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Snowkr
Joined: 03 Jun 2005
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 4:31 am Post subject: What is the toughest age group to teach here? |
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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? |
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VanIslander

Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 6:06 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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dulouz
Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Location: Uranus
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 7:19 am Post subject: |
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Easiest - elementary then middle school, then uni
Harder - High Schoolers then kindy
Hardest - Adults, its all about entertainment, expect no results. |
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BigBlackEquus
Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Location: Lotte controls Asia with bad chocolate!
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 7:34 am Post subject: |
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Kindy is a blast. |
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joe_doufu

Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 7:36 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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Snowkr
Joined: 03 Jun 2005
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 7:47 am Post subject: |
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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? |
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bosintang

Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Location: In the pot with the rest of the mutts
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 7:48 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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zappadelta

Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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Public school 6th grade really sucks for me and everybody it seems |
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peppermint

Joined: 13 May 2003 Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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nuh uh. my sixth graders are great, the fifth graders are sociopaths though |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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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. |
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bellum99

Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: don't need to know
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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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. |
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fidel
Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Location: North Shore NZ
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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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. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 12:01 am Post subject: |
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Quote: |
--You must be joking.I would say 90% of teaching Korea is
elementary age. You must be very new or very lucky. |
Ummm...I'm on my 11th year so I'm not new. I wouldn't say I'm very lucky, but I would admit to being very, very picky. I know where my interests lie and just don't look at jobs that don't offer me most of what I want. |
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rvintage
Joined: 05 Jul 2005
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 12:05 am Post subject: hardest classes to teach |
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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. |
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Grotto

Joined: 21 Mar 2004
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 12:14 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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