- One of my students dyed her hair SLIGHTLY lighter than her natural black do'. She was slapped on the wrist multiple times and ordered to dye it back to black. The next day, it was black.
- If you're late to school in the morning, you kneel in the hallways so everyone can stare and point at you, especially the other teachers. Or you stay after school to clean the bathrooms, which are filthy. Being humiliated in public is the ultimate punishment.
- I'm not sure what this kid did... but today I saw him hand washing all the main staircase with a bottle of soapy water and sponge.
- For multiple tardies, boys have to stay in push-up positions with their fists on the ground. Oh, they gym teacher will walk up and down the line of tardy boys and slap with with a huge stick.
-If girls don't trim their bangs or cut their hair a certain length... off they go to the hair salon.
-Today, one of my students was slapped multiple times behind his knees, on bare skin. I saw the welts. I almost cried.
- If you're really bad, your parents are called into the teacher's office, not the principals office, for a little one on one meeting. Since my desk is right by the door, when the parents leave, it looks as if they are about to cry.
-Girls are not allowed to paint their nails bright colors, wear makeup, or pierce their ears. If they break these rules... bring on the slapping.
I consider myself to have pretty thick skin, especially seeing corporal punishment on a daily basis. Granted, some slaps generate more giggles than tears, it still is disturbing to hear the "WHACK" of the stick on the students' bodies. The mere sound pierces my ears and makes me cringe all over.
One teacher asked me how I felt about corporal punishment, but I really didn't know how to respond. I'm neither for nor against it, because even if I advocated either way, I'm still stuck in limbo. I have no authority to ask the teachers to stop (that would be a cultural taboo because they are my senior and I should respect them) yet I want to tell them... "In America... such and such would occur..." but I'm not in America, and if this sort of punishment has been "working," so be it. I can't change anything about this system.
Corporal punishment is techinically illegal in Korea, but openly practiced in most schools. Obviously each school has different policies and, but the fact is clear, corporal punishment will continue to be practiced in schools. Sometimes I also wonder whether certain teachers are just taking their anger and agression out on the students, or if the students really misbehaved THAT badly to walk away with a welt. (Yes, I've seen welts). In Korea, the teacher will do the primary disciplining, not the parents.
So what's the solution? Earphones. Just kidding. I hate to say it, as much as watching a child get slapped on the wrist or hit on the head for what I think are stupid reasons, I have to just accept it.... unless if it starts interfering with the actual education of the students, especially in my classroom.
And we thought detention was painful....
On a brighter note, here are a few pictures of my school!
A view from my office... can you see the ocean on the horizon? That's only a 10 minute walk!
