RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Who knows, but it does mean I'm that much less motivated both at the school and to get out of town immediately afterward.

Which, right now, is completely eating me alive in terms of feeling isolated.

Clicked on your profile and it says you are living in Sangju right? One of my friends lived there for 2 years and she said it was the best time ever, there were a few foreign teachers but mostly they hung around with the young Korean population who spoke surprisingly good English. I know at the time she said she really had to put herself out there in order to meet people but once she did she had a great time.

I know this isn't great advice but I guess you have to really really make an effort to meet people there. I hope it gets better and this gives you a little hope!

Thanks, I think I might have to. I've had a few Koreans reach out to me this weekend and I'll make a better effort on my end. The foreign teacher group is just hard to coordinate here. That said, I did recently get a running and occasional dinner partner from one of the other teachers, so that'll be occupying my weekdays more.

The big problem is all of my best friends live in Busan and I'm probably not doing myself any favors by going there every weekend.

at least you get paid an hour of non-teaching overtime every time you are at that school then 

Whaaaat?

How do I go about getting this money?

You can't, unfortunately: the school isn't requiring you to stay that extra time. They would argue that you should just get yourself some transportation.

     Which isn't a bad idea: get yourself a crappy old 50cc scooter for a 3oo,ooo won and save yourself an hour of waiting around time. They're also a heck of a lot of fun, if you dont mind risking life and limb in local traffic. 

The hallways have gone deathly quiet. I had a class due to start one minute ago... yet again it is clear that the waygookin has been left out of the loop. I want to be thrilled, however I know that this will just mean the first period, and then it will be back to grind, and one of my grade 5 classes will be a lesson ahead of the other. Three years here and still haven't come to terms with Korean surprises.

Yea same here.  Three years and it still annoys me like you wouldn't believe.

It's one of the reasons why I neither consider myself an actual teacher, nor this an actual teaching job.

at least you get paid an hour of non-teaching overtime every time you are at that school then 

Whaaaat?

How do I go about getting this money?

You can't, unfortunately: the school isn't requiring you to stay that extra time. They would argue that you should just get yourself some transportation.

     Which isn't a bad idea: get yourself a crappy old 50cc scooter for a 3oo,ooo won and save yourself an hour of waiting around time. They're also a heck of a lot of fun, if you dont mind risking life and limb in local traffic. 

If you don't have a licence / can't drive, then you are required to stay that extra hour. I'd argue for it myself, as I can't drive.

Kayos,

Are you sure your "boss" clearly understands your situation?

If they did, surely they would let you catch the earlier bus.

If they do, but don't, have you asked why the hostility toward you?

at least you get paid an hour of non-teaching overtime every time you are at that school then 

Whaaaat?

How do I go about getting this money?

You can't, unfortunately: the school isn't requiring you to stay that extra time. They would argue that you should just get yourself some transportation.

     Which isn't a bad idea: get yourself a crappy old 50cc scooter for a 3oo,ooo won and save yourself an hour of waiting around time. They're also a heck of a lot of fun, if you dont mind risking life and limb in local traffic. 

If you don't have a licence / can't drive, then you are required to stay that extra hour. I'd argue for it myself, as I can't drive.

No.
"Required"?
Please.

I'm curious...if your school is out at 4:40, how are the other teachers leaving?

Why not pitch in for a ride along or something?

That used to be pretty SOP for anyone working rural...at least to get you closer to your main school or home (not door to door).

Not sure If I understand the OP on this issue, but when I used to go to my travel school on Fridays (not my main school), I would finish at 1:50 in the afternoon.

Did I stick around?  No. I would bounce.

Usually, I would go back to my main school to tidy up and finish prepping for Monday, but there were other times, when I would simply go home or get a head start on my weekend.

Are they saying you need to stay at your travel school?

That is nuts.

Teach your classes and go.

I can't leave my satellite schools til day's end. Today, for example, I'm here til 5:20 because clock off is 4:40, but the bus home is hourly, 20 after.

I'm provincial, though.

at least you get paid an hour of non-teaching overtime every time you are at that school then 

Whaaaat?

How do I go about getting this money?
Not that I need to make my administration any more tense with me. We get along well enough but it's a working relationship at best. I've had to put my foot down a couple of times now and don't wanna stir the pot too much.

Also, apparently one of the lunch ladies at my school wants me to teach her son conversational English on weekends... Luckily my coteacher mediated and told her no since I am not actually in my town on weekends.

the point is that you don't actually get this money. what you say to that school is that since the bus leaves at 4:20pm (i assume), they need to let you out early or pay you extra overtime since you have to stay late. arrange to come in earlier at 8:20am if you have to.

they won't want to pay you the overtime so just use it as leverage.

technically you aren't actually entitled to that money but the school probably doesn't know that.

kobayashi's idea to come in earlier to be able to leave earlier is a good one.

I have done that before, and a teacher at my current school does the same thing (he comes in an hour earlier and leaves an hour earlier).

Again, this isn't costing your school anything.

So apparently it has a lot to do with the culture of that school (I'm seen as a lax worker by the other staff by leaving early). Luckily, my co understands that and seems to appreciate the work I put into my lessons. And the flip side is, according to her, we both arrive early (7:55 bus gets there before 8:20) and I get to work immediately (printing lesson shit for the day, etc.). Any day the VP or P isn't there, I can attempt to leave discreetly.

I'm gonna take everyone's advice and gently start pushing for a better working condition on that day.

Luckily this is only a one day a week problem as my main school is 5 minutes away by bike and I'm OK with arriving at 8:10 ish and leaving at 4:30 since I use that time to plan. MY other two rural schools I get rides and it works out about right.

Kayos,

Are you sure your "boss" clearly understands your situation?

If they did, surely they would let you catch the earlier bus.

If they do, but don't, have you asked why the hostility toward you?

I'm not the one in this situation. I said, if I were in the OP's situation, I'd argue for it.
1 of my schools let me leave early to catch the bus, my other makes me wait, but someone gives me a ride home, in exchange for talking / helping them with their English during the ride.

at least you get paid an hour of non-teaching overtime every time you are at that school then 

Whaaaat?

How do I go about getting this money?

You can't, unfortunately: the school isn't requiring you to stay that extra time. They would argue that you should just get yourself some transportation.

     Which isn't a bad idea: get yourself a crappy old 50cc scooter for a 3oo,ooo won and save yourself an hour of waiting around time. They're also a heck of a lot of fun, if you dont mind risking life and limb in local traffic. 

If you don't have a licence / can't drive, then you are required to stay that extra hour. I'd argue for it myself, as I can't drive.

No.
"Required"?
Please.

The original situation was: rural school, after school class makes them miss the bus, has to wait for an hour after school's finished to wait for the next bus. If you are like me and can't drive, and if one of the Korean teachers won't give you a ride (However, this wasn't mentioned by the OP, I don't think), then you are "required" to stay/wait for another hour to get the next bus.
I'd argue that it is required if I were in this situation, I'd fight for over time pay for this, if they wouldn't be willing to let me finish early to catch the bus closest to the finishing time.

I'm curious...if your school is out at 4:40, how are the other teachers leaving?

Why not pitch in for a ride along or something?

That used to be pretty SOP for anyone working rural...at least to get you closer to your main school or home (not door to door).

My most rural school is a boarding school. A lot of the Korean teachers there don't finish until around 7 - 8pm Monday - Thursday; on Friday's they finish really early though, around 1 - 2pm.
My other rural school finishes at 4 40pm, but a lot of the teachers don't start leaving until 5 - 520pm.

at least you get paid an hour of non-teaching overtime every time you are at that school then 

Whaaaat?

How do I go about getting this money?

You can't, unfortunately: the school isn't requiring you to stay that extra time. They would argue that you should just get yourself some transportation.

     Which isn't a bad idea: get yourself a crappy old 50cc scooter for a 3oo,ooo won and save yourself an hour of waiting around time. They're also a heck of a lot of fun, if you dont mind risking life and limb in local traffic. 

If you don't have a licence / can't drive, then you are required to stay that extra hour. I'd argue for it myself, as I can't drive.

No.
"Required"?
Please.

The original situation was: rural school, after school class makes them miss the bus, has to wait for an hour after school's finished to wait for the next bus. If you are like me and can't drive, and if one of the Korean teachers won't give you a ride (However, this wasn't mentioned by the OP, I don't think), then you are "required" to stay/wait for another hour to get the next bus.
I'd argue that it is required if I were in this situation, I'd fight for over time pay for this, if they wouldn't be willing to let me finish early to catch the bus closest to the finishing time.

I'm actually done before lunch at all three of my rural schools, lol. I'm just not allowed to leave until 4:30 (4:40 on Friday) despite that and deskwarm every afternoon. But yeah, Friday the busses run at 4:20 and 5:20, and I get forced to take the 5:20, which suuuuuuuuucks.

at least you get paid an hour of non-teaching overtime every time you are at that school then 

Whaaaat?

How do I go about getting this money?

You can't, unfortunately: the school isn't requiring you to stay that extra time. They would argue that you should just get yourself some transportation.

     Which isn't a bad idea: get yourself a crappy old 50cc scooter for a 3oo,ooo won and save yourself an hour of waiting around time. They're also a heck of a lot of fun, if you dont mind risking life and limb in local traffic. 

If you don't have a licence / can't drive, then you are required to stay that extra hour. I'd argue for it myself, as I can't drive.

No.
"Required"?
Please.

The original situation was: rural school, after school class makes them miss the bus, has to wait for an hour after school's finished to wait for the next bus. If you are like me and can't drive, and if one of the Korean teachers won't give you a ride (However, this wasn't mentioned by the OP, I don't think), then you are "required" to stay/wait for another hour to get the next bus.
I'd argue that it is required if I were in this situation, I'd fight for over time pay for this, if they wouldn't be willing to let me finish early to catch the bus closest to the finishing time.

I'm actually done before lunch at all three of my rural schools, lol. I'm just not allowed to leave until 4:30 (4:40 on Friday) despite that and deskwarm every afternoon. But yeah, Friday the busses run at 4:20 and 5:20, and I get forced to take the 5:20, which suuuuuuuuucks.

Ouch, on Tuesday's I used to be finished before lunch, however, my schedule has changed this semester, so my last class finishes at 3 55pm, however, I'm allowed to leave at 410 to catch the 420pm bus. The reason, which I stated in a different reply, is because it is a boarding school, the Korean teachers can't get out until 7 - 8 pm Mon - Thu, and can't offer me a ride, and they told me on my first week, they didn't want to pay me overtime if I have to take the later bus (which is at 620pm - it only comes every 2 hours there).
On Wednesday's, I am done with classes by period 2, and everyone in the school disappears right after lunch. I could probably leave at lunchtime and no one would notice. However, I don't due to being professional and all that. :p

But yeah, deskwarming can really suck! It's very tiring if you don't have anything to do. I hope that you can find a mutually beneficial solution for you and your school!

Pardon me if I'm misunderstanding, but are these all travel schools that are requiring you to stay after classes?  Are you not allowed to return to your main school? 

Pardon me if I'm misunderstanding, but are these all travel schools that are requiring you to stay after classes?  Are you not allowed to return to your main school?

In the past, mine have only let me return to my main school, if it was for a work related reason. I.E. Preparing for camp, having to go to the NET + co-teacher how to handle problems meeting, etc.
Otherwise, I have to remain at my travel school all day. However, I am allowed to leave slightly early for the bus. :)

The hallways have gone deathly quiet. I had a class due to start one minute ago... yet again it is clear that the waygookin has been left out of the loop. I want to be thrilled, however I know that this will just mean the first period, and then it will be back to grind, and one of my grade 5 classes will be a lesson ahead of the other. Three years here and still haven't come to terms with Korean surprises.

I got tired of stuff like that, too, so I started reading all the messages sent on the school messenger system, and then surprises became much less frequent. Rarely a surprise staff dinner or anything again.

Yeah, I wish I had messenger at this school, have been asking them for a while now, but I am only here once a week, so they probably don't think it is necessary. I just don't think it is too much to ask, when they see me in the teacher's lounge in the morning,  to just give me a quick "hey no 1st period, okay?" Okay! Or perhaps just drop me a kakao message when you hear there won't be a class. Aarrggh.

I hate to see students running around the halls in their socks.

It also bothers me when students play soccer/sports wearing slippers if not barefoot  Surely nobody is surprised when someone hurts a foot.  When I was in P.E. class we were required to wear closed toed shoes or we got stuck walking laps the whole time. 

I hate to see students running around the halls in their socks.

These schools are completely filthy. Third graders running a broom over the steps for 10 minutes after lunch does nothing and the floors have obviously not been cleaned properly in years. There is dirt, sand from outside, food, wrappers etc covering the stairs and gathering in corners, yet they are running around shoeless between coming in from outside and arriving at their classrooms. It doesn't make any sense. Everyone can see these floors are dirty. Changing into school slippers doesn't save the place from needing a good cleaning, which it never gets... Yet everyone just ignores the fact that kids are running around in their socks on dirty floors because that's just how they've always done it.

So tired of rules being applied without any thought to logic or reason. I'm not saying get rid of tradition... Just adjust it so it makes some sense and people aren't running around spreading more filth!

Right? At one of my schools, the students and teachers have to walk across an outdoor area that is clearly dirty/sandy/no better than walking on a street sidewalk, but they don't change to their outside shoes. They just stay in the indoor slippers. Which boggles my mind because then it's like... well then what's the point of the slippers??

Meanwhile everything would be solved if the janitor just properly mopped every now and then, but y'know.