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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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 Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 11:51 pm Post subject: |
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| The same class just astounded me again, this week. They told me that yesterday they made the new Korean English teacher blow his top and storm out of the classroom in the middle of a lesson and not come back because they wouldn't settle down, stop talking, and listen. I was just thinking, OMFG, if this guy can't control academic high school girls how useless can he be? I went along to his first ever lesson (ever - not just at my school) and thought if this is a sign of things to come I'm not optimistic. I'm afraid I may have been right. However, as much as I feel sorry for a boring, incompetent, inexperienced new teacher, I have to say that it does make me feel a bit smug that I'm having a blast doing some real learning with a class that someone who actually speaks Korean can't handle. |
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jinju
Joined: 22 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 1:05 am Post subject: |
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| Nice. So your students are a bunch of rude biatches? We are talking about high schoolers, right? Their refusal to listen to the teacher and to disrespect him, while trlling you with glee how rude they were makes me think these are nasty, anti social brats in need of some discipline. I would hope you told them that their behavior was out of line. Elementary 3rd graders I can understand, they are kids. highschoolers are young adults. |
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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 1:33 am Post subject: Re: You guys amaze me |
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| refikaM wrote: |
| ...I'm getting second thoughts about Korea... not because it would be too much of a challenge (I have lots of overseas teaching experience), but because of the general tone of the posters who are in Korea now. Many of you are just plain NOT NICE, and believe me, I'm being quite euphemistic with this description. So, I'm forced to believe that perhaps many foreign teachers in Korea are just plain NOT NICE and are bitter and cynical. |
I think generally you end up working in a place that suits your own personality. If you're a positive, emotionally healthy person you'll fit in in a company with a positive atmosphere, and if you're a suspicious, backstabbing type you'll end up in a place with vicious office politics.
The analogy extends to countries too I guess, so you may have a point that the emotional climate in Korea generally is less healthy than in Japan. I wouldn't know personally but that's the impression one gets. However, that's not to say you can't find institutions within Korea where you'll be surrounded by great co-workers.
And, in case no-one pointed it out yet, you shouldn't judge all ex-pats in Korea by ex-pats on Dave's.
Some are a lot worse.  |
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jacl
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 7:42 am Post subject: Re: Sometimes my students simply astound me |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
Today I had my top grade one class and we were reviewing last week's lesson about friends and friendship. One of a series of qualities we were discussing was 'loyalty'. Now, I know that loyalty is translated as 충성 and that the conception of 충 is very important in Chinese and Korean philosophy, so I thought I'd show off by trying to offer a translation and explanation myself. Well, one of my students qualifies what I'm saying by pointing out that in Hanja, 충 - however it's spelled in Hanja - really means 'filial devotion'.
'Very good!' I exclaimed, but since your girls, not boys, loyalty between friends should be 'sororial devotion' and proceeded to teach them a new, impressive word. Then another student piped up and said no, 'filial debotion is to parent, not friend'. Then I figured out that I had been mixing up filius / filia with frater / soror, and told them, yes, you're right and are you ever smart. But how could they know that filial referred to children, not siblings? Where did at least several of them learn that from?
Damn is it ever a pleasure to teach such smart kids. I mean, in a grade 10 class in Canada do you think anyone would catch that? |
Ok, so I take it you're talking about grade 1 high school and not elementary. I sure the *beep* hope so. |
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jacl
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 7:49 am Post subject: |
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| The same students probably say "Go to shopping" when you ask them what they did on the weekend. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 6:56 pm Post subject: Re: Sometimes my students simply astound me |
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| jacl wrote: |
| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
Today I had my top grade one class and we were reviewing last week's lesson about friends and friendship. One of a series of qualities we were discussing was 'loyalty'. Now, I know that loyalty is translated as 충성 and that the conception of 충 is very important in Chinese and Korean philosophy, so I thought I'd show off by trying to offer a translation and explanation myself. Well, one of my students qualifies what I'm saying by pointing out that in Hanja, 충 - however it's spelled in Hanja - really means 'filial devotion'.
'Very good!' I exclaimed, but since your girls, not boys, loyalty between friends should be 'sororial devotion' and proceeded to teach them a new, impressive word. Then another student piped up and said no, 'filial debotion is to parent, not friend'. Then I figured out that I had been mixing up filius / filia with frater / soror, and told them, yes, you're right and are you ever smart. But how could they know that filial referred to children, not siblings? Where did at least several of them learn that from?
Damn is it ever a pleasure to teach such smart kids. I mean, in a grade 10 class in Canada do you think anyone would catch that? |
Ok, so I take it you're talking about grade 1 high school and not elementary. I sure the *beep* hope so. |
Yes. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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| jacl wrote: |
| The same students probably say "Go to shopping" when you ask them what they did on the weekend. |
Yes. The lucky ones. The others 'go to academy'. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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| jinju wrote: |
| Nice. So your students are a bunch of rude biatches? We are talking about high schoolers, right? Their refusal to listen to the teacher and to disrespect him, while trlling you with glee how rude they were makes me think these are nasty, anti social brats in need of some discipline. I would hope you told them that their behavior was out of line. Elementary 3rd graders I can understand, they are kids. highschoolers are young adults. |
I first heard about it right after it happened and gave them a bit of a telling off yesterday and told them that if that happened in my class the noisy students be the ones leaving the classroom.
They're really bright, sweet kids who need more stimulation than they're getting. Yesterday I made a bit of a mistake by trying to do too much review of the previous week's lesson on numbers, and things got a bit noisy when I was trying to get each student to answer one question - but they were perfectly attentive during my phonics lesson and every group went after my group activity excercise with blistering pace. There are about eight girls in that class I'd describe as semi-fluent and one I'd describe as almost fluent, and they've got a great future when they finally finish high school hell. I'd much rather teach them than a class where everyone is dead quite and afraid to say anything.
I am glad I don't have to teach them grammar, however. |
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