Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yingwenlaoshi]

Seriously, I can't get over this. My elementary students, from grade 4 to 6 are drinking ice coffee provided for a mere 1000 Won in those big plastic cups. It's from those bags with nozzles. They even have the counter full of cups with ice waiting for them before classes start at around 4 o'clock. I believe it's ice cappucino.

Maybe I'm being a prude, but I don't think kids, at least of that age, should be allowed to drink caffeine. I dunno. Plus it gets them to the point, too often, where they kind of get all quirky and out of control on the high they get from it.

I give them a hard time about it. Enough so that they don't drink it in my class anymore. I don't want to see little runts drink coffee and they act like fools.

And don't let me get started about the floor being designated a garbage can all over the hagwon. WTF is that?

[cdninkorea]

Provided the caffeine content is roughly the same, I don't see it as any different than kids drinking Coca Cola.

[yingwenlaoshi]

[yingwenlaoshi]

Coffee has twice to about four times more caffeine than Coke.

[semi-fly]

How then do you expect the children to stay awake (not necessarily meaning in your class) when they are up at the crack of dawn and don't see a warm comfortable bed until 10 or later (as I assume most students these days are going to school from morning until night).

But yes, I agree children (of any age) shouldn't be allowed to drink coffee.

[xeno439]

My hagwon provides free instant coffee (presumably for the staff and visiting parents) that students frequently enjoy. The just walk over and make their own coffee or tea as if its the most normal thing in the world. They are about 12-13 years old.

[maeil]

If you read the little instant coffee stick, you'll find that it's usually only about 13.3% coffee. The rest is cream and sugar. So, if they're drinking it from one of those little dixie cups, they're having about four or five ounces of a drink that is 13.3% coffee.

A 6-ounce cup of instant coffee has about 70mg of caffeine in it. Even if we overestimate a bit and say they're drinking 6 ounces of a drink that usually has 100mg of caffeine per 6 oz, they're really only getting 13mg of caffeine. 12 oz of Coke has about 35mg of caffeine, or 17.5mg of caffeine per six ounces.

I realize these calculations aren't perfect and that instant coffees vary, but I listed the numbers just to show that really, the 'coffee' we see people drinking from machines and little sticks has very little caffeine in it. I think it just raises a gut reaction in many people: "Kids? Drinking coffee? It'll stunt your growth!" Trust me, they're getting a lot worse from sugary snacks and soda and other things they're consuming. In fact, it's the sugar and fat content I'd worry about in instant coffee here, not the caffeine.

[ardis]

Er, you realize that they do this in the US, too, right? If you do, that's cool, but it's pretty annoying to see teachers here whine about something that they think is unique to Korea when it's just that they've never really worked with kids in their home countries. At my camps in the US, Starbucks was ridiculously popular. "What did you do after camp yesterday?" "I went to Starbucks with my mom/sister/babysitter and had a caramel latte!!!" Ugh. These kids were around 8 or 9. The middle school kids I taught brought theirs to school in their lunch boxes.

[CentralCali]

Heck, coffee and tea are in all kinds of stuff in Korea. When I need to buy a cake, I have to quiz the baker to ensure there's no coffee or tea in the thing. Go to a grocery store and check out the boxed cereals on offer. You will find at least two different kinds with tea in it! There are even ramen noodles with tea.

Koreans are concerend about healthy eating? Yeah, right.

[Milwaukiedave]

When I taught in elementary school a couple of years ago, there were two or three students that drank coffee. I tried to explain to them if they drink coffee they will remain short. It didn't work. After a couple of times I just gave up and figured let them do whatever they want within reason.