Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Snowkr]

hi everyone

I've been teaching in a really good hogwon for about 3 months.
Yes, I did use the words GOOD and HOGWON together. I think they do exist.

Today, I think I lost my first student due to an attitude problem. He is 11 and throws tantrums in class. I won't tolerate this and so I "escorted" him to the director's office. He was sent home and one hour later, I had a meeting with the parent. I love my boss for not tolerating this but I hate losing a student at the same time.

I'm curious to know from you experienced teachers out there... what is the most difficult age for teaching kids in this country. At home (in the states) I think it's middle school. Is it common for kids at this age to behave like two year olds?

[VanIslander]

At my hagwon I've had every kind of class except high schoolers.

Here's the order from hardest to easiest for me:

(1) Adults, adults, adults.

They are the laziest, slowest and most close minded of the bunch.

(2) Middle schools can be silly in their knee-jerk reaction to adolescent conformity.

(3) Kindergarten students are a handful, and a challenge to one's skills at adapting to the learning requirements of pre-sit-down language users.

(4) Elementary school children are sooooooo eaaassyyy to teach, once you make clear who is BOSS, and what they need to do to get 10 minutes of games and a candy.

[dulouz]

Easiest - elementary then middle school, then uni

Harder - High Schoolers then kindy

Hardest - Adults, its all about entertainment, expect no results.

[BigBlackEquus]

Kindy is a blast.

[joe_doufu]

Most difficult for me (in a hagwon) is middle school, because they just won't talk. I come into the room and say "good afternoon!" and they respond with total silence. "Hello". Silence. Go to a student, make eye contact, and say directly, "Hello _____." Silence. Repeat twice. Maybe get a "hello Teacher". They'll read from the textbook where you tell them to read from, but in terms of actually *using* what they've learned, even in the simplest context, they totally refuse.

I do have one group of advanced middle schoolers who will converse with me, but it took them a couple months to warm up.

High school students are the second most difficult, because when they get to me at 9:20pm they're already exhausted from the brutal Korean education day. They are clever, though, and I suspect they'd be good to teach as a regular school teacher in the morning.

[Snowkr]

Thanks for that.

I hear heaps of foreign teachers around here complaining about how horrible Korean kids are and how the parents couldn't give a &$%% as long as the teacher has the right accent and the right kind of face.

I definitely agree that elementary school aged children may be among the easiest to work with but is an 11 yr old considered elementary or middle school?

Again, is it normal for a child that age to throw a toddler tantrum and get away with it at home or in school?
I'm also kind of curious about the public schools here. How do the children respond to foreign teachers vs Korean teachers?

[bosintang]

Like anything, it depends on your personality. For me, it also depends on my class. Both my favourite and most hated classes tend to be between Grades 5-8. A fun class can be very fun. A difficult class can be very difficult. However I don't have much experience with high school and adults to gage on, though.

[zappadelta]

Public school 6th grade really sucks for me and everybody it seems

[peppermint]

nuh uh. my sixth graders are great, the fifth graders are sociopaths though

[Ya-ta Boy]

For me, adults are the easiest. They are so easy to relate to, work so hard and many make amazing progress. I love those classes.

At my previous job I had to do a month of high school and middle school each year. I don't mind high school but I loathed the middle school classes. I've never been near an elementary class. I would commit hari kari before I'd ever walk into a class with kids that young.

[bellum99]

Ya-ta boy said

I've never been near an elementary class. I would commit hari kari before I'd ever walk into a class with kids that young.

--You must be joking.I would say 90% of teaching Korea is
elementary age. You must be very new or very lucky. I wish I could say I haven't ever taught elementary.

[fidel]

I find 78 year olds particulary bothersome with all their "speak up lad!", and "Why you young whippersnapper!" and "When I was your age we didn't even have doors, let along walls and roofs..." stories.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[rvintage]

I have found that adults are the most interactive when teaching if you talk about what they want to talk about. And that those classes can be very fulfilling even if they don't learn a lot. They are there to get conversational experiece. No book is good for them.

Kindy is a nightmare, depending on the size and activities you provide for them. PLAY GAMES ALWAYS, NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!

I think that the most relatable class you have will be the best class you enjoy the most.

Some middle school kids will be very shy and quiet and that is very annoying, especially when you have a discussion class!!!!! But as Joe_doufu says that it may take some time for the students to get warmed up to you. But I have also had very talkative junior high students that are the same age. I think it depends on a lot of things. I think mostly it has to do with the kids personalities and how well they interact with each other.

It just has a lot to do with classroom dinamics(sp?). I think everyone has their favorite.

[Grotto]

Hardest is middle school...they are just crazy.

Easiest elementary school...grades 3, 4 and 5
I also loved my adult classes as I would go in and talk about some life experiences and get them to tell me about theirs...worked well.