Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Keepongoing]

Recently, I have been hearing many stories about Middle School and High School students being hit by teachers. I just wateched a Korean movie about this as well. I also remember a few years ago about the video that was going around.

I am glad I work in a university becasue if I saw these korean teachers doing some of the things I was told about, I would probably get myself deported.

I heard reputable reports of girls being hit in the head by all sorts of instruments. Of having the bottoms of their feet hit, etc. It sounded very unprofessional and more like it was out of anger and frustration.

Students are so into protesting, why don't they protest about this?


Have any of you teaching in Mid or High School seen a teacher abuse students? Did you do anything?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[chiaa]

I had a 50cm ruler I used on palms and the back of legs.

I got zero joy out of it, but a great deal of the time it is the only thing a orean student understands.

[semphoon]

At my hagwon the kids still get hit.

One teacher use a BOARD - its about 15cms wide. The "THHHWACK" it makes on impact makes me wince.

Im a good guy - I just use a normal sized stick.

When I first came to Korea, I thought hitting sudents was terrible. I would control the class by using emotional means rather than physical; making them know I was dissapointed in them etc.

Didn't work. The stick does.

[Horangi Munshin]

A good alternative to a stick is a plastic hammer.

It's quite useless by itself, BUT after you have wiped it on the bottom of your shoes a few times no student will want that rubbed in their hair!!!

[Keepongoing]

I am not really talking about the movies. I am talking about stories I have been told by students. I was raised not to hit a girl. Hit a girl on the head with a blunt instrument is not ok. Slapping a girl in the face is not ok. I am talking about high school girls being hit by male teachers out of anger for reasons like talking in colass, or making a few errors on a paper. Or hitting all those studentd with a cane on the bottom of their feet because some students were talking. I am not talking about primary kids.

We all saw the video of the girl student being repeatedly punched in the face by her male high school teacher. I do not think that is an isolated incident. It is severe and I hope less isolated, but hitting a student out of anger is not professional. It is imature and wrong; n my opinion.

[ulsanchris]

I don't think hitting kids is the most effective form of classroom management. There are many reasons why a teacher shouldn't hit kids, but in korea it is common for teachers to hit kids so we have to accept that it is going to happen. However i don't think it is wise for the foreign teachers to engage in such activity. There is a double standard here and koreans won't like it if we hit the kids. Best not to get into any trouble. if you have a problem kid just let one of the korean teachers deal with him.
also if you don't want to go around hitting kids but can't think of a better way to manage your classroom i suggest you buy teaching english to children in asia by david paul. it is a great book with many great teaching strategies.

[Keepongoing]

IO work in a University and hitting a student has never been in my thinking

[Qinella]

At the hagwon where I was working, we didn't really hit the kids. The only exception was one of the Korean teachers who would randomly flick the kids in the forehead or on the head. I was totally shocked when I found out she did that. She even would hit the best students in class, absolute angels, just to keep them all on their toes.

The hagwon upstairs from that one, however, did regularly hit the students. It was fairly routine there. Also, I saw my director break a stick over a girl's rear one time. That was hard for me to witness.

At the hagwon where I'm going next, there's a strict no hitting and no yelling policy. The place is all fairy dust and butterfly wings.

Q.

[JongnoGuru]

Right or wrong, the use of the "love stick" is well-established practise in Korea. Jacl, do any of the Korean teachers where you've worked use the "love stick" on students? If so, what did you do about it? Here in cyberspace we can call people idiots who don't feel the same way we do, or don't feel as strongly about something as we do. The real test, I suppose is, What happens when you're confronted with it in real-life situations? If you see a Korean, or even a foreign teacher, at your school beating a student, how do you respond?

I have my own, um... "love stick" that I've used many times. But o