Korean Job Discussion Forums

[captain kirk]

This is going to sound cold, insensitive, heartless, whatever, but I'm really fed up with a couple of the special kids at the public school where I work. .

I was moderately annoyed with one and am highly pissed off with another, just lately, when one smacked me out of the blue in the hallway today.

I've been at the school three months. The first (slightly annoying) special kid walks into the teacher's room anytime he feels like it. The only reason he does this (he's in grade 6; mental age 6?) is god knows. Sometimes it's to show me a picture of a dinosaur. Actually, if he has a book in his hand that's, routine, what he wants to show me. He says, 'dinosaur'. And he smiles and he seems to just want to communicate.

Other times he just slides open the door, says 'HI', then runs off and leaves the door open. He knows it bugs the hell out of me and he does this repeatedly throughout the day. I lock the door when I think of it and he's foiled.

The Korean teachers completely ignore him. Let him waltz into the teachers room and loiter here and there as he peers around looking for his next move. They don't hang around the staff room (which is half English room) because they have their homerooms they stay in. So it's not a problem for them.

I'm not a 'real teacher' and I think if I had my education degree maybe there would have been a course on 'how to deal with retards'. To tell you the truth I've never given it much thought. I just expect them to behave and they act, well, totally retarded. I think they're being deliberately annoying but who knows what, if anything, is going thru their minds. Which makes them difficult to deal with. Infinite patience? IMO the Korean teachers let them do pretty much whatever they want and that's why they are so annoying. Or maybe they just haven't a clue and behave chaotically, the full range, without rhyme or reason. Like their minds are a roulette wheel with the focus landing on any random course of action.

Well today one I don't really know (not the guy in grade six I've mentioned) smacked me as I was going up the stairs (this guy is grade 4, mental age 6?). It was an open handed slap, hard, across the side of my chest where the ribs are. There was absolutely no reason for him to do this and I was carrying a big screen with both hands and totally occupied when WHACK.

There's no way any normal student would do this. And I reacted the way I would if I was pissed off at a normal student who knew it's totally uncool to hit a teacher and does it anyway. But the thing is who knows what's going thru the retarded mind of that retarded kid? It wasn't like a puppy jumping on your chest with its paws. It was a full on, hard, smack. Does he know what he's doing? Or does he know he won't get punished because he has diplomatic immunity, being a retard. Is he a retard that dislikes me and feels it's his right to lash out?

I'm sick of the whole business, dealing with certain retards. It makes work more difficult. Take the unpredictability of a moody kid and add the knowledge they won't be punished. Because there's the 'insanity' excuse. Public school's a step up from hagwons in some ways, odd in others. Very odd experience today and I'm wary of the whole 'special kids' thing. Some of them are very nice, I've got to say. At least they smile a lot.

Watch your temper if you get bitch slapped by a special kid. Nobody seems to be minding what minds they have to go on, and they're a hazard.

[OiGirl]

I beg the public school to let the disabled kids stay in my class. I give them work at their level that lets them feel successful and they respect my authori-tay!

[captain kirk]

You 'beg' to have the special kids included in the public school class? Pardon me you 'beg'? An extremely gung-ho way of saying you're up to the challenge, and rrrrrrrrelish it. That's just so positive. You 'beg' for the challenge. Gotcha. That's not dramatic at all. I can't hear Julie Andrews in the 'Sound of Music' movie soundtrack at all (doe, a deer, a female deer, ray, a golden drop of suuuuuuuuuuun.....).

Sorry to be cranky, but I've got something else on my plate that's bugging the hell out of me. It's the acceptance of two year degree holders. Today there was a guy from the Education department over sketching out building modifcations to convert an unused kindie on the schoolgrounds into an afterschool program. It'll get done by Fall and the 2yr degree holders will start rolling in in August. There go my afterschool classes. Hello the devaluation of 4yr degree holders, and FTs generally.

But back to special kids. Yes, it's good you give them something at their level to work on. I haven't done that (what is it, a handout?). It's enough of a challenge to keep the normal kids all on the same page, hagwon kids top end and 'can barely speak' at the low end. They must, the special kids, appreciate being catered to. I've just assumed they'll be listening and picking up on the repitition and 'just absorb'. They're alienated anyway and where to start 'bringing them back'? Special kids are not in hagwons and this is only my second year in pub elem.

[pkang0202]

Usually there are a couple students assigned to "care" for the special kids. When the special kid acts up, the students usually just take them to the homeroom or some other teacher and come back alone.

For the most part my special kids don't disrupt class. They just kinda sit there and color or pretend like they are following the class.

One time we were playing a game and my coteacher told me to go play with the special Ed kid. I politely told my coteacher that my native English skills will be better served helping the whole class and they she entertain the special ed kid.

[Ramen]

90% of my PS students are special ed kids.

[Draz]

No problems in this particular area yet, thank christ.

[KYC]

I have 3 special ed students at my school. When I first came, I was so frustrated with them because I barely had support from my school. The one kid that really bothered me--his teacher was the head teacher. He never bothered showing up to class so I was constantly left alone with this boy.

During one class, he was so hyper. While I was playing the CD, he pulled the computer plugs. I was so angry. I yelled at him but he only laughed hysterically. Then he went around wacking all the kids on the head. Then he proceeded to play leap frogs from chair to chair before he suddenly fell and hit his head. That was the worst incident ever.

I also have to deal with his younger brother. He likes to run around and laugh like crazy. The brothers often come to my office and say all sorts of English (ie: teacher, I'm a pencil, etc).

I sympathize for them because the other kids beat them up pretty bad. The Korean teachers seem to ignore and not even care. It's been 9 months for me and I've adopted the same attitude. It's horrible but I'm not trained to deal with that. When they have their "episodes" I ignore it at first and if it escalates, I go get help

[captain kirk]

They're weird, huh? I've been thinking about the two retarded boys (one grade 6, the other grade 4) and 'specialness' in general. I heard that retarded people are VERY attuned to emotions. This must make it hell for them. All the teasing, mockery, taunting, condescension. It's gotta get to them. So I think they might be like powderkegs, ready to explode. All that repressed self-loathing. If they get the impression you, teacher, aren't treating them 'especially' and are part of the peanut gallery they suffer then they're smart enough to want some payback. Since they have 'diplomatic immunity' (because they're so special) they can come out of the blue and strike in one of their 'crazy spells'. Who can blame them? Who'd DARE. Kids are aware of their power and if they can turn the tables, they will. How do you think they get what they want from their parents sometimes. Kids have a good game going.

I'm not trying to start a hate group against retarded public elementary students though it sure sounds like it. I'm saying everybody's watching and one has to be careful what one does. And 'special kids' are
special. They know it. They're also emotinally at the level of what, 6 year olds? And they're emotionally hurting bad from all the teasing they get. Stay out of their way.

Gotta stay on their good side. One of the KTeachers called how they're to be treated, 'special love'. I guess that's not so difficult to manage, considering the stress they're under and attempting to understand their situation. But during class it's hard to distinguish the loudmouth cut-up artist kid from the shrieking special kid sometimes. They both have to be handled with care because everyone is watching.

'Special love' mode.

[it's full of stars]

What do you do when you suddenly realise your coteach is retarded? Do you let them off the hook more often?

[Dome Vans]

I have two children with 'learning difficulties' in my 4th grade elementary. They have a helper who sits and looks after them. I give them the same work, wordsearches and include them as much as possible and they have respect for me and we have a laugh together. I wouldn't want them out of the class. One of the boys is huge. If he ever ran at me, I'd feel it.

[it's full of stars]

I had a teaching assistant with special needs, in Thailand. She walked around collecting the papers as I handed them out. When I got the kids to start talking in groups she would tell them to shut up. I lasted longer than you might think in that job.

[captain kirk]

[Atavistic]

The sped kids at my school are held up to no standards whatsoever, and that's what makes them so hard to teach. One third grader screams all class, hits me, bites me. I've started to put the fear of death in him and he's knocked it off for the most part, but all of the other teachers just let it slide because "he's special."

Whenever I ask what sort of modifications need to be made for sped students, I get blank stares and the sped teacher tells me to "be hard on them."

Sped in this country is pretty horrible.

[captain kirk]

Just out of interest, now that we're talking about sped kids, what do they do in the States, Canada, England? Are the sped kids in elem schools? Or do they have their own sped specialized school?

I'd estimate about 75% of the homeroom classes have a retarded kid up front. They're seated near the homeroom teacher's desk and beside a normal elementary kid who minds them. They're more noticeable in grade six. And harder to spot in grade 3. Upper year elem they stand out starkly. Lower elem they blend in with the 'kiddiness'.

There's one guy in grade six who walks without bending his knees, so he lurches pivoting on unbendable stick legs while his torso and arms flail from side to side, along with his head. He often has some drool on his chin. But he doesn't seem oblivious like some of the others. I wouldn't let him do my taxes though. I quite like this guy because he is really aware and always smiles and says hi as he's gyrating down the hall like wonky wind-up gizmo. When seated he calmly watches and seems to be really attuned to the moods/feelings of others. He seems so good at this I wonder how he can have room to think of others and how they're feeling, being so personally messed up physically/mentally. So I'd have to say this guy is awesome now that I think of it. He would never cause problems because he's always considerate. An emotionally mature retarded kid. He has the toughest time physicallly getting around than any of the sped kids.
But is often in the halls on breaks doing the locomotion.

[mrsquirrel]

At least ten at my gaff.

Some are OK, some are really nice, some stink of piss and cheese and one knocked another kid out with a chair (he is a bit scary)


What is amazing me more and more is the number of peg legs in the small town I live in.

At school there are two members of staff with wooden legs, two kids. Around town I've seen another four or five people with them.

What is that all about?