Nice to know it's not just happening to us, and at least we aren't in a situation as bad as poor Brett! We have the swimming pool bathroom problem too - I think it's because they basically have open drains here so they get clogged with hair and all sorts. We have to dump bleach down the drain like all the damn time to stop the whole place from flooding. :/
Today was better and thanks for the good thoughts, but Tuesday (the day after this day) was pretty awful too. I got told that, the class of first graders I have to entertain for forty minutes with one page, which has, if I'm lucky, 6 lines of dialogue, shouldn't draw as an activity. I'm already not allowed to play games with them. I have no fucking clue what I'm supposed to do with them now. *sigh* /whinging.
The permanent marker thing was actually largely frustrating because it wasn't even my error! Some OTHER teacher left a permanent marker in the room which, to be fair, for some reason looked just like a dry-erase marker. So this kid who I cannot break of the habit of grabbing my dry-erase markers just...grabbed that one instead. I didn't even notice it was in the little groove in front of the white board until it was TOO LATE ZOMG. Srsly, you think that kid'd be too nervous to try it again, but no, she's still sneaking off as soon as my attention is on another kid and trying to draw things on the board.
Anyway, NICE TO MEET YOU FELLOW-TEACHER-IN-KOREA and I hope you enjoy the vid. :)
Luckily, Brett's water is back on, and he can go back to shaving in his own bathroom. :P I think you're right about the drains getting clogged - I'll have to pick up some bleach assuming I ever get to E-mart or Dong-A this week (I've been so beyond tired I've just been crashing after teaching).
. . . wait, WHAT? They won't let them draw or play games? That's like, half of the teaching advice I got here - if all else fails, make them draw or write what they're trying to say and use games as a reward. I don't know WHAT I'd do with my kindergardeners without "Simon Says" or "Red Light, Green Light". Whinge all you like, because I'd be doing the same thing - are you supposed to just drill them all the time? They'll never respond to that, not if they're in kindergarden.
Oh boy. I think the marker thing is slightly hilarious because at my school, we've got the dry-erase ones all over the place, and my older kids will draw on the board between periods for me to come in and find. We keep the permanent ones locked up tight precisely for reasons like that - some kid will draw all over things with them.
NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO. :P Where are you teaching, currently? I'm a month into my first job, teaching in a haegwon in Daegu.
Me and my husband are in Incheon, near Seoul. It's our first year doing this too. We've been here for five and a half months, so nearly halfway, assuming we make it that far since I think the economy and a new hagwon that just opened and stole half our students might tank this sucker. *worries*
I am allowed to draw and play games with other classes. Why not this one, I have no idea. I think it's because I have a problem kid in the class who, when he loses, sometimes hits people or screams or, whatever, though I have no idea where this drawing edict came down from. They photocopy work sheets because they can't be arsed to make them proper books, and suddenly it's my job to make sure they don't draw on the backs in the five minutes at the end of class when all we're doing is playing (now apparently illegal) hangman? Like you say, these kids are six and seven years old. *flails*
Basically I do still play some games with them, I just try to keep it on the QT and not play ones where there's a "you suck, you lose, loser!" aspect to it. Like hangman. But really, I have no idea what they expect me to do. I wish there were something basic like a supply of LINED PAPER so I could get them to practice their writing since it's so awful, but even that, is, apparently, too much to ask for. Their lined workbooks are only for the Korean teachers to use. 9_9
I WISH WE HAD AS MANY DRY ERASE MARKERS AS YOU. We have to keep track of our own, and if you lose one, GOOD LUCK ever finding another.
To be honest, I don't like playing Simon Says because I can never think of good things to make them do and it never lasts that long, and Red Light Green Light I haven't even heard of!
But one game that an ex-TEFL teacher told me about that they seem to enjoy is a big version of tic-tac-toe. I use a four-by-five square and every three-in-a-row is worth one point, so when they've filled out the grid, one team wins. They seem to enjoy it and you can let them choose what team they want to be instead of "X" and "O", so you end up with "100 Sharks" team and "$" team and stuff. If you make each student answer a question or spell a word before his/her go it can really eat up time.
Also I find spelling tests are fairly good ways to waste time and not feel I'm failing totally in my educational duties.
Avenue Q does NOT lie. The song is my ringtone, too - at least, it was on my phone from home. My ringtone now is this awesome jazz song.
*cheerleads* Halfway done! You have survived for five and a half months! Go you guys!
Augh, I hear you on the economy and tuition-related stuff. My school has thankfully been open for a year and a half (even before I got there) and we're circumventing funding issues by opening more kindergarden classes, so we offer a regular school program and a kindergarden program. This month has been the first of the K classes, which are eaaaaarly in the morning and kicking my butt to teach.
I can see why you might need to tailor your teaching methods to this problem kid, but frankly, we have the same thing in the main kindergarden class. James runs around, kicks, screams, and wrestles the entire time, and really, the best thing we've found is to have Brett, Park or Minh (two of the security guys/drivers) pick him up in a football carry until he's calm, and continue teaching. If I had more of a height advantage, I'd carry him myself. He just seems to react the best to being unequivocally convinced that he's not going to get away with misbehaving.
Ohhh, hangman. God bless hangman - it has already saved a few class periods, and I've just started. I will definitely have to try out the tic-tac-toe variant you mentioned - my gang likes the original version, but it gets old fast.
The dry-erase markers are more prevalent than paper, I swear to god. It's insane. Except half the markers have been used up, so you go to write down vocab and you have to run out and find a new one and hope they don't go bonkers in the room before you get back.
"Simon Says" I usually reserve for my low-level comp kids. I can think of enough things to keep them occupied, and it helps them learn left from right, the names of body parts, etc. "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" (complete with actions, or it's useless) is another favorite of my younger kids. And OMG, "Red Light, Green Light" is so much fun! You can't use it in a class with a ton of kids, because they'll start shoving matches, but basically, whoever is "captain" stands at the front of the room with their back turned. The kids line up, and when the captain says "green light", they're allowed to take one step forward. If the captain says "red light", they can't move. If the captain turns around and catches someone moving on a red light, that person has to go back to the starting line. My first-graders adore it.
Unfortunately, I can't time-waste with spelling tests - we have scheduled ones, and they'll throw a fit if you test them on a day when they aren't supposed to have a test. I usually end up doing pronounciation and vocab, or having them do informal writing practice. "Write me five words that begin with the letter P", or something.
My school has been open for like a gabillion years (at least six), and it's part of one of the biggest english language school franchises in south korea apparently (though you wouldn't know it from the unprofessional way it's run: I think franchise is the operative word here) so it should have been pretty stable. :/ Which is why I'm kind of worried that they're in trouble.
We already have a fulltime kindergarden program, I teach two classes a day. And yes, we have a kid who wrestles, kicks, screams and broke my glasses so I'm now wearing a spare pair.
The problem I have with these two problem kids (the second kid is actually not still in kindergarten, it's first grade), is that no one backs me up in dealing with them. We don't have burly security guards to carry them, and while I physically DO pick them up and remove them when things get too difficult, all the teachers are in other classes, and if I put him outside, he continually flings himself at the door. If I leave him with the desk teacher, she eventually brings him back in for some reason, and just... Like they say things like, "If he's bad just give him to the desk teacher," but the reality is, it doesn't work and I get looked at like, "Why can't you control him?" even though no one can. Like it takes two of us to manhandle him when he's being really difficult, and it totally disrupts the class, and apparently, "Do not let him be in my class," is not an option.
It's because this place is a business not a school. They hate having to phone the parents and tell them there's an issue with their kid because they're scared the parent will just take the kid out of the school. So they'd rather keep throwing him at me and refusing to help me with him because I'm less likely to walk away and take their money.
The other kid - in the class I can't draw with now - I actually can handle him much better, which is why I'm frustrated. All the times when he's misbehaved REALLY badly, like hitting someone, have been in the breaks between classes when frankly, my chain of custody is over with. I have somewhere else I need to be going to. I agree we need to deal with him somehow, but removing ALL FUN WAYS OF LEARNING for EVERYONE IN THE CLASS because he's a little git is...not helpful. But endemic of the way things get handled here. :/
I think that's my major issue. I'm slowly realising that if I say, "I have a problem with X," what everyone hears is, "I have failed at something because I am stupid, please help me."
Possibly I'm just having a really, really bad few weeks (and I think that really is a lot of it) as is everyone else at the school, but...I also think there's some truth to that.
I DO ACTUALLY KNOW THAT GAME NOW! Only we used to play "light house," and the "captain" stood at the light switch and the students could move when the light was out, but when it was on, they had to freeze. The problem with these games or running games, etc., is that our classrooms are tiny. There's an oval table for the kids and maybe a foot and a half of clear space either side of it before you hit either the wall or bookshelves. It's awful. And the table is so big I can't move it out of the way either.
My kids flipped out a little at first with the spelling tests, but I managed to explain it was "just for practice," and now they're a lot calmer about it. I mean, they don't like it, but they accept it and seem to try. So, I consider that a success. Writing practice, as I said, is difficult without lined paper, but "write me X words," is more workable, I think. I may have to try that.
Nice to know it's not just happening to us, and at least we aren't in a situation as bad as poor Brett! We have the swimming pool bathroom problem too - I think it's because they basically have open drains here so they get clogged with hair and all sorts. We have to dump bleach down the drain like all the damn time to stop the whole place from flooding. :/
Today was better and thanks for the good thoughts, but Tuesday (the day after this day) was pretty awful too. I got told that, the class of first graders I have to entertain for forty minutes with one page, which has, if I'm lucky, 6 lines of dialogue, shouldn't draw as an activity. I'm already not allowed to play games with them. I have no fucking clue what I'm supposed to do with them now. *sigh* /whinging.
The permanent marker thing was actually largely frustrating because it wasn't even my error! Some OTHER teacher left a permanent marker in the room which, to be fair, for some reason looked just like a dry-erase marker. So this kid who I cannot break of the habit of grabbing my dry-erase markers just...grabbed that one instead. I didn't even notice it was in the little groove in front of the white board until it was TOO LATE ZOMG. Srsly, you think that kid'd be too nervous to try it again, but no, she's still sneaking off as soon as my attention is on another kid and trying to draw things on the board.
Anyway, NICE TO MEET YOU FELLOW-TEACHER-IN-KOREA and I hope you enjoy the vid. :)
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. . . wait, WHAT? They won't let them draw or play games? That's like, half of the teaching advice I got here - if all else fails, make them draw or write what they're trying to say and use games as a reward. I don't know WHAT I'd do with my kindergardeners without "Simon Says" or "Red Light, Green Light". Whinge all you like, because I'd be doing the same thing - are you supposed to just drill them all the time? They'll never respond to that, not if they're in kindergarden.
Oh boy. I think the marker thing is slightly hilarious because at my school, we've got the dry-erase ones all over the place, and my older kids will draw on the board between periods for me to come in and find. We keep the permanent ones locked up tight precisely for reasons like that - some kid will draw all over things with them.
NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO. :P Where are you teaching, currently? I'm a month into my first job, teaching in a haegwon in Daegu.
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Me and my husband are in Incheon, near Seoul. It's our first year doing this too. We've been here for five and a half months, so nearly halfway, assuming we make it that far since I think the economy and a new hagwon that just opened and stole half our students might tank this sucker. *worries*
I am allowed to draw and play games with other classes. Why not this one, I have no idea. I think it's because I have a problem kid in the class who, when he loses, sometimes hits people or screams or, whatever, though I have no idea where this drawing edict came down from. They photocopy work sheets because they can't be arsed to make them proper books, and suddenly it's my job to make sure they don't draw on the backs in the five minutes at the end of class when all we're doing is playing (now apparently illegal) hangman? Like you say, these kids are six and seven years old. *flails*
Basically I do still play some games with them, I just try to keep it on the QT and not play ones where there's a "you suck, you lose, loser!" aspect to it. Like hangman. But really, I have no idea what they expect me to do. I wish there were something basic like a supply of LINED PAPER so I could get them to practice their writing since it's so awful, but even that, is, apparently, too much to ask for. Their lined workbooks are only for the Korean teachers to use. 9_9
I WISH WE HAD AS MANY DRY ERASE MARKERS AS YOU. We have to keep track of our own, and if you lose one, GOOD LUCK ever finding another.
To be honest, I don't like playing Simon Says because I can never think of good things to make them do and it never lasts that long, and Red Light Green Light I haven't even heard of!
But one game that an ex-TEFL teacher told me about that they seem to enjoy is a big version of tic-tac-toe. I use a four-by-five square and every three-in-a-row is worth one point, so when they've filled out the grid, one team wins. They seem to enjoy it and you can let them choose what team they want to be instead of "X" and "O", so you end up with "100 Sharks" team and "$" team and stuff. If you make each student answer a question or spell a word before his/her go it can really eat up time.
Also I find spelling tests are fairly good ways to waste time and not feel I'm failing totally in my educational duties.
Reply
*cheerleads* Halfway done! You have survived for five and a half months! Go you guys!
Augh, I hear you on the economy and tuition-related stuff. My school has thankfully been open for a year and a half (even before I got there) and we're circumventing funding issues by opening more kindergarden classes, so we offer a regular school program and a kindergarden program. This month has been the first of the K classes, which are eaaaaarly in the morning and kicking my butt to teach.
I can see why you might need to tailor your teaching methods to this problem kid, but frankly, we have the same thing in the main kindergarden class. James runs around, kicks, screams, and wrestles the entire time, and really, the best thing we've found is to have Brett, Park or Minh (two of the security guys/drivers) pick him up in a football carry until he's calm, and continue teaching. If I had more of a height advantage, I'd carry him myself. He just seems to react the best to being unequivocally convinced that he's not going to get away with misbehaving.
Ohhh, hangman. God bless hangman - it has already saved a few class periods, and I've just started. I will definitely have to try out the tic-tac-toe variant you mentioned - my gang likes the original version, but it gets old fast.
The dry-erase markers are more prevalent than paper, I swear to god. It's insane. Except half the markers have been used up, so you go to write down vocab and you have to run out and find a new one and hope they don't go bonkers in the room before you get back.
"Simon Says" I usually reserve for my low-level comp kids. I can think of enough things to keep them occupied, and it helps them learn left from right, the names of body parts, etc. "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" (complete with actions, or it's useless) is another favorite of my younger kids. And OMG, "Red Light, Green Light" is so much fun! You can't use it in a class with a ton of kids, because they'll start shoving matches, but basically, whoever is "captain" stands at the front of the room with their back turned. The kids line up, and when the captain says "green light", they're allowed to take one step forward. If the captain says "red light", they can't move. If the captain turns around and catches someone moving on a red light, that person has to go back to the starting line. My first-graders adore it.
Unfortunately, I can't time-waste with spelling tests - we have scheduled ones, and they'll throw a fit if you test them on a day when they aren't supposed to have a test. I usually end up doing pronounciation and vocab, or having them do informal writing practice. "Write me five words that begin with the letter P", or something.
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We already have a fulltime kindergarden program, I teach two classes a day. And yes, we have a kid who wrestles, kicks, screams and broke my glasses so I'm now wearing a spare pair.
The problem I have with these two problem kids (the second kid is actually not still in kindergarten, it's first grade), is that no one backs me up in dealing with them. We don't have burly security guards to carry them, and while I physically DO pick them up and remove them when things get too difficult, all the teachers are in other classes, and if I put him outside, he continually flings himself at the door. If I leave him with the desk teacher, she eventually brings him back in for some reason, and just... Like they say things like, "If he's bad just give him to the desk teacher," but the reality is, it doesn't work and I get looked at like, "Why can't you control him?" even though no one can. Like it takes two of us to manhandle him when he's being really difficult, and it totally disrupts the class, and apparently, "Do not let him be in my class," is not an option.
It's because this place is a business not a school. They hate having to phone the parents and tell them there's an issue with their kid because they're scared the parent will just take the kid out of the school. So they'd rather keep throwing him at me and refusing to help me with him because I'm less likely to walk away and take their money.
The other kid - in the class I can't draw with now - I actually can handle him much better, which is why I'm frustrated. All the times when he's misbehaved REALLY badly, like hitting someone, have been in the breaks between classes when frankly, my chain of custody is over with. I have somewhere else I need to be going to. I agree we need to deal with him somehow, but removing ALL FUN WAYS OF LEARNING for EVERYONE IN THE CLASS because he's a little git is...not helpful. But endemic of the way things get handled here. :/
I think that's my major issue. I'm slowly realising that if I say, "I have a problem with X," what everyone hears is, "I have failed at something because I am stupid, please help me."
Possibly I'm just having a really, really bad few weeks (and I think that really is a lot of it) as is everyone else at the school, but...I also think there's some truth to that.
I DO ACTUALLY KNOW THAT GAME NOW! Only we used to play "light house," and the "captain" stood at the light switch and the students could move when the light was out, but when it was on, they had to freeze. The problem with these games or running games, etc., is that our classrooms are tiny. There's an oval table for the kids and maybe a foot and a half of clear space either side of it before you hit either the wall or bookshelves. It's awful. And the table is so big I can't move it out of the way either.
My kids flipped out a little at first with the spelling tests, but I managed to explain it was "just for practice," and now they're a lot calmer about it. I mean, they don't like it, but they accept it and seem to try. So, I consider that a success. Writing practice, as I said, is difficult without lined paper, but "write me X words," is more workable, I think. I may have to try that.
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