RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

First day back after my trip home.

Walk in to find 2 live birds and one dead bird in the English classroom.

They wont put the heating on because there are no students and they suggest I move to one of the homerooms because they can control the heating themselves.


Probably moving schools in March but no one can give me an answer until...probably end of Feb.
Co-teacher said she's 99% sure I will have to move main schools but doesn't know about the rest. Unless things changed from last year, in which case she isn't actually sure. Coordinator is a damp squib so no point asking him.
Why. For once I was really happy with my schools and they are happy with me.

Before the vacation the principal asked me if i planned to stay with this school for the new semester...how the **** do you not know its not my choice.

FML

Sorry to hear that Pennypie.    Sadly, there is no sentiment in the Korean education system.  I had the same two countryside middle schools for seven years, then they cut all middle school teachers in the province.  Loved the students and the tiny towns I worked in.  Got moved to a hell  of an elementary school.  Thanks!!  Now after a trip through girls middle now at a girls high school and couldn't be happier.  It really is a roller coaster, but on a positive note can show how you work in adversity.  Ups and downs, ups and downs.  Hope things work out in 2017!!   

Thanks  True, and I know that and really I should be used to it by now. I'm on my 3rd contract and I came just as everything was messing up so I've never experienced one school or the comfort  of knowing you will be able to  stay there. I feel sort of cheated.  Glad its all worked out! I imagine Middle to Elementary must be quite the shock.


I get used to it pretty quickly when I move and soon forget the old schools, I just really cant be arsed to meet new people. 

I guess blocking phone numbers doesn't apply to texting?  Got a series of "helpful" messages from annoying git.

Just. Leave. Me. Alone.

*Edit: apparently blocking text messages is separate from blocking phone calls. Blocked and blocked! :D

Battletoasta teacher can you please come back to school on the 16th of January. I would but the school is locked and no one is there.

Guess I'll try again another day.

48 days to go.

The next two days I have to work on editing kids articles for the English newspaper and I wish they would just write about dumb stuff instead of what they have written about because this is hard. My coteacher is telling me not to take it so seriously, it's just the English newspaper, but the thing is if I don't understand the facts (or non-facts) that my students are trying to get across, it's impossible for me to understand how to edit their articles.

Just spent a good amount of time trying to understand a student's writing that was saying something like "Japanese history books say Ahn Jung-Geun was an assassin, but Ito had the blood of Koreans on his hands, so why is he not considered an assassin too?" Uh well... because he's not an assassin, as far as I know. He didn't personally hold a gun and shoot any Korean politicians or activists, which would mean he is factually not an assassin. You could call him a murderer, sure, but not an assassin.

So I proposed changing the word "assassin" to murderer, but my coteacher didn't like that. Ahn Jung-Geun wasn't a murderer! How could you say that! Well, he did kill someone. According to the definition of murderer, he is one. Oh, but Koreans don't consider him a murderer. Well, this article is talking about JAPANESE perception of Korean history, not what Koreans think. Is murderer too emotionally charged? Do you want me to change it to killer? No, no, he's a... martyr, yeah, that's the word. But... Japanese people don't consider him a martyr, and this is about the Japanese perception, and also one is not a martyr because they killed someone, they are a martyr because they died. 

12 more articles to go 

You lost me! I'll assume I should just be understanding of the unique situation. 

Started the day without internet and resigned myself to using my phone. Fortunately the internet returned within an hour!

Basically, my Korean coteacher/Koreans in general: I don't like the meaning of this word, so I don't want to use it. Even though it's the right word. I like this other word better, even though it is wrong, so I think you should use it.

Now I'm editing one about big data and the sentences are such a mess I just have to completely re-write it. I asked my coteacher if I should just try to fix it a little bit, or fix every mistake so it both reads naturally and is comprehensible and she said the latter. I know it will make the paper look better, but I feel a little bad for the kids? because they will see their article and that it is COMPLETELY different and not actually what they wrote.

I know a Korean who constantly uses the word "embarrassed" to the point where

Yep. It's so frustrating in school too, because I'm like... despite how it feels a lot of the time, I wasn't hired by the government just for decoration. I was hired because I'm a native speaker and I know things about words that you don't. SO Y U INSIST ON USING WRONG WORDS

The kids are cleaning the school today and the door is constantly open so my hands are freezing.

I am so glad my school doesn't have an English newsletter or anything. Once I had to correct papers written about English camp and I could only guess at the meaning of some of them. My coT had no idea what they actually meant either because they were written only in English and so she had nothing more to go off of than I did. I ended up writing a lot of question marks.

First day of deskwarming after vacation in Southeast Asia... so hard to come back from the sunny weather and nice people.
Came into the school today and the teacher in the office said "English teacher no changee?" Gee, thanks...

The next two days I have to work on editing kids articles for the English newspaper and I wish they would just write about dumb stuff instead of what they have written about because this is hard. My coteacher is telling me not to take it so seriously, it's just the English newspaper, but the thing is if I don't understand the facts (or non-facts) that my students are trying to get across, it's impossible for me to understand how to edit their articles.

Just spent a good amount of time trying to understand a student's writing that was saying something like "Japanese history books say Ahn Jung-Geun was an assassin, but Ito had the blood of Koreans on his hands, so why is he not considered an assassin too?" Uh well... because he's not an assassin, as far as I know. He didn't personally hold a gun and shoot any Korean politicians or activists, which would mean he is factually not an assassin. You could call him a murderer, sure, but not an assassin.

So I proposed changing the word "assassin" to murderer, but my coteacher didn't like that. Ahn Jung-Geun wasn't a murderer! How could you say that! Well, he did kill someone. According to the definition of murderer, he is one. Oh, but Koreans don't consider him a murderer. Well, this article is talking about JAPANESE perception of Korean history, not what Koreans think. Is murderer too emotionally charged? Do you want me to change it to killer? No, no, he's a... martyr, yeah, that's the word. But... Japanese people don't consider him a martyr, and this is about the Japanese perception, and also one is not a martyr because they killed someone, they are a martyr because they died. 

12 more articles to go 

As per usual, when writing in English for an English newspaper, they write articles about Korean history. Probably stuff they've already had rammed down their throats in all the other subjects as well. 

I used to hate language teachers who would say "don't be creative, just use words and patterns we already know" because I've always been creative in language courses, but now I sort of get where they're coming from. Some of this stuff is so hard to parse and incomprehensible and a pain in the ASS to correct. I'm on to essay number 5 now and just finished editing an essay on LoL and tbh it's my favorite because it only required light edits since the kid was writing about something they know about and didn't try to say anything too complicated.

Thanks for keeping me company in this ranting thread today yirj lol

You know the problem with KTs not looking at all at your plans for camp that you had to make not knowing which kids are going to be attending and had to go off really vague instructions reguarding levelling is? That the KT, who knows how many students and which students will be in each group for camp when you do not, doesn't then tell you that you are maybe relying a little to much on them retaining anything at all from the school year. This last week of camp is gonna be shite. At least for the last 2 weeks I KNEW the kids had next-to-nothing (it was pm phonics camp for two weeks) but this week was told to me as "level three" kids, which I thought was lower end of average kids not kids that also barely know the alphabet and won't talk at all.

Also side note, each week for three weeks ALL the KT had to do was prepare a video for 4th period and not a single one of them did. I was not told I had to prepare videos for 4th period too. These are the KTs that told me "oh you need to use these grammar books" then didn't give me the grammar books until a week before winter vacation so I couldn't finish my plans until the last week of school.  like okay I'll get 30-45 lesson plans finished in like 2 weeks because you couldn't get it together to give me what I needed in time but sure, don't bother doing the only thing I expected you to do.

40 hours of camp with the same students is too.  ******.  much.

"Green tea snack is devid likes and dislikes follow own bent. "

What. Why. W h a t

 

"Green tea snack is devid likes and dislikes follow own bent. "

What. Why. W h a t

 

That is the result of a translation engine - NAVER.

Reverse translate and you get: 녹차 스낵은 싫은 것입니다.

Translate that into English using the same translator and you get:  Green tea snacks are unpleasant.

"Green tea snack is devid likes and dislikes follow own bent. "

What. Why. W h a t

 

That is the result of a translation engine - NAVER.

Reverse translate and you get: 녹차 스낵은 싫은 것입니다.

Translate that into English using the same translator and you get:  Green tea snacks are unpleasant.

This is what I managed to finagle out of it:

Green tea snack is devid likes and dislikes follow own bent. But People who don`t like green tea also suggest eat it. Because snack`s sweet taste is neutralize bitter taste. 
= 
People like green tea according to their own preferences, but even people who don’t like green tea on its own may like green tea snacks, because the bitterness of green tea is neutralized by the snack’s sweetness.

But after your help I guess maybe

Many people dislike green tea, but still I suggest they try eating green tea snacks. They may find they like it because the bitterness of green tea is neutralized by the snack’s sweetness.

EDIT: Put the whole segment through Naver translate, came up with "녹차를 좋아하고 싫어하는 것은 자신만의 취향을 따르는 것이다. 하지만 녹차를 좋아하지 않는 사람들도 먹지 않는다. 달콤한 맛이 달콤한 맛을 중화시키기 때문이다." , put that through Google translate because Naver wasn't cooperating and got "What I like and dislike about green tea is to follow your own taste. However, people who do not like green tea do not eat. This is because the sweet taste neutralizes the sweet taste."

SO gonna go with my first interpretation of how to translate it lol

Came down to my office at 12:06 to grab something.  Teachers were still here.  They know my camp ends at 12:30, but when I get back they've all gone to a restaurant for lunch.  Why can't they wait for me.  They better bring me takeout again, but it's looking grim since the only person who seems to care that I don't starve is the VP and she's not here today.

*sigh*

One more week of camp.

I'm going to make sure next camp is something fun for me, too, not just for the kids. Because **** this.

I know a Korean who constantly uses the word "embarrassed" to the point where

[off topic]

OMG

I watched that movie with my 8yo son this past weekend.

So many great lines!

[/off topic]