RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Thank you, Sir Hobak.

Maybe it's because I'm leaving soon (February), but two things in particular are irking me more than ever:

1. It's always worse post-exam period, but it feels like I've been constantly fighting to maintain a respectful and focused class dynamic. It's like the students have absolutely zero conception of what 'Quiet, please' means, but should a co-teacher ever utter 조용히, it's goddamn crickets. It's been five years of the same old nonsense, and I'm tired.

2. Maybe it's better in bigger cities, but in my town (way down south) students simply don't have the ability to engage in even the simplest of banter. Probably my fault for not learning Korean, but I'm tired of my (admittedly lame) jokes being met by blank stares.

Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful for my time in Korea. It's turned my life around for the better, but it's time to move on. I'll be doing my PGCE next year, followed by an international school gig somewhere (hopefully).

Rant over

i totally get this. i was on the verge of never wanting to teach kids again until i decided to give it one last go, and got my current job, which i now love. luckily the kids are good at english and it's banter central. what age you looking to teach after your PGCE?

decided to give it one last go, and got my current job, which i now love

Sounded like they were working you like a dog a few months back But yeah, I'd happily take a heavier workload if it meant I could actually connect with my students.

I'll be qualified to teach high school literature, so hopefully I'll get in somewhere in the world. My best year in Korea was teaching high schoolers from April 2017 - April 2018.

Sounded like they were working you like a dog a few months back But yeah, I'd happily take a heavier workload if it meant I could actually connect with my students.

I'll be qualified to teach high school literature, so hopefully I'll get in somewhere in the world. My best year in Korea was teaching high schoolers from April 2017 - April 2018.

that was probably when they insisted on us making youtube-style videos. glad they knocked that on the head quickly.

i taught high school in my first year and it was really fun. i was shite at my job though (and never got feedback), but it was way more chill than elementary school.

high school lit sounds fun actually. the students will probably be pretty good if it's an international school too!

Can't blame anyone at all, but f*ck, all set up for camp to start this Wednesday.  Our school decided to squeeze in camp in person while we could so breaking it up over the afternoons for the next few weeks.  Now, the kids aren't coming back in so I can't even give them any materials but they still want to do a zoom camp starting this week.  The kids will have no materials whatsoever.  I mean, just cancel the effing camp already. 

Can't blame anyone at all, but f*ck, all set up for camp to start this Wednesday.  Our school decided to squeeze in camp in person while we could so breaking it up over the afternoons for the next few weeks.  Now, the kids aren't coming back in so I can't even give them any materials but they still want to do a zoom camp starting this week.  The kids will have no materials whatsoever.  I mean, just cancel the effing camp already. 

camp is treated simultaneously like the most important event in the school year and the least important event in the school year. it's weird and the thing i hated most while teaching at public school

camp is treated simultaneously like the most important event in the school year and the least important event in the school year.

Perfectly spot on explanation. Truly.

a while ago on here i was complaining about someone stubbing their cigarette out in the food bowl i leave for the street cats

well, luckily that only happened once, and tonight i noticed a companion food bowl someone else had left out, full of wet food and even some fish in top. good!

i hope those poor little guys will be okay in this cold weather :(

a while ago on here i was complaining about someone stubbing their cigarette out in the food bowl i leave for the street cats

well, luckily that only happened once, and tonight i noticed a companion food bowl someone else had left out, full of wet food and even some fish in top. good!

i hope those poor little guys will be okay in this cold weather :(

Glad to hear. Cats are cunning and resourceful little creatures. I bought a sturdy little little cardboard cat shelter for a stray that hangs out around my apartment. It's designed for strays and even has some writing on the side, in Korean, that harming a stray cat bears a hefty fan. I'll see if I can find the link tomorrow.

harming a stray cat bears a hefty fan.

Death penalty?? Seems a bit steep.....

....
 tonight i noticed a companion food bowl someone else had left out, full of wet food and even some fish in top. good!

i hope those poor little guys will be okay in this cold weather :(

Every Christmas since 2015 (and a few times less frequently before that) i have gone out at Christmas time ( Eve, Day or whenever convenient ) at 2-3 a.m. in the middle of the night to crack open and dump 10+ (the most was 28 - 2for1sale) TUNA cans!

I have given no less than 10-12 cans to a certain cat near a 24-hour 7-Eleven (only a few stay open always in this town these days) for THREE YEARS. That cat... that cat... that cat... i think it was the imprint on the pavement i passed two weeks ago just a half a block down from where he roamed as a kitten three years ago. I have had at least three sucky mornings thinking about it. If i am wrong and see the cat ever again i'll cry and do everything in my power to rescue it from the streets.

Endnote: i bought a cat tower for my two 6-year-old sibling  "Persians"(i think them Angora, but that's another story). I am kerping it in my classroom until the holidays. It's a discussion piece. Students ask questions about it and then them. Then i show smartphone pics. It covers the first 5 or so minutes of class, especially with middle schoolers.

Glad to hear. Cats are cunning and resourceful little creatures. I bought a sturdy little little cardboard cat shelter for a stray that hangs out around my apartment. It's designed for strays and even has some writing on the side, in Korean, that harming a stray cat bears a hefty fan. I'll see if I can find the link tomorrow.

i really wanted to make a cardboard shelter for them, but i just KNOW someone in the building would complain. i might do it anyway

vanislander: this makes me really sad just thinking about it :( if you see that cat again, let me know please :(

VanIslander, I know you're trying to help but feeding cats canned tuna is SUPER bad for them. It contains enough sodium for 2 weeks in the can for them. Vets have told me never to do this.

It's cheaper and healthier just to get some wet food for them.

I have chicken skin that I boil these days and put it in those rice trays and leave it around the neighborhood for the strays! Hopefully, it will help fatten them up for winter to survive. I have seen a lot of smaller cats recently but I cannot take them with me because my husband is allergic :( There is a shop near my house that has a lot of freezers and fridges outside and the flooring underneath has space, I always see lots of them go under the floor and I am guessing it's warmer underneath!

I'll be qualified to teach high school literature, so hopefully I'll get in somewhere in the world. My best year in Korea was teaching high schoolers from April 2017 - April 2018.

I really wanted to teach high schoolers, and sadly never got the chance! :(

VanIslander, I know you're trying to help but feeding cats canned tuna is SUPER bad for them. It contains enough sodium for 2 weeks in the can for them. Vets have told me never to do this.

It's cheaper and healthier just to get some wet food for them.

Oh wow, I didn't know that. I buy canned tuna and give it to my neighbours cats, however, I don't do it too often.
Usually a couple times a week at most. But, it's 9 cats sharing a single can.

VanIslander, I know you're trying to help but feeding cats canned tuna is SUPER bad for them. It contains enough sodium for 2 weeks in the can for them. Vets have told me never to do this.

It's cheaper and healthier just to get some wet food for them.

ah really. i didn't know it was that bad either, and i have a cat. no wonder my wife goes mental when i sneak my cat some tuna occasionally

update on the wet food some other people left out: untouched, but the dry food i give them was all gone. even street cats are fussy...

VanIslander, I know you're trying to help but feeding cats canned tuna is SUPER bad for them. It contains enough sodium for 2 weeks in the can for them. Vets have told me never to do this.

It's cheaper and healthier just to get some wet food for them.

True

Tuna is kind of like crack for cats; something they'll go absolutely nuts for but isn't great for them. Crack might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I wouldn't feed my cats tuna more than once every few months. Even then, only in very small amounts.

It relates back to a post another user posted about people imposing human thought processes on animals. The cat might devour that tuna and love it, that doesn't mean it's good for the animal. Quality wet food should do just fine.

Just a reminder, though this should be obvious to most, cats are lactose intolerant, never feed them milk.
 

Theyre also obligate carnivores. Wet dog food isn't great for them either (dogs not being obligate carnivores).

True

Tuna is kind of like crack for cats; something they'll go absolutely nuts for but isn't great for them. Crack might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I wouldn't feed my cats tuna more than once every few months. Even then, only in very small amounts.

It relates back to a post another user posted about people imposing human thought processes on animals. The cat might devour that tuna and love it, that doesn't mean it's good for the animal. Quality wet food should do just fine.

Just a reminder, though this should be obvious to most, cats are lactose intolerant, never feed them milk.

Another new thing I learnt today. I didn't know cats are lactose intolerant.
However, I've always given my cats water for a drink, as it's always been easier to give them water than milk. :o