Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bosintang]

I'm shocked at some posts I often read about how people handle discipline in their classrooms. The students have the right to learn in a positive, non-hostile environment, and it's the teachers' responsiblity to provide this. Here are some golden rules I live by as a teacher. I have broken every rule on this list at some point, and I have said and done a few things as a teacher in retrospect that I'm not proud of, but that's part of my own learning process, and I try at least.


1) Provide a safe, positive, non-hostile learning environment - It's your responsibility to provide this. You are the teacher and adult, and you are the one responsible for the children's welfare while they are under your control.

2) Never intentionally humiliate a child -- Honestly, I'm shocked at some of the humiliation tactics some teachers proudly admit to using here. These could have serious long-term negative consequences to the children's self-esteem, learning, and relationship-building process. For some children, these will be their only memories of dealing with a foreigner. And in the end, humilitation tactics serve no purpose other than to give teachers perverse gratification. They could possibly make the discipline problems *worse* rather than better.

3) Start every day with a fresh start -- Don't carry grudges, no matter how bad they may have been the previous day. Let past mistakes slide and start everyday as a new day.

4) Accept your students for who they are -- Accept the fact that the children are who they are. They bring with them their own backgrounds and relationships. No matter what they're background is, or how difficult they are, treat all your students with equal respect.

5) Never spontaneously hit, grab, or pull at a student -- No matter what your opinion on corporal discipline is, respect that children are fragile, and even the most innocous slap or pull can cause damage. I once without thinking grabbed an item out of an innattentive middle-school girls hands, which unbeknownst to me, ended up being a knife and I sliced the girl's finger. I also once worked with a teacher who tried to pull out a child who was crawling out of the table, and actually dislocated his shoulder.

6) Avoid confrontational face-offs with students -- Easier said than done of course, and we've all been here at one point or another. Try to avoid them, but if you do get in a face-off with a student, try to play it down, and just get on with the lesson.

7) Never lose your temper -- Again, we've all been here before. But losing your temper (note: not the same as getting angry) serves no purpose. When you lose your temper, you lose control. When you lose control, you lose respect of your students. It's also just plain bad for your health.

Feel free to debate these rules or add to the list. (In fact, please do.) I'd be particularly interested in people who have taught in their home countries and have had to sign a code of conduct before starting their jobs.

[Apple Scruff]

Thanks, Dr. Phil. Here are my rules for the kids:

1: Shut the hell up or get the hell out.

2: Memorize rule number one. Failure to do this means you're stupid.

3: Keep your hands out of your ass, your friend's ass and especially the teacher's ass. Failure to do this means you're unclean and not worthy of human compassion.

4: Put your cellphone away or watch it take flight.

5: Have fun and do your best. These are best days of your life!

[tomato]

Hello, Boshintang!

The things you are telling us are true, but thou-shalt-not's are difficult to follow without a comparable provision of thou-shalt's. As the man in the stop-smoking commercial said, "Don't tell me why, tell me how."

Here are some approaches which I have found to work:

positive reinforcement for individuals

If starting class is difficult, I try to resist the temptation to yell,
"Sit down!"

Rather, I look for students who are already sitting down and say, "I am so glad that Tony is in his seat. I am so glad that Kevin is in his seat . . ." If only one student is left standing by the time I complete this ritual, I ask, "Oliver, don't you think it would be nice if everyone were in their seat?"

If only a few of the students are repeating what you are reciting, say, "Thank you, Scott! Thank you, Paula!"

If the students are raising their hands, shouting, "����! ����!" say, "I like the way Gordon is raising his hand quietly."

At the beginning of class, I pass out red sticks. When a student hangukmalls, I take away his or her red stick. At the end of class, I collect red sticks from those students who have not hangukmalled. For each of those students, the class cheers, "One two three four! Who are we for? Angela, Angela, Angela!"

repeat an activity until everyone behaves

"'I am going to the store.' Let's do that again and see if Oliver will participate. 'I am going to the store.' Let's do that again and see if Scott will participate. 'I am going to the store.'"

Enough rounds of this, and tedium will set in. The students will join you in pressuring the misbehaving students.

being prepared for standard forms of misbehavior

When a student is out of his seat, I say, "That is your chair" while performing the words in sign language. Sometimes I make the signs without speaking. Some of the students are so familiar with those signs that they speak the words with me.

When a student talks while I am taking, I show a set of laminated posterboards which say, "When the teacher is talking, do not talk." Just in case they don't get the message, I show two more illustrated posterboards which say the same thing in Korean.

If another student talks while I attempt the sentence again, I show the posterboards again. Enough rounds of this, and tedium will set in.

redirecting behavior

Focussing on the desired behavior is better than focussing on the undesired behavior. If a student misbehaves while the class is singing, I say, "Oliver, can you sing 'Daddy Finger' with us?"

approaching misbehaving students

Standing in front of a misbehaving student will make the misbehaving student uncomfortable. The student will usually correct his misbehavior in order to get rid of you.

desegregating

If a boy repeatedly offends, I say, "Bruce, how would you like to sit with all these beautiful girls?" Bruce will then react strongly in the negative. So I say, "Then I hope that won't be necessary."

If Bruce still reoffends, I deliver on my threat. Sorry, Boshingtan, but this is one task which I usually cannot do without applying force.

[turtlepi1]

So here is an interesting question then.
(At least for me, because you are the type of teacher that can fall into a very annoying trap)

How does what you are doing with the children relate to the other educational experiences they will have in a Korean school.

Don't get me wrong I agree with many of your points, but here is the number one rule when dealing with children (and I often break it, so don't consider this any sort of lecture). ALWAYS provide a consistent message. A child that knows 100% what will happen when they do something is in a far healthier environment than a child who has to guess what will happen if he does something.

Use your principles to change the Korean school system and you are doing something good. But if you think you are doing good by changing your one little space, I may beg to differ.

Teachers who hold to tightly to teaching principles often lose sight of the people they are teaching.

[Grotto]

[sheba]

My problem class doesnt know enough english to understand conversation like that. they have trouble with "do you like stickers?"

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[crazylemongirl]

I think classroom management techniques change depending on your audience. How I teach a class of 45 middle school boys is different to how I deal with them in smaller classes or with girls etc.

I have no problem with 'chocopie slamming' them (just lightly touching the back of their necks) and threatening to throw them out the window. Of course this is done in jest. I gotta be mean, and funny because otherwise my boys will walk over me as I'm the only teacher in school who doesn't hit. I'm mean because i'll take away their break time, I'll make him stay after school and do their homework when they havent' done it. Or make them stand in the stafffroom with their arms up.

1. Be aware that kids might not actuallly understand classroom commands so you are going to have to teach them some and keep using them. If I say attention my boys know that means my boys say it after me until they are all quiet and looking to the front.

For younger kids you can make it fun.... I had a song for my younger kids. oh no, don't do that, oh no don't do that. oh no don't do that it's not ok so don't do that. Also clap clap be quiet, and we all do the quiet sign.

2. Retain a professional distance between you and the kids. Many foreign teachers goof around too much with the kids and then wonder why they won't pay attention in class. If you act too chummy with them then they are going to think you are one of them.

3. as for humliation. Some of my boys will often been seen in the staffroom after class doing the heart thing. It's more to alert the homeroom teacher to a dispcline problem than anything else.

4.. The evil stare is a must. My boys know I'm really angry when I don't say a word. This can silence just about all classes.

[tomato]

This is in response to #1 in Crazy Lemon Girl's post.

My preschool classes meet with the children sitting in a circle on the floor. There is always a tendency for the children to scoot forword to get a better view, thereby blocking the view of their neighbors, who in turn scoot forward, and so on.

The Korean preschool teachers correct this by singing:



So I alwasy sing:



The children quickly learned this.
Sometimes they sing along with me.

If you listen to Korean children's songs, you might recognize this little excerpt.
It is the second half of a song in which the first half sounds like the Mexican song "La Raspa."

[stumptown]

[bosintang]

[bosintang]

[jaderedux]

I have been reading this thread and it has given me pause to think about the radical differences in teaching young children and teaching middle school and high school.

I have done my time in the hogwan system and to be honest most the of lovey dovey, nurturing, postive reinforcement stuff is great with the little guys. I worked in a darn good hogwon and so I was lucky. I got to teach mostly kindy and loved it.

That being said all that lovey dovey, safe nurturing, positive reinforcement blather works naught in Middle School. I teach in Middle School and I teach 1,095 boys...only boys.

[Qinella]

Thanks Bosintang, and everyone else in the thread, for the discipline tips. Still being new to teaching and approaching children from an authoritative position, I can use the advice.