If you stay at this job enduring all the abuse you describe in your post, you'll hurt guys like me later. See, I don't put up with crap like this long enough to even make a post asking for advice about it.

If you do stay, you'll finish up your contract and then the school will go looking for your replacement. They may find ME, a fire-breathing pit-bull of the TEFL teacher ranks, or someone very similiar to me. I'd walk into the classes you left behind--classes whose students who think they can abuse the white face at will. And guess what happens next?

The school will be suddenly, and I do mean SUDDENLY, without that white face. Said white face then has to hit the streets all over again looking for a job. He doesn't like to do that--especially after he's gotten his hopes up that this job could be that
ever-elusive 'great job'.

So please--I beg you. Get out of there before everyone from the director on down gets it set in their minds that this sort of thing is acceptable. They won't like what happens if I am next to arrive at your school.

RT

Jinchafa is right on the money.

I'd add that you had better get your head right before going to a new teaching job. If you don't, you may be overcome with anxiety and you'll worry that your new students will be exactly like your present little ##. So, this present job has the potential to keep on hurting you well after you've gone someplace else, be it soon (resignation) or later (contract completion).

Yes,I have to agree with RT; move on. Life is too short to deal with being miserable for the length of time you've apparently dealt with it.
My guess is that your current students are mostly little rich kids and therefore the product of an upbringing that has left out even the time honored Confucian ethic of respect for teachers. Even worse is the fact that as they fail to learn or show progress in their studies the blame will fall on you.

Personally, I wouldn't put up with the kind of behavior you've outlined for even half a second. In fact, I always establish quite early in my classes that I have no reservations about showing students the door for lesser infractions than you're dealing with; moreover, it's become somewhat of a game in my classes. As soon as there is any disruptive behavior, my students begin anticipating my reaction, and when I finally respond by pointing to the door and to the student at fault there is a chorus of "bye-bye." Noone wants to be on the receiving end of the "bye-bye." In Asia, even children know about losing face.

However, it seems that your classes have reached the point of no return. It's too late to establish discipline and, as I said, they're probably a bunch of spoiled little rich kids anyway. So, my advice is skeedaddle on outta there.

Why would you stay at a job you do not like? Get out of there! There are plenty of other jobs out there for an experienced teacher like you.

Hello,

I could really do with some advice from fellow ESl teachers.

I am currently teaching in Seoul, South korea in a school with students aged 7 - 17. I taught for a year in Daejeon with similiar ages, ejoyed my time and would like to think l had a good relationship with the children. I had good students, not so good students, classes l loved, classes l wasn't so keen on etc..... All in all it was an interesting experience and l decided that l would like to teach at a hagwon for a second year.

This story is not so positive, however. I have been pretty miserable for the past 4/5 months at the hagwon l am currently teaching at. My boss pays me on time, but the kids behaviour is very bad.

When l say bad l mean refusing to do activities, sometimes hitting me and swearing a lot in my lessons. In my first week at the school l would walk into certain lessons and the students would completely ingnore me, shouting a conversation over the classroom for the 50 minute period. I have really struggled to get them to listen or take interest in what l am trying hard to do infront of the classroom. They are (this school is 80 percent boys by the way) quite hostile towards me and l am ashamed to say that l have resorted to shouting and marker throwing as a means of getting their attention and as some kind of discipline. Not good.

Anyway l go to school at least an hour early to prepare for the lessons and make materials, so it's not that l don't prepare or don't care. I have tried to talk to my boss, but he just gives them candy all the time because it is his way of "handling the children". I know an unhappy teacher, angry teacher etc... is a bad teacher, but l don't know what l have done wrong or why l can't get through to these children.

I just don't understand why l have gone from being quite a happy, easy going person in the classroom, to an angry miserable punchbag for little children. They don't have much respect for my boss either and shout at him if they don't get "candy" ( the word candy will haunt me forever). The kids also draw on the walls in marker pen and are allowed to play games on the teacher's computers ( we have a desk each with a flat screen) I have tried all kinds of things to teach them, but nothing seems to work. I am running out of steam. The boys (well they do make up 80 percent of the school) are getting more hostile, especially as summers are very hot out here and uncomfortable.

Any advice or any response at all would be really welcome.

LC