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Student Behaviors
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You will certainly experience a full variety of classroom behaviours. Please be aware of the following:
- The kindergarten children have not been influenced by the rote learning system of the Korean state schools so they are free learners and open to developing amazing creativity and diverse thinking.
- The older a student gets, the more inhibited they might act in your classes, especially if you set them a creative acting role. It is very hard for an older student to show himself up in front of his peers.
- Boys will have more rights and strength of opinion. This is solely based on the hierarchy system and male dominance over the years.
- Young students will often cuddle and hold hands and fall asleep cuddling each other. Kindergarten children seem to be totally uninhibited with showing emotions. The little boys will be devoted to looking after the little girls.
- Young male students will often have serious fistfights and violent altercations. Be on the look out for a few wobbly teeth from a punch in the mouth!
- Little girls will spend a lot of time trying to look pretty and this stays with them for a lifetime. Don?t be surprised to see at least 6 hair ties and bows in a little girl?s hair and hair dye even at the age of 6 years.
- Little boys are curious about the size of the foreign ladies breasts. We have experienced more than once the "breast grab" when an unsuspecting ?well endowed? teacher has suddenly had a young boy grab and squeeze one of her breasts. In seeking answers to this strange problem we found out that many little boys do this to their mothers as well and I guess the foreigner's breast certainly looks a good handful where as mom's looks a little on the small size.
- A few rather annoying and degrading gestures do happen among the students, and it is possible that the teacher will also experience a ?wedgie? when the child suddenly pulls your pants up your butt or they stick their pointed finger into your butt. A foreign teacher will always find this seriously offensive yet the child may not understand it is unacceptable behavior.
- Taunts and playing tricks. Be aware that Korean children like any other children will act as bullies and victims. You will almost certainly have to deal with a number of cases that are straight out victimization or bullying. It is very difficult to get to the source of this so take any serious ongoing concerns directly to the Academic Director.
This is only a small summary of expected behaviours and many others have been omitted. Please understand that you are working in an environment of cultural habits and attitudes very different from your own. Do try to understand or find answers for the annoying or hurtful things that happen to you or the students. Don?t think you can change the world and stop it. Start looking at what you will tolerate and understand what you can't change. Don?t ever go beating yourself up about issues the students are having. In the long run you are a small part of their learning life and it would be nice if they could look back on the positive foreign teacher they had, not the yelling grumpy scruffy teacher you might have become.
Once again teachers in our program are provided with extensive help and advice from World English Service Ltd staff, in all areas of classroom management and student behaviours for the full 12 months of their contracts.
Design & development by Karere. |
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Working in a theme classroom
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