RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

I am so physically and emotionally drained that I'm worried I'm going to take my frustration out on someone I care about.

I've been listening to the teachers talk about how glad they are that they don't have to work on Friday and vacation starts next week, and my co-teacher turns to me and says, "I'm sorry, but foreigners have to work on Friday."

I know it's all in the contract, but my God how pointless is deskwarming? I NEED a mental health day. And then camp for two weeks.... Why do we even have camp? One of the biggest appeals of teaching is the long vacations, but we have to fill them with camps here.

More like how great is deskwarming, am I right? Literally getting paid to read a book or study. And you get to use the school's heat, water, internet, etc.

I'd prefer to have vacation, but I mean, deskwarming is kind of a unique pleasure.

Deskwarming is better than Camp, but I'd still rather have more vacation.
Deskwarming is great because I can focus on studying when I don't have the time / motivation to do it at home, but I could easily be doing nothing at home.

I think they don't realise, we need breaks just as much as the Korean teachers. We may work less here compared to them (comparable amounts in some cases, I'm sure), but we have a lot of difficulties here compared to the Korean teachers that we should get a break from. At least, camp / deskwarming makes it feel like they 'don't understand our unique situation' haha.

Finding a decent place to live in Seoul is miserable. Everything that's new or remodeled has awful built-in washing machines and gas / electric ranges. Everything older is scummy and dirty.

And everything is offensively expensive.

Should have seen the gas range offered in my first apartment here (I'm not in Seoul). It sparked when it was turned on. So using the appliance allowance, I got a nice electric one now. :D

I am so physically and emotionally drained that I'm worried I'm going to take my frustration out on someone I care about.

I've been listening to the teachers talk about how glad they are that they don't have to work on Friday and vacation starts next week, and my co-teacher turns to me and says, "I'm sorry, but foreigners have to work on Friday."

I know it's all in the contract, but my God how pointless is deskwarming? I NEED a mental health day. And then camp for two weeks.... Why do we even have camp? One of the biggest appeals of teaching is the long vacations, but we have to fill them with camps here.

More like how great is deskwarming, am I right? Literally getting paid to read a book or study. And you get to use the school's heat, water, internet, etc.

I'd prefer to have vacation, but I mean, deskwarming is kind of a unique pleasure.

Deskwarming is better than Camp, but I'd still rather have more vacation.
Deskwarming is great because I can focus on studying when I don't have the time / motivation to do it at home, but I could easily be doing nothing at home.

I think they don't realise, we need breaks just as much as the Korean teachers. We may work less here compared to them (comparable amounts in some cases, I'm sure), but we have a lot of difficulties here compared to the Korean teachers that we should get a break from. At least, camp / deskwarming makes it feel like they 'don't understand our unique situation' haha.

There used to be no camps back in the day.  Those days are long, long gone now.  :(

"Robin Teacher, you need to have a video of a class."
"Okay."
"Can you do it tomorrow?"
"Well, we've finished the book. I guess I could prepare a review lesson but we're just watching a movie in all our classes..."
"Okay. Have a plan by 3pm." [5 mins ago]

It's 3rd grade who are my least favorite students and I am out of material. Thanks for the extra dose of stress as I'm trying to get camp ready. They could have filmed any of my book lessons but no, wait until we're completely finished and then make a lesson in 10 minutes.

I am so physically and emotionally drained that I'm worried I'm going to take my frustration out on someone I care about.

I've been listening to the teachers talk about how glad they are that they don't have to work on Friday and vacation starts next week, and my co-teacher turns to me and says, "I'm sorry, but foreigners have to work on Friday."

I know it's all in the contract, but my God how pointless is deskwarming? I NEED a mental health day. And then camp for two weeks.... Why do we even have camp? One of the biggest appeals of teaching is the long vacations, but we have to fill them with camps here.

More like how great is deskwarming, am I right? Literally getting paid to read a book or study. And you get to use the school's heat, water, internet, etc.

I'd prefer to have vacation, but I mean, deskwarming is kind of a unique pleasure.

Deskwarming is better than Camp, but I'd still rather have more vacation.
Deskwarming is great because I can focus on studying when I don't have the time / motivation to do it at home, but I could easily be doing nothing at home.

I think they don't realise, we need breaks just as much as the Korean teachers. We may work less here compared to them (comparable amounts in some cases, I'm sure), but we have a lot of difficulties here compared to the Korean teachers that we should get a break from. At least, camp / deskwarming makes it feel like they 'don't understand our unique situation' haha.

There used to be no camps back in the day.  Those days are long, long gone now.  :(

Why do you think they started camps? Pressure from the parents? Teachers complaining we have too much time off?

Why do you think they started camps? Pressure from the parents? Teachers complaining we have too much time off?

I've read it was because a bunch of NETs kept complaining about the amount of deskwarming they had to do, especially when comparing their own setups to other NETs who were permitted to stay home or take longer vacations at the discretion of their schools.

Why do you think they started camps? Pressure from the parents? Teachers complaining we have too much time off?

I've read it was because a bunch of NETs kept complaining about the amount of deskwarming they had to do, especially when comparing their own setups to other NETs who were permitted to stay home or take longer vacations at the discretion of their schools.

This would be a totally different job without camps. I can't imagine. Camp is easily the hardest part of this job.

Why do you think they started camps? Pressure from the parents? Teachers complaining we have too much time off?

I've read it was because a bunch of NETs kept complaining about the amount of deskwarming they had to do, especially when comparing their own setups to other NETs who were permitted to stay home or take longer vacations at the discretion of their schools.

This would be a totally different job without camps. I can't imagine. Camp is easily the hardest part of this job.

I'm curious why you think that? I've probably had it easy -- week long camp at most, I get to do what I want, and it usually involves candy. I'm not a superfan but it's not...awful?

Why do you think they started camps? Pressure from the parents? Teachers complaining we have too much time off?

I've read it was because a bunch of NETs kept complaining about the amount of deskwarming they had to do, especially when comparing their own setups to other NETs who were permitted to stay home or take longer vacations at the discretion of their schools.

This would be a totally different job without camps. I can't imagine. Camp is easily the hardest part of this job.

Right? Very little to no fixed focus, lack of direction, often with an incredibly small to non-existent budget, and with many NETs receiving little to no support or feedback even on the most basic details... I get that they can be made fun and used as an opportunity for teaching certain things for NETs in the right setup, but, really, in most cases, they're a huge waste of time for students and teachers alike. I'd much rather deskwarm. I feel that the time spent at the desk would be far more productive. I could easily knock out half-a-year's worth in planning during deskwarming. xD

But I might feel differently if I were in a school that actually made effective use of camps.

Why do you think they started camps? Pressure from the parents? Teachers complaining we have too much time off?

I've read it was because a bunch of NETs kept complaining about the amount of deskwarming they had to do, especially when comparing their own setups to other NETs who were permitted to stay home or take longer vacations at the discretion of their schools.

This would be a totally different job without camps. I can't imagine. Camp is easily the hardest part of this job.

I'm curious why you think that? I've probably had it easy -- week long camp at most, I get to do what I want, and it usually involves candy. I'm not a superfan but it's not...awful?

Some of us are fortunate. Others not so much. One of my friends always has to work multiple weeks of camp and has to try and fit in vacation in the midst somehow. Always tons of children and no Korean teacher. One good thing for her was a ridiculous budget.

I like camp when it rolls around but that's because I always have small numbers, manageable students, and generally get to do what I want. I spend a ton of time on prep but at least it's time spent on activities I enjoy.

For my kids in particular, I think camp is a very good thing because most are stuck on the island for the better part if not all of break and there's not much stuff they can do otherwise. At the least, they have fun getting together and hanging out.

Some schools started doing camps, while other schools didn't.

They were paid and voluntary (for the most part).

When several very vocal NETS complained that others were able to double-dip (regular salary, plus an extra 2 million for 2 weeks of camp), the administration made camps mandatory with no pay.

That is the way it went down 9-10 years ago.

Too many short-sighted mental midgets ruined a good thing for many.

I normally don't mind camp, but this year I have three weeks of 4 hours a day with 25-28 students per class, 4 different levels I'm still teaching this week and camp starts on Monday and I have to do prep on my own

As soon as camp is finished I have to prep placement tests for the new teacher. I'm sick of here. Desk warming sounds like a rainbow unicorn situation to me.

Why do you think they started camps? Pressure from the parents? Teachers complaining we have too much time off?

I've read it was because a bunch of NETs kept complaining about the amount of deskwarming they had to do, especially when comparing their own setups to other NETs who were permitted to stay home or take longer vacations at the discretion of their schools.

This would be a totally different job without camps. I can't imagine. Camp is easily the hardest part of this job.

I'm curious why you think that? I've probably had it easy -- week long camp at most, I get to do what I want, and it usually involves candy. I'm not a superfan but it's not...awful?

You've had it easy. My main school wanted 6 weeks of winter camp.
Because of when I took my vacation, it made too many half weeks during jan / feb, so they took it down to 3. Last time I checked they only had the sign ups for 1 week, so *hopefully* I'll only get 1 week at my main school and 1 week at my travel school.

And camp is both stressful and the most hardest part of this job. My main school started off with "We want 3 weeks of nothing but reading / writing / speaking / listening competitions - but didn't like any idea given to them. Now it is: "It must differ from your regular lessons, it must be fun, you have a budget of 0, it must be fun, and no watching movies." I have enough ideas for about 3 days, so most of my camp is going to be winged.

I'm anxious about camp because my coteacher was being all weird yesterday to me.... but talking with one of my friends helped me realize, well, if the camp goes badly, things won't be that much worse for me, and if camp goes well, things probably won't be that much better.

Still just tired of dealing with everyone though.

Finding a decent place to live in Seoul is miserable. Everything that's new or remodeled has awful built-in washing machines and gas / electric ranges. Everything older is scummy and dirty.

And everything is offensively expensive.

This is my current rant too. The place my school gave me has been so awful so I'm taking the pittance of a housing allowance and trying to go it alone. Been looking online for months, and it's rare I see anything passable (clean, enough space for a double bed, not an hours commute).

I know I shouldn't complain about the housing allowance yadda yadda but seriously, that amount may have been okay 10 years ago, not now.

I was just told that because today is the last day before vacation, all teachers are going out for lunch for fish soup and I MUST attend. I really don't like fish. Even though I explained this to my coteachers, they assured me it's okay because "it's not spicy!"

No, spicy isn't the problem, it's the fish. Why can't I choose anything else? 

I normally don't mind camp, but this year I have three weeks of 4 hours a day with 25-28 students per class, 4 different levels I'm still teaching this week and camp starts on Monday and I have to do prep on my own

As soon as camp is finished I have to prep placement tests for the new teacher. I'm sick of here. Desk warming sounds like a rainbow unicorn situation to me.

My situation is almost identical, and I'm away all weekend, so going in cold on Monday. I also have a zero won budget. I found a well planned Frozen camp on Waygook for elementary grades 3-6. It's for 3 days, but I am making it work for 5. Anywhere there is a craft activity, I've substituted something which uses paper only. Anywhere there is paint, we will use colouring pens. The movie will fill three periods on a Thursday. The rest I will stretch with filler activities.

I don't care if they don't like Frozen. Neither do I.

http://www.waygook.org/index.php/topic,93631.msg598553.html#msg598553

Hope it works for you!

I was just told that because today is the last day before vacation, all teachers are going out for lunch for fish soup and I MUST attend. I really don't like fish. Even though I explained this to my coteachers, they assured me it's okay because "it's not spicy!"

No, spicy isn't the problem, it's the fish. Why can't I choose anything else? 

You are no longer required to attend hwehshiks.

I just found out that there's been some talk about the way I dress.

I actually don't really dress any differently than any of the other teachers here, but my clothes look different on me because I have a very, very different build. All the same, I'm not showing any skin that would be inappropriate in the Korean workplace, and nothing is tight.

While most of the staff and faculty don't see a problem with my clothes, there's a small group who feel like I should "cover up" more, which basically means that they want me to start wearing clothing two sizes too big for me or to wear a jacket constantly throughout the day.

Are they ****** kidding me?

Finding a decent place to live in Seoul is miserable. Everything that's new or remodeled has awful built-in washing machines and gas / electric ranges. Everything older is scummy and dirty.

And everything is offensively expensive.

This is my current rant too. The place my school gave me has been so awful so I'm taking the pittance of a housing allowance and trying to go it alone. Been looking online for months, and it's rare I see anything passable (clean, enough space for a double bed, not an hours commute).

I know I shouldn't complain about the housing allowance yadda yadda but seriously, that amount may have been okay 10 years ago, not now.

Oh. The money isn't really a big problem, but even if you're putting a 50 million deposit and paying like 800 a month rent, most places available in Seoul are still butt.

Well that's kind of what I mean. Will absolutely have to pay out of pocket and even then it'll still be a total sh*thole. Been saving all year for this deposit, even when the exchange rate was so sweet... it's not even going to make much of a difference. I miss my old city, I could be living like a king normal person with this budget.