She finally gave up on me and walked away.

This led to the head native teacher to set me striaght by reminding me that I am below my Korean co-workers on the food chain and today I was told that the mother of the student was pissed off becuase I didn't explain to the kid why I kicked him out in the first place. I was told that I should have spelled it out as if he was a retard to make sure that he understood that saying "*beep* you" wasn't a super happy thing to do before I had kicked him out; his mother refused to send him to class today.

I'm nearly fed up with the whole school and the system. But, right now, my brain hurts from all this non-sense.

Kid says "*beep* you" kid gets punished...makes sense: no?

[joshuahirtle27]

Logic is not a Confucian term or even IN the Korean vocabulary.

[blackjack]

They know it's bad but not how bad. One of the gag guys on TV used it which is why it has become popular. Before that it was "oh my god"

[T-J]

It's not unreasonable to see how an ESL student could pick up words through movies and such without understanding them culturally.

The F bomb gets treated pretty nonchalantly if not comically in mass media these days.

I think the first time it is used it is a good teaching opportunity, the second a stern warning reiterating the consequences for the behavior, and the third infraction brings said consequences.

[Whistleblower]

I had a middle school female student the other day give a note to her friend. Her friend gave it back to her and then I went over to get it and read exactly what they wrote.

I was absolutely flabbergasted when I found out that the student had written in Korean, "This class is f*cking terrible. I don't want to speak English". The student thinking that I didn't know Korean was smiling all the way through the class until I asked her to come with me. I handed the note to the boss and she had to endure a verbal bollocking.

What I have learnt from my experience here is this; whenever you have to deal with the bullshite from hagwons, let others sort it out otherwise you will get into trouble. Learn to be a real Korean by delegating all your crap.

[cruisemonkey]

At my middle school, one of the brighter grade 1 boys came up to me just before a class and, in front of all his friends, said -

"Teacher cruisemonkey... will you play a game with me?"
"What?"
"I say 'she'... you say 'ball'."

I glared at him, told him I knew what it means, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him outside (to kneel and hold his arms straight up) in the freezing cold hallway for the next 45 minutes.

[espoir]

I've heard the f-bomb dropped numerous times and I just treat it with a minor infraction. But this one student of mine came up to me and told me to "eat sh!t" not in english or Korea, but in German of all languages. He obviously saw it on a movie, but he knew exactly what it meant given his previous track record and the smirk across his face.

Unlucky for him, half of my family is german and although I dont speak it really, I understand it very well, especially the swear words. I don't think that student was able to sit for a week without whimpering after the discplinary teacher had a go with him. Nothing like the good ol "love stick"

[Ramen]

When my students say the "F" or "S" words, I always encourage them to say it more often.

[sojourner1]

[antoniothegreat]

[D.D.]

You should show them the youtube video called "strange consequences"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D7rWLzloOI