::A Geek in Korea::

Today the students were given new bags from the school. The bags were emblazoned with the school’s logo and phone number. We’re basically paying for the students to be walking advertisements.

We actually got the bags in the school last Friday. My director had told me to float a rumor to expect to buy a bag as soon as I saw them delivered. I had told the students to expect to pay for them as per her directions. The director had told me we’d be charging the students 7000 won each on Friday, and I passed this information on. Students were annoyed that they’d have to buy bags for the school, but they are annoyed about paying for anything.

My director decided today that she’d be giving the bags away instead. She entered the class to explain that the bags were free, but made the students take a pledge. She said that the teachers had come to her and said that it wasn’t fair for the good students to pay for nice bags. The director said that the teachers forced her to compromise. If the students kept doing their work, and did a good job in class, they could keep the bag for free. Otherwise, the students would have to pay for a bag like any of the students joining the school after today. These bags are actually very nice, and I was surprised they were going to be giving them away, lie or not.

The younger students instantly promised that they would try hard. They got their free bags, put them over their heads, huffed the plastic fumes, then dumped their books into the new bags. Any student on the border line between passing and failing was extra earnest in their promise to do well in class.

My worst class is filled with sarcastic near-teens with terrible attitudes. My director came in and did the same “Oh, I wanted to charge you, but the teachers wouldn’t stand for it” deal. These children each had to then promise to be a good student, or pay for the bag. All of the students said they would rather pay for the bag, and produced money from their parents to pay off the director rather than make a promise. They told the director they don’t want to try hard and don’t think they can improve, so they’d rather buy the bag than do more.

The director actually turned down the money and made me come up with crappy reasons for each student as if I was noticing improvement in each student and that if they only tried a little more they would totally be “earning” that bag. The truth of the matter was that the students had all failed their speaking tests earlier in the class, and if I had a choice I would hold back several of them from reaching the next level.

I played along with the little game of false praise, and the students all got their bags for free. I think it sort of blew up in my director’s face when they were more willing to buy off the teacher than actually try harder.