Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chaz47]

I'm only in my second semester of uni teaching here and so far I've encountered two students that haven't bothered to come to class.

The one in the first semester had a semi-legitimate excuse, an internship, but made no effort to take the final or the midterm. The one time he tried to meet with me he was late and I couldn't see him because I had another class.

(Because he felt that I had snubbed him I later found some small pencil scrawl denouncing me in bad English outside my door.)

I never saw or heard from him again until I entered grades. Since he had never attended class or taken either exam or made more than the slightest effort to contact me, I gave him an "F". Apparently this simply enraged him and he harassed our department's Korean assistant into the wee hours of the night several times during the summer holiday until she begged me to relent and give him a "D".

This semester, again, some fool couldn't have been bothered to attend class. Not once. And, has had no internship. Apparently Starcraft and soju with the boys are too important. I've been told by the department's assistant that it is "Korean style" to give him a "D" because he asked for one. I'm sure that she is just hoping that her holiday will be smoother from the get go this time.

All I can is wtf... really?! Come on!!



Anybody else encounter this?

[sharkey]

starcraft guy is pwnin' your face... just lay back and continue to take it... who cares, do you really care that he passes the course? i wouldnt give a crap, especically at a university level, id be glad just to be there mingling with all the korean ladiesssss

[hellofaniceguy]

Correct me if I am wrong...but students earn their grades, Yes? They are not given by teachers.

[chaz47]

[jinks]

I care. as a foreign teacher, I'm treated like shit by Korean immigration every time I want to change jobs. My degree is 'suspect' and I have to apply - and pay - for sealed transcripts just to prove that the degrees in my resume are legitimate. This is despite the fact that I have been in immigration's system for quite some time and I haven't changed my degree since I've been here.
In short, my degree is REAL and the degrees dished out at Korean universities are a joke. Yet immigration regard foreign degrees as suspect, even ones they have previously validated with sealed transcripts. To be honest, it offends me to record passing grades (or higher) for students who have never opened a book or attended class. I don't do it, because it makes a mockery of academic integrity. There is pressure on me to pass total drop-kicks, and I have buckled before (when I was new to the Korean university system), but I've wised-up these days, and any student on my roll who has not made an appearance in class is reported to the English department as missing in action, and I don't let go until the student appears. If s/he has a job, then I am clear about that student's obligations according to our university's policy (attend till mid-term and aggregate thereafter). Student's who don't meet these requirements dont get a gentleman's D. Students from other departments (not English) get the same treatment via the office assistant contacting their professors.
Many of my colleagues just let it go - they don't need the hassle, but my genetic code just won't let me drop it and dish out passes like candy. I think it is because as a foreign teacher many students think my standing is not quite up to much, yet my academic integrity wipes the floor with a lot of high ranking Korean educators and administrators.
Sorry everyone, rant over (unless someone flames me).

[ajgeddes]

At our school, students get an automatic fail if they miss either the mid-term or the final.

[Xuanzang]

I worked at a college before and was told no one could fail my course even for not showing up. I had to rechange grades close to Christmas and that was a giant pain in my butt. I`m just glad the rest of the world laughs at the value of Korean degrees.

[chaz47]

[bassexpander]

We have a "no more than 4 absent" days policy. If they're absent 5 times, it's an automatic F. I have expanded on this rule, and tell them that 2 late marks equal 1 absent mark. Also, if they miss a total of 7 classes for any reason -- excused or not -- they will fail the course. I require doctors excuses, usually authorized by our front desk. Sometimes our front desk isn't interested in doing this, so I use my discretion.

Generally, I don't have problems. I try to warn students who are in danger of flunking due to too many absent/late marks. I do it in front of the class. They know I keep track.

If they miss a midterm or a final, they're going to get an F based on points, anyway.

I also keep all of their grades on a spreadsheet. This proves very useful when they try to beg me for a higher grade. I can show them exactly why they don't deserve it (although I do sometimes bend for a student who tried really hard in class and spoke a lot).

[jlb]

Ditto with the spreadsheet thing. I just hand it in to the department assistant at the end of the semester and have never been hassled during my vacation about grades. The big blank spots where everyone else has marks speak for themselves I think.

[jellobean]

I think the take on this depends on what type of school you are at.

When I worked at a college, I was asked to pass most of the students who showed up. If they missed more than 12 hours they were an automatic fail. They let me give one or two Fs per class (like the disrespectful kid who slept through class and cheated on the final), but I always got them okayed by the major department first to save myself the headache of being bothered later. I did pass one senior student with an internship who didn't come to class, but she showed up for the exams (failed them miserably) and had the best project in the class. The project was actually directly applicable to her work so I thought that was enough to give her a D.

Now that I am at a university, I'm not so nice. Our policy is 12 hours missed is a fail and there are no exceptions. Those that show need to pass the exam. I've refused seniors the gentleman's "D" and the office assistant doesn't bug us. I did accidentally fail a kid once who should have had a "D", so one of my colleagues gave him the gentleman's "D" the following semester, but he had actually earned in in my class. Then again, as much as I can be a hard a** about failing folks, I've also given a senior who worked really hard (some kids really don't have language ability) a 1% freebie boost so he could have a "C" rather than a "D" as he went out to look for jobs.

[chaz47]

So you guys fail seniors? I'm told that I can ask them to do a bs assignment and this is supposed to make me feel better. But again, the "official" policy is...F.

[jellobean]

[bassexpander]

I only teach one or two classes a semester with Seniors. Most of my courses are Freshman English. I have had to fail just two Seniors, but they were not graduating that semester.

[NoExplode]

Excused absences are permitted at my Uni. Thus, I've had students that have not attend a single class but send me emails with various excuses get no point deductions and only turn up for exams.

Fine by me. Over-sized classes are manageable now. Any good University does the same. If the student is bright enough to read the book on their own, get the notes from a classmate, more power to him or her.

We're not running a day care center.

The only classes that required attendance when I was attending Michigan were lab classes where the grade was the actual lab work, like cutting up a cat in bio class.