Resigning from Gepik

If you're a guy don't cry. For women, well it might work, I've seen one teacher weep after an argument with and administrator..

Yeah, I guess I second this.  As a woman cry.  As a man, you will have to raise your voice and be more mad.  Hurl counter accusations about her and if the other teachers take her side and let her give you a written warning, rip it up and walk out on them.  Maybe walk out on them yelling about her racism and unprofessionalism.  Make a point.

You better yell back at her and tell her how unprofessional she is yelling at you in front of the kids.  I'd have walked out on her and gone straight to the VP or P and complained about her lack of professionalism and incompetence.  Her sitting at the back writing about you is one of the oldest intimidation tactics in the books. 

If the other teachers claim she is nuts, they should back you up.  If she gives you a letter, rip it up and write a letter warning her of unprofessionalism writing down every single stupid thing she did and ask her to sign it.  Throw it back in her face.  Also write down that she gave you no help and sat in the back of the class. Sometimes living in Asia you have to be assertive or folks will walk all over you either bluntly like this nutter or more passive aggressively like many others.  It's sad, though there are plenty of great co teachers and great kids here.  I would refuse to sign it period.  Admit nothing and see if you can complain to the city supervisor at the city education office.  (Don't bother with co ordinators, they are completely useless and circle jerk regurgitating whatever the teacher says quoting the company line.)  Stand your ground and write down right now every single bad thing the co teacher did or said to you and also what she did while you were teaching.  Immediately, once she starts hurling bs at you, you hit her back with accusations against her.  You look the other teachers in the eye and remind them how they told you she was crazy if they try to throw you under the bus.  You ask them if they will take her side now after claiming to take yours before.  Ask them if they are people of high character or low character?  Ask them if they are siding with her because they are racist and the foreigner is always wrong?  When you're going down anyways, might as well go nuclear.  You got nothing to lose.  Being a wall flower letting them walk all over you won't help you anyways it seems at this point.  So, you might as well counter punch with accusations.  It also helps if you yell at her bad behaviour, get emotional, and even cry when throwing the racism accusation at them if the other teachers side with her.  Making sure to throw a couple of "how dare you"s into the mix.  Make sure to walk out on them after tearing up at the end if they are not taking your side.  Claim you thought you knew them better than this and that you thought they were better than this.  You also through the tears state the unfairness of this workplace bullying and intimidation and the treatment of you is extremely racist.  (But only do these last parts if the other teachers side with the crazy teacher either complicity via their silence or or openly agreeing with what she said.)  If you are getting a written warning and she is trying to get rid of you, then go to the mattresses.  Might as well go out with a fight and so un nerve her she might think twice before doing this again to another waygook.  Or at least she will have a bad reputation in the schools and at the education office.  Also after this, file a complaint with the local education office against the teacher also alleging racism and foreigner hate as well as intimidation and workplace bullying.  Also find out if you can contact the national human rights commission here?  Go full nuclear if she puts a written warning on you with the support and backing of the other teachers.  If it doesn't get that far, then obviously don't go nuclear.  Just defend yourself.  If you do leave, just go to China and work a public school.  Make more money with less work and tell them to get bent.  Plenty of better paying jobs with less bs to put up with.

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Good luck.  I hope you can make it work for you.  Be strong and psych yourself up for a potential battle.

I...I would not do this. You can stand your ground and win. I already explained how. You have the thing that wins- She isn't teaching. Just stick to that. Just tell them how your class is run, that she just sits in a chair and doesn't teach the kids. That's all you have to say. You've already won.

There's a term: Over-selling. Ranting about racism and expanding this to the county office and so on is over-selling. You can end this here and end it quietly and in your favor. you can do it calmly and in a manner that both gets respect for you and respects them. Don't drag other teachers in this. If the Principal or VP want the view of other teachers, they'll ask for them in their own time. If you try to over-sell and start talking about escalating this and making it big and dramatic, they may just shut down completely.

You might get more passionate later on if this escalates, but for now, that's not necessary.

"Should a teacher be at the front teaching or in the back sitting?"

Take DeMartinos advice and be calm and rational while the crazy steam rolls over you.  Good luck with that.  I've seen more than a few foreign teachers get non renewed and booted due to them not fighting back and being too passive.  She's already frothing at the mouth for you.  Might as well go all in.  She's already gone nuclear for you. 

Also find out if you can contact the national human rights commission here?

lol wtf?

Take DeMartinos advice and be calm and rational while the crazy steam rolls over you.  Good luck with that.  I've seen more than a few foreign teachers get non renewed and booted due to them not fighting back and being too passive.  She's already frothing at the mouth for you.  Might as well go all in.  She's already gone nuclear for you. 

Why should anyone listen to someone who already believes this is over and you're going to lose and whose answer is basically mutually assured destruction?

When you're going down anyways, might as well go nuclear.  You got nothing to lose.

Anyways, who said anything about not fighting back? My advice is to fight back. Just not to do so like an unhinged lunatic. The kill-shot is already there. If she already threatened to quit over you, they've probably already reached the conclusion SHE is the problem. As I said, you have the upper hand. Now you can provide them a reason to terminate her with cause.

There's no need for you to go all-in when she is completely on tilt going all-in with 500 in chips and you're sitting on a stack of 10,000. You only need to call. You've already won. You're not going down at all. She is. It's only a question of when and how hard you want to slam her.

In fact, the only thing that can probably save her is for dippedinblush to meltdown as well. She's trying to drag dib into the mud with her.

If the teacher has already lined the deck against her and come at her with a written warning with the other teacher's permissions, then it's already over.  Refuse to sign it and go nuclear back.  Deal with crazy with crazy yourself.  If someone is calm and rational, I will be calm and rational.  I did once have a teacher yell at me in front of the students in a class.  I yelled back at her in front of them asking why she was so unprofessional and what was wrong with her?  She cried and apologized.  I don't say that to gloat, but sometimes you got to stand your ground. 

I don't think this is even necessary because it was just so patently ridiculous, but absolutely ignore everything Hangook just spat out.  That was advice that was guaranteed to put you on the losing end.  Hangook clearly has some deep rooted issues from his time in Korea and it's amazingly not all pay related (although nice how he managed to work his tired and worn "better jobs elsewhere" spiel into the mix.) 

State your issues clearly and respectfully.  Don't let the woman rile you up no matter how bad she's acting.  Her yelling and being angry while you remain calm causes her to lose face.  Taking hangook's asinine advice and going nuclear would only reduce the both of you to objects of disdain at your school.  If things can't be solved let them them know politely and serenely you'll be leaving at your earliest convenience (She'll be raging inside if you're not reacting in tears or anger to her harassment.) This will absolutely be what causes them all a headache, no matter how they react.  They are going to be inconvenienced and pissed at the contract teacher. Beyond question her reputation will suffer.  The only reason one would go Hangook's route is if you've been harbouring resentment and bottling it up over the years, and are just an angry person now because you have always been afraid to speak up for yourself.  Any well adjusted adult would feel no need to get down in the mud and behave like an immature idiot in this situation.  Getting angry and giving a big F U to your school and staff as Kook suggested would only make a good story about the crazy foreigner that would be told for years. 

An hour of an English-speaking lawyer's time costs a little over 200,000 KRW in Korea. I feel like a letter from a lawyer could fix your problem quickly and for a very reasonable price. Don't make empty threats, but do have a letter sent. A lot of crazy people here will back off when you fight fire with fire.

File  a complaint. 

https://www.epeople.go.kr/foreigners/pps/pps.npaid

     Yelling at one's coworkers is a surefire way to lose whatever credibility one has built up over the years. It'll also damage the credibility of other foreign workers. Please don't do that.
You fight fire with water, not fire. Doing anything else just escalates the situation, and that's never a good idea when the decks are very much stacked against you, as is generally the case for NETs.

In my opinion, OnNut81's advice is dead on. +1

File  a complaint. 

https://www.epeople.go.kr/foreigners/pps/pps.npaid

Does anyone really think there is a credible chance of the school taking the side of a foreigner?

File the complaint....

I...I would not do this. You can stand your ground and win. I already explained how. You have the thing that wins- She isn't teaching. Just stick to that. Just tell them how your class is run, that she just sits in a chair and doesn't teach the kids. That's all you have to say. You've already won.

There's a term: Over-selling. Ranting about racism and expanding this to the county office and so on is over-selling. You can end this here and end it quietly and in your favor. you can do it calmly and in a manner that both gets respect for you and respects them. Don't drag other teachers in this. If the Principal or VP want the view of other teachers, they'll ask for them in their own time. If you try to over-sell and start talking about escalating this and making it big and dramatic, they may just shut down completely.

You might get more passionate later on if this escalates, but for now, that's not necessary.

"Should a teacher be at the front teaching or in the back sitting?"

Right, and you don't think there won't be an attempt for the person to dodge, deflect, project and simply wiggle out of the situation by presenting a list of typical excuses Koreans make? 

OP...just file a complaint via the link provided earlier.  It does not seem (could be wrong) you will come out of this unscathed...much less, successfully. 

File...the...compla int.

https://www.epeople.go.kr/foreigners/pps/pps.npaid

Does anyone really think there is a credible chance of the school taking the side of a foreigner?

File the complaint....

There is a credible chance. One was let go because of me, and another hired in her place. She then tried to be re-hired the next semester, but was met with a no.

Hello
This posting has re-raised a lot of issues with me from a similar type of incident.  I just had a co-teacher sort of similar for 6 months.  For the first 2-4 weeks it was OK and then it suddenly changed and just got worse.  I kept hoping it would get better and continued to do my best and give no reasons for complaints - as you sound to have done.  Just typing and thinking about it brings back the tension and anxiety.  It was 2016-2017 so quite a while ago but it still affects me at times.  Good on you for trying to do something about it.

As you have said one of your options is to leave but I don't think you will get your housing deposit back (it could be used by the landlord to cover the rent for the rest of the year etc - I'm just guessing here).
The other option it to try and get a working solution.
It seems as if the teacher either doesn't like working with foreigners or is insecure about herself so it taking it out on you to make herself feel better.  Not at all professional!

Here are a couple of solutions you could propose to enable you to complete the contract (10 1/2 more months if you are a Spring intake which I think you said you were).
1) Instead of co-teaching with her - she can teach the class on her own and you can do extra afterschool classes. (I know afterschool classes are more work - but easier than what you are going through!)
2) She teaches the first 20 minutes and then you teach the second 20 minutes. (I suggest you teach the second part as if you finish 30 seconds late or early before her, she would complain.
3) Possibly you teach the class with out her present (I know this is in breach of the classroom setting but it is better than having her very negative presence at the back of the room.  Having someone judging every word, movement, look that you make is very undermining).
4) Ask for someone else to be your main co-teacher - to help you and advise you with any school situations.

These are just 3 suggestions - showing that you aren't trying to get out of the work but want to make a workable solution.

If the meeting that was had didn't resolve anything, I would also suggest you contact the Office of Education and ask for their advice and suggestions.  Maybe they could mediate between you to make a working solution for the rest of the contract. (or even change your school in August (if you can survive that long).

If you are like me you don't like to feel like you failed to complete your contract, but your mental health (and subsequently physical health) is worth more than money.

I know the korean teacher has their side to the story and their perceived slights etc but professionalism should still rule.  Telling you off in front of students and correcting you in front of them is not acceptable - undermining you with the students.  I found it really hard to know what to do when this happened.  I told my co-teacher we needed to speak in the hallway as it wasn't good to do this in front of the students!  But still very uncomfortable.

I do hope you can find some way to get this to work.
All the best

File...the...compla int

https://www.epeople.go.kr/foreigners/pps/pps.npaid

File...the...complaint

https://www.epeople.go.kr/foreigners/pps/pps.npaid

It's a little unclear. Do you think they should file a complaint or not?

It's a little unclear. Do you think they should file a complaint or not?

Let me ask my staff.....


Yep..the agree...

File...the...compla int.

Does anyone really think there is a credible chance of the school taking the side of a foreigner?

File the complaint....

Not saying filing a complaint is a bad idea, but I do want to point out that some people will take the side of the foreigner.
When I first came here, there was apparently a huge fight between my co-teacher and the previous NET. The principal took the NET's side and asked that the teacher leave decisions up to the NET. If a principal seems to value English education, especially from a NET, and the co-teacher is as nuts as is being said, then I don't think everything is hopeless.

Not saying filing a complaint is a bad idea, but I do want to point out that some people will take the side of the foreigner.
When I first came here, there was apparently a huge fight between my co-teacher and the previous NET. The principal took the NET's side and asked that the teacher leave decisions up to the NET. If a principal seems to value English education, especially from a NET, and the co-teacher is as nuts as is being said, then I don't think everything is hopeless.

I can meet you half way on that...much depends on the principle .

But...filing the complaint is the best option.  Based on what has been written, there will be no compromise and why should the OP have to work with such a wretched insect? 


File...the...compla int. 

I can meet you half way on that...much depends on the principle .

But...filing the complaint is the best option.  Based on what has been written, there will be no compromise and why should the OP have to work with such a wretched insect? 


File...the...compla int. 

But... Should OP file a complaint though?