It's no secret that corporal punishment is alive and well in Korean classrooms. It's just more prominent in some classroom than others.
My classroom is one of those classrooms.
I'll start with a picture: 1/2 Moment: Yes, that is a mini knife, sword of some sort. Yes, the kid was actually using it during class time to stab some piece of paper and cut off bits of his eraser. I was appalled. I couldn't even imagine the panic that would ensue had this been in the states, especially since he and another kid were actually fighting with the thing. I kept my mouth shut, and watched as the teacher looked in their direction, and looked away.
1/2 Moment: Students were a bit rowdier than usual becuase it's the day before a holiday break. It's Chuseok here in Korea, which is Korean Thanksgiving. The students and teachers are out of school for 3 days for celebration. Because the behavior was a bit less controlled, the discipline kicked up a notch. For the first time, I actually witnessed a teacher softly kick a student in the head. Yes, Yes, Yes. It wasn't violent. It wasn't even painful, it was just *jaw dropping.* He had walked around with a newspaper and smacked some kids already, as well as pinched their cheeks. I just couldn't believe my eyes! the kid was definitely a troublemaker, but it's hard for me to see that and be comfortable.
The relationship between Korean teachers and students is very close. These teachers spend more time with the students than parents, and a lot of the students have the teacher's personal cell phone numbers. It is not out of line for parents and teachers to have the same disciplinary rights, if you will, so I'm sure no one will cry home about the teacher being "abusive" because there seems to be a mutual understanding about what discipline is acceptable here. Personally, I don't feel either way about corporal punishment. If parents are willing to give that right to teachers, that is their prerogative. I do know that whatever discipline they have in place does not affect the relationship between the students and teachers, at least the way i see it. There is still a loving, caring, and respectful attitude among students, and although that is not a measure of discipline I'm willing to take one, I cannot point the finger and say that this manner of discipline is "WRONG." I just know that this is not something that is Acceptable in the US, and it will take my eyes some getting used to... Ciao!!