RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

i never understood the need to have two teachers in the same classroom

I kinda see it as more if an assiastant type thing. Idk about the US but in the U.K. It's common in primary school to have a teaching assistant (the school I worked at in the uk had pm one assistant per class for lower years and then one or two assistants per unit in upper juniors). One teacher can't meet the needs of 30 kids and at early years it's important to meet their needs as much as possible. English is a subject with huge disparity in levels, one foreign teacher is not going to be able to meet the needs of 30 kids who range from barely knowing the alphabet to being able to have conversations, considering we teach 100% in English and often don't have enough Korean to explain stuff to the lower level students. In my classes I view my Korean teacher as a teaching assistant type role, there to help lower level students.

The problem with this is that the Korean teacher doesn't always take the innitiative to assist lower level students, and the way classes are set up and typically run (and the fact we teach 20-22 different classes of around 30 students once a week for 40 minutes with no system of tracking students' progress or weaknesses) it's hard to run differentiated tasks, so you can't ask the KT to work with the lower level students because you will have a handful in the class sat at opposite sides of the classroom.
Alternatively we can take an assistant role, if your KT prefers to be leading the class (lol)

Yea I agree with this.

In fact, I'm stunned by the amount of people here who apparently teach without a CT even in the room. 

I don't mean classroom management, I mean how do you actually teach the material without any translation?  Do elementary and middle school textbooks have Korean in them or are they written completely in English?

when would you ever need korean translations? i'm against any use of korean in the classroom, and never had a problem with understanding that couldn't be solved (i used to teach on my own when i worked for smoe)

i'd argue that textbooks should always be 100% english too

i never understood the need to have two teachers in the same classroom

I kinda see it as more if an assiastant type thing. Idk about the US but in the U.K. It's common in primary school to have a teaching assistant (the school I worked at in the uk had pm one assistant per class for lower years and then one or two assistants per unit in upper juniors). One teacher can't meet the needs of 30 kids and at early years it's important to meet their needs as much as possible. English is a subject with huge disparity in levels, one foreign teacher is not going to be able to meet the needs of 30 kids who range from barely knowing the alphabet to being able to have conversations, considering we teach 100% in English and often don't have enough Korean to explain stuff to the lower level students. In my classes I view my Korean teacher as a teaching assistant type role, there to help lower level students.

The problem with this is that the Korean teacher doesn't always take the innitiative to assist lower level students, and the way classes are set up and typically run (and the fact we teach 20-22 different classes of around 30 students once a week for 40 minutes with no system of tracking students' progress or weaknesses) it's hard to run differentiated tasks, so you can't ask the KT to work with the lower level students because you will have a handful in the class sat at opposite sides of the classroom.
Alternatively we can take an assistant role, if your KT prefers to be leading the class (lol)

Yea I agree with this.

In fact, I'm stunned by the amount of people here who apparently teach without a CT even in the room. 

I don't mean classroom management, I mean how do you actually teach the material without any translation?  Do elementary and middle school textbooks have Korean in them or are they written completely in English?

when would you ever need korean translations? i'm against any use of korean in the classroom, and never had a problem with understanding that couldn't be solved (i used to teach on my own when i worked for smoe)

i'd argue that textbooks should always be 100% english too

I would normally agree, but I really do think there are a few times when a translation is needed. Usually, it can get taken care of by the upper level students in the class, but sometimes it's just too tricky. However, that does then depend on what level the KT is too...

i never understood the need to have two teachers in the same classroom

I kinda see it as more if an assiastant type thing. Idk about the US but in the U.K. It's common in primary school to have a teaching assistant (the school I worked at in the uk had pm one assistant per class for lower years and then one or two assistants per unit in upper juniors). One teacher can't meet the needs of 30 kids and at early years it's important to meet their needs as much as possible. English is a subject with huge disparity in levels, one foreign teacher is not going to be able to meet the needs of 30 kids who range from barely knowing the alphabet to being able to have conversations, considering we teach 100% in English and often don't have enough Korean to explain stuff to the lower level students. In my classes I view my Korean teacher as a teaching assistant type role, there to help lower level students.

The problem with this is that the Korean teacher doesn't always take the innitiative to assist lower level students, and the way classes are set up and typically run (and the fact we teach 20-22 different classes of around 30 students once a week for 40 minutes with no system of tracking students' progress or weaknesses) it's hard to run differentiated tasks, so you can't ask the KT to work with the lower level students because you will have a handful in the class sat at opposite sides of the classroom.
Alternatively we can take an assistant role, if your KT prefers to be leading the class (lol)

Yea I agree with this.

In fact, I'm stunned by the amount of people here who apparently teach without a CT even in the room. 

I don't mean classroom management, I mean how do you actually teach the material without any translation?  Do elementary and middle school textbooks have Korean in them or are they written completely in English?

when would you ever need korean translations? i'm against any use of korean in the classroom, and never had a problem with understanding that couldn't be solved (i used to teach on my own when i worked for smoe)

i'd argue that textbooks should always be 100% english too

I suppose I only know what I've experienced personally.  Standing in front of students that understand maybe 5% of everything I say (even with heavy, heavy grading) and can't answer questions like "What did you do last night" without me prompting them every step of the way for their answer.

That's why I think translation is absolutely essential.

100% English just doesn't work in many situations (like mine).

For example, how would you teach "You should have/You shouldn't have..." to students who don't understand a word you're saying and with no CT in the room?

i never understood the need to have two teachers in the same classroom

I kinda see it as more if an assiastant type thing. Idk about the US but in the U.K. It's common in primary school to have a teaching assistant (the school I worked at in the uk had pm one assistant per class for lower years and then one or two assistants per unit in upper juniors). One teacher can't meet the needs of 30 kids and at early years it's important to meet their needs as much as possible. English is a subject with huge disparity in levels, one foreign teacher is not going to be able to meet the needs of 30 kids who range from barely knowing the alphabet to being able to have conversations, considering we teach 100% in English and often don't have enough Korean to explain stuff to the lower level students. In my classes I view my Korean teacher as a teaching assistant type role, there to help lower level students.

The problem with this is that the Korean teacher doesn't always take the innitiative to assist lower level students, and the way classes are set up and typically run (and the fact we teach 20-22 different classes of around 30 students once a week for 40 minutes with no system of tracking students' progress or weaknesses) it's hard to run differentiated tasks, so you can't ask the KT to work with the lower level students because you will have a handful in the class sat at opposite sides of the classroom.
Alternatively we can take an assistant role, if your KT prefers to be leading the class (lol)

Yea I agree with this.

In fact, I'm stunned by the amount of people here who apparently teach without a CT even in the room. 

I don't mean classroom management, I mean how do you actually teach the material without any translation?  Do elementary and middle school textbooks have Korean in them or are they written completely in English?

when would you ever need korean translations? i'm against any use of korean in the classroom, and never had a problem with understanding that couldn't be solved (i used to teach on my own when i worked for smoe)

i'd argue that textbooks should always be 100% english too

I suppose I only know what I've experienced personally.  Standing in front of students that understand maybe 5% of everything I say (even with heavy, heavy grading) and can't answer questions like "What did you do last night" without me prompting them every step of the way for their answer.

That's why I think translation is absolutely essential.

100% English just doesn't work in many situations (like mine).

For example, how would you teach "You should have/You shouldn't have..." to students who don't understand a word you're saying and with no CT in the room?

Yeah, I have been in these situations too, even at my high school where some of them have a vocabulary of maybe 20 words. There is no way those kids will do anything without a translation.

This is a sullen vent: CT left and I have had to suddenly teach with the homeroom teachers.

There was a week and a half of discussion before we started teaching together and in that week and a half, about 4 times a day, I had to hear, "The homeroom teachers say they hate English, they don't want to speak it, they don't want to teach it, they hate that you're in the school and they hate you."

I've been here long enough to... accept... their dislike of English, but to suddenly turn around and say they hate me? I pointed out that was unfair, insulting and very cruel to say. I was told the teachers didn't mean they hated me personally, they just hated the idea of me because I represented everything English. That I had to understand the teachers' feelings and that I should understand that Korean teachers don't want to teach English. Because they hate English.

See? No. Just, no. That, "I hate Gidget" part? That can't be explained away. Don't even bother.

These are adults. We've spoken before, never had problems; they have to teach with me and then they throw their toys out of the cot.
These are hysterical middle-aged adults throwing tempter tantrums. Temper tantrums!

We were told to sit down and talk over how we were going to do things. I offered solutions: we coteach, I lead, they lead, we plan together, I plan alone, we discuss the plan, we don't discuss the plan, we do it on an individual basis according to each individual's preferences... Each. Time. They. Looked. At. Me. They. Shouted. & cried. "어떻게 [I'm not writing the other expletives]! I hate English. I don't want to speak English. I don't want to teach English. I don't want to teach English with Gidget. Why does our school have a native teacher? They could've watched movies. I hate English. I hate Gidget. Can't we do something else? They go to hagwons. The hagwons can teach them!"

Stop overreacting. I don't have leprosy. I have English.  Teaching with me won't kill you.

**Disclaimer:
1. not all the teachers. Just most. Two teachers are still behaving like death is imminent and must be protested against volubly.
2. The vent wasn't as sullen as I thought because I'm more upset than I realised.

Does anyone elses school just take money out of your Bank without asking?

I got asked to go on a school trip next week, which I said yes to. I wasn't told I had to pay for myself. They took 55,000 won, without even asking me or telling me. It's not a lot. No big deal. But surely if you ask someone if they want to go on the trip you would mention 'oh btw you need to pay x amount' not just take it from my account?

Don't know how comfortable I am with that to be honest, that they can just access my money like that.

Does anyone elses school just take money out of your Bank without asking?

I got asked to go on a school trip next week, which I said yes to. I wasn't told I had to pay for myself. They took 55,000 won, without even asking me or telling me. It's not a lot. No big deal. But surely if you ask someone if they want to go on the trip you would mention 'oh btw you need to pay x amount' not just take it from my account?

Don't know how comfortable I am with that to be honest, that they can just access my money like that.

I'm showing my ignorance her, but how is this possible for them to access your account?

Does anyone elses school just take money out of your Bank without asking?

I got asked to go on a school trip next week, which I said yes to. I wasn't told I had to pay for myself. They took 55,000 won, without even asking me or telling me. It's not a lot. No big deal. But surely if you ask someone if they want to go on the trip you would mention 'oh btw you need to pay x amount' not just take it from my account?

Don't know how comfortable I am with that to be honest, that they can just access my money like that.

I'm showing my ignorance her, but how is this possible for them to access your account?

Well they take money out each month for lunch costs. So I guess they just did the same thing they do for that for the school trip money. Just thought they would have told me considering they asked me to go. Weird that I have to pay as well, considering its a 'School trip'

Do they take it out of your salary each month or take it out of your actual bank account?

I suppose they could have helped you to set up a direct debit for school lunches but how could they have taken money for the school trip directly from your bank account?  A bit worrying 

This is a sullen vent: CT left and I have had to suddenly teach with the homeroom teachers.
...

Wow that is insane.  A great way to make you feel like welcomed and part of the team 

Do you think they'll get their way and you'll just end up teaching alone?   

Do they take it out of your salary each month or take it out of your actual bank account?

I suppose they could have helped you to set up a direct debit for school lunches but how could they have taken money for the school trip directly from your bank account?  A bit worrying 

They take it out my actual bank account, so my lunch money got taken yesterday along with the school trip money.

Do they take it out of your salary each month or take it out of your actual bank account?

I suppose they could have helped you to set up a direct debit for school lunches but how could they have taken money for the school trip directly from your bank account?  A bit worrying 

They take it out my actual bank account, so my lunch money got taken yesterday along with the school trip money.

As two seperate transactions I should add

Do they take it out of your salary each month or take it out of your actual bank account?

I suppose they could have helped you to set up a direct debit for school lunches but how could they have taken money for the school trip directly from your bank account?  A bit worrying 

They take it out my actual bank account, so my lunch money got taken yesterday along with the school trip money.

As two seperate transactions I should add

That's crazy!!  Very annoying that they didn't tell you about paying for yourself too.

I suppose you could tell them you changed your mind and don't want to go but that might rock the boat too much 

i never understood the need to have two teachers in the same classroom

Not to put anybody down, but consider this from the parent's perspective.

NETs do not usually have training as teachers, so there is only one teacher in the classroom.

Right. There always needs to be a (certified) teacher in the classroom for legal/liability issues. I imagine it would also prevent schools from taking unfair advantage in the hiring of temporary workers over permanent employees.

And just think of all the AIDS being spread if foreigners were allowed to be unsupervised with children.

Why, oh why. Why did you have to take it there?

Sorry. Just trying to point out the often unreasonable and unwarranted distrust and discomfort a lot of people have with foreigners here. I wasn't sure if anyone had pointed that out on the forum here before.

It most definitely is warranted and necessary.

I wouldn't want our children (if we had any) to ever be alone with some of the folks brought over here to "teach".  It's frightening.

I wouldn't want our children (if we had any) to ever be alone with some of the folks brought over here to "teach".  It's frightening.

because having your child alone with a korean teacher who frequents room salons, gets blasted on soju every night, never comes prepared for class because they're 'SO BUSY', and might well end up sexually assaulting your child (i think everyone is aware of the preference a vast number of korean men have for children) is a much more appealing prospect?

i never understood the need to have two teachers in the same classroom

Not to put anybody down, but consider this from the parent's perspective.

NETs do not usually have training as teachers, so there is only one teacher in the classroom.

Right. There always needs to be a (certified) teacher in the classroom for legal/liability issues. I imagine it would also prevent schools from taking unfair advantage in the hiring of temporary workers over permanent employees.

And just think of all the AIDS being spread if foreigners were allowed to be unsupervised with children.

Why, oh why. Why did you have to take it there?

Sorry. Just trying to point out the often unreasonable and unwarranted distrust and discomfort a lot of people have with foreigners here. I wasn't sure if anyone had pointed that out on the forum here before.

It most definitely is warranted and necessary.

I wouldn't want our children (if we had any) to ever be alone with some of the folks brought over here to "teach".  It's frightening.

 
 
Perhaps you need to look in the mirror.

Rant: I haven't been to the gym in a week because I haven't been able to make it there in the morning before work due to reasons, and I'm really feeling it now.

I'm seriously considering just going in after work instead. It would be so much easier on my schedule.

But the last time I did this it was extremely uncomfortable because of all the ajjeosshis. They're pretty bold when there's a bunch of them around. I really need to recruit a workout partner, preferably a man.

@ gidget: That's some super childish and petty bullshit, and I'm so sorry that you have to deal with that. Where's Nanny McPhee when you need her?

By the sounds of it, though, even with being rightly upset about it, you're handling the situation fairly well.

Rant: I haven't been to the gym in a week because I haven't been able to make it there in the morning before work due to reasons, and I'm really feeling it now.

I'm seriously considering just going in after work instead. It would be so much easier on my schedule.

But the last time I did this it was extremely uncomfortable because of all the ajjeosshis. They're pretty bold when there's a bunch of them around. I really need to recruit a workout partner, preferably a man.

I always went to my gym after work. There were a lot of ahjeosshis, but they basically all left me alone. A lot of them would look at me because the females never really did much but walk on the treadmill, bot otherwise, I just had one guy (who ended up being the owner) show me how to use a machine more appropriately- according to him.

Finally catching the cold that the other three people in my office has had. The admonishment from one of them - "be careful" - hasn't done shit for my immune system oddly enough. How about just don't show up? Ugh.   

I always went to my gym after work. There were a lot of ahjeosshis, but they basically all left me alone. A lot of them would look at me because the females never really did much but walk on the treadmill, bot otherwise, I just had one guy (who ended up being the owner) show me how to use a machine more appropriately- according to him.

Yeah, I've been told similar things about the other gyms around here by other ladies, and they never really have too many problems, but there's just something about the guys at my gym that aren't as harmless.

I don't know if it has to do with the area or the community or whatever, but these guys hover around me, try to "sneak" peeks down my shirt or at my crotch (I had to drape a towel across my lap because of this), a few try to chat me up and it's pretty damn clear that they're bothering me but they never take the hint, and it's all just super weird and annoying. The owner notices but doesn't say anything.

I don't have this problem in the morning because there aren't as many of these types of guys around then and the ahjummas keep those few who are in line.