Korean Job Discussion Forums

[winterfall]

[Fishead soup]

In the second video there is one student who is attempting to grope the teacher and should be charged with indecent assault. He looks like a total dickhead. Students like that will walk all over you if you are not assertive and confident.

He attempts to make a frendly arm around the shoulder and later tries to cop a feel. If you take a students like that and take him down the rest will fall into place.

[creeper1]

How many times have we been on here complaining about confucianism?

That is the idea that one should give respect to someone merely because they are older. We all reject that notion as a bunch of BS (and rightly so).

In the west (and I guess increasingly here) you do not automatically get respect for being a teacher. You need to earn that respect. Permenant full time pensionable K teachers get that respect because the students know the teacher passed the really difficult enterance examination. Temporary teachers is a different story.

Should students give respect to foreign teachers? IMHO they should do so in order to create an environment where language practice can take place.

Should students admire and have GENUINE respect for foreign teachers? No way!! Students know, by and large, that FT are not qualified in their home country, know only one language (and no desire or motivation to learn another) and spend their free time drinking in front of convience stores (or train floors). Does that sound like a good role model?

[iggyb]

In the US, you have some troubled high schools where the system of punishment doesn't have the desired result. Many first year teachers end up in those, because there are always job openings, and many teachers quit or move as soon as they can find another job.

But, in general, the variety of punishments helps keep things under minimal control. At the very least, you can get individual students out of your class when they are ruining the whole lesson for everybody.

I just finished my worst class - which is a terrible elementary school class - and I know if we had a system where a vice principle or an admin for discipline, and we had a well-established/understood system of punishment (and I'm not talking corporal), this class would be very different.

As it is, about 4 boys already on the wrong track know how much they can get away with every day, and they push it.

With almost no higher authority to hand out punishment and contact parents to complain, our scolding in class does little and at times is taken as amusement by them.

--- Once enough kids understand that there is power in numbers and that they don't mind the punishments - the teacher is lost....

[Julius]

[mj roach]

send the videos to their parents?

[iggyb]

My Korean teachers get about as much respect as I do - which is less than I think they give their homeroom teachers.

The new co-teacher gets disrespected about as much as I did at the start.

I think the students give more respect to their homeroom teachers, because they have more time with them and can establish the authority better. The elementary school kids seem to view English class (and maybe other classes they go to - like art and music) more as play time.

[Fishead soup]

Interns tend to be likable people. They don't get much respect from the students and they tend to get bitter and give up very fast.

Korean contract teachers get about the same amount of respect as interns. They have a lot more riding on this job many of them are gunning for a full time position. Lots of interns don't have a teachers licence some of them just do this to improve their English.

Korean Experienced full time teachers will get respect no matter how incompetent they are. If they have trouble they'll get the Gymn teacher to intervene. Lots of them have rough first years. Those ladies in the video were either interns contract teachers or first year teachers. There's no way an experiences teacher will put up with that.

Head Teachers Discipline teachers- When these people talk students listen.

If you want to up your status in the food chain take 5 of the worst trouble makers to the teachers room. They will have to support you.

[Carbon]

[alljokingaside]

Public high school teacher here-

I prefer the controlled flipout method. Use sparingly otherwise it'll lose it's effectiveness. My usual persona in school's really chill, nice, and friendly. Sternish in class. (ie some arbitrary punishment [eg standing up; making him/her your "special" helper; etc] for some arbitrary time) When I catch a student being ruder than normal, I get in that kid's face and eject him from class. It sucks if that wasn't allowable though. And never ever take your annoyance of one student out on either the class or another student, if they're behaving. After, resume class as normal. The abrupt shift in countenance and mood adds an extra dimension to their perception of you (ie teacher crazy!)

Also, I've used high pitch tones, (12000-14000 Hz) cpu generated, as negative reinforcement to get the class' attention when I'm not in the mood to yell. (Of course, I warn the better kids.) Annoy them into submission. You'll have to suffer a bit too, but students generally start complaining about headaches and whtnot, look around for the source, and see foreign teacher glaring his ass off. Stop when the students hush up. When they start again, which they will, go back to the tone. Increase volume and or frequency (since they're still young, most'll respond up to something like 16000-18000 Hz [I used to work in a ear/head neuro clinic] while you with your old ears will just stand blanked). Stop when they hush. Repeat as needed. (Oh Skinner....)

Still, with some classes, some days are just lost due to the white noise from student chatter.

Last year, I tried chalking a few recidivists' hands/head. It tends to annoy the shit out of them, moreso than beating (K teachers) from my observations. There was one kid I once threaten to forehead-marker and he stopped the jackassery immediately. (Side note- The kid was tryin to goad me into beating him with a "lovestick" that he himself provided.)

Note - one of my co-teacher's is useless in this aspect and, more often than not, ends up adding to the classroom chatter.

Candy for positive reinforcement also does wonders on some days. The trick's to get the kids to think they're controlling your behavior by modifying theirs.

[ajuma]

First video: She needs to STAND UP!!! NEVER talk to a student while sitting down!!! And that body language!! She needs to get her act together and act like an adult here...not like a scared middle school girl!

I've taught "classes from hell" in hagwans and pubic schools and while they've been a "challenge", what I've learned from them has helped me to be a better teacher.

Except for one case (3/4 of the PS students decided not to come to my class because they didn't think I'd notice! ), I've never had to get a K teacher to come in to discipline the kids.

I DO think that SMOE et al should have a few speakers talk about classroom management. It's actually MORE important than WHAT you teach. If you can't manage the class, you can't teach ANYTHING! And it seems that each and every "hell" class requires a different approach. Plan A doesn't work? You need to be ready with Plan B...and all the way to Z in some cases!!

[jvalmer]

[Julius]

[ajuma]

Julius, I partially agree with you about motivation. You DO need to LIKE what your doing and try hard to do your best, but without experience or advice it's hard to stay motivated in a "hell" class.

Giving new teachers (both foreign and Korean!) tips and tricks for dealing with these classes would go far to enable them to become GREAT teachers instead of feeling beaten down by the trials of the classroom.