Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yeramian]

Are the kids in the Hogwan's impossible to control? I've worked with some Korean kids here in Oregon and found them quite challenging. These are children from fairly wealthy families (Hynix Executives) and I wondered if the kids in the country side were easier, or if a certain age group is best? How are you managing with classroom discipline?

[captain kirk]

Ah, an opportunity to vent!
Worst is the daughter of one of the sisters of the boss. She gives even her mother a hard time! Mother and daughter have some kind of communication gap, or something? So she's a terror, the daughter. Attempting to rule class like a teen princess Kong, haha. I've had many a glaring face-off riveting class attention upon our turning the screws on each other!
The 'bad students' end up in 'ghetto classes', it seems. And in those classes are three or four students who's energy is so fierce I don't think they themselves can control it. They can't control themselves. They want it all every moment. It's impressive, awesome. It may be that their parents don't discipline them. But it also seems these 'bad students' are full of intense energy. Look in their eyes and you see it.
Then there are the middle school 'bad students' who are blase and sharp with the stinging cuts. They seem to want to punish authority.
But, for the most part, looking on the good side it's all good. Try it. Look at the day and how much of it goes well, the kids cheerfully co-operating within the ropes, as if in harness, like functioning ponies.

[jajdude]

Some are hard to manage. Often it is due to their lack of English, your lack of Korean and the fact that you as a foreigner are not taken seriously, and neither is the hagwon. Kids know they can get away with stuff and they know it isn't important to focus on English which they don't want to study.

But some kids are nice. Usually they already know some English so you can sort of be their buddies and joke around with them. Then the occasional time you get angry they will actually respect that.

Lots of factors. School program? Discipline rules? Good relationship between you and the kids... and what kind of kids they are and how much they can actually understand you and relate to English in any way.