discipline

When I was in elementary school, the biggest deterrent for bad behavior was missing 5 minutes of recess. Recess was, I believe, no more than 20 minutes, and missing out on the first 5 meant not being around when teams were picked, and therefore not getting into the game. Here, there's no recess, so the punishment I dish out is a little different.

My go-to punishment is "stand up, hands up." This is exactly what it sounds like: the student must stand up at his or her desk, and reach for the sky. This tactic is typically used in the case where a student hasn't done their homework. It's effective for two reasons: 1) arms tend to ache after they've been held up for a few minutes, and, 2) you look like a real piece of shit just standing there with your arms in the air.

If a student does something blatantly out of hand during class, like throwing something or fighting, it's "stand up, hands up," except out in the hall. This couples the two effects I've already mentioned with the added shame of not even being allowed in the same room as the rest of the children. It also means that if one of the Korean managers walks by and sees a student in such a dire state, they know the student has misbehaved and can proceed to lecture them.

Along with these tactics, there are two ways that I handle different kinds of classes. If a class has a bunch of kids who act out on a regular basis, I institute the "minus 10" method. This consists of writing names on the board underneath a header that reads "-10." If a student is disruptive or won't stop speaking Korean, they get their name on the board. If they accumulate a certain amount of -10s, I tell their Korean teacher to phone their parents. The threat of having a parent phoned because of misbehavior is extremely effective, but unfortunately it's because physical abuse is a common response from a Korean parent. I have yet to tell a Korean teacher to phone a parent because of misbehavior; I couldn't live with having any student, no matter how much they annoy me, show up the next day with a bruise. Still, the threat is there.

If a class has only two or three students who cause problems, I supplant the -10 technique with the 5-strike rule. When a student is being bad, I put a mark on the board. After five strikes, the entire class gets extra homework: five strikes means five sentences, six means six, and so on and so on. This works because it alienates the few troublemakers, who are shamed and embarrassed by their fellow students. This technique runs the risk of having the good students get angry with me, but I've found kids to be pretty fickle; it's easy to get back into their good graces.

I think that covers everything, other than just flat out giving up and getting a Korean teacher to come in a yell at everyone. I typically reserve that for the days when I'm hungover.