Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I just saw a student walk by a teacher who was re-parking her car. Coming up from the back corner of the car the student was giving the teacher the middle finger in front of her friends, and then she nodded politely to the teacher when she got out of her car and saw her.

I guess it's their disposition when our backs are turned that really counts.

[Draz]

[antoniothegreat]

obviously, this is not true with all situations, but from what i have seen, lots of times the FTs get what they deserve. the kids dont know what to make of you, so you tell them, directly or by your actions, how to treat you.

if you allow them to give you things with their left hand, snatch things from your hands, talk to you in banmal, then you deserve it.

remember, you are not in Kansas anymore, you are on the other side of the planet. act like a korean teacher would act, and you shall be treated like a korean teacher.

when they do those things, tell them it cannot be done, that can be with a harsh scolding, a beating, whatever. but do SOMETHING. I was dongchimmed once. once in five years at my school. that kid is still probably in pain. some will call me an ars for beating/punishing him, but god, he and all students learned their lesson about that. NO ONE has ever tried that again.

if a student hands me something with their left hand, i stand there waiting looking at them like i am confused, then they change. if they grab something out of my hand, before they have it i have already smacked them in the head. if they dont give it back, i squeeze their ears and kick them out of my classroom.

like an OP said about his seargents, they still love you if you are good in non-discipline times.

now, to defend myself, often it is the parents or KTs fault. they often tell the kids that since the west doesnt have a hierarchy we can be treated like that. so in the beginning of school, on introduction day, i tell them my rules... dont speak banmal, blah blah blah.

lastly, a reason they do that, is the PREVIOUS FTs didnt care enough to teach them it is not okay. I remember watching a little 4th grader hit an FT because he didnt answer his question. I asked why he didnt punish the kid and he said he didnt care. I told him that in a few years when that kid enters my school, if he tries that, he will be coming home with bruises, so punish him now and save the beating.

[nicam]

[Leslie Cheswyck]

A segment of Eric Hoffer's The True Believer touches on this. Folks naturally follow the path of least resistance. And when it comes to rebelling against authority, they'll seek out the weakest link in the chain. And that's you, foreigner.

[antoniothegreat]

true, it is often too late to turn it around by the time you learn.

so my advice has always been, when i meet a new teacher, be a complete nazi in the beginning. it is a heck of a lot easier to make them respect and fear you, then play even a simple game that they love, than to get used to treating you like a sibling and not understand why later you get upset.

sadly, this advice often goes unheeded. usually new teachers are younger and want to be the "cool" teacher that the kids want to "hang with." it wont work. 6 months later, the newbies almost always tell me i was right.

i hope this doesnt sound like a "i am holier than thou" thing... just trying to help...

[ardis]

[nicam]

[antoniothegreat wrote:]
true, it is often too late to turn it around by the time you learn.

so my advice has always been, when i meet a new teacher, be a complete nazi in the beginning. it is a heck of a lot easier to make them respect and fear you, then play even a simple game that they love, than to get used to treating you like a sibling and not understand why later you get upset.

sadly, this advice often goes unheeded. usually new teachers are younger and want to be the "cool" teacher that the kids want to "hang with." it wont work. 6 months later, the newbies almost always tell me i was right.

i hope this doesnt sound like a "i am holier than thou" thing... just trying to help...[/quote]

Not at all, you are spot on. I wish I would have read this 6 months ago! Don't know if I would have listened at that point, but... Yes, I thought the best way to reach the kids was by being "cool", figured if I was the epitomy of "cool" I could glamorize English, and they'd all be dying to learn it. Hell, I didn't know what else to do. I swear my co-teachers reinforced this. After a while though, the novelty wore off, and now, save for a few gems, the kids don't care enough to listen, and don't fear me enough to at least PRETEND to listen.

The co-teachers think they are doing us a favor by asking the kids to apapt to our customs, but the co-teachers don't know jack about our customs, so they don't know to ask the kids to show us respect the way western kids show respect to western teachers (i.e. using surnames and titles, not sleeping during lessons, not talking while we are talking, etc.), so we are just left with no means of exercising authority or control over the classrooms, and that sucks.

[nicam]

Sorry, I can't quote today.

[TheUrbanMyth]

Edit.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[cruisemonkey]

One obvious factor that has not been mentioned in this thread is the age and sex of the teacher. As an 'older' male, I'm sure it's easier for me than a younger male; or an 'older' female; or, at the opposite extreme, a young female. It's hardly fair, but it is a fact of teaching in a Confucian society.

Of course, even an old male will have problems with discipline if he allows the kids to be disrespectful; and a young female will not if she doesn't. Any teacher, regardless of age or sex, must be a firm but fair authoritarian.

[antoniothegreat]

[dmbfan]

[Provence]