Korean Job Discussion Forums

[questionmark]

Sometimes students with mental problems show up in my adult conversation classes.

How do you adjust your teachng when this happens?

[nukeday]

Sorry you sound kind of trollish. How about you tell us about your experiences first and how you handled it? This actually is a legitimate issue, but, you know.

[Milwaukiedave]

I have had some students with severe learning disabilities who were made to take my class when I taught in an elementary school a few years ago. The student that comes to mind had a behavioral issue and was one of those that very much stuck out in terms of his problems. I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but the poor kid did need some kind of help. My guess is that things were pretty bad at home and that could have had something to do with his problems. Any kind of disability here is treated differently then it is in your country and still has a stigma attached to it.

While I've taught all ages in Korea, for the last few years I've been teaching at a university. This term I have a student who clearly has some issues that go beyond just believing he's a lazy student. I saw him in class after the midterm and he had ink lines down his arm and I asked him about them. He told me he drew on his arm with an ink pen. I told him he shouldn't do that. Also he can't pay attention in class and seems to be living in another world. After his midterm, I could pretty much tell he was going to fail the class. Now I'm waiting to see if the university notifies me after the term (I've been told this happens) and tells me to just give him a C.

[questionmark]

My frustration is with hagwons that admit students in severe need of therapy who shouldn't be in the classroom.

Everytime I've tried to discuss students with my program managers, I've been ignored. It's a disservice to the student in need of counseling and to the other students who are serious about learning.

[ThingsComeAround]

That's hagwon life,

Money first

put the student in the back with some crayons. Nothing else you can do.

[Goon-Yang]

[curiousaboutkorea]

[NYC_Gal]

I've gotten a couple of my troubled students interested in English. One has (what I believe to be) ADD, and, while a tad disruptive, he volunteers now that I've given him tasks that he needs to do every time we have class. He feels special, and it uses up some of that energy.

I had a student last year that was allowed (per my coteacher) to sit at the back with his head down. After walking back to him and opening his book with a smile and passing by him multiple times per class, pointing and reading to him, he started trying. A few words here and there made him proud to try, and me proud of him for trying.

My autistic student was a handful though. I do wish there would be special programs at the public schools, and less of the shame involved. There's nothing shameful about having a special needs child. There's a lot to be shameful for when said special needs child doesn't get the help he/she needs.

[questionmark]

bump

[questionmark]

[quote="NYC_Gal"]I've gotten a couple of my troubled students interested in English. One has (what I believe to be) ADD, and, while a tad disruptive, he volunteers now that I've given him tasks that he needs to do every time we have class. He feels special, and it uses up some of that energy.quote]

That was a really rewarding story.

I've had mixed results with my adult students. With the emotionally troubled students, I'm constantly "patting them on the back" to bring them out of their shells. I had one student tell everyone on our 1st night of class that he was depressed, continued to attend but would refuse to participate. I connected him with a counselor at a crisis hotline and saw him change over the month, from openly hosttile to warm and friendly.

There was one student, I hate to say, I wished would just not show up. He would come to class after drinking and would start to fall alseep in mid-sentence or sit in class with pieces of tissue all over his face after trying to stop perspiring...and I had middle school students in my class whose parents put them there on their school break.