Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Snowkr]

I don't deal with this issue at my hogwon but many of my friends do. It makes all the difference when the boss or owner will back you up.

I have a class of upper elementary/early middle schoolers this afternoon and they give me the most grief as far as disrespect. Their behavior is mild though in comparison to what the OP deals with.
Our school implements a NO KOREAN policy at ALL times. Speaking Korean gets them sent home with between 100 and 500 lines to write that their parents must sign before they can come back.

It also helps when the parents back you up as well. Thank goodness mine do.

I've been dissed in a foreign country before too though. In China, I had a group of 14 yr old boys call me a BI$%% in mandarin and say they wanted to rape me. When I found out and reported the behavior, my boss did nothing. I refused to teach the class and then shortly after, I left the school. You don't have to put up with it but how you deal with it is up to you. Sometimes a contract and money just isn't worth it, but that's my opinion.

As for Americans being rejected from certain places, I've never experienced anything of the kind, but I know the military here have been so scathing and obnoxious that many business owners don't want them around. Can't say I blame them to be honest... it's a downfall of being from the land of the arrogant. Oh well, we can't change where we come from, can we?

[cdninkorea]

[periwinkle]

[periwinkle]

[oldfatfarang]

Sadly, there is a very strong current of rascism in Korea. I'm not American or Candadian, but I have had the "No Foreigners" (and arms crossed) barring me from bars and restaurants in my small city.

With the kids. It's pretty simple. Use the "Death Stare" and the majic word: "PARENTS". All Korean kids know what will happen if the school or teacher rings their 'PARENTS". They are sure as hell going to be beaten.

When I have a new class, I get all the kids' names, and get them to write their parents' names and telephone numbers on a sheet. They know why. We've never had to ring parents since I started getting the kids doing this.

[seoulshock]

have u taught in the US... specifically los angeles?

try teaching in the LA unified school district.

try getting sugar put in your gas tank.

or finding your tires popped.

or being threatened by students... whether it's threatened to be stabbed, shot, or just a "watch yo mothaf***ckin back"

or having a chair thrown at you by a student.

or find your family photos on your desk ruined with markers.

or having a laser pointer pointed at your head while you're clueless and go on lecturing wondering why all the students are smiling at you.

...oh wait, im sorry... i forgot, what is it your students do to disrespect you?


...by the way, the worst is not being threatened to be shot or having to get my car repaired... it was having the goddamn laser pointed at me. how humiliating. and can you believe it... it was an american born kyopo that did it. the rest of the class was black and latino. i think that stunt he pulled made him very popular with them.

[ScottyG]

funny how its so hit and miss with groups of kids and how they treat you. just when you think "hey....i must be a good teacher by now or something....i havent had a ddung shim in ages" you get a ddung shim.

if you want respect, you should really plan on a public school next time around. a tie, dress shoes, and a generally more professional environment sets the tone. the fear of god is already in them and all you have to do is remind them of it from time to time. in a hakwon, its 'the fear of parents' that rules the roost, and it most of this fear isn't in the kids, its in your good old boss who hogs the wan.

[Homer]

I taught highschool in Canada for a couple of years. Believe me, you don't have it that bad.

What you have is students being unruly and rude...it is all about you projecting respect and letting them know where the line is. It takes time to learn how to do that effectively as a teacher.

[SPINOZA]

I'm the first foreigner at my public middle school and generally the kids are very pleasant. I have one totally unruly class but that's because they're a bit of a babbo class and also co-teacher is to blame for being very soft and timid.

I have only two issues with manners/foreigner issues:

1. Occasionally, a kid will say anyong to me. As we all know, anyong is said (a) by kids to kids, (b) by adults to kids, and by older adults to younger adults, (c) friend-to-friend (all ages). None of those situations are applicable as this is kid-to-adult foreign teacher. Kids must never, ever say anyong to me because I'm not a kid and not their friend. Well, some of my students I know and like sufficiently well to describe as friends, but I'm not referring to them. Say hi, hello or anyong ha se yo to me. Doesn't happen often, mind, but when it does I will either ignore them or tell them off. The main problem here is that idiot Korean teachers tell kids that hi/hello = anyong. I know this because some kids will say "hi, hello, anyong". They do not equal anyong.

2. Kids increasingly don't bow and say anyong ha se yo as they do heartily to Korean teachers. Many do, but many don't. The problem here, I feel, is that Koreans teach kids that we in the West simply do not bow like they do, thus it's unnecessary to bow. We wave and say hi/hello. Kids, because they're kids and they don't think about these boring things, are not thinking "foreigner = unworthy of a bow/can treat foreigner with substandard manners". Usually they're doing what they've been taught.

Other than the above, which can be explained away, I don't beat myself up about this. I'm liked and I enjoy my job and like the kids very much in return. Full-on Korean respect isn't necessary to my being really.

[ella]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Vollrath]

my $0.02:

1. kids spend their lives living in a stifling social heirarchy. allowing them a bit of "goof off" time and the chance to speak banmal and joke around with an adult is healthy in my opinion (to a degree)..

2. the sitting position against a wall for 2 minutes shuts them up if they take the leniency too far. it also instills (instils? how do you spell it anyway?) fear in the rest of them and doesn't involve the kids leaving the classroom.

can a get a "dari appeo"?? assa!!

that's been working like a charm for me for a while now. works with EVERY class, too, which is rare....

[ella]

Sitting facing the wall, like a time-out?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[some waygug-in]

I've found it takes time to develop a relationship with the students. When I first arrive, the kids are all curious and sort of polite. That stage lasts about 2 days. Then they try to push me and see how far they can go.

It takes about 3 months to get to where you can actually work with some of them, some classes it takes about 6 months to reach that stage.

Some groups I have....well, I'm still hopeful.

Most of the kids are OK, but there's always 1 or 2 little jerks who crave attention and can get the whole class in an uproar.

It's hard to know what to do at times because what works for one group may not work for the next.

Keep them busy, use games as a reward for good behavior.

Keep your cool. (easy to say, not so easy to do)