Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Draven]

...and I don't mean the TV show, although as I watched the host get stabbed last week, perhaps a thread on that topic is in order.

I've been giving my high school students a test this week. In the 4 classes that have taken it so far, I've caught 5 students blatantly cheating. I have loads of circumstantial evidence that suggests others were too, but I didn't catch them in the act. The preferred method seems to be switching papers while my attention is elsewhere.

My school doesn't have a firm policy on dealing with cheaters. I've assigned all the culprits a zero grade and expressed my disappointment to them. But somehow it doesn't feel like enough.

Anyways, I've procotored exams at home and never caught a student cheating. I think I'm a pretty vigiliant invigilator, but somehow many students here were able to cheat anyway. These kids have really raised cheating to an art form.

Anyone have any good cheating stories to tell?

[VanIslander]

I made three different versions of a test, handed them out strategically without them knowing, and could easily determine afterwards which students cheated by peeking, and they paid dearly for it.

[ryleeys]

Hey, I got reprimanded for giving my students zeroes when I caught them cheating. Admittedly, my kids are all in elementary school, but they damn well better learn some time...

[DF10]

I catch many students cheating...very often. They are ages 6-17 in a hagwon.

I also teach a class of 3 Korean teachers of English(is that the right term?). We were discussing the cheating in our classrooms. I told them that in the States kids get in loads of trouble and can be expelled for cheating. They said, "cheating this happens often in Korea. It happens in University often." Oh.

It certianly does seem rampant.

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

Obviously cheating is a very serious academic offense, but you gave them zeros, that hits them hard and I think that's enough.

[FUBAR]

Last semester at my school, a whole class of 34 middle school girls (save 5 or 6) were caught cheating on their Technological Studies final exam. The regular teacher was not there so the music teacher proctored the exam and FELL ASLEEP for 45 mins. About 2 days later, one student sent a text message to her homeroom teacher confessing the whole thing.

After the school investigated the incident, they made the decision to have the whole school rewrite the exam the next day (On a Saturday). To say that the students and parents were unhappy would be an understatement.

But nothing really happened to the girls who cheated. They received some punishment, but their grades were not affected.

[VanIslander]

FUBAR, how could they know for certain which ones cheated and which 6 or 7 didn't? Making them all re-write a different version of the test is the wise thing to do in the situation.

A child volunteered the info in a confession? That shows she knew it was wrong. The parents and students were upset? Same as in my hometown, where Canadian hockey dads and soccer moms are outraged when their cheating and conniving children are kicked off the team.

[Grotto]

Cheating in Korea is not viewed as it is in other countries.

Your average Korean thinks nothing of cheating...it is only bad if you get caught. They cheat throughout elementary, junior and high school, often blatantly and there is little to nothing done about it. It is small wonder that this continues at university and college levels.

On a recent test I clearly stated that any talking in Korean would be viewed as cheating, high school students. I seperated the students so that there was no one sitting next to the another. Of the class of 9 students, it took only 5 minutes into the test before some of them were asking the others for answers. They seemed genuinely surprised when I ripped their tests up and gave them a mark of 0.

Their parents even called to complain about my 'treatment' of their children...highly unfair I believe they called it...go figure. Mom, Dad I got caught cheating and they gave me a 0. What A 0 Who does this teacher think they are I was told to change the mark into a pass for the offenders....of course I work in a hogwan where marks really dont mean anything as they change them to make the parents and students happy all the time.

I just refuse to alter my morals to fit, what I view as and an insane policy.

[Draven]

[mindmetoo]

[waterbaby]

I once had a nine year old girl cheat on a weekly spelling test. She'd written down all the words on her hand and wasn't actually very good at cheating... very easy to catch. Really lovely young girl, too.

I was astounded. It was only a spelling test, the parents never saw the results... but yet the poor thing felt this incredible pressue to perform well, but because she was also attending maths classes, Korean classes and piano classes, she was seriously stressed and overworked and felt that she needed to cheat on a stupid spelling test!

I wanted to scold her and give her a good scare... but felt too sorry for her, so was a bit soft, though I'm sure she knows I was disappointed.

A few weeks later, she dropped out of all her hagwon classes. Her doctor insisted she not have to attend hagwon classes anymore as she was too sick and stressed... and mum paid attention... yay!

[JacktheCat]

As Grotto rightly put it, cheating is viewed quite differently here in Korea than in the West.

Most Koreans see absolutely nothing wrong with cheating; just being caught is a bad thing.

This is one culture trait of Korea's that can't really be shown in a positive light at all.

Someday these students will have to compete in a business world run by Western standards, where cheating is not exceptable in any shape or form.

[JacktheCat]

[Draven]

[TheUrbanMyth]

Funny how many "teachers" here frown on cheating in the classroom, yet see no difficulty in encouraging a potential teacher with a forged degree to cheat.