Korean Job Discussion Forums

shawner88 · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

Do what I do...give them really hard word search puzzles. They are quiet when they do those. They love them. You can get them anywhere online. If you can't copy them at your hagwon, it'd be worth it to pay for copies. If they finish early, make them copy the words into their notebooks.back of the handout several times.

Also, are you in shape? I have far more conrol now than when I was skinny a few years ago.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

I smoke 20 a day, and my only excercise is climbing the stairs...I see your point there shawner..Its all going to change..

Whoever suggested it, I'm finding that making a line on their hands with a marker is a remarkably quick and effective way to shut them up...it drives them nuts and theres no way it can be called abuse in any way, so long as its not on the face...

shawner88 · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

Nice fixup on the photoshop...looks better!

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

Today, I had a kid that came into my class late... started talking to another student, so I told him to keep quiet and repeat the lessons after me. Then he just stopped talking and refused to participate completely. I made the little bugger write the twelve months of the year 100 times each and my director supported me... she wouldn't let him take the bus home till he finished.

It felt real good...

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Progress report (or lack therof)...:

*I instituted ajumas idea of a qeueing system at the end, so they have to at least read something and file out in a n orderly fashion, best behaved first.. Good.
*I had them at my mercy for the past week by writing on their hands with a marker as punishment: but now the supervisor has asked me to stop as she's afraid of getting outraged calls from the parents (The waeguk teacher is graffitying my little johnny's hadns). I asked her for an alternative: she once again suggests calling her when things get out of hand.. but I don't like that idea as it sheds any shred of authority I have onto her...
* Shouting: i'm already at top volume- I refuse to stress my vocal chords anymore:

Thanks for your suggestions guys- but throwing them out, wordsearch puzzles etc are not allowed at my hagwon..

The conclusion I draw is all too familiar for us hagwon teachers: Foreign teachers are given no authority to discipline kids. They can behave as exactly they like and there's not a dam thing you can do about it. Parents (ie paying customers) get upset if their little darling is punished to any degree, so thats out...

the way forward? i guess I'll have to focus on making the lessons pure fun, and forget about enforced learning and class control...It'll be games the whole way interspersed with occasional requests for them to read something..
Hell, I wish I had gone to hagwon in Korea, these kids have it good!!

Thomas · Joined: 25 Mar 2003

Gollum · Joined: 04 Sep 2003 Location: Japan

Gollum · Joined: 04 Sep 2003 Location: Japan

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Gollum: she is japanese but not my gf, just my no. 1 fan...

re: the class: I've done what i always have whenever a similar no-win conflict situation has arisen with a class...taken a step back, looked at the facts of my situation, and had a rethink... I can't force them to do something they all hate to do: I can't control them like an army: I have no tools to enforce disciplined learning...
Today i just walked in calmly..laid on a lot more activities, never raised my voice once; explained to them that we had to do certain readings.. they did them, and we continued playing games etc. i suppose I'm trying to take an interest in and connect with them a bit...my role is not teacher now... more, "enabler' or "older brother' ... So far it seems to have transformed them from a circus of animals into a much calmer group..
But hey, you never know how they'llbe the next time..
Cheers.

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

I found an effective punishment be to give the kid such a hard test that they don't even know where to begin... they'll cry and keep their head down the entire class. Then when you give them a 0, they run out of the room crying...

I'm concerned that I consider an effective day of teaching a day in which I make at least 3 kids cry...

kangnamdragon · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Ryleeys: re "making 3 kids cry per day". yeah, I've been there.. but its a phase i thankfully moved out of, into a more positive interraction with the kids...
There comes a basic realisation with certain classes; you cannot win with them. You can't force and drag them against their will: you cannot hurt, punish or humiliate them. Don't know about you but i don't remember ever having a teacher at school who's sole aim was to embarrass or humiliate me.

In my opinion its all a lot easier if you give them positive options, if you take an interest in them, form some sort of rapport. Where i fell down with this class was that I just couldn't be bothered to do any of the above, i guess they sensed my disinterest in them, and my fascist dictatorial style of force feeding them old and tired passages parrot fashion, just because it is the syllabus.
Its all about connecting with the kids and keeping them happy- far more than about ramming them full of a language that is still irrelevant to them.

sadsac · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Gwangwang

Ya-ta Boy gave some excellent advice regarding the token system, to take it one step further than a movie, offer pizza as the reward. It is a difficult situation, when there is a core group of offenders. I use the one in all in principle of punishment. One member of the class transgresses, they are all punished. I use writing as a form of punishment. Twenty five words for each letter of the alphabet. I want punishment to be a learning process as well. Other students soon pull the offender/s in line. Use the other students to police the actions of the class. Good luck. Very Happy

sharhim · Joined: 13 Feb 2004

I'll tell you what really helped my worst class.

I put the kid's name on the board and after 3 marks, he's got to stay 5 minutes or so longer than the rest of the class. Now they absolutely, positively hate that.

Of course, one draw back is that they'll hate you...but atleast for a few days, peace.

Ahh, the middle-schoolers; thank God I've been delivered.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Thanks for suggestions..I use the "keeping them behind late" one sometimes, but I'm usually loathe to waste my time doing this cos I've got better things to be doing.

the class seems to be chilling out a lot now. basically I've cut the monotonous rote learning to a minimum, and instituted more games and humor- so long as we get through the basics of the syllabus, I don't care if they play games the rest of the time. Although many koreans decry the idea of games as being useful, I'm finding they're actually trying to speak to me in english now that they're having fun...

The usual problem is that you have to follow Korean management ideas on teaching, which are largely dictatorial rote-learning...however I suppose I'm glad to have a pre-planned syllabus to lean on without even thinking- cos i remember the days when I had to plan all my lessons myself. Ah well, advantages and disadvantages to everything I guess.