Korean Job Discussion Forums

[barrybrown]

Most of the Korean teachers teach standing up. I prefer to sit. What do you prefer?

[slap it]

at our school, most of us foreign teachers stand when we teach. of course when i'm having a tough day, i like to sit down once in awhile but i noticed my class is a lot more effective when i'm standing up.

[phaedrus]

I teach standing, but not in small classes with small numbers of students.

[hojucandy]

sitting, always.....

esp with kids - even in large groups it is better to be amongst them than towering above them...

these days i teach grown-ups, one on one, so sitting is the go...

572

[schwa]

This could have been a poll. I'm a standing guy, I like the teacherly status I get from it. Last week though a small group of middleschool girls, one says, "Teacher, please sit down." So I did.

[eamo]

Bit of both.

In good, well-behaved, higher level classes you can sit down and relax. In noisy, boisterous classes you need to walk around like a tiger in a cage to maintain order.

[mog]

I've been requested to stand in class. That being said, if it's a real small class, I'll sit for a portion of it.

[Zyzyfer]

Do each. Generally sit when I'm more personal with the students or don't need to be interacting with them directly for a bit. Whenever I'm speaking, however, I stand.

[mindmetoo]

I'm up and down. It's good to walk among the students or get down on your haunches next to their desk and talk to them at eye level. Sometimes I sit on the top of a desk closer to them. Although it seems important that you don't sit on a student's actual desk. They seem very paranoid about smelly white guy butt germs all over their desk surface.

[captain kirk]

When I first arrived at the school the boss sisters exuded venemous complaints about a teacher they had for the previous month, how he wore cologne (eww, their noses wrinkled in disgust), sat while teaching, lied about his age by ten years, etc. I've been here over six months now. The newly arrived other foreign teacher (we have two) stood for the first few days but is now sitting since it looks like he's accepted.
When I first arrived, hearing how they felt about sitting, I stood. For some months. But I strained my back half way thru for a bit, and am still sitting though I could be standing and walking around towering or whatever the 'benefits' are of standing.
I don't think a teacher needs to stand. I set up the two fans I carry around (which I bought). One tall one oscillating across the students, a short one aimed at me. Drag the big table back towards the board so I can reach back and mark points on the whiteboard as the two teams rack points. The only time I stand is 35 minutes later, and for five minutes, when I fire questions at them so they can get a shot with the sticky ball at a target drawn on the whiteboard.
I'm firing questions at them 'based' on the pages of the book for the day all class so they're on their toes, and they are, so why stand. If they start talking in Korean or acting up I threaten to send them to face the wall with their arms up, or get them to. The point of class is to get a reparte of question and answer going. When they get in the groove of firing back and forth me moving around would just be distracting. It's like table tennis with words. I don't have mouths in my legs which only function when standing up, so why stand?
All the (there are eight) Korean teachers sit except for one who only comes in for a couple of classes (maybe he's trying to work off his little pot belly; mine's gonna stay). Besides, I've got to fix the hole in the front of my pants but the seams keep bursting. Also, if you stand, you run the risk of having a 'kick me' sign cunningly pasted to your butt.

[TECO]

monitoring student activities - of course, you should be standing, floating around the room.

providing feedback - you should be sitting.

good teachers do both and at the right time.

[Blind Willie]

Depends on the class.

[Paji eh Wong]

I try to stand when doing presentation type stuff and sit dow for the practice part of the lesson. Sitting down is my cue to shut up.

[just because]

Standing most of the time..but if the class is small and manageable I'll sit down.

Soembody else said it but can teach more effectively to a large lass by standing and mkaing your prescence known.

[beast]

I like to lay down on the floor and close my eyes.