Korean Job Discussion Forums

[HANGRY]

I teach high school. I keep getting goaded by this one skinny little kid with a bright future as a gas attendant or a quick service driver, so he just goes to school to start something. Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with him so that I don't punch him in the face and get sued/jailed/deported?

[thegadfly]

...be the adult, instead of another kid in the class?

I get that kids are annoying sometimes, but really, this is a high school kid, and you are going to let him control your behavior?

Imagine that this student with "a bright future as a gas attendant" commits suicide later this year over his test scores. Would you still want to "punch him in the face" now? If not, then maybe you have found a little sympathy -- hold on to that sympathy, and use it to deflect your angry feelings now....

Or come to a message board and vent about wanting to hit the kid, I suppose.

I guess "How do I not punch a kid" sounds different to me than "I have a kid I just want to punch." The former sounds pretty dangerous, while the latter is just venting (imo).

[sadguy]

what does he do that annoys you so much?

[Tallgesse]

Wait...We aren't allowed to punch minors in the face? Welp...Thats it for me. Not going to Korea.

[koreatimes]

A few options:

1. Try to include him in the class.

2. When that fails, see if anyone is his friend or people who are on your side who can police him. He might behave better if he knows his friends don't want him to misbehave, but also he may not want to cause problems if it might come back on his friends. Seems like this could be a likely case. Does it seem like he is acting out to win friendship? If he is the one laughed at then he is a wanted person amongst his peers because they don't want to be called on and potentially laughed at. He's their Jesus.

3. If he is simply ignoring warnings or challenges you a lot, kick him out of class and continue with the rest after asking the class, "Anyone want to join him?"

4. Then mention what you did to your school if it happens frequently. Since April, I have never had a problem whenever I kicked a student out (I think it was 2 or 3 instances). Their behavior changes when they see that they are not with their group.

[jrwhite82]

Getting upset in front of him will just make it worse.

Here is a plan I used when I taught in America on how to deal with bullies.

HA HA SO.

Help - Get help from friends or an adult.
Assert - Make it clear you do not appreciate his behavior towards you.

Humor - The bully wants to make you upset. Instead, counter his attack with a playful joke of your own. Or say something ridiculous that makes him wonder what you're talking about.

Avoid - Stay away from him whenever possible.

Self-Talk - When he is bothering you, think happy thoughts about yourself in your head.

Ownership - Jokingly agree with what he said and don't be ashamed of it.

[rayray123]

What's he doing? Find out who his home room teacher is and have your co teacher help to tell him what a problem the kid is. I never had to do that, but the homeroom teachers seemed to be the ones to tell.

I hope you're joking about punching him. No matter what happens, if you punch him, things will end badly for you. I had the occasional physical violence fantasy at my school. I worked at a technical HS, many of the kids did not behave very well, but it was rarely directed at me to try to provoke me. When they did and a few times it really bothered me I never let them know they had any effect on me. I'm not going to let some teenage punk can provoke me. If they were disrupting class that was another matter. Push ups worked well sometimes.

[Squire]

Shouting in an aggressive manner works for me because I very rarely do it

[shifty]

You could do this, though it has its risks.

Do fortune telling by means of palm reading. First explain what the lines on the hand mean, ie lifeline, love and money.

Then with all the good students, usually girls, the plain janes get to have 3 children. Don't say 4, since that damages credibility in that K's have small families. Pretty girls marry pop stars etc. Or ones in between have very long lives, say 95.

As you get to less-well behaved students, there are illnesses that are recovered from in midlife, the loss of a leg.

The brats get to be ridden flat by a bus at age 23. Or get twice divorced. Or a lingering cancer. Or get to live in an asylum. Do them at the end when your credibility is riding a high.

Look up the word asylum in the dictionary and get one of the good girls to read it out loud in K to the class. The whole class laughs except the one its aimed at.

As I say, the risk is that you may be carpeted, since it is the absent parents of the badly behaved students that are quickest to complain.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Stan Rogers]

Teaching is not for everyone.

If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

[ChopChaeJoe]

what a disgusting question. Some people should not be around children.

[creeper1]

Shifty that's just mean and nasty. YOu got some serious bad karma coming your way if you do something like that.

OP - I don't know what to say. Sometimes this job just isn't easy but try to be as professional as you can.

[Italy37612]

[WadRUG'naDoo]

Kick him out of class and teach the rest of the class what "kicking out" means. The next class, have that kid's desk in the corner with his name card on it and tell him that's where he will sit for the rest of the month. Then give him an assignment, backed up by the principal, to write a speech that he will present to the class at the end of the month, apologizing to you, the class, the school, and to his parents for being such a jerk.