Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aldershot]

our staff room is like a day-care between classes. if there were chandeliers, children would be swinging from them. most kids are sweet and come in to say "hello" or to offer me a little snack.

but some kids are downright rude. speaking rudely in banmal; telling me i'm fat (and patting my stomach), asking if i was pregnant. and yesterday was the kicker: a middle school kid was sitting in my office chair playing chess with another kid when i came in from my last class. i asked the kid, "excuse me sam, i need my chair". his response? he repeated what i said but in a mocking sneer. and he didn't get up. i asked him again, and again he repeated me in a mocking sneer. all korean teachers are in the staff room and witnessing this power struggle. the little minge still doesn't get up, so i knock over his chess game, at which point he says, "aiiiishhh", and leaves the staff room. one korean teacher asks me, "why you game did knock over do that?" i nearly backhanded her. these teachers see this kind of rude display from the students against the monkey-foreigner and they do nothing about it.

i send bad kids to the office on a "pink slip" kind of system. the children come back with candy in their mouths. i've even overheard one teacher explaining to a child (whom i was attempting to discipline) that the monkey-foreigner doesn't understand/mis-understands (how does one mis-understand "puck-you, teacha"??).

my korean co-teachers don't got my back. most of the time i know this and don't rely on them at all, but sometimes -like yesterday- i lose my cool and disable chess games.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

In that sitiuation I would just stick to my guns. Well done on knocking the chess game over. I would have counted to three before dragging him away by his ear.

I think the best approach at such a place is simply turfing kids from your classroom. That will start to get your co-workers' attention, and when it does, simply explain that if they do nothing to help you improve the attitude of certain kids you won't have them in your class. Furthermore, it's they who will have to deal with parental phone calls. When they come to you all upset about parental complaints you can just sit smugly and ask 'well what can I do? You teach the kids they can act this way and then I have to teach them they can't'.

In short, take the 'if you don't like it you can fire me' approach and your life will probably be much more pleasant (and you most likely won't get fired).

[English_Ocean]

No. My korean co-teachers don't back me up. I don't rely on them. Problems in the class are resolved in the classroom. Problems outside of the classroom are also resolved in my classroom.
If I had a middle school student who behaved the the way yours did, he would have hell to pay the next time he stepped foot into my classroom.
Obviously sending your troubling students to the office is not working. I would not send anymore students to the office, it's what they want you to do. They want to get out of class and get a reward.

I seldom have problems in my classroom anymore.
1. no chair. The student has to earn a chair after being disruptive.
2. nose to the wall. The student stands facing the wall for 5-10mins.
3. on the floor arms up for how ever old the child is.
4.verbal thrashing.
5. get out and don't come back. This usually brings the director into the classroom.

[Bukowski]

Sorry to read about your situation. It sounds like you are in a place that doesn't respect you. You may want to search for a different workplace or a different occupation (one that better suits your temperment).

As for losing your cool, you need to check your behavior. Lowering yourself (Who knocks over another person's game?) is never a good thing, as it only perpetuates the lack of respect being shown (respect is a two-way street). Perhaps an attitude adjustment would do you some good.

Try this: look at your students as customers/clients. Would you have acted like that? No way.

The world does not revolve around you. You enter the room. You want your seat. What, someone else is using it? Relax. If it had been your boss would you have acted like that? I sure hope not. Why not show a little respect to those children and perhaps the next time they may throw a bit your way.

Think about it.

AC

[xtchr]

Why are children even in the STAFF room?

[aldershot]

i just think it's an incredible slap in the face when the korean teachers do nothing to help control problem students. i sometimes feel that it's a popularity contest with the students, and the korean teachers don't want to lose popularity votes by showing a little discipline.

argh.

[Bukowski]

You are not in a public school!

It is a business, and you are right in recognizing that it is a popularity contest. Do you want to keep your job? Keep your customers happy!

Common sense.

AC

[aldershot]

[aldershot]

[andrew]

*****

[bosintang]

[poet13]

I don't think trashing someones game is necessarily a bad thing. I think it matters how it's done. Simply packing up someones game is fine. Flinging pieces all over the room in a rage would be wrong. I have packed up games before. I would ask the students to finish up. Often I would get a "wait - uh". "Ok, finish your turns around the board and then put the game away please." "Ok." Then when they decide to keep going, I simply close the game board. The next time they ask to play that game, it's not available (usually it was monopoly). Any other game IS available. There is no negotiation, no power struggle. They made an agreement to take one more turn each, and broke that agreement.

I think a lot of power struggles are completely unnecessary. In many cases, the circumstances where a power struggle is possible should be cut off before they develop.

Is that chair assigned to you? Mine is, but I know in some staff rooms, there are just 'common' chairs. If it is, I would have no qualms about sitting down in my chair, whether he is in it or not. No, I wouldn't sit down and put real weight on him, that would be silly, but I would not let it get beyond asking once. After you tell him once, you have a power struggle.

[Bukowski]

No. You said it was your last class. I would have put my things away and left. However, if I needed my desk, I would have simply moved the game.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I take it the game was not being played on your desk, right? Your issue was just with the chair being used. In that case, I would have either used another teacher's chair or exchanged chairs.

I'm not in to beating my head against a wall, but you go right ahead and let us know how it feels.

AC

[huffdaddy]

[bosintang]