RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Bill Maher: NEW RULE!

If you have a website that lets you book bus/train tickets, then you let the user select the destination FIRST. THEN when I bring up the list of departure stations, you ONLY show me the stations that have routes departing from them TO MY SPECIFIC destination.

The KTX booking is HORRIBLE for this. I'm going to Gwangju. That is the given. I don't want to sort through all the stations in the system, pick one that is close to my house and then get a "Route not found." JUST show me the ones I can depart from, you idiots.

Bill Maher: NEW RULE!

If you have a website that lets you book bus/train tickets, then you let the user select the destination FIRST. THEN when I bring up the list of departure stations, you ONLY show me the stations that have routes departing from them TO MY SPECIFIC destination.

The KTX booking is HORRIBLE for this. I'm going to Gwangju. That is the given. I don't want to sort through all the stations in the system, pick one that is close to my house and then get a "Route not found." JUST show me the ones I can depart from, you idiots.

Sums up Korea: Great Mobile Apps but generally shit websites.

Will there ever come a day where public schools are allowed to get rid of all the old, useless sh*t that just takes up space?

While looking for camp materials at the back of the English room I found a huge stash of audio cassette tapes, a Windows 98 CD case and of course a library of books that have never been used since they're too advanced.

On a related note, I was scratching for craft materials for a Rube Goldberg camp activity I'm planning. My CT is way too eager to just buy new materials every year, for every activity, instead of seeing what's available to be used again. The fun and creativity behind designing a Rube Goldberg machine is to use what's available, not buy because it's not your money and you can't be bothered to do a bit of rummaging. For God's sake, this woman wants to buy sticks for one of the activities instead of getting the students to spend less than 5min gathering them from the school garden.

How can someone be that wasteful and oblivious?

gathering them from the school garden.

오, 더티.

How can someone be that wasteful and oblivious?

Rule #1 of government spending: Spend it or lose it in next year's budget.

It's true the world over and is unavoidable.

Rule #1 of government spending: Spend it or lose it in next year's budget.

It's true the world over and is unavoidable.

If you would've resisted the urge to defend any hint of criticism against anything Korean you might've stopped to gather some more information before pouncing to that conclusion.

I'm trying to spend as much of the limited camp budget on dictionaries that can be used by all the students, year round. We have no dictionaries and my CT with 12yrs experience and an MA
seems to think I'm being a bit odd by making the students use picture dictionaries to learn new words by themselves instead of asking us "How do you spell chicken?" or "What is '똥' in English?"
50X a day.

Anyway....even after spending the entire budget on dictionaries we wont have half as many as I'd like. Other than the dictionaries there's very little funds to buy other camp material and I'm fine with that as planning a kick ass camp simply requires creativity and know how, not money.

So, no, she's just wasteful and it's something I've noticed with most of the CTs I've worked with. For one sports activity, during winter camp, I just wanted a few old blankets or sheets so the students could have a kind of blanket sled race off the slippery floors in the hall (the loved it). My
CT new exactly what I was going to be using the blankets for and instead of spending a bit of effort to find an old blanket, she orders brand new blankets, online, from that cost over 150k!

Stay off the internet if you're that terrified of having Korea criticised.

Why does everything have to be so overly complicated here?

I go to Innisfree. I get some masks, what have you. I got a member card a while back. Saved up some points, which are essentially ₩. I go to pay.

1) I give her my physical membership card.
2)  포인트 사용해주세요 (it's 2600₩ over the last year. Perfectly covers the cost of 2 masks. Nice)
3) "Ah, Kevin. I need the pass number that is being texted to your phone."
  Oh, that's weird. But okay. "It's 487735."
4) "Hmmmm, Kevin, there's a problem."
5) she phones Innisfree support.
F me, I just wanted some masks and I LITERALLY HAVE THE CARD. I'M KEVIN. IT'S ME. YOU SAW MY NAME IN THE SYSTEM.
6) "Ah, Kevin something, something (keep in mind, this is in Korean) Naver account Amore Pacific."
7)  정말 몰라요.
phones Innisfree again
9) "Kevin, the woman I was speaking to is on dinner break now."
10) JESUS F CHRIST

It's 2 bucks fifty worth of membership points. I have the card, you know the account holders name, you knew how many points I had. Just bloody well use them.

I thought that the text message code to give her was stupid, it only got worse. How fukking difficult is it to just USE THE POINTS I'VE ACCUMULATED.

I'm not trying to use hundreds of dollars with a different person's account. I'm not trying to sell Korean bank bonds to a foreign governemnt.

Why?

If you would've resisted the urge to defend any hint of criticism against anything Korean you might've stopped to gather some more information before pouncing to that conclusion.

I'm trying to spend as much of the limited camp budget on dictionaries that can be used by all the students, year round. We have no dictionaries and my CT with 12yrs experience and an MA
seems to think I'm being a bit odd by making the students use picture dictionaries to learn new words by themselves instead of asking us "How do you spell chicken?" or "What is '똥' in English?"
50X a day.

Anyway....even after spending the entire budget on dictionaries we wont have half as many as I'd like. Other than the dictionaries there's very little funds to buy other camp material and I'm fine with that as planning a kick ass camp simply requires creativity and know how, not money.

So, no, she's just wasteful and it's something I've noticed with most of the CTs I've worked with. For one sports activity, during winter camp, I just wanted a few old blankets or sheets so the students could have a kind of blanket sled race off the slippery floors in the hall (the loved it). My
CT new exactly what I was going to be using the blankets for and instead of spending a bit of effort to find an old blanket, she orders brand new blankets, online, from that cost over 150k!

Stay off the internet if you're that terrified of having Korea criticised.

Dude, usually you're pretty good at taking it if you dish it out. Not this time.
 Two things can be true at the same time: your criticism OF YOUR COTEACHER (Not Korea) AND the reality that if you don't spend it, you lose it. My post explains, it doesn't excuse.

Anyways, if we're talking wasteful spending, the utility of photocopiable picture dictionaries, purchased in bulk, in the digital age, could also draw some scrutiny.

Look, I assume you're talking Oxford Picture Dictionary? Those are great books. I have used them too. But I also recognize that it is 2021 and maybe 20 of them might be a dated approach.

I mean, if you really want to go old-school, buy 20 copies of Minjung's Essence. Pictures are just a poor substitute for imagination and critical thinking, right?

Dude, usually you're pretty good at taking it if you dish it out. Not this time.
 Two things can be true at the same time: your criticism OF YOUR COTEACHER (Not Korea) AND the reality that if you don't spend it, you lose it. My post explains, it doesn't excuse.

I've lived in Korea for a long time and I have the right to have an opinion on the people I work with and the culture I experience.
You assumed and you assumed wrong, own up or don't comment.

Anyways, if we're talking wasteful spending, the utility of photocopiable picture dictionaries, purchased in bulk, in the digital age, could also draw some scrutiny.

Maybe all your students use iPads/tablets in class. Mine don't. By your logic, we should remove all library books, have a book burning and stop writing, period.
Stop trying to find ways to force your argument, you're wrong.

Look, I assume you're talking Oxford Picture Dictionary? Those are great books. I have used them too. But I also recognize that it is 2021 and maybe 20 of them might be a dated approach.

I mean, if you really want to go old-school, buy 20 copies of Minjung's Essence. Pictures are just a poor substitute for imagination and critical thinking, right?

Old school? No, my friend, I'm talking pedagogical strategies that are being used, right now, around the world.

From a Structuralist approach, which I'm a proponent of, learners rely on MKOs to learn with the Zone of Proximal Development.
MKOs need not be a person, particularly as I only have around 40min per week per class, I have minimal one on one time with learners.
Picture dictionaries are accessible , convenient and pragmatic MKOs for learners in an ESL class, even in 2021:

- They free up the teacher's time
- They work in both a low and high affective filter environments/learners
- They encourage a proactive approach and learner-learner centred language development, which should make up around 80% of activities, according to the Communicative Approach, which I adopt where possible in this broken excuse of a curriculum.

Furthermore, I've been regularly using these dictionaries at my other schools, in a variety of ways, since the beginning of the year. The results have been fantastic.

If you're up for discussing how and why using age-appropriate dictionaries in my ESL classrooms would be detrimental to the learning process then I'm all ears, as long
as you back up your opinion with relevant research. Not trying to posture, but I've just spent the last 2yrs studying this stuff so if you've come across something that myself, a hundred other
PGCE students and my lecturers haven't then by all means, share the knowledge. I won't entertain anything less, so your patented brand of anecdotal evidence and BS simply isn't going to
interest me.

I've lived in Korea for a long time and I have the right to have an opinion on the people I work with and the culture I experience.
You assumed and you assumed wrong, own up or don't comment.

All I said was that the mentality of "spend it or lose it" is part of any government operation and explains why money is spend on dumb crap by people. You assumed I was defending Korea. I never said anything about Korea.

You have a right to an opinion. I have a right to respond to your posted opinion. Your opinions are not always going to be complete or right.

Maybe all your students use iPads/tablets in class. Mine don't. By your logic, we should remove all library books, have a book burning and stop writing, period.
Stop trying to find ways to force your argument, you're wrong.

Did I say anything like that? I simply said that purchasing 20 copies in this day and age MIGHT not be the most efficient use of funds, given tech.

Old school? No, my friend, I'm talking pedagogical strategies that are being used, right now, around the world.

From a Structuralist approach, which I'm a proponent of, learners rely on MKOs to learn with the Zone of Proximal Development.
MKOs need not be a person, particularly as I only have around 40min per week per class, I have minimal one on one time with learners.
Picture dictionaries are accessible , convenient and pragmatic MKOs for learners in an ESL class, even in 2021:

They hyper-technical word salad tell for cognitive dissonance. When someone launches into one of these during a debate it is almost invariably because they are experiencing some form of cognitive dissonance and rather than acknowledge your point (which you clearly outright ignored, in addition to completely misunderstanding the argument) the person does this, often going on a meandering diatribe of technical language to say either nothing or something rather simple. It is particularly noticeable when they don't start with speaking/writing in such a manner and suddenly dive into it, and it almost always occurs during a point of disagreement.

We were talking about the cost-effectiveness of purchasing 20 paper editions in the year 2021, which your word salad above doesn't address.

Furthermore, I've been regularly using these dictionaries at my other schools, in a variety of ways, since the beginning of the year. The results have been fantastic.

That can be 100% true. It can also be true that it doesn't mean there isn't a more cost-effective way to either utilize them or if there is something else that achieves the same result for less cost.

If you're up for discussing how and why using age-appropriate dictionaries in my ESL classrooms would be detrimental to the learning process then I'm all ears, as long
as you back up your opinion with relevant research. Not trying to posture, but I've just spent the last 2yrs studying this stuff so if you've come across something that myself, a hundred other
PGCE students and my lecturers haven't then by all means, share the knowledge. I won't entertain anything less, so your patented brand of anecdotal evidence and BS simply isn't going to
interest me.

1) Looks like you didn't improve your reading comprehension with all of this- The issue was the cost-effectiveness of your budgeted classroom purchase strategy, NOT their effectiveness as learning materials.
2) Although we aren't discussing this, if you would care to link on this thread your lesson plans and published research, particularly in relation to these picture dictionaries, to help us teachers, that would be great!

so your patented brand of anecdotal evidence

Uhh...

Furthermore, I've been regularly using these dictionaries at my other schools, in a variety of ways, since the beginning of the year. The results have been fantastic.

Dude, you responded to this- "Rule #1 of government spending: Spend it or lose it in next year's budget. It's true the world over and is unavoidable." with a whole rant. It wasn't a big deal.

We were talking about the cost-effectiveness of purchasing 20 paper editions in the year 2021, which your word salad above doesn't address.

Your inability to understand something does not make it irrelevant. I used those terms when discussing the dictionary purchase with my CT, she understood and agreed, even with English not being her native language. I used similar terms when discussing my open class with my supervisor when she asked me to explain my Teaching Philosophy, she understood too, because both have studied Education.

The other drivel you wrote doesn't concern me, what does concern me is what your alternative is, given the particular educational environment. So what's your alternative to dictionaries, Captain Planet?

Your inability to understand something does not make it irrelevant. I used those terms when discussing the dictionary purchase with my CT, she understood and agreed, even with English not being her native language. I used similar terms when discussing my open class with my supervisor when she asked me to explain my Teaching Philosophy, she understood too, because both have studied Education.

The other drivel you wrote doesn't concern me, what does concern me is what your alternative is, given the particular educational environment. So what's your alternative to dictionaries, Captain Planet?

I understood it, but I was pointing out how you switched mid-argument into technical word salad, which is a tell for when someone is in cognitive dissonance.

The use of your terminology didn't affect the quality of your argument, it was simply a transparent attempt to bolster your argument with technical terminology, rather than actual substance.

Also
1) Really? You spoke exactly like that to your CT? The same bumbling CT you were shitting on before?
2) Again, linking your lesson plans involving those picture dictionaries might help us evaluate how effective they are. You're the one blasting your CT for wasteful spending, while trumpeting the extraordinary results, while saying demanding evidence or research, I think you should offer some up as well.
3) I'm curious why you're against using tablets as picture dictionaries. "Mine don't" seems to be glossing over their ability to save costs long-term on things like picture dictionaries.
4) You could purchase 1-3 copies and then scan specfic sections and either share them digitally or print them. You could even break them down by topic and include supplementary content or materials on the specific topic with them.
5) I accept your admission (the other drivel doesn't concern me) that on the other points I was correct and you were off-base. Particularly, that the main point was cost-effectiveness in your purchasing decision, that you blasted me for anecdotes while posting an anecdote yourself, and that you got bent out of shape over an innocuous comment.

I understood it, but I was pointing out how you switched mid-argument into technical word salad, which is a tell for when someone is in cognitive dissonance.

The use of your terminology didn't affect the quality of your argument, it was simply a transparent attempt to bolster your argument with technical terminology, rather than actual substance.

YOU switched the argument!

I came here to bitch about a CT, who is wasteful. She's wasteful, lacks creativity and motivation to address weaknesses the learners have, but she knows her stuff, even if she doesn't make use of it. I simply mentioned the dictionaries and YOU decided to use that as your 'in' to justify her actions based off massive assumptions.

Instead of asking for a bit more information, you jumped the gun and went all Captain Planet.

Why am I against using tablet dictionaries? I'm not, but they cost at least 100 bucks a pop and there are 30 students in some classes. Furthermore in Korean public schools, students are not permitted to bring smartphones to class, not sure what your school's policy is.

You know nothing about my students, CT, school, Teaching Philosophy, curriculum or how I plan to use these dictionaries. Your alternative strategy embraces a more teacher centred approach and is the complete opposite of the approach I'm using... it was mentioned in my initial 'jargon'. Obviously, you didn't pick it up because, and for the same reason I'm no longer interested in continuing this conversation, you have NO IDEA what you're talking about.

I came here to bitch about a CT, who is wasteful. She's wasteful, lacks creativity and motivation to address weaknesses the learners have, but she knows her stuff, even if she doesn't make use of it. I simply mentioned the dictionaries and YOU decided to use that as your 'in' to justify her actions based off massive assumptions.

I simply pointed out that government employees, when given money, will spend it because they have to or risk losing it.

Instead of asking for a bit more information, you jumped the gun and went all Captain Planet.

What baffles me is why you didn't respond with anything pertaining to cost-effectiveness and there possibly being a more efficient way to distribute those resources or to deliver the same content to the kids, especially since it's the year 2021 and as part of a public school, you have more freedom in copying materials.

Lets be real- There probably IS a way to deliver the same material in a cost-effective manner. Of course this would take the wind out of your sails as far as your CT being the only one tossing money around.

Why am I against using tablet dictionaries? I'm not, but they cost at least 100 bucks a pop and there are 30 students in some classes.

You didn't say you don't have them, you just say you don't use them. Also, don't almost all public schools, except really backwoods ones should have them considering they were already popping up everywhere in the mid 2010s. Aren't you in Miryang? I'd think some place like that would have them.

And what is the cost of the picture dictionary? I mean, new those things are probably $30. But you also have to take into account that tablets can run a variety of applications and have a variety of uses. For example, students can use them to create multimedia content or digital presentations. They also generate savings on any other books that might be mass-purchased.

You know nothing about my students, CT, school, Teaching Philosophy, curriculum or how I plan to use these dictionaries.

I thought you already used those dictionaries, now you're planning to use them? How could we know? You haven't shared anything about your lessons with those dictionaries. You've talked a lot about your teaching philosophy and educational expertise, but you haven't said one damn word of substance about the actual lessons themselves and what you do in them.

you have NO IDEA what you're talking about.

I still don't considering you haven't offered anything to justify their purchase.

I'm trying to spend as much of the limited camp budget on dictionaries that can be used by all the students, year round. We have no dictionaries and my CT with 12yrs experience and an MA  seems to think I'm being a bit odd by making the students use picture dictionaries to learn new words by themselves instead of asking us "How do you spell chicken?" or "What is '똥' in English?"
50X a day.

Look, I assume you're talking Oxford Picture Dictionary? Those are great books. I have used them too. But I also recognize that it is 2021 and maybe 20 of them might be a dated approach.

I mean, if you really want to go old-school, buy 20 copies of Minjung's Essence. Pictures are just a poor substitute for imagination and critical thinking, right?

First things first, are you using these picture dictionaries for content or to look up definitions? Because in your OP, it sounds like you're simply using them for definitions. If that's the case, then the Oxford Picture Dictionary is incredibly INEFFICIENT for simply figuring out how to spell something or to define it. Where they are most effective is when tied to specific theme, as that is how they are organized. If you're just using it for definitions, 20 used copies of Minjung's Essence that are about to be remaindered are a better choice.

Old school? No, my friend, I'm talking pedagogical strategies that are being used, right now, around the world.

From a Structuralist approach, which I'm a proponent of, learners rely on MKOs to learn with the Zone of Proximal Development.
MKOs need not be a person, particularly as I only have around 40min per week per class, I have minimal one on one time with learners.
Picture dictionaries are accessible , convenient and pragmatic MKOs for learners in an ESL class, even in 2021:

- They free up the teacher's time
- They work in both a low and high affective filter environments/learners
- They encourage a proactive approach and learner-learner centred language development, which should make up around 80% of activities, according to the Communicative Approach, which I adopt where possible in this broken excuse of a curriculum.

Furthermore, I've been regularly using these dictionaries at my other schools, in a variety of ways, since the beginning of the year. The results have been fantastic.

All of this for "How do you spell chicken?"

Instead of asking for a bit more information, you jumped the gun and went all Captain Planet.

2) Although we aren't discussing this, if you would care to link on this thread your lesson plans and published research, particularly in relation to these picture dictionaries, to help us teachers, that would be great!

2) Again, linking your lesson plans involving those picture dictionaries might help us evaluate how effective they are. You're the one blasting your CT for wasteful spending, while trumpeting the extraordinary results, while saying demanding evidence or research, I think you should offer some up as well.

I actually did ask for more information twice. Both times, you've completely ignored that. You don't have to give away your recipe, but you can talk about the dish.

All that being said, as I posted, those are great books. I know exactly what you saw in them. There's a reason why I referenced them by name and why I never disagreed with the core concept, just the spending strategy. Whether you're formally educated or more experience-based, their educational potential should be obvious.

But just saying, there's almost always a way to save on costs and sometimes we can forget we're in the digital age and the potential cost saving strategies we use. Before we criticize we should always wonder if we're not making a similar error (though obviously not at the same level as buying floor blankets or whatever). In a dream world, they would have paper copies for each student+tablets and everything else. But with budgets and things competing for resources, sometimes you have to look to take advantage to save costs through various methods.

Seoul Cinema is closing its doors.

She-ball.

https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=311610

The World Health Organization said inoculations must be completed quickly to prevent the spread of the variant, but they are progressing at a snail's pace due to a shortage of vaccines.

In Korea, vaccination is still limited to over-60s and some frontline workers until July 26, when the turn of over-50s comes. People in their 40s have no hope of getting inoculated until August because the government failed to secure enough vaccines.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2021/07/05/2021070500762.html

Yeah, but I still get to go mask-free on my walk to work tomorrow morning, so ...

Not anymore:

"Wearing masks will remain mandatory even for fully vaccinated people in the greater Seoul area as the lifting of lockdown has been kicked into the long grass. The reversal comes as daily infections rose above 700 again and officials panic about coronavirus variants."

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2021/07/05/2021070500762.html

Not anymore:

"Wearing masks will remain mandatory even for fully vaccinated people in the greater Seoul area as the lifting of lockdown has been kicked into the long grass. The reversal comes as daily infections rose above 700 again and officials panic about coronavirus variants."

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2021/07/05/2021070500762.html

Crapola!