Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylde]

I am at a little hogwon in the Sth, 95% of the students are great but there are exceptions... about 5%

This 5% is scattered thoughout all classes and they have the ability to disrupt the entire class as we all probably know. I consider that I am a fair teacher and play with the kids whenever I can but.. Small things really tick me off like 1 student telling her friend the answer and another student screaming and starting the rest of the class screaming too.

Homework is another issue which is supposed to be monitered by the parents but rarely is, we work on a sticker system.. It's a joke.

If I ask a student to stand or if I withhold stickers because he/she is doing the wrong thing they generally cry. Then, either they will complian to the hogwon boss or tell their mother who then phones the hogwon boss with the same result.. A 1 sided arguement saying that I must change my teaching method. This has to be crud because the other 95% seem to be learning really well without any distractions. I am male and my boss and the other korean teacher are female, I can't help feeling something here.

[rapier]

Wylde you sound right where i am at the moment. I always thought it made sense to reward good behavior and punish bad, but that doesn't always apply here.Punishing wrongdoers is seen as mean. Koreans and especially korean women have a very motherly caring approach. If little Kim disrupts the lesson, he is praised as a performer, a character. If there's a real pain in the *ss anarchist in the classroom, he needs extra attention and big brotherly counselling. its all so wrong.
As I've said before, Korean kids are the ones who actually run the hagwons. Their 6yr old opinions and those of their bored, doting mothers are what count in a business sense, not some foreigner with a teaching certificate and a few years experience.
I worry at the ideas this generation of young Koreans will grow up with, and their attitude to foreigners. they must see us all as some strange species of clown whose sole purpose for being on earth is to entertain them.
Just try to survive and do the best you can, and be sure to let it all go when its time to go home.

[wylde]

There are some students that have left but these are the ones that were causing trouble in the class. These same classes are much better to teach but my boss doesnt see that, she can only see $'s. It seems to me that it is quite unfair to forfeit the education of the majority for the $ of the minority. I know boss needs money but.. man

I have been in Korea for a year already but I havent had much teaching experience.I have only taught for about 10 weeks. I speak a little Korean but it is not in the polite form, it is more the casual form. I have been asked not to speak Korean in class but some responses have become habits that are difficult to break (simple things like.. jin ja? (진짜?) (really?)). I have middle school classes that are a complete nightmare, they just don't shutup. If I drill 1 of the main culprits with standing or answering questions he then goes to the boss and says 'teacher was speaking Korean'. Then the boss comes to me and asks why did you say.. 'ching chang wang'. I reply, I didn't. She says a student told me you did and I say, I didn't. I don't know what that word is, I have never said it in my life, I didn't say it. She say a student says you did..

Bottom line, if I come down on the class clowns it only gets me into trouble, if i don't, there is no constructive lesson... Either way, in my bosses opinion.. It's my fault.

할말이 없다

I think I'm getting the sack, woo hoo.

If I do, will this damage the chances of getting any other employment or my returning to Korean on a tourist visa?

Or.... Is this not worthy of a contract breach?

Thanks guys. Smile always... I do

[wylde]

Thanks Rapier, my missus is Korean I might be here for a lot longer yet

[rapier]

Don't worry, you won't get the sack...unless like me you actually clout one of the little monsters..naughty teacher!!! And yes, next time i'm letting him go ahead and climb out the window, jump 3 stories,stick his fingers in the electric socket, call me "fok you shipbal" to my face, without batting an eyelid. really, the whole hagwon farce is such horsesh**t its not worth losing sleep over!!! Just have another soju and think of your paypacket.......

[itchy]

[William Beckerson]

I've found that the cooperation of your boss/ supervisior/ korean partner teacher can help you step on the jerkoff kids and get them to calm down to tolerable levels. Of course, this sort of support is rare in this business, so you might be on your own.

It's that 1% who dont calm down I find to be the problems.

I have two boys in one class who have had a history of disrupting their classes to the point where the other kids are not knowing whats going on. I found out that this behaviour has been going on for at least a year before I arrived. It didnt get stopped then, and they cant stop now. Heck, we even discovered that the parents of the other students visited one of the boy's mother and yelled at her that her son was keeping their kids from learning.

Even though this was true, I didnt see it as a cool thing to do.

The result: Mom cried for days, the boss promised to give them another chance, my partner teacher gave them private lessons, they fell completely behind, and then when they got put back in regular class... acted the same way as they always did.

I've gotten the "Why dont you try loving them?" suggestion from my partner teacher, but I point out that this is what she did and it didnt work.

My point?

Step on them hard first going off, dont let them get away with that crap, and make sure you have the support of your boss. If you dont got that support, your only option is to keep your resume polished for when you get fired or quit.

[rapier]

Wise words from RFR...It all goes back to the basic problem: teachers hands are tied nowadays, and its insane that the system does'nt discipline troublemakers. To me, who grew up with the cane, the ruler, who was smacked by my parents when i was naughty, this is the most natural and right thing to do.I really can't believe I'm now in a world where physical punishment of any kind is outlawed- its like I've landed on some new alien planet!!!!
Talk to your grandparents, anyone, who remembers the way things used to be when people knew what was what. They'll all tell you the same thing. Its a criminal sin not to discipline children.
The problems of the world could be solved by a simple paddywhack...

[Gord]