Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Juregen]

[laogaiguk]

[OiGirl]

What is done with the "homework" after it's supposed to be done? Do you collect or correct it? What if you corrected it as a class by writing the answers on the board and letting them fix their own mistakes, or do it for the first time as necessary. Everyone gets a review this way, and everyone's book is filled in, if that's what's seen as important.

[Ilsanman]

If homework is done the way it is intended to be done, it does help.

It doesn't help when the kid just guesses, the parent does it, they copy from a friend, they don't review it after it's been corrected, etc etc.

[OiGirl]

[Ilsanman]

What I would do is send them out of the classroom and tell them to complete the homework before they can attend your class. If you have to crowd the entire hallway with students, do it.

Maybe you can teach a class of 1 for a while, and have the students come back in. This will certainly open your director's eyes.

The claim that it is your fault comes from their perception (wring in this case) that you are not encouraging them or giving them a good reason to do their homework. It has to go punished, because, as we all know, they won't do it otherwise.

[riley]

I've seen Plattwatz's form in the U.S. elementary school I did my student teaching at. The teacher would give that out about once a month or every two months. The kids had to have it signed.
I also totally agree that it is stupid for you to apologize to the kid/parent. WTF? If a kid doesn't want to do homework, there's nothing you can do. I know, I was one of those kids.

[Juregen]

[Cyrano4747]

In reply to the origional poster: We have a similar situation at my school. The parents are very rich and very prone to wanting things "their way" and complaining when they don't get it. They never talk directly to me, but yell at our director, who then yells at me. I've gotten complaints about just about everthing you can imagine.

One of the things you have to realize: Unless the school has an absolute glut of potential teachers or you are an UTTER moron, arse-head, and degenerate alcoholic, they won't fire you. Just draw a line, say no, and 99% of the time they'll just walk away and leave you alone.

[sadsac]

I to am an anti homework person. If they fail to understand what they are doing who do they ask, mom or dad? I think not. I just refuse to give it. My director isn't thrilled, but there is less hassle and stress, but to the OP don't apologise.

[laogaiguk]

This isn't an insult, but I am curious.

To all the people who say homework is basically useless, are you guys or have you ever studied another language? Homework helps me reinforce things and gives me a bit of a leg up in the next class to really learn things (ie by previewing vocab or whatnot) and I am glad my teacher gives it to me otherwise I wouldn't always do it I am studying languages now, including Korean. I just don't see where you are coming from???

[chilgok007]

My biggest problem is that, as I said, I really like and respect the co-teacher who asked me to make the apology. If I refuse, she's the one thats gonna take all the flack. Sure, I might get a stern talking to (I could care less about this...my director will just find another excuse to chew me out anyways), but I've seen the KTs come running out the directors office with tears streaming down their faces after she's through with them. I'm only here for a year (thank god), but for them, as crappy as this place is, this is their careers, and they'll probably be here a good while longer than I will, hence I don't wish to rock the boat too much. I'll probably make a very unheartfelt apology for my KT's sake, but follow it up with "your moms a stupid f**kin wh**re, and I hope she rots in the tenth level of hell for being such a poor parent" (she won't understand, but it will make me feel alot better).

Cyrano4747, my school seems like a carbon copy of yours. We work with mostly rich, spoiled parents too. The parents are idiots, but if their so-called educational style is so good, why don't they just homeschool their damn kids. The reason why they send them to us is coz we are "experts" in education. Maybe this is a false analogy but its like a patient telling a doctor exactly how he or she should be treated. I've had the same problems with tests and cheating here and of course I can't do anything about it, lest the parents pull their kids out (because at my school, any problem in terms of academics or behavior, is entirely our fault, never the kids). When we write our monthly report cards (and I use that term in the loosest possible way) we can't say anything even remotely bad about the student, no matter how big of a brain-dead monster he or she may be. I don't see any educational value in this whatsoever. These types of behaviors should be made apparant to the parents so they can work with us to correct them while the kids are still young enough. If they are always receiving a hearty pat on the back they'll never change. As a kid, I can't even tell you how many conferences I had with my parents and teachers concerning all manner of issues, good and bad. Education is definetly a group effort and if the parents are kept in the dark or unwilling to listen to the truth, then their role in the process is diminished.

Back to homework now. At our school, homework is a useless enterprise. It serves no purpose other than to let the parents know the kids did something, however banal, and so the parents can see that we "checked" it to let them know that we "care" about their kiddies. I am very aware that my school is very undeserving of being called a school. I think the whole Hagwon system is ruining these poor kids. Most of my kids are whisked from one Hagwon till the next until late at night, then it's time for homework. Creativity is discouraged and, of course, the kids have no time to be kids. The pressure on them to succeed is shamefully intense. Sure the parents just want what's best for the kids, but their just going to end up turning this country into a country of burned-out asocial freaks.

Homework is for the home, and its the students and parents responsibility to complete it. As I said, we go so far as to write out a monthly plan detailing all the coming month's homework. If the parent in question was concerned she could have checked it. She could have checked her daughter's book every night to see the assigned pages, yet she didn't (her excuse: she was too busy...to take 20 seconds out of her day to care about her daughter's academic wellbeing), yet she waited till it was too late to lodge a complaint. This to me shows she dosen't actually care about the homework but was instead more interested in making sure she got her money's worth. I really like plattwaz's idea, because I realized I need to do everything in my power to shift the responsibility to the KTs and director. That was my biggest mistake in this whole fiasco, I really had no idea how inane these parents could be.

[riley]

My opinion on homework is that it is a good chance for a student to practice what they learned in school. If the student tries to do the work, if the student doesn't cheat, if the teacher has the time to go through the work, (in class or out of class) then it is an effective way of practicing and developing skills.
I just feel you shouldn't assess it (give grades) because if the kid makes mistakes, that just means the kid needs more practice. Give tests or projects as a way of assessing their work.

[JeJuJitsu]

You owe the student AND the parent an apology. Say:

"I am so sorry Mrs. Kim that your child is lazy and stupid." Just say the second part fast, and they won't understand you anyway.

How come the "face saving" is a one-way street?

[Rteacher]

One possible way to manage it is to assign students very short dialogues that they need to practice with a parent or somebody that speaks at least a little English in their family (eg: "Hi, Mom, I'm home" "How was school?" "Good" "What did you learn?" "English speaking" ...)