Korean Job Discussion Forums

[la belle fille]

Hello! How are you? Well, I work at an Elementary school now and I really hate teaching the boys. I'm curious about what it's like to teach at an all girls middle school or high school? Would you suggest working at one? I'm wanting to stay in Korea for at least another year so I'm thinking of trying an all girls school next year depending on what it's like. Thank you!

[zappadelta]

An all girls elementary school would be awesome. I would love to teach there. Middle and high, not so much.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Middle school girls are generally very fun to teach. Most are really nice; a few are brats. Like with most MS teaching, if you have a co-teacher a great deal depends on him / her. Teaching MS girls with a rookie 'co-teacher' who's absolutely helpless can result in a lot of time wasted on discipline.

At HS it all depends on what kind of programme they're in and what the general level of the school is. I work at a girls high school that has a real mixed bag of classes, both academic and vocational. Some of the academic classes are such a joy to teach I'm really disappointed if they're cancelled. A couple of the vocational classes are really lame, though they still have a few students who will give it a decent effort. Unlike MS brats, however, they tend to tune out rather than act up if they're just not into it.

Boys or girls, I think the programme they're in and the level of the school would make the biggest difference at the HS level.

I know what you're saying about Korean elementary boys. At least 50% should come equipped with straight jackets and shock collars. I don't have much experience teaching MS boys and none teaching HS boys, but MS boys are generally very nice once they know who's boss. Half of elementary boys need it proven to them every single lesson.

[passport220]

I teach Mon, Tue and Weds. at a boy�s middle school and Thurs. and Friday at a girl�s middle school. I think of it as going from Hell to Heaven.

The boy�s try to impress each other by showing how loud and rude they can be in front of a foreigner (It might not be their specific intent�.but it comes out that way). The girl�s try to impress each other by showing how mature they can act.

The level of ability is greater with the girls and they are much more interested in learning English. However, keep in mind I am 10 months into my first contract in Korea and I have only taught at the these two schools.

What is your gender (I understand you board nickname, but is it based on yourself?) I am male and I do think it makes a difference.

[jvalmer]

Have to agree with the above poster. I teach Mon, Tue, Weds at a girl's middle school and Thu and Fridays at a boy's middle school. For me it's like going from Heaven to Hell.

Generally at single gender schools, the students like teachers of the opposite gender. Boys are often (75% of the time) loud and rude while girls will be much better behaved (75% of the time). So, if girls aren't interested, they will usually be quiet and often nap. Boys, if bored, will generally be loud little facken punks causing all kinds of trouble. Of course there are acceptions and depends on how strict the school is and the temperment of other teachers, homeroom teachers, students in the class and of course your co-teacher.

[la belle fille]

[oldfatfarang]

Sorry, I can't remember the exact timing and ages - but in psych I learned that girls are 2 years ahead (cognitively and socially) of boys.

I see this everyday in Middle School. The girls, compliant little angels, get on with the lesson. Generally, language is easier for them - especially speaking. The boys, on the other hand, oh those boys. Many of my lot are great kids - very polite - but uwilling and thick. They're not the same level as the girls. Their brains are all over the place. Sort of a Korean ADD thing. So I'd love to teach at an all girls' school. I suspect it would be easier than co-ed.

[twg]

In my experience:

Grades 1 - 3 are pretty much the same for both genders. Some kids are brilliant. Some need to spend more time with their moms and less with me.

3-5: The boys are pains in the ass, and the girls are mostly good.

6 though Middle school: the girls are obnoxious princesses who can never keep their nose out of their phones, and the boys are loud and dumb as a sack of bricks. The good ones are the exception.

High school is really mixed. Some of my best students have been high school girls. And some of my worst as well. High school boys just sit there in a sullen mood.

Adults always want to be your best friend ever all of the time

[poet13]

I'll take boys anyday. Just a personal choice. I haven't taught in an all girls school, though I do teach 4 days a week in a boys middle school, and one day in a mixed middle school. The boys are great. I am in a small city though, which I'm starting to believe is maybe 10 years behind the rest of Korea culturally. That's cool.

[LuckyNomad]

I work at a rural all boys middle school and at an elementary school.

Teaching middle school boys is fun because I"m a 25 year old male. I feel that I can relate better to them than any of their Korean teachers(whom are all in their 40's, 50's and 60's). They can get pretty crazy, but because I worked in a preschool in America for several years, I'm used to the atmosphere.
I like teaching them because we can have male centered discussions.
They come up with some pretty wacky things to say. I get the feeling that teaching girls would be a bit boring.

Teaching 6th graders is interesting. The boys are easy to teach because they are all obsessed with WWE wrestling and I watch it too. So their desire to talk to me about WWE, results in much better performance in class. Many of the girls are excellent students, but I find that on average, the girl's participation is lower than the boys. The girls who aren't very good at english won't participate at all, but the boys who know very little will still try to participate. Plus I find that many of the girls are too timid and don't exhibit as much imagination. Boys are just funner.

[poet13]

"Teaching 6th graders is interesting. The boys are easy to teach because they are all obsessed with WWE wrestling and I watch it too. So their desire to talk to me about WWE, results in much better performance in class. "

Boys rule. I had a boy yesterday afternoon before class come up and grab my hand while I was at my little wooden podium. He was trying to arm-wrestle me. His two friends grabbed on when they saw he couldn't pull the weight. I yanked all three of them through my podium, which caused it to collapse and break into splinters. One boy got up with a one foot splinter sticking out of his gut. (it was very slim on the end). His friend yanked it out (maybe a half centimeter) and the laughter, including his, just continued.

Boys rule.

[la belle fille]

[poet13]

Well, that is really a very rare thing at my school. I almost never interact with them physically. The point was that they aren't little princesses and prima donnas.

[pest2]

Actually, I hate teaching girls in Korea grade 6 to about 10. They are annoying... for one thing, they hold a grudge forever. If you take thier phones away or tease them just once, they hate you forever. Also, they just want to talk about things I have no interest for -- Stupid boy bands, the Sunkist lemonade guy, school uniform design, etc etc.... Maybe that problem isnt so omnipresent for female teachers, though. I'd take all-boys over all girls any day, though... probably the best thing is to have both genders in a given class so you can play them off of each other.

[LuckyNomad]