Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hockeyguy109]

6th graders have always been a difficult age to teach, but it seems that ever since they got back from Summer vacation, their behavior has gotten worse and worse. Fights are starting to break out all the time and sometimes they're so loud and rowdy, I can't even give instructions to an activity - no matter how loud I yell and what I do to punish them. I never wanted to become that a**hole teacher, but it seems that it's happening whenever I teach one of their classes.

Last semester it wasn't nearly as bad. But since vacation, it has started to get worse and worse every week. It seems that the homeroom teachers (when they do show up) can't even control them either. It's driving me nuts!

Do you think the reason they're getting crazier is because they are coming closer and closer to graduating and just don't care? I don't have this problem with any other age group. Anyone else observe this? Any tips?

[Fishead soup]

[Xuanzang]

I find this year's crop of 6th graders to be even more difficult than last years. More noisy and lazy. Less skilled overall than my previous bunch. It's a matter of fact that the second semester is usually the hardest for foreign or KTs. That's why I dislike Korea's new school year in March scheduling. September should be when everything is renewed and new classes come in.

[xCustomx]

I think it's like this at nearly all public schools this time of year. My MS students had their midterms last week, and the first two days of class this week have been rather hellish.

[hockeyguy109]

haha I'm glad (well not glad) that I'm not the only one. How long till Winter break?

[byrddogs]

my ms girls are saints, lol. not really, but they are sweet and don't cause trouble. many listen and participate, many don't. it's the nature of the beast.

[blade]

[njp6]

If a class got to loud to teach, I used to just give them dictation tests. In one class, I had to give three tests in a row until they all understood that if we couldn't do what I wanted, we were going to do what no one wanted. Make sure you have a warning system, something visual and on the board so they know when they've crossed the line (three strikes or something like that).

[livinginkorea]

Maybe somebody said this already but it's partly because they are in the home stretch and know that they are through to the next round and the oldest students in school. Then when they go to middle school they go back to being quiet mice, at least for the first year!

Don't worry, it's very common the world over.

[The Gipkik]

Absolutely. Grade six, second semester is the tough one. My coteachers warned me about this, so it's not just English classes, but the students in general. Give them choices: fun activities or boring as hell ones that have them listening and writing, writing and listening for the entire class. Still, it shouldn't be about bribery; but for out of control classes, do very quiet and individual activities instead: no team contests, no pair work and definitely no group work. They have to show you they are up for it again. For really loud classes, get them to do silent minutes with their hands on their heads, periodically.

[D.D.]

I am the most chilled guy on the planet usually but when a class starts to take over the show I turn into army sergeant. The more I play army sergeant in a sarcastic way the better my classes go.

I walked into my middle school today and I have not taught them for two weeks now. I told them the rules , no sleeping, no doing other work and stay on task. As soon as someone challenged this I kicked them out that second. I have been doing this zero tolerance thing for a while now and it really works.

I walk around the class and when I notice a student not trying I say common do some work. The kids were hellish today and this approach got 5/6 classes on task today. Kicking two kids out usually helps as the bad apples ruin the class. Students just need to know that they come to your class to pay attention and do their work. They actually end up liking you more this way than when you play Mr. Nice wanna be their buddy.

Let one kid sleep and you have lost a class. Let one kid sit, talk and do nothing and you have lost a class. Let one kid do work from another subject and it spreads like a fire.

[The Gipkik]

[yoja]

I'll apologize for the length of my post in advance...but I hope it will be useful.

I'm finishing my third year of teaching 6th graders, and it's been pretty much the same story every year. The only thing that changes is my approach and my ability to deal with them effectively.

I do a couple of things that I have found helpful. First, I have a system in place where once they've been warned to be quiet three times, I stop, and put my finger in the air and just watch the clock. Every minute that ticks by means another finger goes up, and I announce the tally of minutes. Each finger equals two extra minutes they ALL have to stay late after class. If even one student is talking, I keep timing them and the whole class gets punished. They all hate this so they yell "be quiet" at each other much louder than I ever could.

My second trick is to use a small water pistol and threaten to shoot anyone who is being naughty, sleeping, distracting others, etc. I find that most of the kids, especially the rowdier boys, respond to that because I can approach it somewhat jokingly and it doesn't cause anyone to lose face. I hardly ever have to use it...I just have fun threatening them.

Thirdly, I have a chart/folder with all of their names on it. During most classes, I choose one responsible student (or the class president) who is in charge of awarding stickers to the rest of the class when they do something good, give the right answer, etc. Each student has a paper to put their stickers on. When a student has 20 stickers, they get to trade the stickers for a piece of candy or chocolate. The student who monitors the others gets 2 stickers at the end of class. If the whole class is being naughty, then I instead assign the class president to revoke a sticker or two. This really works, not because they are so into the stickers or candy, but because they love to police each other and to compete.

Also, the more I've taught 6th grade, the easier it is for me to anticipate when they are going to be helplessly distracted during the entire 40 minutes, regardless of what I do. On those days, I tend to assign individual busywork (or I'll assign them to boy-girl pairs ) or have them watch Sesame Street (youtube) or short movie clips and write down whole sections of the dialogue. Occasionally they are allowed to sing pop songs, but they must memorize the lyrics and perform the song as a group. If even one of the group members forgets the words or makes a mistake, their group is eliminated and ineligible for the tiny piece of candy offered as a prize. These are activities that I try to use very sparingly as treats to motivate them, and only on days that I know they are going to be super restless, such as the day after their midterms or before holiday breaks, etc.

Sixth grade kids are constantly pushing boundaries to see what they can get away with. They're also going through puberty, beginning to explore their independence, and having massive bouts of social/peer development that are just in no way conducive to teaching. Don't take your expectations of them too seriously. Encourage them and demand respect, but don't kid yourself. Miracles are not going to happen during the 2nd semester of 6th grade, not in any of their classes.

[hockeyguy109]

Yoja- Thanks for the advice! You've been very helpful. And kudos to you for teaching 6th graders for 3 straight years! Do you enjoy it? That must be really tough, even after knowing how to discipline them.

[Zulethe]

I take the hands off approach. I come to class and start my lesson. If they start acting like animals, I stop my lesson, and start surfing the internet.

I really enjoy my rowdy 6th grade class.