Here's a part of my introduction in my latest Herald column:
The short video clip resulted in a 10-day suspension of the offending student and the one who filmed it and posted it to his webpage. Korean commenters pointed to a breakdown in discipline in their schools, though I'm not sure foreign English teachers found the incident so unusual. The professional boundaries between students and their native speaker English teachers are often unclear, sometimes resulting in awkward, inappropriate moments like the ones on the video.
And elsewhere it continues:
Sexual harassment isn't a daily occurrence in the classroom, if the video is even an example of sexual harassment, but things like swearing in English, cursing in Korean at teachers, rubbing arm hair, gawking at breasts, and hugging and touching do happen with regularity. As do minor annoyances that Korean teachers lament as well, like students who are disruptive, inattentive, or who think public school classes are a waste of time.
Trying to lead classes of students who consider you a friend or a plaything is not conducive to improving English ability or to maintaining a healthy learning environment.
Give the rest of it a read on the Herald site.
I make mention of a book written by a Korean teacher who says that because corporal punishment is prohibited in school it is becoming increasingly difficult to control students. One story in it is supposed to be hypothetical, but doesn't sound too different from what many of us have experienced in the classroom; an excerpt:
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].
That portion of the book is a quotation from the translation of an article by Korea Beat, and the quotation from the author I use comes from this Joongang Ilbo article brought up in this post discussing it.
10 comments:
I teach elementary.
One fifth grade boy has a lot of anger. But why I don't know. He comes to class and shouts:
"Hey fuck you man!" "Get the fuck out of here!"
He does this very loudly and over and over. BAsically he is a problem student in the class because he refuses to participate.
The school has no guidance counselor for this kid. He will grow up and move on to Middle school without any really mentoring before he gets there.
I talked to my coteacher about the differences of how a child would be taken care of in America and how they are taken care of here. The teachers do nothing more than try to console the kid. Their last resort is talking to the parents. But since the kid has been doing this for a month now I can see that nothing is really happening.
All of these accounts are an example of how the public school system here is no more than a babysitting service. The real value in education from parents comes in the hagwons they send their kids to.
I never thought that I would value my public education that I got in America. But because of what I have seen and dealth with on a daily basis here in Korea I am greatful for my public education.
By golly what example is our Principal? He smokes in front of the children. Every monday he spouts propaganda to them on the main TV.
All of this puts us foreign teachers in a difficult position since we know what a shame and farce education these kids are receiving. They receive little in how to prepare themselves for the adult world.
What can we do at our jobs to cope with this? To see these kids suffer, knowing very well all they need is proper guidance.
Makes you want to pack your bags and never look back.
I always get annoyed teaching kindergarteners everyday, but sometimes I'm glad I avoid the teenagers. They seem hard to deal with at times.
What might have been the age difference between the student and the teacher?
I teach middle school to some really good kids, and some total brats. I disagree with the assesment by the guy that "since banning corporal punishment, dicipline has gone out the window." I don't think that dicipline was ever really there in the first place. Corporal punishment when done irresponsibly causes more problems than when it isn't there.
I have found that when students are being brats, and the co-teacher takes it upon his or herself to kick some ass it takes away from the lesson because at that point the co-teacher isn't paying attention, and then the students loose focus.
In America, my 70 year old Taekwondo Grand Master told me a story about how when he was in highschool some students were causing troubles in class so the teacher lined them all up and tried to kick them all in the legs. My grandmaster was able to dodge his attacks frustrating the teacher. After school the kids from that class planned to gang up on that teacher and jump him as he was leaving. GM was able to defend the teacher, and the teacher was greatful.
Moral of the story, even back in the 1950's corporal punishment was pretty much useless, because if you pissed the students off bad enough, they would try to retaliate. Another moral to the story is that schools are probably much better now than they were even 10 years ago.
A lot of the B.S. that happens in my school happens because the little shits are of middle school age, and middle school is the age of little shittery.
One thing that did happen here that I find somewhat appalling is an incident that happened a few weeks ago where some kids from my school got in trouble for attacking a drunk guy and stealing his money. The drunk guy pressed charges against them, and the kids dyed their hair and fled town. The police then outsourced their job to school officials. One of my school's English teachers found them, drove about 30 km and picked them up, and then the punishment they recieve was from the school.
I don't know what happened behind the closed doors, but I did see the music teacher smack the shit out of one kid. I haven't seen those kids for a few days so I don'e know what happened to them. I guess my biggest wonder is why the hell isn't their any kind of system, like a juvy pen to deal with kids like that, why does the school have to take care of everything. Teachers are busy enough as it is.
I think a large part of the problem (if there really IS a problem) is the lack of a positive and constructive relationship between parents and teachers. Parents have traditionally handed off responsibility for discipline to teachers (a hangover from the days of dictatorship) being as teachers are symbolic representatives of state authority. However, the change in the nature of the state has meant that teachers' roles have changed too and no longer are they, nor should they want to be, avatars of dictatorial power. However, the model of discipline has not really changed with it, quite clearly evidenced by the fact that corporal punishment, though banned in name, is still exercised. Parents too, having been raised in the old system themselves, may prefer to hand over the exercise of discipline to what was a greater and more threatening authority rather than take the responsibility themselves.
However, I think the understanding of what discipline should be has changed too, though it is still very much in a transitional phase. Discipline should never consist of the pointless and meaningless exercise of authority, but a caring process of improvement. Children need behavioural boundaries, and need to know their own rights too. This can't happen when their parents tell them one thing and their teacher another. At present, I think there's still far too much of the attitude of 'school will sort him out' from the parents, and 'I blame the parents' from the teachers.
Another final point I'd like to make before I shut the fuck up - anyone who thinks that corporal punishment is acceptable has no right to call him- or herself a teacher. But that's a separate debate, I think.
The solution is quite simple. Give those students who don't care to study a taste of the back breaking jobs that they are in for if they don't buckle down--work camps if you will.
There also needs to be an alternative system in place to teach those kids who aren't book smart a trade of some sort while they are still in high school--this would provide relief in the classroom for those interested in learning and provide a future for these children that doesn't involve prison or welfare.
I teach middle school and for the most part my students are angels. They are so kind and respectful to me.
One thing I realize you must maintain discipline at all times. I am from the old school of teaching and I don't allow my students to call me by my first name. "Mr." has to be attached to my last name. There are rules on the classroom wall and I review them when I feel things may be going south. They get rewards for good work and demerits if they are not on task. I can be a real slave driver, but as learned when I was teaching middle school in California, kids appreciate a firm, yet loving hand. As long as you don't make it personal they appreciate having discipline. Lord knows, they didn't have any discipline in their homes. I am not a dictator, but in my classroom I am the boss.
Looking at this video makes me sick. This teacher has no classroom management skills. It doesn't matter if the students maybe 5 years younger than the teacher, or if the teacher is a woman or man, the teacher always should have the upper hand. It starts the minute a teacher first enters a room on the first day of class.
That video certainly shows gross physical harrassment. (Sexual or not, I don't know.) I blame it on the weak teacher, or, more likely, a neo-Confucian patriarchal system that failed to back up the female teacher when she complained in the past and instead took the side of the future ajosshi-in-training.
Oooh, look. Comes now Kushibo to tell us that a western woman was sexually harassed back in 1975, and that Grand Narrative idiot ("Sex! Sex! Click on my blog!") who wouldn't know a footnote or evidence if it hit him in the ass but who will demand "evidence" in a scholarly format if anyone dares point out that Korea's screwed up system is just a tad patriarchal.
Reading Machiavelli should be a requirement in all teaching departments. Students need to love and respect their teachers for what they do, while at the same time fearing what the teachers are capable of doing. All one or all the other just doesn't work.
Some mighty proud parents, I'm sure.
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