Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yingwenlaoshi]

Do you ever just blow a gasket at your hagwon?

I just lost it a little. I finished teaching my second year middle schoolers. One girl comes in ten minutes late. A few of them saunter in late. I started the class asking them what time they get here because about 4 students out of the 9 (8 today) are here on time. Apparently they all come here in the same van. So anyway, this girl just makes too much noise and everyone speaks to much Korean. I have a pretty good handle on them, but she really is creating most of it. It's always one, or maybe two. You know? Anyway, she walks in ten minutes late, with this gift she proceeds to wrap. By this time it's already 6:40. I tell her to stop and put it aside. Then she starts making noise again. You know? With some plastic or wrapping or something. Tell her to stop again. Then I hear it again. And then someone's crunching a can. Jesus Fing Christ.

Class was over and I was on my 40-minute break. I kind of lost it alone in my classroom and pushed a couple of desks over quite hard. I walked out and my boss heard me and asked what was wrong. Anyway, I told him about that student and he asked me to follow him upstairs because that's where he was teaching the next class. I thought it was kind of stupid, but he asked me to point out who it was. I really don't think that's any way to go about it. She's protesting, "I didn't do anything". I said, "You see. She doesn't even know. Maybe she's stupid." Said it right there and I don't care. I said to him before I went upstairs with him that maybe she shouldn't be attending my class.

I don't like how it's just seen as a joke. I'd rather wipe this type of student off the face of the hagwon and never see them again. This class, which is 2nd year middle school, doesn't even compare to my first years. Maybe because I've taught most of my first years longer. About 2 years.

Ahhhhh.

[English_Ocean]

When class has begun I push all the extra chairs toward the wall. Late comers are welcome to sit there. If one student is noisy everyone receives a warning. The next time noise happens for no good reason, everyone gets to stand up. No chairs for anyone thanks to a few noisy students.
The classroom chairs are mine and have to be earned.

[nautilus]

[Trumpcard]

last tuesday when the bell rang and class was finished everybody sprinted out laughing as earlier in the lesson I released 5 months of rage by shouting so loudly that u would have heard me out in the street. was directed at one of the 3 most onnoxious students in my hagwan - she simply had no idea it was coming and didnt know what to do. i basically roared at her to get out, she had to be dragged out of my class by KTeacher. can't wait to teach them tomorrow!

[wylies99]

[yingwenlaoshi]

[yingwenlaoshi]

I didn't lose my temper in front of them.

I'm going to get them notebooks that they'll have to hand in after each class. Give them some busy writing work. Class will only be half conversation.

Fun's over. They learn from the conversation and answering parts, but I don't think it soaks in enough with some. It's a gonna be repeat, repeat for these suckers from now on. Boring, but effective. Here are the questions. Let's answer them one by one. Write it down. Questions finished. Now everybody write 5 similar questions/answers/sentences. No talking. Then I'll go around and help everyone. Then we'll practice all of what they wrote.

Don't like it = kiss my butt.

[laogaiguk]

One thing I think about Korean culture is people don't get wound (wind past tense form) up near enough, and due to this things don't change enough. They do let a lot slide and look at anger as wrong. But anger actually does have it's uses at times. This is of course a generalization of 48 million people, so not completely true

[oneofthesarahs]

Busy work works!

I used to have a middle school class that I despised for some of the same reasons it sounds like you dislike yours. They're not really bad kids, just loud and generally unprepared for class, but not in a "let's piss off the native teacher way," just in a typical too-much energy middle schooler kind of way. Eventually I got sick of talking over them and said, okay, fine. We can either do the lesson in the book or we'll just do dictation for the rest of the class. They didn't take me seriously until the day we did dictation for 30 minutes out of a 50 minute class. I also grade the dictation and put all of the grades on a big chart on the wall which the director signs off on. That straightened them up pretty quickly, and now I don't have many problems.

But I also have a three checkmarks policy. If they get three checkmarks for misbehaving in class, they have to write an apology letter to the director explaining why they have to write the letter. That's actually a threat I've never had to carry out. They are all scared to death of being the first one to have to write a letter.

[yingwenlaoshi]

[jaderedux]

[CasperTheFriendlyGhost]

At the first sign of someone playing with a pencil case, I take it away. I have a big stack of pencil cases by the end of class. Then, if they need a pencil, they'll have to borrow one, or else sit there looking hurt while everyone else writes in their workbooks.

It makes me feel a lot better.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Do something about it. Like Jade said, take the distraction away. That will get her attention. I have a group of students like you describe in a grade 2 middle class of over 30. Yes it can make life difficult but there's no question who has the upper hand and isn't afraid to play it. On the other hand, I know I can count on 100% support from the Korean staff. If I worked in a hagwon where the boss didn't care if students came in 10 minutes late I'd probably just quit. Come to think of it I did work at a hagwon where a whole class came in 10 minutes late and the boss didn't care and I did quit.

[poet13]

I wouldn't punish that girl.
I would punish everyone else.
They're smart kids, and two plus two is easy.
Peer pressure is stronger than anything we can apply.

[Scotticus]