Korean Job Discussion Forums

[moosehead]

ok, ok, I know some if not all of you have some students who show obvious signs of distress; withdrawn, obsessive/compulsive disorders, i.e., the eraser, mechanical pencils, picking at sores, constant fighting, etc.

(*note* I'm teaching in a private elem)

but then there's this kid - he's in 3rd grade elem; and I'm so sorry to say it's really clear he has serious problems. he shouts out "yes sir" to me when I scold him - which I have to do a lot because of his behavior and he will then snap up straight as if someone once insisted he do that - kind of military style. he'll do the same thing if I tell him to walk straight (as opposed to his exaggerated movements carrying a machine gun and shooting everyone). he's very big for his age, and overweight as well. He lived in the Phillippines for a while to study E but it certainly didn't help because his E is almost non-existent.

this class isn't very big and it's all the lowest level students but he is literally unable to participate at all. he mumbles/hums/talks to himself, moves around endlessly, shouts out spontaneously, plays w/himself, takes his shoes off even tho I tell him to put them back on.

he reacted very strongly my first day in his class and that's when I Iearned everyone (the K teachers) know about him - they said he always has problems with a new FT - wtf???

I gave up weeks ago on him learning anything - but lately I think his behavior is deteriorating. He seems just so out of control. probably he was seriously abused - he seems traumatized but I don't know of course.

I realize as a FT no one cares about my opinion for this child - but all the same I wish there was something someone could/would do for him.

Say what you will about the West but bottom line is there are agencies out there teachers can call to investigate such matters; people to contact, support and channels to follow.

I think it's truly pathetic that not only are children like this ignored for their obvious problems and just passed on to the next grade but that the K teachers act as if there's nothing wrong with it to do so. Maybe that's what gets me - the way no one seems bothered by this.

end of rant.

[Chamchiman]

I also have a few kids in my (public) elementary school who seem to have serious problems.

There's one boy who lives in his own little world. He's impossible to control. He stands up and leaves the class whenever he likes and heads out into the hallway to do whatever his imagination tells him to do. His latest thing is he carries a whistle, a small notebook and a yellow and red card. He strides up and down the hallway whistling down players who don't exist, shows them the card and books them. Then he places the imaginary ball down, backs off the guys forming the wall, and blows the whistle one more time for the free kick. He's got some serious problems, there's no doubt about it. From the little I know about autism I would guess that is a good place to start (from the unholy wailing noises and the self-flagellation).

Most of the teachers in my school are great, and seem to care about him. My CT and the homeroom teacher do their best to at least get him into the classroom and settled down, and nobody hits him. But the problem that we face is twofold:

1. There seem to be no procedures or support systems in place to deal with kids like these. In other countries, there are people to phone - they become involved and there's a, for lack of a better word an infrastructure that exists to help the teacher and bring in professionals. (Hell, in Korea even the principal and VP shrug their shoulders and say, "It's the teacher's problem." That's the problem with Korea's way of dealing with kids like this - the teacher is a glowing beacon of light who is wholly responsible for the child's education. What help could they possibly need?)

2. If there is no system in place to help the kid professionally, at the very least the family can be involved. But in many cases the family doesn't want to admit that anything is wrong!!! "Oh, he's just a normal kid." Everybody knows that the first step to solving a problem is recognizing and admitting that a problem exists in the first place. With a lot of these kids - and in the case of the 'referee' in my school - the parents just have their heads in the sand.

The difficult thing as a teacher (who is "handicapped" by the above two points) is not throwing up your hands and giving up when you are faced with a kid with obvious problems. The only thing I can think of doing is to continue to try to care, to keep talking to other teachers in my school about what we can do, and to gently suggest that more people become involved. Try to meet the parents. Talk to the VP. Push to have a meeting about the little soldier. It's better than saying %@#& it.

[kimchi_pizza]

Is that boy Philipino/Korean? I taught a student similiar to the one you described. Best advice I can offer is through my own personal experience when I had a child with what I THINK is highly functional autism.

First, I would just observe him closely. See exactly what his "quirks" were and what was setting'em off. Eventually I figured out most of them and their triggers and then started the online reading and research. I was amazed to find a type of autism that fit him perfectly.

I reported my findings and opinion to the administration but I don't think anything was ever done. I didn't give up and I just did what I could while I had him.

I didn't try to teach him at first but gain his trust very carefully since he was sensitive and given to emotional outbursts. I didn't correct any of his "oddities" unless it was really disruptive to the class. If he did do something that displeased me I never got angry but I would jokingly tease him about it (like completing homework assignments) and that worked wonders!
Another problem was classmates picking on him. I excused the student in question and explained to the class that there were to be patient, kind and understanding with him. If not...(enter look of intense anger and rage beaming from my eyes)

Eventually, he came around. Not completely but to the point he was accepted by classmates, rarely disruptive and he turned out to be a very intelligent, kind and wonderful child. I rather liked the challenge of teaching an autistic child.

The triggers were stress. Student's nervous, teacher gets nervous. Student then becomes more nervous, the teacher becomes more nervous, etc....get my point? It's an ever escalating and compounding of stress and misunderstanding between student, classmates and teacher.
So the best advice I can offer is remain calm, jovial and show endless amount of patience. Maybe turn it into some kind of puzzle to solve and learn from it.

BTW, some of his quirks were fantastic. The tape or CD for the language book? He would memorize it all! Not just the English but the beeps, buzzes, background noises, everything!
He would also look at a picture and draw it again in a larger scale in perfect exactness! A photocopier couldn't do a better job.
And my favorite is that when he was relaxed and having fun he had this expoding, booming laugh that was so sincere and surprising that it caused us all to laugh with him rather than at him.

By far one of my most rewarding and interesting teaching experiences.

[kimchi_pizza]

Oh yea, for the shoe thing...

Next time he takes his shoes off. Say in a rather loud voice, "Where are my shoes? I lost my shoes! Has anyone seen my shoes?" Start roaming around, looking under desks. Then spot his shoes and try to claim them for your own and make a show or game of it.
Heck, turn it into an English lesson if you want. Have one student step outside and take turns hiding the student's belonging and when he/she reenters he/she has to ask classmates, "Where is/are _____." classmates have to respond, "It is/they are under, near, next to, behind....."

[Bondrock]

that is wonderful advice offered by Kimchi-Pizza. well done!

Not so long ago Koreans hid the handicapped or worse, strangled the babies at birth. Before we get all righteous we need to consider that a few decades ago the same practice occurred in the west too. Change is slow, but positive change is always welcome.

the Korean classroom today is going through many changes, and integration of handicapped students is an ongoing problem for teachers and students. sure, Korea needs more experts and needs more funding for teacher's aids and counsellors, but those things will eventually happen at a larger scale than now.

to sum up, the current system is a big leap forward from the near-past where anyone slightly different was locked in the wood shed or put to death.

[tashi]

Moosehead, I feel your pain. I have had many students with these kinds of problems. I keep my classes pretty light and usually have a lot of fun, but there are some prone to extremes... my problem has been that a lot of emotional disorders are not recognized in Korea, and you're right, their isn't a lot of outreach. In addition, a lot of foreign teachers here, although they may be great at teaching, don't have a bachelor's in Education, where we would have learned about different disorders and how to diagnose them. A lot of teachers describe children who could be dyslexic or have ADHD... and even if we're sure there's nothing you can do.

I think kimchi pizza makes some good points, and in addition I would suggest that you calmly explain to a director that this child is a distraction to others. In most cases, I've at least gotten parents called, but the response you will most likely get is "He's stressed." Which is also true, these kids are put under a lot of pressure with not a lot of avenues to take it out on... save for computer games, and of course, their lovely foreign teachers.

BTW I used to have a student that did that "Yes, sir," stuff, and I respond "Yes, ma'am." He stopped.

[Seoul'n'Corea]

[Xuanzang]

I have this one kid who throws things, stands up on chairs, rips the plastic tarp on the tables and brings galbi bones in from the playground. He says sorry for all his misdeeds but it`s one of those false "sociopathic" kinds of sorries. Before, he was drawing pictures of dead people and writing "kill, kill". I`ve heard he might just be acting out because his parents had a new baby but I think he has some sort of mental disorder.

[moosehead]

[moosehead]

[Xuanzang]

Until they begin to recognize mental illness in children as a real problem...we`re stuck.

[Join Me]

For a while, I was teaching an autistic girl at the hawgwan I work at. She was ten and they put her in with some girls that were six. The mother mainly wanted her there for the opportunity to socialize with other kids and at first I thought that it was a great idea. The girl was really smart and learned everything I taught her the first time but when you looked into her eyes all you got back was a cold empty stare. Unfortunately, after a while she started to have days where she would just freak out in class and start screaming.

As you can imagine, this scared the hell out of the other four little sheltered Korean princesses in the class. After about the third time, I finally had to pull the plug on the idea and send her home. I told the owner I was not qualified to deal with a kid that had serious disabilities and I didn't want to be put in a situation where I could be potentially liable if she injured another student while I was facing the white board and not paying attention to her. The owner agreed with me totally...he saw one of the fits and I think he quickly decided she was not good for business. I felt like crap when we explained it to the mother, but in all honesty some spoiled Korean kids who don't have problems are difficult enough to manage.

[GreenlightmeansGO]

Aren't there any systems in place that could help out or have a chat to the family? Anyone know of anything like that?