Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sistersarah]

i have a really good offer for my next contract. i know for a fact that the directors are super cool, the apartment is fantastic, i'd get a pay raise.

but...it's a middle school hogwan. for the past two years i've taught mostly young kids and i'm prett used to them. right now i teach only one middle school class (my last class on fridays -- lovely!). i find i'm used to teaching the kiddies....rarely do any have a bad attitude. pretty easy to motivate. positive reinforcement is simple -- stickers...candy....

but middle/high schoolers seem to be a whole different ball game. my current middle school class is not a bad bunch, but they're definitely harder to get going, and keep going...and they have developed insecurities about speaking english that younger kids don't have.

i know there are some posters here who teach middle schoolers. any advice, tips, suggestions, warnings, things to think about?
thanks.

[crazylemongirl]

I teach at a boys' middle school and I absouletly love most of them to death.

1st graders are largely like the older elementary students. Largely they are sweet, cute and want to have fun. I have several first years that I would love to smuggle home in a box. They are so cute and sweet. There Korean age is 14 which of course could means that they are anywhere between 12 and 13.

2nd graders. They are an unpredictable mob. Sometimes they are great sometimes you want to throw them out the window. You have to work a lot harder to keep their attention and a few of them have turned into surlymcbadasre TM. Korean age 15.

3rd graders. Largely made up of surlymcbadarse TM. Most of my discpline problems are from the third grade. You have to really work at making interesting lessons and holding their interest or they will fall asleep or make your life hell. Korean age 16.

I still use a lot of candy in my classes for postive reinforcement although they know it's on a 'sometimes' basis.

Of course I see these kids in their regular school so there are more consequences to my class than the hogwon class. I also see them in the first part of a very long day. These kids are at school by around 8-8.30 and most of them won't get home until the wee small hours which combined with a healthy dose of hormones makes for some really surly teens. You really need to put a lot of effort into making things interesting for them. I try and spice up boring topics a bit and tailor it to my boys. So there is a lot of blood, wrestling references etc.

They aren't like the younger kids where you get instant gratification, of wow teacher you rock! The relationships take a bit longer to build up. It's taken me over 6 months to get to know some of my students (granted I see them once a week in classes of over 40) but their individual personalities are a lot more developed than the younger kids which I think makes them more interesting.

The key to dealing with middle schoolers was actually summed up rather nicely to me by a teacher in new zealand. Try to remember that half of them are grown ups and expect you to treat them like grown ups. The are other half are still clutching their teddy bears. It's a tricky time but it can be rewarding as well.

[VanIslander]

Crazylemongirl sums up all that attracts and repels them.

I wouldn't do it if all other factors were equal, but,...

[Zyzyfer]

Middle school does not equal middle school hakwon...though it may help to some degree in relating with the students to know the standard in public schools.

I'm in a place now that pretty much does middle school on up, and have a lot of students who expect to learn something in class, which is easy to roll with. It's the students who don't want to be there that make it hell...it does take a while to build up relationships with them at times. If the curriculum is strong and varied/useful (and not one of those standard English study books), it won't be so bad.

[rNS]

How big are the classes? think that makes a fair bit of difference...I teach at a Hagwon and have a few middle school classes, all of them are girls and all about 13 yrs old and was warned about their 'participation' before I set foot in the room.

Luckily my groups are fairly small and that has helped generate a really good dynamic, they still try it on a bit but they are easily my favourite classes because they still have that fun element that kids have while also having a decent standard of English and some op
inions of their own.........the hardest bit I find is always trying to find that balance between child/adult, too kidified and they feel above it, too adult and they shy away from it, its a tightrope, a tightrope I tell ya..........but yeah it sounds like what I want if I stay for another contract........

[crazylemongirl]

the other thing I forgot to mention is the gender differences become a lot more pronounced in middle school. The girls in general (from what I've seen of them) seem to be like little chirpy birds twittering around the place in packs. The boys are more like elephants