Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylde]

[ajuma]

I guess it's because I feel that you "make your own luck" for the most part. Sure, there are dishonest hagwon directors...(did I tell you the one about the director who only let the teachers have ONE marker, and they had to turn in the "used" one before they could get a new one??? Did a runner on THAT one!) and really s***ty places to work, but if you LOVE teaching, you don't worry/care so much about "control" as you do about "results". And you find a POSITIVE way of dealing with the "uncooperative" students instead of resorting to demeaning tactics.

You either love teaching for its OWN sake, or you love the "power and control". Which is it with you? (Or need I ask??)

[wylde]

i love results.. the best way i have found to get them here in korea is with authority and not entertainment skills..

1 board marker? haha

there is the perfect example of the 'entertainer' teacher for you..

really.. i don't do what i do for fun.. maybe i do but i think the fun comes from them being attentive in class.

that was the whole point of this thread.

these are the best students i have had and they have the best results i have seen in korea.. i can only put that down to having authority and not clown skills..

[ajuma]

Ok...last post tonight. "Authority" skills...great! Maybe you ARE a better teacher than you let on! But being funny and interesting has never undermined my my authority! Guess it's the "ajuma" in me!

[wylde]

[Grotto]

Way to go Wylde!

I just say that what works for one may not work for others! I do not employ the same techniques as Wylde(well the ear pull works for me) but I am sure he doesnt pass out gorilla presses or pin the offender against the ceiling by hoisting them over your head

I usually dont try to inflict pain upon my students....but....at times I have literally thrown a rude middle school student out of my class after picking him up from his chair and hurling him into the hallway....I do not get paid to tolerate rudeness and if the hogwan isnt going to discipline the students I will.

My first year in Korea we had a wonderful director who would handle all discipline problems...usually a threat to tell Alex would be enough to quell any problems. This last year there was no discipline...the occasional thwack to the forhead and then the obligatory pinkie swear. Didnt work...so I had to use my own methods.

I know what I did is not acceptable in Canadian classrooms but hey in Canada you cant bring knives and replica guns to school

[Mankind]

[chronicpride]

I agree...It's about earning respect...Everyone has different methods of obtaining it...some called it establishing authority. But it comes down to letting them know who is boss.

Yeah, sure, two wrongs don't make a right if we follow the disciplinary acts of Korean teachers, but this is what students here are conditioned to expect. From every educational environment they are in. Public schools, piano hagwons, ballet hogwans, english hogwans, universities....But, if a teacher comes in here and says 'I'm going to win your respect by enlightening you' and being like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, you will be walked all over. And all you will be able to do is come on here and complain that your students are rude and terrible and treat you like shit, and your director and fellow teachers suck, because they can't help you get things under control.

God, I've got so many stories of working with some other foreign teachers who come here, wanting to teach as if they are in a Western classroom and refuse to compromise or adapt that style, then I have to listen to them bitch and whine for 5-10 minutes in the teacher's room, before we head off to the next class.

Then, there are the helpless saps that implode, scream, and even get reduced to tears, because their students have realized that they are a push-over.

These are Korean classrooms, populated with Korean students whose minds have been shaped by the educational industry that operates a lot different than back home. And it's going to take more than just pride and belief in one's ability as an educator to earn their respect and maintain authority.

We all have our ways. And those are just Wylde's ways. And I'll put money on him never having to start a thread complaining about the disrespectfulness and rudeness of students and unsupportive directors and staff.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[wylde]

thanks for the support guys..

[crazylemongirl]

I've never hit a student and I don't think that physical abuse equals respect. The most important thing that teachers should have is clear boundaries of what acceptable behavior is and clearly enforce them.

I don't enjoy punishing kids, and I sure as hell don't like seeing some of the stuff that goes down in my school.

Although apparently I'm a mean teacher as I have no qualms about making kids do lines during lunch, break time or after school if they are acting up in class.

[ajuma]

Oh, heck...I can see it now...everyone calling me sexist....but here goes!

After giving this matter some thought, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of our methods of discipline are based on gender. Men are taught that "bigger is better" and that being physical is the way to exert/attain your authority.

Women are taught to find other methods to establish authority and control, and they're generally verbal ways as opposed to physical.

I'm not saying that one is better than the other, although I DO agree with crazylemongirl when she says

[wylde]

for me.. and...... the rest of korea it seems, physical punishment or humiliation works bests to get stundents to learn..


physical abuse is a low blow call.. the only time i have made a student upset enough to cry is when i take their cell phone off them or drag them up to a korea teacher..

they must respect you.. that means.. when they are smart asses, they are punished in a way that will hopefully mean they won't do it again..

i am in a high school.. i have the support of the other teachers and what i do seems to work best..

when i think about my life in high school and the amount of times i was caned... korean punishment these days doesn't equal physical abuse compared to my high school.. but, the humiliation factor would have been a great tool in my school... i would have been a different person if i was humiliated in the way these guys are.. AND

I WOULD BE GREATFUL FOR IT TODAY!

you softies fail to see that it is the students best interests.. a hit here and there, humiliate them so they see what the majority thinks of their actions is great if it pulls them into line and improves their future.

[ajuma]

You just made my point! Guys need "physical" ways of disciplining students. Women find other ways.

I WILL concede that I've never taught in a highschool, so MAYBE your method is valid IN THAT SETTING. (Or, maybe NOT! )

[schwa]

I've been teaching in middle schools for 3 years now & I've never had to resort to any disciplinarian measures whatsover. I've had to chide them occasionally to settle down but only after I got them stirred up & noisy in the first place. I've never had to scold. These are average students in average schools. I endeavor to keep my lessons fun & interesting & they respond with respect & attention.

I'm no superteacher by any means but I feel a genuine affection for my kids which they seem to sense & appreciate. I'm not saying taking a hard line is wrong or inappropriate, but I'd like to point out that it isnt the only way.