Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Wrench]

OK so apparently this boy committed suicide, and now my school has gone silly over it. I am starting to really hate this oversensitivity.

Today I got a talk from one of my supervisors saying that I should stop giving my kids nicknames, because "parents are worried".

All my little Hellaliens (evil kids) that don't behave and are just plain uncontrollable get a nickname, when I use it they know they are in trouble.

Anna = Banana
Jim = JimBob

Apparently Bob sound close to a Korean version of stupid or some silly thing and the student told his mom that he no longer wants to attend the school. I guess one of the supervisors had to explain that there was no cause to worry. Although I wish this child did stop attending my classes, he is a problem child. He initially started calling me names and making faces. He never listens, fights in class, disrupts the rest of the class and generally is a shit disturber. Not to mention when he gets upset when I tell him to do his work, he will kick me, punch me (in the sensitive area), and throw things at me. I can't punish him and the Korean teachers are pretty useless in disciplining him too. I have another female student that is the same way but she is over affectionate and its just plain creepy.

OK my first question is if they are so scared of having their children commit suicide shouldn't they be worried about things like sending your child to school with a 41+ fever(Not to mention your sending your kid to infect everyone else, since it seems most women don't work when they have kids why can't they take care of their child?). I mean you can kill some one when things like fever are untreated or could even lead to other complications. I have kids come to class in the same clothes day after day(unwashed clothes), I had children come to class smelling so bad that I thought they shat their pants. The parenting in this country really boggles the mind. Didn't the parents of the questioned student ever spend some time with him ? I know when I came home miserable from school my parents asked me why.

My other question is why the stories like bullying, sodomy and gang rape stories don't trigger any reaction from parents or schools(Seems their is no such policies inplace to deal with the stated problems). I never heard of any one ever mention it once at any of my meetings at school. Things like sodomy, bullying and gang rape are more dangerous then cowardly suicide, because those people have to live with those scars for their rest of their lives.

Shouldn't discipline be left to the parents not the teachers? Why do I have to be the bad guy and punish kids that are not mine and see them the next day? Not to mention my kids don't respect me either they think its a great gag.


I think suicide is the most cowardly thing any one can do. Any who I got 10 more months of this little monkey hat dance to do. I love kindy but I just can't stand elementary students.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Quit now. Go home.

[ulsanchris]

do you think giving them nicknames is really going to get the kids to behave better. Sounds like you need some help teaching wise. I reccomend you invest in getting some teaching books to help you out. Teaching English to children is Asia is one I like to reccomend.
For the young kids its pretty common for them to wear the same clothes two or three days in a row.
As for bullying and that. It does get a reaction from parents and schools. I think that recently they have started waking up to how serious the problem is. As for not dealing with it, in Busan they have just started a school police problem.

[schwa]

Troll, troll, troll.

Chuckling at suicide & pushing every button he knows how. Serious loser.

[periwinkle]

OMG- how old was the boy that committed suicide? He went to your school? Do you know why? A long time ago my dad mentioned that kindergarteners in Japan have been known to commit suicide (I have a Japanese aunt, so maybe he got his info. from her. My father is a very well-known physician, and he never says things that don't hold water, so I'm inclined to believe this). He said there is a lot of pressure to get into the "right school". He said if you don't get into a good kindergarten, you don't get into the right elementary school. If you don't get into the right elem. school, you don't get into the right middle school, and so on (God, I hate using that phrase, but it's appropriate here).

I remember that when I was in 1st grade, I stayed home from school one day because I told my mom I wanted to die and I refused to get out of bed. I hated school, mostly because I was PAINFULLY shy, and I only had 1 good friend (he was a boy, though, and we didn't hang-out at school). I wasn't teased, I was just ignored. Anyway, I felt like a freak. Well, my mom was PISSED (at me!), and dragged me to school to talk to my teacher. My teacher said I had the attention span of a gnat and that I was always drawing pictures. Anyway, the next day I was fine (I had basically forgotten about it). My mom made me join Campfire (like Girl Scouts), and it was all good from there.

[Apple Scruff]

[kangnam mafioso]

you need to go out for soju with the teacher that likes to make dream catchers with dead pigeon wings w/ students.

[Kimchieluver]

Just how is an elementary boy's suicide cowardly? I think you might want take a sensitivity course.

[Freezer Burn]

I kinda agree, a student suicide warrents a little sensitivity, but i dont think wrench was talking specifically about the suicide, rather the whole senstitivity that Asian parents have to their children when it comes to foreigners.
Its kind of like that they are precious little dolls and they cant be exopsed to a nick name or a joke in class, or even some dialogue in the text because they are too sensitive.
Inspite of this the parents are quite happy to give their little dolls a few thousand won to go play lethal bloody computer games.
Also, these students arent sensitive, some of the questions they come up with or would like to know from me are just as valgur as any other kid back home would ask when they are at that age.

[Harpeau]

[paperbag princess]

look, if the kid is in an english school, he should be able to deal with an english nickname. but if he doesn't like it, that's fine, don't call him that. i give nicknames to all my students, not just the bad ones and they love it. maybe it's because you're making the nicknames a punishment. why not give all the other students nicknames? punishment should be things like standing with hands over their heads, or cleaning the classroom.

as far as suicide is concerned, how does a child get their hands on stuff to kill themself with? how old was this child?

[desultude]

Okay, I say this is a troll, by a sock.

Look at the join date.

Kids are very sensitive. Calling a child a name for the sake of discipline is at best silly and stupid, at worst cruel.

Yes, parents and administrations do take bullying seriously. I just read some research that says that bullying is the number one cause of suicide in boys in Korea. Isn't calling names a bit of bullying? Especially by a (big assumption here) grown man?

And, yes, the little ones have been known to commit suicide. All they need is a will and a tall building. Little children have no concept of death as forever, or what forever even is.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

[ambvalent]

I cannot begin to unfold the thoughts and actions behind Wrench's first post, and I'm going to give Wrench the benefit of the doubt and assume she/he is merely uneducated about the basics of child development. I also have the hunch this is not trolling, and Wrench does not sound intentionally malicious. Nevertheless, I got a chill down my spine reading this post. I have several questions:

I am not yet in Korea, but will be this summer. I am extremely flexible, especially when it comes to giving up personal comforts, but somewhere there is a line when it comes to children. When I go to Korea, is dehumanization in hakwons what I can expect? Do other people find this post *incredibly* unsettling? Does it not sound like Wrench is in a terrible situation and she/he should quit and take care of themself as soon as possible? This is not the post of someone trying to cope with an uncomfortable situation; it sounds much more disturbing, uncontrolled, lost.



To Wrench: Where is the voice telling you "this is wrong"? Please explain what the situation you are in is about. I'd like confirmation before I start believing 5 and 6 year-olds are killing themselves. How do you expect to endure 10 more months of this? Are you completely isolated or do you have people to talk to?

[Wrench]

Man I almost wish I didn't make this post.

I wasn't making fun of suicide or the student that committed suicide, but I was trying to make a point of over the top drama that came out of the parents over it. Its good parents are concerned about the kids and suicide but what on god green earth compels them to send sick kids, and filthy kids to school, your asking to have your kid made fun off by other students.

Yes I do probably get called stupid alot, I had students swear at me, I discussed this even with the supervisor and they brushed it off as nothing because they don't think they that the kids know what "f**k you" means.. Oh yes they know what it means. I don't have problems with many students its just a select few. I don't know but I just ran out of options with dealing with some of this kids, I just throw them out of class and have a Korean teacher deal with it. (I literaly pick them up or drag them out of the class kicking and screaming because they know that they are going to see some one with a stick, sorry I don't hit children.)

Ironic thing is I love teaching I like to think I am good at it, most of my kids have greatly improved their English. Heck I even untrained the Korean taught phonics of English from most of my students.. (Purple is purple not puple.) I like Korea, I like my school, I like 99% of my students and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon.

I am well aware of the fact foreigners don't get much respect in Korean schools which most people would say deal with it. Oh well I guess I don't really have to care if my students learn any english at all. I've been raised on the stern belief that education is your own responsibility, no one ever pushed me in school even in elementary.

I apologize if I offended any one.

PS
I don't think it was a 5 or 6 year old that commited suicide, it was an older student, but it was so over sensationalized on Korean media that parents went over the top with it. Korean media tends to make a moutain out of a molehill.