Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kimiki]

so maybe this has been covered before but i haven't seen it. are kids allowed to wear hats/hoods in classrooms here? i'm still programmed to view it as an act of disrespect and always ask students to remove hats/hoods... but they seem to balk at it here. my co-teacher says it is also disrespectful in Korea but not enforced? got in a little spat today with a feisty student who insisted she would not remove her hat in our class. i didn't really care at the end of the day as i have great empathy for the grave condition known as 'hat head' (lol) but the direct defiance was an awkward moment!

so i'm trying to understand her...do public school teachers let them wear these things all day long and so they come to the hagwon and feel incredulous as to why they'd be asked to remove hats here?

[jvalmer]

No way a hat would be allowed in a public school in class. Not even in Canada when I was growing up.

Actually, there was one exception, this one girl had some disease, I think it was cancer, she was allowed to wear headgear.

[LGSakers]

I work in a hagwon and let my kids wear whatever they like. I wear a touque myself and encourage my kids to do the same... But we also have no heat.

[NYC_Gal]

My classroom's been pretty toasty thus far, but they all wear coats. My coteacher doesn't allow gloves or hats, though. When I teach other classes, if they're cold, I let'em as long as it doesn't get in the way of the lesson.

[PigeonFart]

That's weird. I was only thinking of this today when i noticed some of my students with hats and hoods. I don't care, as long as they're fully engaged in class activities.

It's tradition to stone women to death in Iran if she cheats on her husband. Just because something is tradition doesn't mean that it's right. I say you should be more reflective of your Canadian culture, and realise some of it was total B.S. Let the kids wear what they want, be more open minded.

I'm open minded. If you can give me a good reason why wearing hats and hoods in class is a bad thing then i will change my mind. But i sure can't think of any at this moment.

[AsiaESLbound]

It is disrespectful, but I allow Koreans to do it since I respect these kids for being individuals living and growing up under the tremendous social pressures involving a culture based on Confucian ideology. Yes, 4th grade are rockin' the house in NY and Crown Royal hats. I think it was very inappropriate for 4th grade girls to wear provocative fashioned Playboy bunny labeled clothes and shoes during Summer, but didn't say anything. If I got something started about clothes where I embarrassed students and teachers, it might come back to haunt me by being told I dress too casual and I need to go see a Korean business attire tailor. And it would all go down hill from there. I really don't care what they wear, I care if they are listening, cooperating, behaving respectful, and participating. I have other more important battles to address. Battles like getting up too early when it's only faintly light out.

[jinks]

I grew up when/where men wearing hats indoors was totally taboo. I don't know if wearing/taking off hats ever had any social significance in Korea, but I don't think that students wearing those stupid bobble hats in class are necessarily being disrespectful; I think they are just fashion victims.

[machoman]

man, i don't get some of these social rules sometimes. if a kid is cold, let them wear a hat/jacket.

when i was younger, i was really skinny and got cold easily so i kept my jacket on. but my teacher made me take it off. why? there was no real reason why, it was just a rule. maybe to keep kids in check.

so now, at my middle school, there's a no jacket policy because it covers up their school uniform. if they want to wear a jacket or bring a blanket i'm fine with that because guess what, THE SCHOOL TURNS OFF THE HEAT AFTER 3RD PERIOD.

at my old school, i wore a beanie. i shave my head so it gets cold. but at my old school they never turned on the heat so it was effing cold as hell.

so i guess what i'm saying is, if the hat serves a function more than just a fashion statement, then yes, by all means allow it.

[hapigokelli]

At the beginning of the school year a female student came into the office that I share with 4 other teachers. She had a short, teary discussion with my co-teacher, got a note and left. My co-teacher then told me that the girl's father had decided to punish her by cutting all of the hair off of the back of her head. She wanted a note of permission to wear her hoodie during class.

Kids can wear whatever they want in my class.

Another student showed up one day wearing a t-shirt that said "Smell my funky monkey a**, with a cartoon of a butt on it. Just made me laugh.

[ticktocktocktick]

A hat on a head isn't going to disturb your class nearly as much as a kid who spends 2 minutes fighting with you over a hat, and then another 35 fuming at you.

Anyways, can anybody tell us why wearing hats indoors is taboo? It's a bit like putting elbows on the table at dinner. We, for some unbeknownst reason, have had it drilled into us that it's wrong. However, in France, it was (I don't know about nowadays) encouraged so people could show off their fancy jewellry. But really, neither position is of consequence as to how much we enjoy the meal.

[Louis VI]

Not in my classroom.

[oldfatfarang]

I wear a beanie most days, and I'm starting to wear fingerless gloves. Even with the heater going full blast, large PS classrooms are cold for me.

Too cold = no teacheee.

[Illysook]

Sure, it's a classroom, not a playground, and they shouldn't be wearing their outdoor gear, but you have to pick your battles, so as long as they aren't being disruptive, they can wear what they like.

Having said that, I did have one class of beginners that just could not settle down. The classroom was warm enough, so I made them all take off their coats before getting pencils and books out. It helped a lot, but these students were seven year old beginners. They needed structure, routine, and boundaries. I don't know if I succeeded in providing those things, but I gave it a good effort.

[Steelrails]

No hats, no gum.

Then a year after arctic classroom conditions and terrible breath (really bad in the ESL situation), it became "usually no hats, usually no gum".

Etiquette evolves thanks to cheapness and bad hygiene.

[Xylox]