Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bobbybigfoot]

Tonight, I'll admit it, I let one kid get to me.

Last week, after class and outside while going home, this girl says to me "Goodbye Talmo" (Talmo means bald). I wasn't sure exactly who the kid was (she's from a brand new class of mine) but I just looked at her in disbelief and shook my head. Then this week in class, the same kid calls me talmo again. I confronted her and she tried to weasel her way out of it. No, I said, "Chalmo" (or something like that). She kept a silly grin on her face and new exactly why I was mad. I got no apology from her, and not even a look of remorse. It's all a big joke to insult the waygookin.

I chose to go get my coteacher but she wasn't around. I left her a note asking her to speak with the girl and to send a message to the girl's mother.

How would you have handled the situation? For the record, I have most of my hair but I'm thinning on my crown (and yeah it bugs me). Is this a case of me being too sensitive? Is it natural for kids to shoot out insults and it's the teacher's responsibility to suck it up?

Should waygookins try to teach these kids some manners, or should we just shrug it off and realize that what we think and say is largely irrelevant in this country.

Feedback appreciated.

Bobbybigfoot

[sharkey]

Feedback: grow up they're kids and they do stupid and ignorant things.. get some confidence.

[waynehead]

That's kind of borderline, but I guess I'd go with it's not serious enough to get worked up over. It might have even been affectionate.

Obviously curse words and obvious disrespect shouldn't be tolerated.

[Cohiba]

Firstly, I think this should go in the job category, but what the hell, the
quality of posts lately has really been scraping the bottom of the barrel
anyway.

Get a grip dude. Grab the kid by the front of his shirt when nobody is
looking and scare the shit out of him/her. Or, detain her after class and
yell at her, so that the other kids can hear. Put fear in the little freaks.

Your biggest mistake is being their friend. They are NOT your friends.
Familiarity breads contempt. They will push for every centimeter.

[bobbybigfoot]

[bobbybigfoot]

[John_ESL_White]

Honestly, you're going overboard on this.

It's a no-brainer. You are teaching children.

When my kids say, "teacher ugly", I smile and say, "thank you, yes, your teacher is ugly".

"teacher fat", "yes, I am fat".

"teacher, no hair", "yes. I am losing my hair, thank you".

They are the children. If you let some comment like "bald" get to you.... you'll lose control faster than a hagwon owner can steal your money.

BUT, when they use the terrible korean curse words... you know the ones... then you get a korean teacher to intervene and talk to them....

but the bald thing? come on mate, you are balding. so what if they say it? They're Korean so they're only allowed to tell the truth while they are children. Let them be children for awhile....

[bobbybigfoot]

[nomad-ish]

i usually smile in a you're-a-bit-crazy way if i get any rude comments and just say uh huh or okaaaaay. probably not the best way to handle it, but the offending kid soon realizes their comment isn't getting the desired effect or possibly thinks their english is bad enough that i don't understand, and gives up (meanwhile they look stupid to their friends).

don't take it too seriously, kids do these things, it's nothing to do with you

[xCustomx]

[Kimbop]

[bobbybigfoot]

[John_ESL_White]

[curiousaboutkorea]

I for one, think your concern is legitimate.

Here's what I think, no, you shouldn't take it personally, this stuff is bound to happen with kids.

BUT, you should take it seriously. That is, make the kid realize what she did was wrong and make her apologize. She needs to learn it isn't ok.

I had a somewhat similar situation today. I had my class of 7 year olds (Korean age). At teh end of class I had them line up at the door. One kid pushed another rather violently into the door, for reasons which I don't know, but it was obvious he was starting it.

I get in front of the kid (the pusher) to confront him and to apologize to the other student. He ignores me. At that point I raise my voice to get his attention and to establish I'm being serious. He begins to laugh (along with other students). I put the angry look on my face, glare at him, and raise my voice more. He starts laughing harder.

I lead the class out of the room (the kid who was pushed was ok, but a I guess his eye kinda hurt). I tell one of the Korean teachers what happened (I don't have co-teachers). That is techincally what us foreign teachers at my school, like many others, are supposed to do if a student needs to be punished. She said she'll take care of it. 5 minutes later the kids comes in to my room timidly, head hanging low, and apologizes to me.

What have I learned? The kids respect the Korean teachers, but not so much the foreign ones. I've had other situations where my class gets loud or rambunctious and a Korean teacher sticks her head in, shouts in Korean for a few seconds, and the kids start behaving perfectly.

Why is there this disparity in respect for foreign teachers vs. Korean teachers. Just a guess, but I think it has something to do with the whole waygookin/lesser foreigner/racism/xenophobia that's pervasive in this country.

[Goku]

I understand you OP.

A group of kids called me "makeup" today... I guess that refers to my naturally oily skin, rofl who knows what they are thinking. A group of boys though, so it didn't really bother me.

I didn't get mad or show them anything, but their sheer disregard for elders and teachers is one of the worst social problems I think modern society suffers from (Korea or America... more specifically Korea though).

That kind of disrespect is uncalled for. No one should openly disrespect another person and not suffer consequences. You are trying to help these kids with a better future and if they choose to treat you like a joke, then their parents definitely went wrong somewhere.