Punishment in school what would you do

[youreavinalaff]

On 8/12/2022 at 10:45 AM, simon43 said:

I used to lock the classroom door when the class started.  Any late students were at the mercy of being caught by the Principal in the corridor.

 

No-one was ever late again for my lessons, and no-one played around again. 

That's all very well, if the classroom has doors that lock. That would only likely be the case in air conditioned rooms.

[Callmeishmael]

I spent my first 4 years in Thailand struggling to teach English at a couple of Government Schools.  It was really disheartening to try to get through a decent lesson and I really had a hard time at first.  After a couple of years though, I learned enough about classroom management to get most of the kids to pay attention and at least go through the motions.  Then I got a job in an EP program in one of the "famous" schools in Bangkok.  What a difference!  I could really communicate with the kids, they really wanted to learn and really tried hard to do the lessons I prepared. 

 

A new school director let all of the experienced foreign teachers go at the end of the year, but several of us moved to a decent private EP school and I have been there ever since.  (teaching Science, not English, as my degree is in one of the sciences).

 

I realize that this doesn't really answer the OPs question, but really, getting out of an impossible situation is sometimes the only thing to do.

[BonMot]

On 8/12/2022 at 9:48 PM, markclover said:

It's a no fail system. 

I'm not necessarily against this and unlicensed teachers without any professional development behind them make far too much of this.

 

The quality of the education (system) bears some responsibility. So, they repeat inn the sdme school, under the same teacher. Which also means they repeat your class again as well.

 

To the point above and in general how many thousands of these students can the schools absorb repeating both financially and logistically?

 

Even in US students are up and out and that's the way it should be. You can give them 50-60% and that's enough damage an untrained and unlicensed teacher should do to any students future.

[BonMot]

On 8/11/2022 at 6:39 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

What if solution to your what if response to the what if scenario... 

 

Parents are informed that children bring phones to school at their own risk. 

Phones will be handed in at the beginning of a class. 

Phones will have the students name labelled on it. 

Teachers and the school are not responsible for any damage or loss to phones which are brought to school entirely at the owners risk.

 

 

Too many scenarios, it gets silly.

 

Ultimately, a good school and good teachers will have a handle on this. 

The schools that are unable to handle this situation already have bigger issues than a group of kids using their phone in class. 

 

 

 

This is a laff. At some of these upcountry schools the parents cant even read.

 

Contracts, agreements...

 

Parents will generally bow to school authority but the scenario you propse is as complicated as any Thai could create.

 

The solution is to figure out how to engage the students.

 

You can ask students to put their phones in a box or whatever. I would not take phones from students. Many schools disappove of this as well. It's personal property.

 

You can't compete with the psychological pull of games and social media. If the school won't adopt a policy then deal with it or leave.

[BonMot]

On 8/12/2022 at 1:06 PM, BangkokReady said:

I love this as a response to a specific hypothetical.

 

"What can a teacher do to in this scenario?"

 

"Leave the school?"

 

Absolutely ridiculous, but funny at least.

Why would you stay in a situation that you find stressful, unrewarding and difficult to manage?

 

I will state that it is ridiculous in that leaving one school for another a teacher often encounters similar problems but not necessarily. Also, hopefully the teacher is that much wiser and can see the signals more clearly.

 

It's Thailand, all non international schools are poorly managed to a greater or lesser degree but there are dozens of schools that are tolerable.

 

In US the bureaucracy and students are also known to be hugely stressful and problematic. Nothing new. Find a different career.

 

I would never teach at a school that wasn't attractive, well kept and had proper and functional AV. In fact, I'd never teach at anything less than the best schools in Thailand. Period.

[BonMot]

On 8/12/2022 at 1:52 PM, youreavinalaff said:

How would you define a good school? Are there any schools that are good through and through?

 

Government schools in Thailand must take 60% of their students from the local catchment area. These students are not required to take any kind of entrance exams. The remaining 40% will need to take the exam and will, usually, become the creme de la creme of the school.

 

I have taught in a top 5 ranked school. I can assure you, once you get past the 3rd ranked class in each grade, the behavior is no better than the top 500 ranked school down the road. 

1. Every Thai school has its issues as US, UK or Russian schools. It will never be perfect but you can mitigate by surrounding yourself by smarter, better ecucated teachers and admins snd smarter, more motivated students.

 

How to find the schools? Educating yourself on it. There's a old top 50/100 list/s floating around on the internet. It's not perfect and includes private schools it shouldn't and if comprehensive also includes others it should. Consult Wikipedia on some schools, see how some interlinked. There are some somewhat secret schools as well Dek-D might help if you can read Thai.

 

Bangkok is it and while they are about 25 good schools outside BKK they may still lack. Finally, regionally - ask your students.

 

I will say I know of a public school with a very good student reputation, extremely competitive but is horrible to its teachers. A few others that use agencies. In the end you just need to feel it out and if possible speak with teachers at the school. Never ask to speak with them though as if you decide against the position it may come back to bite them.

 

As for the 60% i would ask you for some evidence. Ive heard its 10-20 and school dependant. Surely the better, highly competitive schools bound by none of this. I know this from first hand knowledge.

 

I've also worked at top 1-10-20 schools. Two or three arguably on top five. I've dealt with many aggravating issues and continue to do so but it must be light-years ahead of some half broken school in Nakon Nowhere.

 

The provinces are not cheaper. You just need to learn to negotiate Bangkok. Things cost the same in the provs you just get more of it. More space, more food, etc. No need to have a scooter, insurance, petrol.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, BonMot said:

Why would you stay in a situation that you find stressful, unrewarding and difficult to manage?

 

I would never teach at a school that wasn't attractive, well kept and had proper and functional AV. In fact, I'd never teach at anything less than the best schools in Thailand. Period.

Money?

I taught anywhere in the UK that paid me.

[BangkokReady]

44 minutes ago, BonMot said:

Why would you stay in a situation that you find stressful, unrewarding and difficult to manage?

The thing is, the hypothetical was posed as: "If not some form of corporal punishment, how can you possibly address the issue in this classroom?".  So there were only really two options: concede that corporal punishment is a possible answer or propose another solution to keeping order in this hypothetical classroom.  It also appears that "just let the kids be naughty" wasn't an acceptable solution.

 

By saying "leave", it suggests that someone doesn't have an answer for how to fix the classroom.  So, the person who suggests "leave" is implying that there is no answer to the problem in term of non-corporal punishment. 

 

If there is no non-corporal punishment option, it leaves only the other option, the use of corporal punishment, which you avoid by leaving.  Leaving also doesn't fix the problem of the disruptive classroom.

 

That being said, I don't disagree with the idea that the best choice for the teacher is to leave,   It simply doesn't quite answer the hypothetical sufficiently for me.

 

The other option, which I outlined in another comment, is to simply admit that in order to enjoy teaching in Thailand (or at least encounter less stress) the teacher has to accept the kind of "fake teaching" that occurs in many schools and simply focus on the students that want to learn while still allowing students who have zero ability to pass the subject.  Not a great choice for someone that takes teaching seriously and wants all of the students to listen, but one of the only realistic choices.  Foreign teachers cannot change the system as the students are indoctrinated into it and they have no say.  I feel like this also was not something that the OP was going to accept as part of their hypothetical either, however.

[FritsSikkink]

On 8/10/2022 at 7:19 PM, kingstonkid said:

This not a thread for complaining.  This site has a lot of people that say corporal punishment is not needed.

That say the teachers do not know how to teach.

 

Okay we teachers are not as smart as you.

 

Please enlighten us with what you would do that would be a real solution.

If you have to ask, you either didn't get a proper teaching training (years worth not 100 hours or the likes) or you are lacking the mental toughness needed to control these kids. 

[youreavinalaff]

16 hours ago, BonMot said:

1. Every Thai school has its issues as US, UK or Russian schools. It will never be perfect but you can mitigate by surrounding yourself by smarter, better ecucated teachers and admins snd smarter, more motivated students.

 

How to find the schools? Educating yourself on it. There's a old top 50/100 list/s floating around on the internet. It's not perfect and includes private schools it shouldn't and if comprehensive also includes others it should. Consult Wikipedia on some schools, see how some interlinked. There are some somewhat secret schools as well Dek-D might help if you can read Thai.

 

Bangkok is it and while they are about 25 good schools outside BKK they may still lack. Finally, regionally - ask your students.

 

I will say I know of a public school with a very good student reputation, extremely competitive but is horrible to its teachers. A few others that use agencies. In the end you just need to feel it out and if possible speak with teachers at the school. Never ask to speak with them though as if you decide against the position it may come back to bite them.

 

As for the 60% i would ask you for some evidence. Ive heard its 10-20 and school dependant. Surely the better, highly competitive schools bound by none of this. I know this from first hand knowledge.

 

I've also worked at top 1-10-20 schools. Two or three arguably on top five. I've dealt with many aggravating issues and continue to do so but it must be light-years ahead of some half broken school in Nakon Nowhere.

 

The provinces are not cheaper. You just need to learn to negotiate Bangkok. Things cost the same in the provs you just get more of it. More space, more food, etc. No need to have a scooter, insurance, petrol.

All that reading and you didn't even answer my question. I did not ask "find" I asked "define". 

 

The 60% comes from figures I have been told whilst helping to write/edit/rewrite the English part of entrance exams.

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

On 8/11/2022 at 2:29 AM, it is what it is said:

 

any qualified and experienced teacher worth their salt is adept at basic classroom management. if you are unable to manage a difficult class/students perhaps you should consider a different profession/career.

And so the teachers are doing just that. In the United States 300k have been quitting every year. Then during the pandemic nearly 3 million quit. When you have that many quitting I don't think the teachers are the problem. It appears the education system is at fault.

 

Kids are running amok. They mouth off, throw tantrums, destroy classrooms. Teachers aren't getting the support they need from useless administrators, and certainly not the parents, both of whom have jobs they should be doing, but aren't.

 

Tough talk solves nothing and only allows the problem to continue. "Don't like it? Find another job.", "Don't like the sinking ship? Learn to swim.", "Don't like drunken pilots crashing the planes? Bring a parachute." Hah. Why not just address the problem? Ah, difficult, I know. And talk is cheap.

 

Oh, if only we could take all the energy spent on this AN chest puffing and barstool banter, and channel it into something productive. Meanwhile, teachers like me are actually in front of the classrooms, continuing to do the difficult work that needs to be done.

[kingstonkid]

23 hours ago, BonMot said:

I'm not necessarily against this and unlicensed teachers without any professional development behind them make far too much of this.

 

The quality of the education (system) bears some responsibility. So, they repeat inn the sdme school, under the same teacher. Which also means they repeat your class again as well.

 

To the point above and in general how many thousands of these students can the schools absorb repeating both financially and logistically?

 

Even in US students are up and out and that's the way it should be. You can give them 50-60% and that's enough damage an untrained and unlicensed teacher should do to any students future.

So in stead of requiring better teachers and standards you think we should just say to hell with it.

You site the US have you taken a look at crime rates and literacy.

 

If 2 students fail it is probably their fault.  If more than 5 fail it might be an idea to check the teacher

 

Either way social promotion has failed in every country 

[kingstonkid]

18 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

If you have to ask, you either didn't get a proper teaching training (years worth not 100 hours or the likes) or you are lacking the mental toughness needed to control these kids. 

You are hilarious you are avoiding answering the question by saying I am not mentally tough enough.

 

You completely avoid the premise where for purpose of arguing I have admitted that.

 

This is my question to find out what you WISE Experienced people think should be done in classrooms

[kingstonkid]

21 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

The thing is, the hypothetical was posed as: "If not some form of corporal punishment, how can you possibly address the issue in this classroom?".  So there were only really two options: concede that corporal punishment is a possible answer or propose another solution to keeping order in this hypothetical classroom.  It also appears that "just let the kids be naughty" wasn't an acceptable solution.

 

By saying "leave", it suggests that someone doesn't have an answer for how to fix the classroom.  So, the person who suggests "leave" is implying that there is no answer to the problem in term of non-corporal punishment. 

 

If there is no non-corporal punishment option, it leaves only the other option, the use of corporal punishment, which you avoid by leaving.  Leaving also doesn't fix the problem of the disruptive classroom.

 

That being said, I don't disagree with the idea that the best choice for the teacher is to leave,   It simply doesn't quite answer the hypothetical sufficiently for me.

 

The other option, which I outlined in another comment, is to simply admit that in order to enjoy teaching in Thailand (or at least encounter less stress) the teacher has to accept the kind of "fake teaching" that occurs in many schools and simply focus on the students that want to learn while still allowing students who have zero ability to pass the subject.  Not a great choice for someone that takes teaching seriously and wants all of the students to listen, but one of the only realistic choices.  Foreign teachers cannot change the system as the students are indoctrinated into it and they have no say.  I feel like this also was not something that the OP was going to accept as part of their hypothetical either, however.

WOW. Thank you for understanding.

The problem is one that not only NES teachers face but is also more felt by young Thai teachers.

 

The idea of quit leave is not viable.

 

Imagine if all good teachers took that option.  

There would not be any government schools due to lack of Thai teachers.

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

You are hilarious you are avoiding answering the question by saying I am not mentally tough enough.

 

You completely avoid the premise where for purpose of arguing I have admitted that.

 

This is my question to find out what you WISE Experienced people think should be done in classrooms

Context: I am not a teacher at a school but a manager in a multinational with common sense.

Collect all mobiles before the lessons, return afterwards.

You warn the ones (with a loud voice) who cause trouble and tell them the consequences if the won't stop, this could be:

Inform parents

Remove them from the class room and them to the principal

Let them write a speech about what they did wrong and how they think they will improve on this. They can do the speech in front of the class next time, one by one.

If they don't stop discuss with principal to let them find another school.

If the principal doesn't play ball find another school where they will.

 

For you: find a job that is more suitable. 

 

 

[BonMot]

8 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

So in stead of requiring better teachers and standards you think we should just say to hell with it.

You site the US have you taken a look at crime rates and literacy.

 

If 2 students fail it is probably their fault.  If more than 5 fail it might be an idea to check the teacher

 

Either way social promotion has failed in every country 

Yeah, there's absolutely nothing to say positive about the education system in the country. The fact is nothing is going to change. With that in mind you just deal with it.

 

Your proposal is to fire and hire new teachers? Except they're very well might not be any replacements for that provincial school at 11,000 pm.

 

Fixing a system is extremely complicated especially when there's so much vested interest and corruption.

 

I don't see how you've really proposed anything that would solve the problem.

 

For instance, I've long been an advocate for math and science students to be allowed to travel to the provinces spend a few years and work off their student loans.

 

- instead

- cite

[BonMot]

7 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Context: I am not a teacher at a school but a manager in a multinational with common sense.

Collect all mobiles before the lessons, return afterwards.

You warn the ones (with a loud voice) who cause trouble and tell them the consequences if the won't stop, this could be:

Inform parents

Remove them from the class room and them to the principal

Let them write a speech about what they did wrong and how they think they will improve on this. They can do the speech in front of the class next time, one by one.

If they don't stop discuss with principal to let them find another school.

If the principal doesn't play ball find another school where they will.

 

For you: find a job that is more suitable. 

 

 

This is why businesmen make lousy teachers.

 

Teaching is extremely complicated. Not only navigating the administration and all the petty personalities especially in Thailand but the classroom itself is complex.

 

You simply can't go in like a bull in a china shop take everyone's phone and start dictating this and that. If you get too much on the wrong side of the students you'll lose them and they won't work for you.

 

I see this all the time on this board - old men with nothing to do will post somewhere something like I need a work permit and I want to teach. It doesn't work that way at least on a real and serious level. In fact, it's lunacy.

 

While I entered the profession in much the same manner as a bored retiree I always had wanted to be a teacher and took it seriously from the first day forward.

 

Teaching is no more like business than business is like teaching. I have brought a lot of my professional attitude into the schools I have worked and even the classroom but I really need to temper it. At times the lack of efficiency and even laziness not from the students but the aadministration and foreign teachers is a real issue. The way that many teachers shuffle around and their
Inefficiency makes me a bit angry just looking at it. Nevertheless, you have absolutely no control over many of these things especially in Thailand.

 

In the end the best thing you can do is everyday work on the best teacher that you can be. To regard the short time that you have with the students in the classroom as gold and as best that you can with how you have trained yourself provide them and education.

[BonMot]

8 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

WOW. Thank you for understanding.

The problem is one that not only NES teachers face but is also more felt by young Thai teachers.

 

The idea of quit leave is not viable.

 

Imagine if all good teachers took that option.  

There would not be any government schools due to lack of Thai teachers.

Unless the students are really problematic and they're certainly are those types of students and those types of schools... A teacher should really have their classroom management down after two and 1/2 years.

 

That doesn't mean that new issues won't come up and mistakes won't be made but the teacher should be able to conduct a class without chaos ensuing.

[BonMot]

9 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

And so the teachers are doing just that. In the United States 300k have been quitting every year. Then during the pandemic nearly 3 million quit. When you have that many quitting I don't think the teachers are the problem. It appears the education system is at fault.

 

Kids are running amok. They mouth off, throw tantrums, destroy classrooms. Teachers aren't getting the support they need from useless administrators, and certainly not the parents, both of whom have jobs they should be doing, but aren't.

 

Tough talk solves nothing and only allows the problem to continue. "Don't like it? Find another job.", "Don't like the sinking ship? Learn to swim.", "Don't like drunken pilots crashing the planes? Bring a parachute." Hah. Why not just address the problem? Ah, difficult, I know. And talk is cheap.

 

Oh, if only we could take all the energy spent on this AN chest puffing and barstool banter, and channel it into something productive. Meanwhile, teachers like me are actually in front of the classrooms, continuing to do the difficult work that needs to be done.

This is why I teach in Thailand. I make half the wages but in the end I love my students they are sweet and sane and worth my efforts. With Thai social security and a good salary I'm alright Jack.

[kingstonkid]

15 hours ago, BonMot said:

Yeah, there's absolutely nothing to say positive about the education system in the country. The fact is nothing is going to change. With that in mind you just deal with it.

 

Your proposal is to fire and hire new teachers? Except they're very well might not be any replacements for that provincial school at 11,000 pm.

 

Fixing a system is extremely complicated especially when there's so much vested interest and corruption.

 

I don't see how you've really proposed anything that would solve the problem.

 

For instance, I've long been an advocate for math and science students to be allowed to travel to the provinces spend a few years and work off their student loans.

 

- instead

- cite

No offence but you misquoted me.  I was responding to someone else I am as you obviously arfe aware of the many issues that the education system has.

I am also not foolish enough t think we are going to solve them here.

 

The reason for this thread was what you pointed out in a later post.

There are many here that scream if someone hit my Somchai I would go to the school and kill them.  

There are many that say that any form of punishment is too extreme and that social promotion is wonderful.

 

This post is simply calling them out as to what they would do if they actually had the cajones to step into a classroom and teach their little darlings. 

I find it interesting that none of them have come up with a solution.  None of them are commenting other than to say that the teacher should be better trained or to say that it is an NES issue.

 

My experience is that it is not a NES issue but it is an issue with all teachers in schools that are not top-tier million baht schools.

 

[FritsSikkink]

16 hours ago, BonMot said:

This is why businesmen make lousy teachers.

 

Teaching is extremely complicated. Not only navigating the administration and all the petty personalities especially in Thailand but the classroom itself is complex.

 

You simply can't go in like a bull in a china shop take everyone's phone and start dictating this and that. If you get too much on the wrong side of the students you'll lose them and they won't work for you.

 

I see this all the time on this board - old men with nothing to do will post somewhere something like I need a work permit and I want to teach. It doesn't work that way at least on a real and serious level. In fact, it's lunacy.

 

While I entered the profession in much the same manner as a bored retiree I always had wanted to be a teacher and took it seriously from the first day forward.

 

Teaching is no more like business than business is like teaching. I have brought a lot of my professional attitude into the schools I have worked and even the classroom but I really need to temper it. At times the lack of efficiency and even laziness not from the students but the aadministration and foreign teachers is a real issue. The way that many teachers shuffle around and their
Inefficiency makes me a bit angry just looking at it. Nevertheless, you have absolutely no control over many of these things especially in Thailand.

 

In the end the best thing you can do is everyday work on the best teacher that you can be. To regard the short time that you have with the students in the classroom as gold and as best that you can with how you have trained yourself provide them and education.

What background / education do you have that makes you a good teacher?

[youreavinalaff]

On 8/14/2022 at 3:22 AM, BonMot said:

The provinces are not cheaper. You just need to learn to negotiate Bangkok. Things cost the same in the provs you just get more of it

Having lived in both areas I would have to disagree 100%.

[BonMot]

On 8/15/2022 at 8:05 AM, kingstonkid said:

WOW. Thank you for understanding.

The problem is one that not only NES teachers face but is also more felt by young Thai teachers.

 

The idea of quit leave is not viable.

 

Imagine if all good teachers took that option.  

There would not be any government schools due to lack of Thai teachers.

Quitting is a very real option. I always feel sorry when I come across another article about American teachers leaves by the thousands.

 

It's not your decision. If a person feels like they are not valued and underpaid why should they stay?

 

American teachers is BA/BS, two years credentialing and a bunch of tests. That's heartbreaking to walk away from.

 

Some joker running a listening speaking class in provinces... Hours 8 to 230, no grades, homework not so much.

[BonMot]

1 hour ago, youreavinalaff said:

Having lived in both areas I would have to disagree 100%.

Just have to know how to do it. Obviously we disagree. Costs me about b100 a day to and from work. No petrol, insurance, maintenance, accident, purchase of scooters.

[youreavinalaff]

3 hours ago, BonMot said:

Just have to know how to do it. Obviously we disagree. Costs me about b100 a day to and from work. No petrol, insurance, maintenance, accident, purchase of scooters.

Food, rent, bills and general day to day living?

 

 

[BonMot]

11 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

Food, rent, bills and general day to day living?

 

 

My rent for 32sqm flat is 5800b, 600m from central MRT stop (on Sukhumvit in less than 10 mins). Electricity b6. 5 unit. I can walk less than ten minutes to a traditional wet market or walk to Big C. Total cost round trip to work, back is less than 100b.

 

Maybe you can specify precisely why you believe Bangkok must be more expensive to live than Nakon Nowhere?

[youreavinalaff]

3 hours ago, BonMot said:

Maybe you can specify precisely why you believe Bangkok must be more expensive to live than Nakon Nowhere?

Through personal experience.

[puchooay]

22 hours ago, BonMot said:

My rent for 32sqm flat is 5800b, 600m from central MRT stop (on Sukhumvit in less than 10 mins). Electricity b6. 5 unit. I can walk less than ten minutes to a traditional wet market or walk to Big C. Total cost round trip to work, back is less than 100b.

 

Maybe you can specify precisely why you believe Bangkok must be more expensive to live than Nakon Nowhere?

We have a self contained unit on our land in Buriram. It is for rent, possibly by a teacher at a local school.

 

Unit comprises of; living/dining area, separate bedroom with en suite bathroom. Total area 45sqm. Electricity will be on a PEA meter. Water and wifi included in rent. Monthly rent 2000 baht.

 

Walk to school in 5 minutes. 10 baht bus to BigC and Makro in 10 minutes. Same bus continues into town, stops outside wet market. Takes about 20 minutes.

 

I make that less than 40% of what you are paying. 

[DavisH]

On 8/14/2022 at 8:37 AM, BonMot said:

I'm not necessarily against this and unlicensed teachers without any professional development behind them make far too much of this.

 

The quality of the education (system) bears some responsibility. So, they repeat inn the sdme school, under the same teacher. Which also means they repeat your class again as well.

 

To the point above and in general how many thousands of these students can the schools absorb repeating both financially and logistically?

 

Even in US students are up and out and that's the way it should be. You can give them 50-60% and that's enough damage an untrained and unlicensed teacher should do to any students future.

In Thailand, everyone knows what a 50% (GPA 1) really means (the actual score was 0-50%). Kids try to avoid it if possible. Some schools actually tell teachers they cannot give less than a 3GPA or some score like that). Fortunately, mine isn't on of them. As you mentioned, even in the US these days, kids do not fail and asked to repeat a year. At the end of the day out students will still need to sit entrance exams, SAT, IELTS, anyway, so it's up to them to put in the hours to pass them or meet the minimum requirements for university entrance.  

[AsianAtHeart]

On 8/14/2022 at 1:08 PM, FritsSikkink said:

If you have to ask, you either didn't get a proper teaching training (years worth not 100 hours or the likes) or you are lacking the mental toughness needed to control these kids. 

I've been carefully reading through this thread, interested to see what people would say.  I could easily tell you were not a teacher before I even got to the post where you stated such, so I'm responding to this one...but I have detected that there are multiple posters in this topic who are not teachers and who, as a result, offer flimsy advice, at best--to whom I am also responding.

 

Your "a proper teaching training" does not include a methodology by which to handle today's problems.  My own "training" (five years' worth) to become a teacher, plus the additional training I have had since to upgrade my credentials (two years' worth) has included nothing that would prepare me for today's problems--the sort that were highlighted in the OP.

 

When I was training to become a teacher, smartphones did not yet exist.  Furthermore, the ridiculous restraints on teachers forbidding any interference in the students' lives such as altering their grades, confiscating illegal or distracting items from them, calling for backup from a principal, manager, or disciplinary officer, or perhaps even contacting their parents--none of these restraints were addressed in behavior management courses.  All of those options, and more, were considered to be on the table.

 

The OP has specifically addressed corporal punishment.  I have never hit a student.  But I have confiscated their items (in rare cases) and later returned them, I have asked them to change seats, I have (once or twice only in my career) slammed the desk in front of them for effect (it only worked temporarily), I have arm-wrestled the biggest chap in the class who had been threatening to provoke a fight (this earned the respect of the class, as I was obviously smaller and less muscular in appearance, but won), I have used proximity control, I have reduced their percentage for participation in their grades, and many other methods.  But there are times when these methods are still inadequate.  Some students, whose parents couldn't care less and who simply have no interest whatsoever in learning, find pleasure in getting attention the only way they know how--being a troublemaker. 

 

In the classroom, it has often been the case in my experience that I could not legally leave the class at any time, nor leave any student unsupervised.  This means it was not an option to send a student out, nor to lock the door.  Management has often expected teachers to handle things themselves, and frowned on the teacher who calls for backup.  I have often had no assistant, being the only adult in a classroom with 35 students. 

 

The level of disrespect that teachers can get today is astounding.  In an American public school--in a small country town, at that--not some inner-city school, I was asked by students, entirely unprovoked by me, I can assure you, as I simply did not discuss nor suggest such impure thoughts in any form, if I were wearing my underwear that day.  I was asked if I "got some" every night.  Etc.  Some students gave me hateful looks that made me fear for life--it would not have been difficult to sneak a gun into that facility.  This was without any special provocation--I had not embarrassed the student, nor confiscated anything, nor made adjustments in the grade book, . . . nothing. 

 

Thailand is way better, as one poster said earlier.  Thai students have more respect than American students.  But Thai students have little incentive to learn, and English is one of their least favorite subjects, generally speaking. 

 

If you don't like the subject, and/or you don't like the teacher, you will have a poor opportunity to learn.  This has been scientifically established.

 

Proper pedagogy is a component of appropriate classroom management.  But it cannot solve every problem.  It cannot fix, for example, the emotionally broken students whose parents have split or who abuse them.  Because schools require uniforms, a teacher also has less opportunity for some advance warning that a student has issues--issues which would manifest themselves by the student's choice of clothing often well before a student had reached the point of acting out.

 

Yes, I'm opposed to school uniforms--even though I think they look wonderful and professional.  If students have no opportunity to learn to make choices for less important matters such as what they will wear, they may be set up to make mistakes in matters of choice for the larger issues they face later on.

 

I have yet to face the heat of a Thai public school classroom.  But I have been in numerous private school classrooms, and have found that most of the students were quite respectful.  It is my opinion that my teaching style attracts their interest sufficiently that they don't want to be distracted by their phones lest they miss something.  I have never had much of an issue with phones.  I regularly use diversions, tell stories, etc. as part of my lesson, in addition to teaching with some hands-on manipulatives for the tactile/kinesthetic learners.  Most of my pedagogy favors the auditory learners, for sure...but they are kept engaged through the manner of presentation of the subject matter.

 

I haven't needed to make or promulgate classroom rules.  The mattayom students generally already know what proper classroom decorum should be.  But if I were to make one, it would be to respect others.  And they already know this.

 

Respect begets respect.  I respect them, and they return in kind.  This solves the issue.

 

I think a new teacher has to be careful not to make the wrong impression during the critical "honeymoon" period--the time when students are still sizing up their new teacher and deciding what sort of relationship to expect with him or her.  It's easy to be either too strict (students will then want to rebel) or too permissive (students will walk all over you).  I'm not one to follow the old adage, "Don't crack a smile before Christmas," but I think it is possible to smile and yet be firm at the same time in a kind, but not permissive, way.

 

Once you lose their respect, you've lost classroom control.  And you won't easily ever regain it.  This may be the reason a clean start at a new school is necessary.  In my opinion, corporal punishment cannot make up for the lack, any more than throwing buckets of ice water on a house fire when the roof is already ablaze will stop the flames.  However, if corporal punishment is used in an established, procedural way, and not out of anger or revenge or spontaneity, and it if is used consistently from the beginning, I am not opposed to it as a means of maintaining classroom order.

It's a real challenge.  To be a teacher these days, one must first be a disciplinarian--and most teachers did not sign up for such.  Perhaps schools should employ military drill sergeants as teachers!  (For the record, that's facetious.)