Korean Job Discussion Forums

[poeticjustice]

I work at a Public High School. It's alright, but I have my off weeks and my on weeks for sure. I'm a very stubborn person, so if one of my lesson plans doesn't work like I thought it was going to I refuse to change it until I'm absolutely sure it's a problem with the lesson plan and not with the students. These days the majority of my classes have been a constant battle between the students and I, where I calmly, using all of my diaphragm, tell them to "bbbbbbbeeeeeeeeee qqqqqquuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttttt" and they either ignore me, need to be told five or six times, or yell something saucy back in return.

While I try to never lose my cool, I really come close with some classes. Especially boys. I have a few classes where the co-teacher is completely AFK (mentally) and let's everything slide. When the discipline is all up to me, they don't really respond very well.

I stand there, isolating 'problem' students, adjusting seating arrangements and glaring at (while not speaking) problem makers when they're holding up the entire class. None of it works. The second I start talking again, the students start talking under me and some little jerk is always sitting there yelling "OKAY! OKAY! OKAY!!!!!!!!! OKAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" in response to everything I say. Or, the worst, "SHU T UP!!!!!!!! GET OUUUTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!! SORRRRYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

God damn. It's not even as if I'm behaving disrespectfully. Forever I was wondering "is it me? Is it me?" and now I know that it isn't. It's them. They're bastards.

Even in my good classes, I still have some problems. Do Korean children ever learn the whole "indoor voice / outdoor voice" thing? Seriously? If they're doing a worksheet and one needs help, they don't raise their hand. They scream "TEACCCCCHAAAAA!!!" and when I go them, another student (who also wants help) feels as if they have to scream "TEACCCCHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!" even louder just to get my attention.

I had two classes, yes, two, on classroom rules and how you shouldn't behave like this. Yet they persist. I think they've been brought up this way or something, yet when I see them in other classes they're always quiet and half dead.

Any advice?

[afsjesse]

First of all yelling will accomplish nothing. Don't forget that you're the adult. If you lose control then that shows the students you're unstable and they will prey on this.

Second, have a great talk with your coteacher about how they need to control the students. Explain this in many ways and how it's important to you for them to participate in the class. If they don't change then you need to take this problem to the VP and P and get things into gear.

Third, try to compliment them. Instead of yelling, just be quiet and stand up there looking straight when they don't listen. This works like a charm for me and eventually one or two students calm the class down. If you show them you are serious and are not happy about the situation 70% of the time it wil resolve itself.

Good Luck.

[D.D.]

Many co-teachers will choose to play good cop so you get to be the bad one. Which role do you want to play?

[cruisemonkey]

[climber159]

Something that has worked for me:
If I have a particularly obnoxious class I will, rather than scream, yell, or get angry, do something completely unexpected. Sometimes I'll do a little magic and pull a silver doller from a student's ear; sometimes I'll just ignore all the students and read a book, surf the internet, chat with my coteacher. The unsusal usually gets them to shut-up. They're so used to being yelled at from other teachers that they don't even notice it anymore.

Another thing that enables me to get the class off to a good start is to have a short Youtube animation video playing at the beginning of class as they're entering. Most of the time this keeps their attention until the majority of the class is present and I'm ready to begin class.

Above all, don't lose your composure. If you do, you lose the class for good.

[pocariboy73]

[Hanson]

You get more by offering honey than you do with vinegar. You have to create an incentive to behave well.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

First question: academic or vocational / technical?

I had one class last year like you describe. I found that a mixture of punishment and something fun at the beginning and end of the lesson worked very well. After a while they could just 'sense' when I wasn't ready to put up with chatter and would keep it down.

[AgentM]

[Straphanger]

[climber159]

I used this one yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ckdvwHSTuI

[AgentM]

[Goku]

I find what helps too especially in your particular problem is to come off very strongly

You know those motivational speakers on infomercials?

If you pretend you're like that guy, very few kids will challenge, but obviously lose the cheese of it and coming off like a sleazeball.

I know what you mean though OP. I have had the hardest time with kids since I got here. The kids are just naturally going to take advantage of the FT.

It's pretty easy to isolate you from all the Korean teachers and nobody takes the FT classs seriously. There's no grades, there's no homework etc.

If I were a student in an FT class, I'd probably talk all I want too.

It's something we have to deal with it. Let me know if the motivational imagery works. It works quite well for me.

[poeticjustice]

[Zulethe]