RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

My principal decided to move all of the Korean English teachers and I into the Vice Principal's office. So now I'm in a room with 10 other teachers and instead of my cozy English office.

Also, there was absolutely no room for our desks in the VP's office, so I'm a fire hazard now. Letting me use the English classroom as my office was "impossible."

And my desk is now positioned so everyone can see what I'm doing.

And the fans blow my hair in my face and I can't tie it back because someone might see the tip of my tattoo and complain to the DMOE.

And I have three weeks of summer camp before vacation.

..... I am just so done with this semester. I'm afraid I'm going to accidentally snap at someone because I'm so frustrated with life right now. Everyone keeps saying that the spring semester is so much worse than fall, and I hope that's true because I'm not sure I can handle this for another seven months.

I'm sorry to hear your refuge was taken away.  I feel your pain.  My first school pulled the same thing - but instead of making me move, they just invaded my office with the homeroom teachers.  Privacy gone. 

2nd semester is objectively superior.  The monsoon season is gone so you don't have to worry about being coated in a miasma of sweat and rain all day.  Fall is quite pleasant in Korea and winters, while brutally cold, are superior to the hellish summers here.  It'll be easier for you since the VP will most likely keep the heat running during winter.  There are also a lot more red days and trips in my experience where they cancel classes.  The school year officially finishes at the end of 2nd semester which means they will be getting the kids ready for next year and wrapping things up with tests and events.  It's a lot better, I promise.  The "summer slump" is rough for us all.

My CT every day: "We need to make the camp exciting and interesting".

Ah, what you actually mean is "The Arm, you need to make the camp exciting and interesting while I do no planning or teaching whatsoever but still collect a nice chunk of overtime pay on top of my regular salary".

Got it.

I know it's one of my most common rants but 

Day 1 of summer deskwarming. English camps 1 and 2 are next week. Heading home to Canada for a couple weeks then back to teach camp #3....Then like that summer will be over. 

My CT every day: "We need to make the camp exciting and interesting".

Ah, what you actually mean is "The Arm, you need to make the camp exciting and interesting while I do no planning or teaching whatsoever but still collect a nice chunk of overtime pay on top of my regular salary".

Got it.

I know it's one of my most common rants but 

Right? What the hell? I am busy slaving away and I get "MataHari, we must clean all the English Centre on Thursday and Friday and move everything around." "Okay", I say. "Then I will need you to help me finish up camp planning by Wednesday". This is agreed to. I give CT the workbook files for camp, which need to be printed and bound. 4 levels, 4 camps, 100 students. CT spent yesterday on the phone, on the internet, facebook, nothing has been printed. I need CT to help me cut out 100 paper ties too.... but hey if CT isn't going to do the books yet, why bother, because will that get done? I will not be surprised if nothing gets done until Monday morning, 10 minutes before 1st camp starts, and then CT runs around like a chicken without a head saying that I never asked CT to do it, or some other responsibility avoidance tactic.

It's called being prepared. Being organised. Pre-planning. Getting off your lazy fat ass and doing something.

Of course if anything goes wrong with camp, it will be because of me, my fault, a misunderstanding and not understanding CT's unique situation.

She is sitting right next to me now... doing nothing... on Kakao... COME ON!!!!

Yeah, f*%k.

GOOOOD morning everyone.

Day 1 of summer deskwarming. English camps 1 and 2 are next week. Heading home to Canada for a couple weeks then back to teach camp #3....Then like that summer will be over. 

I would hate to go on vacation with camp looming over my head. That's one of the things I like about my school: I have to do two weeks of camp, but I get to choose when to do them, so I do them as soon as the school vacation starts before taking my vacation days.

On the other hand, it means that I have to drag myself through two weeks of camp with all the troublemaker kids because they seem to be the only ones signing up. Probably their mothers trying to get a break by dumping them on me.

I don't like people. Especially before 9 am.

My CT never talks to me. I enjoy this. It's a wonderful working relationship on par with my college room mate whom I never spoke to. 

This morning she felt the need to break this relationship.

I don't care about your hangover or that you're tired. I want to read the news paper before my classes.

If you didn't catch it, my 1 word answer was an indication that I don't want to talk.

OMFG, okay how was your night?

(Insert random answer.)

That's great. Back to the paper.

Why does every single person that comes to look at my apartment leave the door open upon entering?  It's not like the air conditioning is on or anything, but let me just go ahead and try to cool down that stairwell as you make your way back down.  I would also like to thank you for letting the flies and mosquitos that were also outside, in.  I was getting mighty lonely with only the dog here to keep me company.  I know most people will say well why don't you just close it after they come in, but my medium sized dog seems to freak out about half the people who come by so I try to keep him away from them the whole time they're here (even though all he really wants to do is sniff them).

Well, considering how most pet "owners" become acclimated to the unpleasant odors of their pet, I'm sure these visitors are simply trying to survive.

A valid point but this doesn't explain why I'm also closing the door after Korean teachers coming in and out of my classroom.

Soooo my camp is August 1-8 and my ct told me the budget money won't arrive until September.  So I'm supposed to keep track of how many points each student earns and then use the money to buy them prizes a month later.

Loki88, your comment reminded me of this classic Ron Swanson moment.

Loki88, your comment reminded me of this classic Ron Swanson moment.

That's actually me and my roommate from college.

The only interactions we ever had was him turning around and closing the window and then me switching and opening it every 5 minutes or so and letting the other know the gf was showing up.

HAHAHA

So my coteacher had gotten an English camp plan approved without my input, but I was like hey this is okay because she purposely made it a really low-teacher-involvement camp (lots of reading and movies, plus "American culture" to be taught by me).

I've been working on the American culture component and brainstorming/gathering materials the past few days, and then today she's like "Oh, by the way, please prepare the materials for the movie section of the camp."

Wait, what?? I thought she was just using the materials in this government education book on movies. She's clearly having to do a lot less work than I did - I even did the research to find an appropriate book to use for the camp AND went through to make vocab lists for each chapter. I know it would have been more work to make a camp more like the traditional summer camps (a theme for the whole week, various lessons on that theme), but at least it would have been on a topic I like. I hate teaching about American culture because it's hard and tbh a lot of it is not that interesting for the students.

Co informed me that we have CPR training tomorrow for three hours and I have to go too. I kinda needed that time to prepare for summer camp but sure I'll sit there all afternoon and not understand what they're saying.

One of my elementary travelling schools hired a KET to teach after-school classes on days I'm not there. I've never met the KET, I've only seen printouts of what they are doing on my desk. She's konglishing everything. One worksheet looks like this:

1. 오른쪽은: 라잍
2. 왼쪽은: 레프트
3. 앞은: 프런트
4. 뒤는: 인
5. 밖은: 아웉
6. 높은곳은: 하이
7. 낮은곳은: 로우
8. 나란히: 사이드 바이 사이드

I don't usually get very angry, but this...ugh.

I can't wait for my middle school camp next week. I have a whopping 5 students. The theme will be "American Summer circa 1995". Instead of going outside like our parents are begging us to, we will instead stay inside, eat junk food, watch movies, and play board games.

One of my elementary travelling schools hired a KET to teach after-school classes on days I'm not there. I've never met the KET, I've only seen printouts of what they are doing on my desk. She's konglishing everything. One worksheet looks like this:

1. 오른쪽은: 라잍
2. 왼쪽은: 레프트
3. 앞은: 프런트
4. 뒤는: 인
5. 밖은: 아웉
6. 높은곳은: 하이
7. 낮은곳은: 로우
8. 나란히: 사이드 바이 사이드

I don't usually get very angry, but this...ugh.

My kids did stroytelling for the whole school and they got the English story and a translation of the story so they could really understand the cues of what was happening so they could act out the story better.

A lot of the kid's mother would pull that shit on their story telling sheets.

이트 이즈 어 콜드 데이 인 더 포레스트.

OI VEY. The kids end up sounding like complete turds in the storytelling classes. These are grade 5 kids too. 

I appear to have developed the anti-Midas touch.

The main computer isn't working.
The scanner isn't working.
The water isn't working (so thirsty).
Even my phone isn't working (although that one's in for repair).

At least I got the master for the summer programme books printed yesterday, so I was able to print and bind everything up whilst I give these machines a full virus scan and backup my files, but urgh!

My principal decided to move all of the Korean English teachers and I into the Vice Principal's office. So now I'm in a room with 10 other teachers and instead of my cozy English office.

Also, there was absolutely no room for our desks in the VP's office, so I'm a fire hazard now. Letting me use the English classroom as my office was "impossible."

And my desk is now positioned so everyone can see what I'm doing.

And the fans blow my hair in my face and I can't tie it back because someone might see the tip of my tattoo and complain to the DMOE.

And I have three weeks of summer camp before vacation.

..... I am just so done with this semester. I'm afraid I'm going to accidentally snap at someone because I'm so frustrated with life right now. Everyone keeps saying that the spring semester is so much worse than fall, and I hope that's true because I'm not sure I can handle this for another seven months.

I've also been shuffled into a communal office. I told my co-t that I need the computer in the English room for planning. So, I will make an appearance in the morning and at the end of the day but I am not giving up my peace and quiet. They can make me show up and they can make me stay here all day but they cannot dictate where I am while I waste my time.

Today is my co teacher's last day of her contract at my school. She was only hired on for about six months. Now that she will be leaving, they are interviewing new teachers to fill her position. It's sad because she was a great teacher and more like a good friend. Hoping that the next co teacher is cool too and doesn't mind sneaking off to buy snacks during the middle of the day too. 

Why does every single person that comes to look at my apartment leave the door open upon entering?  It's not like the air conditioning is on or anything, but let me just go ahead and try to cool down that stairwell as you make your way back down.  I would also like to thank you for letting the flies and mosquitos that were also outside, in.  I was getting mighty lonely with only the dog here to keep me company.  I know most people will say well why don't you just close it after they come in, but my medium sized dog seems to freak out about half the people who come by so I try to keep him away from them the whole time they're here (even though all he really wants to do is sniff them).

Well, considering how most pet "owners" become acclimated to the unpleasant odors of their pet, I'm sure these visitors are simply trying to survive.

A valid point but this doesn't explain why I'm also closing the door after Korean teachers coming in and out of my classroom.

Could be the fox and his own hole story...

I don't like people. Especially before 9 am.

My CT never talks to me. I enjoy this. It's a wonderful working relationship on par with my college room mate whom I never spoke to. 

This morning she felt the need to break this relationship.

I don't care about your hangover or that you're tired. I want to read the news paper before my classes.

If you didn't catch it, my 1 word answer was an indication that I don't want to talk.

OMFG, okay how was your night?

(Insert random answer.)

That's great. Back to the paper.

I survive on coffee before 9am. I'm really not a morning person either. It's tough to go into school with extremely energetic students everyday.