Korean Job Discussion Forums

ESL Milk "Everyday · Joined: 12 Sep 2007

I have to agree with RMNC (I think)-- stamps are rewards, not damage control. You're rewarding them for doing things that they should be doing anyways. Bringing your book to class is a given... if they can't get that right, then they're lost. You have to push them to push themselves.

If you don't show up for work one day, does that mean that you just don't get paid for that day and then everything is fine next time? No, it means that you are unreliable, and counts as a black mark... or you'll be fired.

It doesn't matter if you meant well or not-- those aren't the kind of people who do well in life... socially or academically. If you accomodate that kind of thing, then you're basically encouraging kids to be mediocre. No wonder your co-teacher was upset! You've lowered the standards so that neutral behavior is a positive and negative is a neutral. So there's incentive to not be a loser, but there's no incentive to really achieve anything. Positive behavior is built on the basics... start actively rewarding the positive and you'll see that the basics take care of themselves.

It's kinda hard to switch up now without looking totally clueless/putting up with a lot of whining, but next semester I would suggest getting a plus AND minus stamp. I had mine done at one of those key-cutting places-- they're colour-coded so everyone sees the red one and knows that it's a bad thing, or sees the green and knows it's a good thing. They hate getting minuses, even if they don't really mean anything in the end.

sadguy · Joined: 13 Feb 2011

before i used stamps, about 10-15% students didn't bring ALL of their materials. they'd forget a notebook, or an activity book, or not bring their pen, etc.

what would you do in that case? punish them? make them stand up for the class period?

instead, i created an incentive (a mediocre one in your opinion.) now, about <5% of students forget something. the fact that a student has lost their book yet took the time and effort to ask a friend to borrow it is a good thing. if that had happened a year ago, they would've just showed up to class without it.

you can say that's encouraging mediocrity but at least it's not an issue in my class anymore.

and i made these rules clearly last year, so if my co teacher had a problem with that, she should've told me before. why wait 3 semesters later and then bitch to me in front of the class?

jonbowman88 · Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Location: gwangju, s korea

ESL Milk "Everyday · Joined: 12 Sep 2007

jrwhite82 · Joined: 22 May 2010

I don't see why people are against giving stamps to students who bring their books to class.

Ever hear of something called positive reinforcement? It's actually a lot more effective than negative reinforcement. It's easier for teachers. It creates a better learning environment for students. And it actually increases responsibility in students.

Here is an experiment - Next time your class is being noisy, instead of yelling at the entire class (negative). Thank, praise and/or reward the students who are being quiet (positive). Other students will see them receiving this reward and follow suit. Use proximity control/evil eye to quiet the ones in noncompliance. Then explain to those who still aren't following that you reward students who work constructively and follow directions. After a few times of doing this, you will rarely ever need to raise your voice again. You will be happy and your students will be happy too. This is proven to make their brains work better and they will learn more.

OP - You did a good thing by writing the letter. Bravo. And I like your stamp system.

jrwhite82 · Joined: 22 May 2010

RMNC · Joined: 21 Jul 2010

ESL Milk "Everyday · Joined: 12 Sep 2007

Burndog · Joined: 17 Feb 2008

postfundie · Joined: 28 May 2004

OP I think you both won because you've set the stage for good cop / bad cop. I think that next week you should be bad cop though.

Ribena · Joined: 07 Apr 2011 Location: UK

Surely bringing books to lesson is the minimum one can expect from a student. I a school I taught their equiptment was checked in the morning and if they didn't bring pencil case/diary/reading book they got an automatic debit. I was very rare that I had to hand out pens in that schools.

I think a Merits/Debits system is the way to go, if they live up to expected standards they can get merits and if their behaviour/effort is below standards they get a debit. Some schools hand them out automatically if the kids don't do anything wrong and other hold them back for genuinely good work in class. If you are going to hand them out so easily at least have some standards otherwise they are totally pointless. In this case I would say if that you either give the students a merit/debit at the end of the lesson. At least they will see some consequences for their behaviour.

sadguy · Joined: 13 Feb 2011

Fishead soup · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Location: Korea

The solution is simple. Have students hold up their books at the beginning of class. The ones that don't have them have to go to the teachers staff room and get punished problem solved.

Now you can actually use the stamps what they were intended for. To reward students who use the target language.

nathanrutledge · Joined: 01 May 2008 Location: Marakesh

There is an excellent book on classroom discipline, "Dos and Don'ts of Behaviour Management" by Roger Dunn, someone who has been teaching in the UK since the early 70's. He makes a very solid point about picking your battles. For example, as a teacher, your goal is TO TEACH. Obviously, we cannot teach if the students don't bring their materials to class. But, by the time you figure out who is late/on time, has their paper/books/pens/pencils/erasers/dictionaries/etc... AND marked it down/talked about it/punished them, you've wasted precious time, you've given the students the ability to ruin the flow of the class.

These are the students you DON'T want to have a fight with either. They are the ones who don't care and you're not going to win a fight with them ever. OP, the stamps for materials idea works for you, keep it up.

Personally, at my tech high school, I do whatever I can to minimize the supplies that the kids need to bring - if they don't need to bring things, they can't forget things, we don't waste time on it.

AS FOR THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM - some other posters nailed it. Again, choose your battles. Fighting with a coworker over THIS is a waste of time. So you cross out a stamp and then add a stamp, you're out a total of what - 5 won on a sticker/.5 won on the ink for the rubber stamp, 10 seconds of your time? Remember, kids are amazingly perceptive (even in Korea where you'd swear they were houseplants sometimes) and they know what is right and wrong. You want to give a stamp for something, your coteacher doesn't - they'll pick it up. IMO, let the whole thing slide. It'll blow over, no one wins but no one loses. EVERYONE, and I mean everyone, has had some sort of "altercation" with a co worker. The majority are pointless to fight about - this is one of them.