Korean Job Discussion Forums

[thurst]

The title pretty much says it all. At my school there's a retarded kid and for some reason he's obsessed with me, idk if it's bcuz he's never seen a black person before or just bcuz I'm new to the school or what...but he runs around the school pretty much with impunity looking for me and then shouting my name. Recently he's taken running up to me and like hiding his face on my shoulder...it's weird because I was here for a good month or 2 and he wasn't paying me any mind and now all of a sudden he's following me from class to class.

The 4th grade teacher (his teacher) told me the first day that he was autistic but beyond that it seems like the school has no means to deal with him. Sometimes he's in class other times he's just roaming the halls, I think there's a special ed teacher that comes a few days a week but even then he's still running around.

I guess I'm looking for some protips on how to deal with him or just some similar (or worse) stories to make me less annoyed lol

[ThingsComeAround]

I had a 'tarded kid spit on me.

For those of you claiming I am harsh and being politically incorrect, you try being spit on when all you want to do is go to the toilet, and not getting an acceptable response from the co-teacher nor head teacher.

Since then, if the boy acts up, I let the coteacher deal with it. I just stop teaching and apologize to the class, telling them it is something we ALL have to deal with. The class understands.

I give the boy paper and pen to draw with, and he makes some interesting pictures of birds pooing on trucks, or trains, whathaveyou.

Ignore him in the halls, or if you like him, tap his head gently.

[Emeliu]

Autistic kids have to repetitively do something over and over again, I guess you're just part of his routine.

[thurst]

Yeah, it's just so weird how the other teachers don't care. Like, "Oh he's retarded, it's fine if he runs around the school like a lunatic."

[chris_J2]

It's sad, but there are usually several students in any large school, that are retarded. For example, there were 5 kids out of 800 at my old school, with 'problems'. There do not appear to be any special programs for them here, either, unlike back home. Let the Korean teachers deal with it.

I made the mistake of ordering an (unknown to me) deaf mute girl, stand up, & insisted she repeat/recite the lines, same as the rest of the class. Other students then told me in broken English that 'she can't talk'.

About the only advice I could give, is not to spend too much time on them (as much as you'd like to), but concentrate all your efforts on the rest of the class. Try to include them as much as possible, & give them something to occupy themselves, if they become disruptive (crayons, paper, books, comics, etc). I had one boy who kept wandering around the classroom touching everything during classes, that this worked with.

http://eflclassroom.ning.com/page/special-education-teaching

[kabrams]

[Ukon]

My school has an assigned special ed teacher for each problem kid....where's yours?

[Xuanzang]

[jiberish]

I had a semi retarded kid once in high school. He came to my class every break time and talked about how the other students were going to hell and that I need to believe in god.

[kabrams]

[Zantetsuken]

[chris_J2]

Like I said, let the Korean teachers deal with it. If there is no 'special ed' teacher, the responsibility rests with the Korean teachers for alternatives. This was the advice given to me by a senior manager in Gepik, btw. If I had spent a disproportionate amount of my time, learning sign language, the rest of the students would have suffered. It's a no win situation.

Look at from the pov, that most classes have bright, intermediate, & low grade students. You can't spend too much time on the low grade students, or the bright students get bored & disruptive. Neither can you conduct classes at a fast pace, that suits the bright students, or the low grade & intermediate students switch off. So I aim for a middle ground.

[JJJ]

The secret....colouring.

Print out anything and everything that can be coloured. There are thousands of pages. A4 size versions of each letter of the alphabet A,B...and A4 size of a,b...etc. 1,2,3 each on 1 page. Holiday colouring, animal colouring, food, drink, vegetable, people. Cars, trucks, airplanes and boats. Body parts, animals, flowers and houses. Print them all out and everyday or class, give him/her a few sheets. They love it. And you can still teach a little and relax a lot.

Have fun.

[Straphanger]

I had one last year. I rode him until he cried every time I saw him, then I rode him some more. He dropped in three weeks. I don't get paid to deal with EI. That's SEP (Somebody Else's Problem).

[dean_burrito]

The retarded children at my school don't have any behavioural problems, at least that I've noticed. Of course they'd have to go to extreme legnths to "out shine" the technical students.
Overall I like the whole inclusion aspect as it is good for the students self efficacy.
To the OP. I've only had one class in special ed so I'm by no means an expert but I will say this about them. They do not like change. It deeply affects them somehow. My guess is that something changed in his life that he can not control, i.e. a pet died, his family moved, his favorite cereal discontinued, etc. Anyways I'd suggest you stay part of his routine as long as it doesn't cause any harm. Sure you get uncomfortabel but little things can cause him much stress. You also might want to get creative in dealing with situation if you can somehow change his interactions with you like maybe some sort of reward if he approaches you quietly rather than loudly.
Good luck.