Korean Job Discussion Forums

[spyro25]

i've taught in a kindergarten for the past year and there is one thing that has always bothered me about my students - the fact that they seem to have almost no basic motor skills whatsoever. we teach arts and crafts and we also teach from a science kit too. each kit has 4 experiments that they have to set up by themselves, but for almost 98% of the children i have to set almost everything up for them!

simple stuff like - taping two sheets of paper together, tying simple knots into pieces of string, tying their own shoelaces, folding paper, bending paper clips, anything to do with rubber bands (except making cat's cradles when they arent supposed to be doing) are all out of reach for these kids - age 6s to 7. (western age, not korean)

i'm so tired of hearing 'teacher - do it for me'! even after slow and step by step instruction they seem incapable of very basic actions. these aren't just 'dumb' kids - their english is fantastic! - i just wonder why these kids can't do anything manual by themselves???

does anyone have an answer / solution to this problem??? i know i could do my own laces by age 4 at least, if not earlier! Why can't these kids?

[rothkowitz]

Do you really remember yourself as being physically co-ordinated at that age?

I seem to remember having constantly grazed knees and being a bit of a spaz at best.

[sock]

Korean mothers do EVERYTHING for their precious children. I know of two Korean kids, who, when they were in grade 3 & 5, would still ask mommy to feed them like they were some kind of baby birds or something (minus the regurgitation part). Talk about spoonfeeding. It was disgusting.

This culture does everything possible to stifle independence. It also does a lot to discourage any attempts at self-reliance. Your native culture, I'm guessing, does the opposite.

A lot of kids that age also love to be babied. It's like they know it's not going to last much longer, and they'd better milk every last drop while they still can.

You need to give them some sort of motivation/incentive to do it themselves. Try a sticker or candy for the first kid to do it all by himself/herself. Should revolutionize the kindergarten.

[mumblebee]

Don't forget the 'Korean age" discrepency...when I taught kindy, I couldn't figure out why my '5' year olds were so helpless...until I got a birthday list and found out that half of my class had been only 3 years old for most of the year, and the others were only 4.

[Natalia]

[Qinella]

I think back to my own time in kindergarten. We had exercises to practise such 'basic' activities as tying strings (including shoelaces), cutting a straight line with scissors, coloring within boundaries, cutting out shapes..

These things are not so simple when you are growing very quickly and trying to learn how to use your body. It's actually rather shocking to read the OP. If you teach kindergarten, I heartily suggest picking up a good book or five on human development so you can understand your students better.

[spyro25]

to the last poster -

i'm almost at the end of my contract and the difference in almost everything in these kids has been wonderful. i've still got one or two who can't do anything but these kids have parents who REFUSE to come in for parent's evening because they think its a 'waste of time'

i just wondered if this was a korean thing or was it problem in other asian countries too.

[Hotpants]

I had experience of teaching kindy in Hong Kong. I would say that the kids there were typically able to carry out the tasks listed above by themselves by the age of 5. With kids a year below this, I would tell anyone who couldn't do such things to watch so and so student (who could do it - as there is always at least one student who can do the things you ask,) and found they quickly learned through copying. But, if you're looking at a 3 year old, they may genuinely not be able to do such tasks. Just give them time.

I think you have the right idea to not do everything for the kids. Perhaps you ought to start offering those sticker incentives for those kids who manage to do certain tasks. There must surely be some who are competent, then let the others follow.

[Demonicat]

a couple of tips from years of experience and study:
1) Relax at all times, kids that age smell fear. Ok, just kidding, but they do notice if you are tense, and they get tense as well, which elads to crying and the other steps failing.
2) Encourage independence at all times. They will hate this at first if you drop it on them. However, kids this age LOVE praise and accomplishment. Let them "help" you, by carrying boxes or picking up crayons. Let them sing a song while cleaning up: "Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up. Clean up, clean up, clean up your mess." It makes independence infinitly more fun than whining.
3) DO NOT DO THEIR WORK FOR THEM. When they are coloring or putting something together, encourage them, but let them do it. Even if it looks like complete rubbish, to the kid its a masterpiece- probably a picasso or warhol.
4) Structure all lessons. Make sure that you have the same basic set up every day (first 10 call names/sing a fun song, second 10 some sort of physical TPR learning- "head, shoulders, knees & toes" comes to mind. Next 15, something light from their book, just to keep things moving. Finally a game or quiet art activity to focus on what was just learned. Modify as desired, but keep it consistent)
5) Physical exercise is a god send. Children at that developmental stage do not learn by concentrating on one thing, they learn from everything going on around them. Therefore, your roll as teacher is not that of a lecturer, but more of a presenter. Someone to keep them entertained while they learn. Be Barney, Kermit the frog, or my favorite Xuxsha.

Try that all out, and you will find kindergarten to be the absolute easiest thing in the world to teach. Furthermore, you will find yourself amazed at how quick they learn english. I remember one class of 5 year olds who came in with ZERO english abillity. After 9 months, they were speaking at the level of a 5 year old native speaker. Pretty damn cool.

[spyro25]

to the last poster - like i said i've almost done my contract here. out of the three years i've been here i would class this one as being the best so far for professional development. i've actually learned class management, class prep and lesson planning so well this year i'd never worry about stepping into another classroom again.

its time to move on to bigger and better things but i'd recommend teaching kindy to anyone who wanted a decent start in their efl career.

[Horangi Munshin]

Kindy kids are pretty young and unco-ordinated sometimes.

BUT

I remember when I attended in kindy in NZ. There was a workshop area. I used to saw some of the off cut stuff and nail two bits together to make a toy gun. Of course the saws were very blunt. Imagine your kindy kids doing that!!

Oh and kids go to kindy when they're four years old in NZ.

[Qinella]

[ajuma]

Kids really ARE different here. The poster who said that Korean parents discourage independence is SO right! When I ask my students (uni age) how many can cook, do laundry, iron and other household chores, fewer than 1 out of 10 can! Western parents WANT their kids to be independent. My son was making ramen (American/Chinese style) and baking cakes when he was 4, doing laundry when he was 11 (said I wasn't doing it "right"! ) and ironing when he was 13.

The bird analogy is a good one. I tell my students that American parents are like bird parents. We take care of our kids when they're young, teach them what they need to know, then urge them to fly and live their own lives. I've yet to find an analogy for Korean parents, who want to keep their kids tied to their apron strings forever!!