Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Oreovictim]

So . . . if you have a problem with your students and you get a Korean teacher to help, does the teacher side with you or them?

I have a weird schedule. I teach a class for 25 minutes, and then I switch rooms with a Korean teacher and teach for another 25 minutes. They act PERFECT around her, but then they pull a 180 and act like little devils around me. Whenever I ask for help, she comes in and gives the kid a hug or messes up his hair and everyone laughs and acts cute. (Personally, I think that the Korean teacher is high off of kimchi fumes.)

Do your Korean coworkers act the same?

[Junior]

My regular o-teacher supports me in every matter and i do her. She'll be back next week after a leave of absence.
the jumped-up stand in I'm sadled with at the moment is probably more emotional and misbehaving than the students themselves. I made some kid cry the other day so she hugs him.

Yu Bum suk- did you say that you managed to get rid of your co-teacher once and get a new one?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Not at my school. I can count on one hand the number of times I've complained to a homeroom teacher about a student and something's always been done about it and it's always ended with the student apologising to me. It works both ways, too. I've had to work with a couple of rookies who had trouble with elements in certain classes that I subsequently went and told off.

What you're running into is what's known in the industry here as 'hogwan BS'.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Mr. BlackCat]

Each Korean teacher is different, of course. But in my experience the Koreans usually empathized with the kids more than me. On more than one occassion I had to explain my discipline strategies IN FRONT of my class to the Korean teacher or supervisor. Like I had to justify my actions. That would be alright in the staffroom afterwards, but not in front of them!

One time I had one of my kindy kids try to stab another with a pair of scissors. When I grabbed his hand, he punched me in the groin and kept hitting as I hunched over. I took him outside and very seriously explained to him what I thought of what he did. He wouldn't stop shouting so I took him to my supervisor and explained the situation. She brought him back in 5 mins after I finally settled down the class and told me that he said that I was lying and I was hitting him. She wanted an explaination. It took the kids in my class to convince her (in Korean) that I was trying to protect a little girl and was hurt myself. Then my boss finally left, but at the end of the day I had a meeting with her, my manager and my partner teacher about what I did wrong. No action was taken against the little angel, though. And this was not the first time he tried to hurt someone.

So, yeah, in sum, I agee with you. In general. I've had partner teachers who totally understand my perspective, too.

[jurassic82]

In my school the Korean teachers are completely useless. I have many classes where the students are completely disrespectful and you can't even get them to sit down. I have had students make direct attacks at me and have called me all sorts of dirty names in both English and Korean. I have had things stolen from me by students and also thrown at me. I have tried to get the director, secretary and other korean teachers to come in and try and help but when they have come in they usually say something in Korean the kids laugh and nothing is solved. I have come to the realization that a lot of these kids are just looking for attention. What I have done is completely ignored the kids that are acting bad and have taken the kids that are good and put them to the front of the room and taught them. I have given up on trying to discipline the kids because it takes up a majority of the class. Anyways best of luck to those out there with a similar situation.

[twg]

Korean teachers are the ones who take the heat for falling student numbers, not us. Unless, of course, the boss needs some reason to fire you, but that's a different topic.

Regardless, KTs tend not to come down heavily on the kids because they know the boss can replace them quickly, so they indulge the little darlings and keep the moms from knowing how they are in a classroom.

[skconqueror]

[twg]

aye

[laogaiguk]

[babtangee]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[seoulsista]

You would have resigned? Really? Every single day at work I have to battle the Korean staff and my boss to instill any discipline whatsoever on particular students.

It comes down to this. If my boss determines that a particular mother is a total B and will complain if her kid is at all disciplined than I become the bad guy and the kids a victim of my evil ploy to destroy her business.

If she knows that the mother doesn't care or is reasonable then I can feel free to discipline to a degree to be determined by whatever whim she's on that day.

If she is at all involved in me disciplining a student she will ask the other kids in the class if I am telling the truth. I never have anything to hide and I know I am doing what's best for the class.

But that's hagwons. Take em or leave 'em.

27 days and counting...

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[seoulsista]