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"Why don't you smile more?"
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tideout



Joined: 12 Dec 2010

PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Who's Your Daddy? wrote:
Don't take the job so seriously. Really. You are only the kids teacher, you aren't their parents, you're only teaching them maybe one hour a day or whatever. Don't think you are so important in their lives. They probably have 10 teachers.


I'm sure cedarseoul can speak for him/her self but I don't think it's an issue of taking the job too seriously. I have to say, just figuring out basic routines and expectations can be mindnumbingly hard to read and part of the burnout/get out factor here.
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pegasus64128



Joined: 20 Aug 2011

PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 8:49 pm    Post subject: Re: "Why don't you smile more?" Reply with quote

creeper1 wrote:
Mad

Rolling Eyes = the expression I'm more likely to get caught with. The madness is so expected that it's just not madness anymore. Compartmentalize it. Madness -> triggered by stupidity -> smile at the stupidity. Show pity. If in a bad mood, just roll your eyes or press your tongue against your lower lip - I do that all the time outside of school to condescend offending Koreans.
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DejaVu



Joined: 27 Jan 2011
Location: Your dreams

PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't believe so many people are bashing the OP...

I suppose if he's in an elementary hagwon then he should worry more about his smile. But if he's in a PS middle school or something, that's completely different.

I don't know the situation.

Anyways, I find that I rarely smile in this neck of the woods.
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soomin



Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Location: Daegu

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 3:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I actually got told this, but in a different way... at a kindergarten I worked at, they told me "Smile no matter what the students do. If they are bad and fighting and running around with pencils in their hands (a common and scary occurrence with the little ones) just SMILE~! Never show your anger or sadness or any emotion other than HAPPINESS!"

I can understand for the most part, but they really didn't want the students to ever feel they had done something wrong... it was a bad way to teach, and there were a lot of fights and ridiculousness because of it. If this is the case with the OP... get ready to smile like an idiot all the time. T.T "Oh~ are you punching your classmate again? Oh! You're riding him like he's a horse? Oh my~~ let's not do that~~ Surprised

There are some people who smile constantly, even when nothing is happening... this is what most bosses like to see. So, again... get ready for smile town Surprised
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jfromtheway



Joined: 20 Nov 2010

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Surprised smile town is nice, but ^_^ town is much more serene. Unf0rtun@te!ly, !t's l0c@ted in @ d!fferent [0untry. ^<>^. Let's $mile together, peeps (o_o). I obviously need [Mod Edit] with more emoticons. keke. Those three sentences took me forever to type.
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Squire



Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 2:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To hell with that. I understand they want the foreigner to be the class clown, a role normally taken by a student, but I won't do it. Keeping my dignity is more important. So is setting an example to the kids of how an adult is meant to behave
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plhanlon85



Joined: 27 May 2011

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

smiling never hurt anyone.
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Squire



Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

myenglishisno wrote:
Teaching at a kid's hagwon advice:

Appearance > skill and just about everything else.

Squire wrote:
To hell with that. I understand they want the foreigner to be the class clown, a role normally taken by a student, but I won't do it. Keeping my dignity is more important. So is setting an example to the kids of how an adult is meant to behave


I'm like you. I got fired from my previous job for it.

I recommend going to a public school or teaching adults, I don't think your personality is suited for working at a hagwon.


Thankfully I don't work at a hagwon, or I probably wouldn't be there for long! One of my coteachers asked me to smile all of the time at the start of the year, I explained why that would be a problem with discipline, she disregarded it and asked me again (which I ignored) and she hasn't pushed the issue. Her style of discipline is to stand at the front of the class smiling obliviously, which is probably as effective as not being there at all.
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Nismo



Joined: 31 Aug 2005

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Squire wrote:
To hell with that. I understand they want the foreigner to be the class clown, a role normally taken by a student, but I won't do it. Keeping my dignity is more important. So is setting an example to the kids of how an adult is meant to behave


I hate when I'm in a bar and a pretty girl is a class clown at me. Flippin' ridiculous! Or when I go to order food at a restaurant, and the waiters are class clowns at me. Get a life!
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Squire



Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nismo wrote:
Squire wrote:
To hell with that. I understand they want the foreigner to be the class clown, a role normally taken by a student, but I won't do it. Keeping my dignity is more important. So is setting an example to the kids of how an adult is meant to behave


I hate when I'm in a bar and a pretty girl is a class clown at me. Flippin' ridiculous! Or when I go to order food at a restaurant, and the waiters are class clowns at me. Get a life!


What? Confused
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comm



Joined: 22 Jun 2010

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 7:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Squire wrote:
Nismo wrote:
I hate when I'm in a bar and a pretty girl is a class clown at me. Flippin' ridiculous! Or when I go to order food at a restaurant, and the waiters are class clowns at me. Get a life!


What? Confused

I think he's about 3 verbs short of a sarcasm.
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Nismo



Joined: 31 Aug 2005

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Squire wrote:
Nismo wrote:
Squire wrote:
To hell with that. I understand they want the foreigner to be the class clown, a role normally taken by a student, but I won't do it. Keeping my dignity is more important. So is setting an example to the kids of how an adult is meant to behave


I hate when I'm in a bar and a pretty girl is a class clown at me. Flippin' ridiculous! Or when I go to order food at a restaurant, and the waiters are class clowns at me. Get a life!


What? Confused


You were equating smiling with acting the clown. I was running with it.
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Squire



Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do

PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2012 1:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nismo wrote:
Squire wrote:
Nismo wrote:
Squire wrote:
To hell with that. I understand they want the foreigner to be the class clown, a role normally taken by a student, but I won't do it. Keeping my dignity is more important. So is setting an example to the kids of how an adult is meant to behave


I hate when I'm in a bar and a pretty girl is a class clown at me. Flippin' ridiculous! Or when I go to order food at a restaurant, and the waiters are class clowns at me. Get a life!


What? Confused


You were equating smiling with acting the clown. I was running with it.


Oh I see, very good Laughing

I don't think it's crazy to assume that a school asking it's teacher to smile more indicates that they probably want an ESL monkey/class clown rather than a serious, professionally behaving teacher. I can't imagine any of the teachers I had at school being expected to smile more.
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PatrickGHBusan



Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -

PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2012 3:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a vast difference between smiling and being a clown Squire.

I am sure you are well aware of this!
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creeper1



Joined: 30 Jan 2007

PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2012 7:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DejaVu wrote:
I can't believe so many people are bashing the OP...

I suppose if he's in an elementary hagwon then he should worry more about his smile. But if he's in a PS middle school or something, that's completely different.

I don't know the situation.

Anyways, I find that I rarely smile in this neck of the woods.


I am an ex-GEPIK middle school teacher but now teaching Kindy and elementary school aged kids in Beijing.
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