Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jajdude]

Seems like getting angry works for a while, like 20 minutes or so. It can shut up the class. But it isn't fun. It isn't even good for anybody. Not me. It raises my blood pressure. (Although it tends to be effective.) But sometimes I don't know what else to do when I want them to do something and they are off in

"I'm-a kid-a Korean kid- don't give a crap about "Young oh" waygook etc.." land!

I don't have the "no Korean" law instilled in my classes... and often I do not have their attention. So sometimes I just throw a bit of a tantrum!

Wish I had better methods, but there it is. Admittedly sometimes the material is painfully boring. And if I were a kid I would rather screw around or razz up my buddy in my own language than deal with the foreign crap I see no point in learning....

It cannot be all games, fun and interesting times...

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How often do you get pissed off? Are you a good actor at it? Or like me, do you genuinely get pissed off and let it show sometimes?

[AJRimmer]

The trick is to "appear" angry without actually getting angry.
Sometimes when a kid does something quite bad like hit or insult another student, you gotta let him know that's a nono.

Think of it as your "angry teacher" voice.
Sometimes its hard to not get angry, anger can be constructive or destructive... friend of mine punched a hole in the class room wall once,
that didn't really help with the problems he was having in class, almost got him fired.

Try to stay a little detached from your emotions, throwing a temper tantrum and losing you cool, will only add to your stress.

Appearing "angry" at the kid who punches, insults or simply disrupts other students can be very useful. The kids expect it too.

[Ya-ta Boy]

A mistake that many make is ignoring a misbehavior when the first kid does it and wait till half the class is doing it.

The trick is to 'nip it in the bud', just like Barney Fife said. It saves wear and tear on your nerves.

[Grotto]

Getting angry means you are losing the battle.

To get attention try stopping what you are doing and just glaring at the people not paying attention. The rest of the class will clue them in.

Clapping your hands in a pattern is also highly effective. I use 1, 2..1,2,3

Get a bag of candy. Clap your hands wait a second and reward the students who paid attention and followed along. You dont have to do it all the time but if you do it once in a while they will all get the picture.

Getting stessed just isnt worth it.

[manlyboy]

Getting angry with yourself can have it's advantages. It can get you focused and fired up, but getting angry with kids for being kids is almost always counter-productive.

I think the key is finding the right kind of punishment; Something that will give you critical leverage. It's not always easy, but my philosophy is that every kid has a weak spot, and it's the teacher's job to find out what it is.
If and when I find that spot, I like to present the punishment in the form of a choice: "You can do your work, or you can stand in the corner". Then, if they continue to not do their work, the blame for the punishment falls on them: "Hey! I gave you a choice, and you chose the corner"!

[Derrek]

It's all about training them to your limits.

Kids are all nice and kind for the first days or few weeks, then they start to test you. They keep pushing the limit to see what they can get away with. You can't let them get away with much, and keep on them from the start. If you keep on them, but don't lose your cool, they'll learn.

I took a cue from the Korean teachers and developed a "death look" with silence that I hold until everyone goes, "shhh! shhhh!" It embarrasses the ones who are talking, and they stop. After they stop, and I stare at the offenders about 2 to 3 seconds, I slowly and quietly continue my lesson without smiling for a little bit.

I also use humor, which works well with my age group (high school girls). I'll give them a death look, sometimes followed by turning towards them with a raised hand -- like I'm going to slap them on the back really hard or something. I usually act like a Korean ajosshi when I do it, "Aiiiii!" Everyone sort of gets a kick out of that, because I burst into a big smile and a laugh after I freak them out. That's my school, though. You have to learn what works at yours.

If you have to scream and lose it, you're not doing anything but making them laugh, talk about you, or think you're an idiot/mean teacher.

You have to set the limit low... and also your reaction level low. They will train to it. Blowing up from the beginning only teaches them that they can push you to that level, and they become callous to it.

Sadly, if you haven't kept their respect from the beginning, it's near impossible to get it back later. That's why it's important to keep on it from the beginning.

[kangnamdragon]

Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering....Yoda

[iiicalypso]

I used to use the "fake angry" thing at me old school. One day the director called me into his office and said one of the parents had called and complained that I was "angry" at his son. I explained that it was a strategy I used occasionally when the kids seemed on the edge of incorrigible. The next day he came in and told the kids, in korean, that I was only pretending to be angry. another strategy down the drain.

idiot.

[guangho]

The staring thing is good. I have small classes (haggie) so I can go as far as stopping the lesson, walking up to him (99.9999999 % of the time it's a him) and stare at him with my meanest look until he turns away- about 30 seconds.

Anger is bad for you and them- Asian kids don't react well to in your face screamfests.

[The Bobster]

[mithridates]

One fun thing if you are having real problems with a student is to tell him/her calmly to stop it, look very serious, repeat yourself, and then wait for a reaction. If the student carries on you raise your eyebrows and leave the room, get a cell from one of the desk teachers and the number of his/her mom. Then you go back in the room and write the number on the board, while still giving the student a knowing look. After that you start dialing the number and then hand the phone over to him/her to explain. I've never had to go that far so I'm not sure what would happen with the mom but I'm sure she wouldn't be pleased. The bad student will always stop before the actual phone call is made. Then make him/her say sorry and that they will listen. Put the phone down on his/her desk for the rest of the class and leave it there to see.

[superhal]

imho, the students are trying to get you angry, thus getting angry means they win.

the way i look at it is that the students are "testing" you. testing can occur in many ways, shapes, and forms, from children to adults, in any class in any country. in adult classes, for example, students will always mention homosexuality, genitalia, or eating dog meat to see how the teacher will react, or if they can use it to keep the teacher off balance.

what i do is try to recognize a test, and understand the difference between a test and actual behavioral problems. if it is a real behavioral problem, i handle it differently, but if it is a test, i found the best way to deal with it is to laugh it off and make a comment along the lines of "ha ha, you think that's going to work on me? listen, kid: i've seen it before from smarter students than you."

another strategy i use is to say, "I know you are doing this to avoid doing the work. It's called 'evasion strategies.' If the work is too hard, let's work together to help you do it." Or, "I know that work similar to this is causing you to have bad feelings which you are taking out on me. It's ok. But once you can do the work, you'll feel much better about it, i promise."

The key difference, imho, is that some teachers see these behaviors as personal attacks, but in reality, the children are reacting to feelings the activity is creating in them. I think once you can understand this idea, you won't need to get mad anymore.