"Once class starts it’s a disaster. The kids giggle over their cellphones. So the teacher takes them away. One of the kids looks at her with hurt eyes and says, ‘I’m going to call the police’. The student gets angrier as the teacher goes on with the lesson. The students write the answers on the blackboard, one by one. Carrying the chalk, the student says to her ‘fuck you’ [in English]. All the students start laughing uncontrollably. The student has a wide grin at doing such a great thing. So she just had to go on. The teacher whacks the kid on the head. ‘Screw you!’ the kid says [in Korean].”
Besides the Korea Beat translation there's another English-language article here. Corporal punishment abolished? Really? Yes, it's technically illegal, but I know I see it before school every day and during every class break.
And you know, the challenges outlined in the book are the exact same ones we native speaker teachers have to deal with on a regular basis. Not as extreme, usually, but still. Our classes aren't taken seriously because, among other reasons, we don't resort to violence to control the students. This is a dichotomy I allude to when I do my "English Cafe" posts, the ones that mock the ridiculous presentation of English by foreigners for the amusement of Koreans: we're expected to be clowns, we alone, while Korean teachers literally have to beat knowledge into students.
10 comments:
To me, this just peels away another layer of many...the myth that teachers are respected in Korea.
well, no one respects a bully.my students have absolutely no respect for the teachers and principal, just fear of physical punishment. my hands are basically tied when it comes to discipline. because i am alone without a co-teacher, i said i will employ western style high school tactics: send them to the principal's office, ask them to leave the class, send letters (translated) home to be signed by parents, or call their parents. of course, i was told all of these were insane, impossible actions and forbidden to try them. so, basically this whole year was useless.
wolves,
so if all those are forbidden to use, what did they suggest you do for discipline? sit there and grin?
I'm in favor of corporal punishment to a certain extent. Obviously we've all seen extreme cases . . . I don't believe in beating students for low test scores as they do, but if students are screwing around I don't think a teacher's out of line to give them a whack.
I'm not in my right mind after some hellacious classes, but I totally relate to your lack of options. You're right that people don't respect a bully, but they're trained to listen to them here. Foreign teachers generally talk about rewarding good behavior rather than punishing bad, but in cases like mine where I see students once or twice a month (if that) it's impossible to implement long-term plans. Likewise, again, we're stuck with a situation where we're the only ones rewarding good behavior, while all the other teachers are smacking kids around. It's important to stick to your convictions and not beat students, but it bears repeating that it's extremely difficult to get results ESPECIALLY since our classes are considered throw-aways anyway.
I might try and get into this more in a post next week, but after the two classes I've just had---consisting of shouting "puck you," of having students beat on each other, of me having to say "quiet" every two seconds, and having the students and coteacher tease the deaf kid . . . yeah. It's a hard job.
I suppose it depends on your definition of corporal punishment. Personally, I consider corporal punishment to be, well, a beating. I don't consider corporal punishment simply touching a student. If I have to remove an out of control student, I'll usually use some manner of neck pinch, if the student resists, I pinch harder. I don't consider that to be corporal punishment, but some might. I've only had to do this three times, that I remember, and never to the same student.
I freely admit, I was an absolutely rotten student. I've gotten away with stuff Korean kids haven't even thought of. I guess that gives me an advantage. I see everything before, during and after it happens. I have to say, Korean kids are awful at hiding. They don't even try to be slick.
I am in favour of corporal punishment...I mean it never did e any harm....
But it has to be thee absolute last resort when it comes to punishment.
One of the things a teacher can exploit - especially, if like me you are in a public school, is Group punishment.
By making the entire class responsible for it's actions the response is much more positive from students - as long as you follow through. My Office, classroom and area outside is always very clean because I have entire 4th grade classes go over them with brush and pan, broom, vacuum and mop.
If there is no cleaning to be done I have had a couple of 5th grade classes that have had to stand on the stairs at lunch time with their hands in the air. It's not so much the physical element of that punishment that is effective, rather the rest of the school seeing the class look like a bunch of clowns.
The 6th grade are probably the worst with some not too dissimilar scenes as described here. This year it went on for about three weeks, maybe until the end of March when the kids finally figured out that I was not clowning about, and I was not there for their entertainment and if the pissed me off they were all going to cop it.
The converse however is I dare say a bit of Playground Justice is being delivered unto the instigators....
On a lot of the blogs, it looks like every teacher or instructor standing around looking at everyone else seeing and saying the same things. The students I have now have huge fears of failure. They won't even bother to mark guesses on their tests for other classes. Most of the ones at my school need motivational speakers and a little therapy to try and turn their lives around before it is too late.
Rok,
After i explained the problems and my plans, the teachers nodded and apologized but said my plans were 'not possible'. they even shot down an incentive system in which i would give a participation mark each month, give extra work to below 50% kids, and let the above 50% kids have a movie class, because "it is not appropriate to show movies or eat snacks in class time." They said to send the students to them if I have problems, which undermines my authority entirely. Especially since they just ask the kids what they did, translate their half-assed "dog ate my homework" excuses to me, and never punish them. they always seem to conclude the problem was only a misunderstanding. so the kids have learned if they claim "i didn't understand what the foreigner wanted me to do" (even though i try to provide instructions in Hangul)they get off free. i was a 17 year old girl not too long ago, and i can see through their manipulations, but i am alone. when they respond to "Why did you come to class 30 min late?" or "Where is your project you had all month to work on?" with "Sorry, but i love you!" the other teachers just laugh and say "aw, isn't that cute?" god, sometimes they don't bother to make excuses at all, they just stand there making an adorable puffed cheek confused face until they can go. yeah, i'm starting to look a bit fondly on corporal punishment, to be honest.
" was a 17 year old girl not too long ago, and i can see through their manipulations, but i am alone. when they respond to "Why did you come to class 30 min late?" or "Where is your project you had all month to work on?" with "Sorry, but i love you!" the other teachers just laugh and say "aw, isn't that cute?" "
What part of 'You are a foreign monkey and from the top to the bottom of our Korean society you receive and never will receive no respect" are you having trouble understanding?
First, that should read, 'You are a foreign monkey and from the top to the bottom of our Korean society you don't receive and never will receive any respect'.
Second, those are the types of jobs you say sayonara to. They don't pay me enough to eat their shit sandwiches. I move on to where I'm appreciated. If the cycle of disrespect begins anew, I simply move on again.
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