Anybody have students who stare at them in a way that transcends the "you're a foreigner" gaze? I'm talking mouth open, blank expression, kind of like you just gave birth to a golden retriever? I can let a lot roll off my back but this look just unsettles me to my core.
Like, a hamburger isn't 고기빵. That would be stupid. Koreans don't translate foreign food names (usually), they just transliterate them to Korean. They should do the same when taking Korean food names and romanizing them. For the most part. It won't apply to everything. But like, 'Gyejang' sounds a million times more interesting than 'raw crabs marinated in soy sauce.' Don't replace a food's name with a description of that food. UGH.
Update. The English teacher of the Public School linked with my Ed Center has moved me out of the "office of war". She has given new guidelines as to how work needs to be split, especially considering the unique teaching situation I am in. Yes, you read that correctly. She understands my unique situation. Anyway, I am extremely grateful to the teacher who intervened, and hopefully the new setup will create a less tension filled environment. Also, considering that my CT told me I was the worst foreigner she had ever met, I really appreciated the other English teacher who said the complete opposite. It is quite satisfying hearing the printer in my CT's office working to the max, as well as drawers and doors being slammed. Yep, yep. Work work work. Feel the burn.It's been quite a ride... and it is only Wednesday.
Quote from: chupacaubrey on October 12, 2016, 01:43:05 pmAnybody have students who stare at them in a way that transcends the "you're a foreigner" gaze? I'm talking mouth open, blank expression, kind of like you just gave birth to a golden retriever? I can let a lot roll off my back but this look just unsettles me to my core.This is making me think of those cringe-worthy moments when the students are either particularly unresponsive or unruly and then you have those two or three students, usually girls, who try even harder to be on their best behavior to make up for everyone else and you can tell they kind of feel sorry for you and you're simultaneously mortified and mentally panicking. This happens to me at least twice a semester. There are bad days and then there are those kinds of days. Does this happen to anyone else? Where the good students feel bad for you on the days when you lose control?
Quote from: yirgacheffe on October 12, 2016, 02:24:32 pmQuote from: chupacaubrey on October 12, 2016, 01:43:05 pmAnybody have students who stare at them in a way that transcends the "you're a foreigner" gaze? I'm talking mouth open, blank expression, kind of like you just gave birth to a golden retriever? I can let a lot roll off my back but this look just unsettles me to my core.This is making me think of those cringe-worthy moments when the students are either particularly unresponsive or unruly and then you have those two or three students, usually girls, who try even harder to be on their best behavior to make up for everyone else and you can tell they kind of feel sorry for you and you're simultaneously mortified and mentally panicking. This happens to me at least twice a semester. There are bad days and then there are those kinds of days. Does this happen to anyone else? Where the good students feel bad for you on the days when you lose control? I teach one class where all of the teachers in the school have totally given up on them because the boys in this class are so darn terrible. There are a couple girls in that class that will just come up and talk to me about how much they hate being in that class because they can't learn anything and one girl has also told me that she feels bad for me having to put up with it.
Quote from: HaLo3 on October 12, 2016, 02:30:21 pmQuote from: yirgacheffe on October 12, 2016, 02:24:32 pmQuote from: chupacaubrey on October 12, 2016, 01:43:05 pmAnybody have students who stare at them in a way that transcends the "you're a foreigner" gaze? I'm talking mouth open, blank expression, kind of like you just gave birth to a golden retriever? I can let a lot roll off my back but this look just unsettles me to my core.This is making me think of those cringe-worthy moments when the students are either particularly unresponsive or unruly and then you have those two or three students, usually girls, who try even harder to be on their best behavior to make up for everyone else and you can tell they kind of feel sorry for you and you're simultaneously mortified and mentally panicking. This happens to me at least twice a semester. There are bad days and then there are those kinds of days. Does this happen to anyone else? Where the good students feel bad for you on the days when you lose control? I teach one class where all of the teachers in the school have totally given up on them because the boys in this class are so darn terrible. There are a couple girls in that class that will just come up and talk to me about how much they hate being in that class because they can't learn anything and one girl has also told me that she feels bad for me having to put up with it.I also have a class like this. I typically teach 100% of my classes while my CTs assist when asked or needed.This class, my CT just takes over and pushes through the class as best she can. They won't listen to a word I say and they will only listen to her for the first couple seconds before they go off the rails again.One time one boy picked up and through a chair at another. Wasn't able to punish them so I just gave up.
Quote from: Kayos on October 12, 2016, 02:51:28 pmQuote from: yirgacheffe on October 12, 2016, 02:24:32 pmQuote from: chupacaubrey on October 12, 2016, 01:43:05 pmAnybody have students who stare at them in a way that transcends the "you're a foreigner" gaze? I'm talking mouth open, blank expression, kind of like you just gave birth to a golden retriever? I can let a lot roll off my back but this look just unsettles me to my core.This is making me think of those cringe-worthy moments when the students are either particularly unresponsive or unruly and then you have those two or three students, usually girls, who try even harder to be on their best behavior to make up for everyone else and you can tell they kind of feel sorry for you and you're simultaneously mortified and mentally panicking. This happens to me at least twice a semester. There are bad days and then there are those kinds of days. Does this happen to anyone else? Where the good students feel bad for you on the days when you lose control? Had one of 'those' days yesterday. My co-teacher couldn't make it to school (don't know why) and the home room teachers wouldn't stay in the class with me, so I was flying solo the entire day. My final class of the day, saw there was no co / homeroom teacher, so just went nuts. This one girl, tried really hard to help me get them to quiten down and listen, to do their work etc. She was like the only quiet student / only person doing work the entire lesson. She came to me and apologized for the class near the end too. Next week, a bulk of the class is going to be in trouble with the coTeacher when she gets back. She freaks even me out when she gets mad too; She's small, cute, and quiet, but super scary when angry / mad haha. I'm hoping I can be out of the room when she gets mad at them, as I get pretty uncomfortable during those rare times that students get disciplined here.This is one of the hardest things about working in a school where you haven't been for a long time - students don't see you as a teacher, and don't give you the same respect they would for other teachers. I worked at my previous school for four years, so all the students knew who I was, what my personality was like, etc, and they usually behaved better for me than they would for their Korean English teachers, because they knew I knew all their names, and if they were causing a problem, I'd let their homeroom teachers know, because I was friendly with most of the homeroom teachers, too. Now I'm in a new workplace, and the teachers and students don't give me nearly the same kind of credit I got before.
Quote from: yirgacheffe on October 12, 2016, 02:24:32 pmQuote from: chupacaubrey on October 12, 2016, 01:43:05 pmAnybody have students who stare at them in a way that transcends the "you're a foreigner" gaze? I'm talking mouth open, blank expression, kind of like you just gave birth to a golden retriever? I can let a lot roll off my back but this look just unsettles me to my core.This is making me think of those cringe-worthy moments when the students are either particularly unresponsive or unruly and then you have those two or three students, usually girls, who try even harder to be on their best behavior to make up for everyone else and you can tell they kind of feel sorry for you and you're simultaneously mortified and mentally panicking. This happens to me at least twice a semester. There are bad days and then there are those kinds of days. Does this happen to anyone else? Where the good students feel bad for you on the days when you lose control? Had one of 'those' days yesterday. My co-teacher couldn't make it to school (don't know why) and the home room teachers wouldn't stay in the class with me, so I was flying solo the entire day. My final class of the day, saw there was no co / homeroom teacher, so just went nuts. This one girl, tried really hard to help me get them to quiten down and listen, to do their work etc. She was like the only quiet student / only person doing work the entire lesson. She came to me and apologized for the class near the end too. Next week, a bulk of the class is going to be in trouble with the coTeacher when she gets back. She freaks even me out when she gets mad too; She's small, cute, and quiet, but super scary when angry / mad haha. I'm hoping I can be out of the room when she gets mad at them, as I get pretty uncomfortable during those rare times that students get disciplined here.
Quote from: MataHari on October 12, 2016, 09:48:28 amUpdate. The English teacher of the Public School linked with my Ed Center has moved me out of the "office of war". She has given new guidelines as to how work needs to be split, especially considering the unique teaching situation I am in. Yes, you read that correctly. She understands my unique situation. Anyway, I am extremely grateful to the teacher who intervened, and hopefully the new setup will create a less tension filled environment. Also, considering that my CT told me I was the worst foreigner she had ever met, I really appreciated the other English teacher who said the complete opposite. It is quite satisfying hearing the printer in my CT's office working to the max, as well as drawers and doors being slammed. Yep, yep. Work work work. Feel the burn.It's been quite a ride... and it is only Wednesday.Brilliant news!I felt for you and am so glad you managed to find one of the many awesome (and more free/open minded) teachers out there to help. So now you have experienced both ends of the spectrum! Live and learn eh! :)
Quote from: mountainman on October 12, 2016, 01:53:58 pmQuote from: MataHari on October 12, 2016, 09:48:28 amUpdate. The English teacher of the Public School linked with my Ed Center has moved me out of the "office of war". She has given new guidelines as to how work needs to be split, especially considering the unique teaching situation I am in. Yes, you read that correctly. She understands my unique situation. Anyway, I am extremely grateful to the teacher who intervened, and hopefully the new setup will create a less tension filled environment. Also, considering that my CT told me I was the worst foreigner she had ever met, I really appreciated the other English teacher who said the complete opposite. It is quite satisfying hearing the printer in my CT's office working to the max, as well as drawers and doors being slammed. Yep, yep. Work work work. Feel the burn.It's been quite a ride... and it is only Wednesday.Brilliant news!I felt for you and am so glad you managed to find one of the many awesome (and more free/open minded) teachers out there to help. So now you have experienced both ends of the spectrum! Live and learn eh! :)Okay, so I have just had my CT and the other teacher come back to me and a new proposal is that I work in the classroom, and I only teach 30 minutes of my class, in which time, my CT will not be in the classroom with me (we have never actually had a problem in the classroom, I can't fault her for anything when she is in the classroom) then she will teach for 20 min ALONE, she blatantly stated she WILL NOT have me in the classroom during that time. Okay, I'm down with that.... then they say, so therefore you aren't doing your 22 hours and will have to teach 30 minutes of some of her classes, so I say ok.But now this raises a question...... If they are considering that only 30 minutes per class goes toward my in class teaching hours (I am required to do min 22 hours as per contract) then I am only completing 17 hours 20 minutes of teaching time. Also all this in and out of my classroom means that I have no where to go when my CT teaches for 20 minutes every class.....Part of me is grateful, part of me is confused, and part of me is terrified that I am being completely screwed over here.When I asked my CT why she didn't want me in the classroom, she refused to answer me, staing it is just personal. I just walked into the main office to do printing, because my CT has my classroom for a class right now, and the old pc has been diconnected from the printer.I am not a conspiracy theorist at all, but something just feels odd with all this.F*%k I just want things to not be crazy. Is it me.... because I literally am starting to lose my mind and think that this is all me and maybe I just am the problem... I mean here are solutions, shouldn't I just be okay with that?
Quote from: MataHari on October 12, 2016, 03:32:36 pmQuote from: mountainman on October 12, 2016, 01:53:58 pmQuote from: MataHari on October 12, 2016, 09:48:28 amUpdate. The English teacher of the Public School linked with my Ed Center has moved me out of the "office of war". She has given new guidelines as to how work needs to be split, especially considering the unique teaching situation I am in. Yes, you read that correctly. She understands my unique situation. Anyway, I am extremely grateful to the teacher who intervened, and hopefully the new setup will create a less tension filled environment. Also, considering that my CT told me I was the worst foreigner she had ever met, I really appreciated the other English teacher who said the complete opposite. It is quite satisfying hearing the printer in my CT's office working to the max, as well as drawers and doors being slammed. Yep, yep. Work work work. Feel the burn.It's been quite a ride... and it is only Wednesday.Brilliant news!I felt for you and am so glad you managed to find one of the many awesome (and more free/open minded) teachers out there to help. So now you have experienced both ends of the spectrum! Live and learn eh! :)Okay, so I have just had my CT and the other teacher come back to me and a new proposal is that I work in the classroom, and I only teach 30 minutes of my class, in which time, my CT will not be in the classroom with me (we have never actually had a problem in the classroom, I can't fault her for anything when she is in the classroom) then she will teach for 20 min ALONE, she blatantly stated she WILL NOT have me in the classroom during that time. Okay, I'm down with that.... then they say, so therefore you aren't doing your 22 hours and will have to teach 30 minutes of some of her classes, so I say ok.But now this raises a question...... If they are considering that only 30 minutes per class goes toward my in class teaching hours (I am required to do min 22 hours as per contract) then I am only completing 17 hours 20 minutes of teaching time. Also all this in and out of my classroom means that I have no where to go when my CT teaches for 20 minutes every class.....Part of me is grateful, part of me is confused, and part of me is terrified that I am being completely screwed over here.When I asked my CT why she didn't want me in the classroom, she refused to answer me, staing it is just personal. I just walked into the main office to do printing, because my CT has my classroom for a class right now, and the old pc has been diconnected from the printer.I am not a conspiracy theorist at all, but something just feels odd with all this.F*%k I just want things to not be crazy. Is it me.... because I literally am starting to lose my mind and think that this is all me and maybe I just am the problem... I mean here are solutions, shouldn't I just be okay with that?Your CT sounds miserable. It would've been good to suggest that your CT act like a professional grown-up [in politer terms], rather than acting like a complete baby [again, politer terms] but - yeah. This is ridiculous sounding. It's terrible for the students. It's inconvenient for you. And... somehow your coteacher is getting credit for teaching classes when she's only doing 20 minutes after you're finished, meanwhile you're going to have to make up the extra time?That's a cluster and a half.
Glad to know I'm not the only one but what gets me is that this behavior usually only happens when the co-teacher is not present. It doesn't happen every time I'm alone, but when it does happen, I am always alone. (Lol, this is making me think of that meme: I don't always teach alone, but when I do, chaos ensues. ) I mean, I get it. The KT isn't there so to them it feels like there is no teacher but that makes me mad.
To those who write travel blogs:When you're giving directions to the thing/place/activity, you have to be exact and precise. It makes me want to smash my laptop to bits when I see things like"So yea, just go to XXX subway station and take the bus from there!" Which exit? Which bus? Which direction?"Walking from XXX just head towards the big crossing, turn right and cross the second road!"Ok, thanks for the barnstorming directions.