Korean Job Discussion Forums

KuroBara · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 1:01 am Post subject: Am I Mean?

I like my school and the students seem nice, really. But I don't want them greeting me every single time they see me, because that means I have to greet them every single time also. I am tired of hearing "Hi!!!" everywhere I go in school. I realize I an new and look different and sound different, but honestly. Give it a rest kids. I asked my co-teacher to tell the students to stop saying hi, but now they just say it in Korean, like to their Korean teachers. I understand students greeting their teachers is part of the culture, but I think they go overboard with me. I have not seen or heard them run behind their Korean teachers yelling greetings, but they do with me. Am I being nuts, or does this happen to everyone?

frankly speaking · Joined: 23 Oct 2005

I think that you are being stupid. Just be happy that they are greeting you. Is it really that much trouble to say hi to a bunch of kids. I guess if they were saying HI to you instead of Hello, you might make that an issue. They would never say Anyeong to a teacher. You might ask them to treat you more formally if that is what you would prefer.

You don't have to say hello to each kid. Just respond once to the group. If you were in your own country, don't you think that your students would come up and greet you also? New teachers always get a lot of attention, no matter what country they are in or from.

You will certainly have more important issues that will arise in your teaching career than kids saying hi too often.

Straphanger · Joined: 09 Oct 2008 Location: Chilgok, Korea

Draz · Joined: 27 Jun 2007 Location: Land of Morning Clam

Big Mac · Joined: 17 Sep 2005

This also happens to me every day. It's not because I'm new either, because I'm seven months in and there are no signs of it slowing down.

Seriously though, it's not really that big of a deal. They're just showing they like you and want you to acknowledge them. It can get tiring saying hello all the time, but just do it and keep them happy.

They're not going to like you very much if you snub them every time they say hello to you.

The only time this really bothers me is when I buy my lunch and the kids follow me around asking me to give them my food.

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

I encourage them. I like being greeted & I take special satisfaction when after time they start to express greetings in a sincere & natural tone of voice.

ChinaBoy · Joined: 17 Feb 2007

I don't say anything, just offer to give them a fist-bump. Look BUSY like you have to be somewhere immediately.

Gimpokid · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Location: Best Gimpo

You can also ignore too ya know.

I do it a lot if I don't feel like saying "hi", that or a curt "not now."

For the most part I ususally just give them a "hello" or "hi" and for the smarter kids a "how are you?" or "how was the weekend?" Remeber why you work here. We are vessels of English education no matter if you or the kids like it or not. If you get too many drive by "hellos!" track the little bugger down and ask how their day is going or if they like pizza.

sarbonn · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Location: Michigan

There's only one student that bothers me with the hello crap, and that's because he thinks it's really funny to just keep saying hello over and over again. I don't mean every few minutes, but I mean every couple of seconds over and over again, even when trying to get through the start of a lecture, he thinks it's "fun" to keep saying "hello teacher". It wouldn't be so bad if the kid wasn't such a lazy student to begin with, but working with him is a nightmare, and some days I just want to hide in my office whenever I have to teach that kid.

tenchu77491 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009

Err, I got tired of the 'hello obama!' and I am not even black. Then again, I called that girl out like 'hello chow-chow'. So I guess I got her back on a regular basis.

For me the hellos are fine, it's the damn names that get me. I had students that refused to go by any name except tomato, hamburger, red, blue, yellow, d, e, obama, or "no name".

Gillian57 · Joined: 14 Oct 2008

I don't mind it when MY students do it, but I do get tired of it when it happens everywhere I go on the street. That is just annoying.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Sometimes there's no point in getting upset at Koreans for acting like Koreans. This is one of them.

Goku · Joined: 10 Dec 2008

I get it all the time too. It's kind of insane that everytime I cruise the hallway almost everyone feels obliged to shoot me a salutation. Actually, I've become so used to it that if they dont' say Hi I'm almost insulted.

Actually almost all my co-teachers have expressed their envy for all the hellos I get. Half the time other Korean teachers are even aknowledged.
The grass is always greener.

I do realize some kids say hello to be obnoxious but I then I try to be polite and as a kind as possible and they are thrown off guard. Hilarious to say the least.

Faunaki · Joined: 15 Jun 2007

It's normal and you gotta get used to it. I just smile at the kids when they say hello rather than saying hi back 1000 times.

I brought my parents to school and instead of the kids saying hi once they were screaming it like 5 times each. The school was an eruption of hellos wherever my parents went. It was really funny and the thing was my parents tried to say hi back to every single kid.

KuroBara · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:11 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the responses, all. I did not want to give the impression that I don't like my students, because I do, I just think they greet me too often. I guess because I am not used to it, it seems more wearisome than it is. Still, I don't want to encourage them not to talk to me at all, and it may just be a phase. So I'll deal.