RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

WHY does my school have classes today? It's been two weeks since exams and they have the summer vacation ceremony on Wednesday. WTF could possibly be learned today?

Ten years in public school here and I've never understood this. Middle schools are the worst. They'll have final exams, and then another three weeks of classes before vacation during which they watch movies, play games or listen to Kpop while their teacher isn't even in the room.

I've seen the first half of Frozen 32 times!

WHY does my school have classes today? It's been two weeks since exams and they have the summer vacation ceremony on Wednesday. WTF could possibly be learned today?

not really a school thing. the korean govt (Ministry of Education?) prescribes a minimum number of days that schools must be open for per year.

but korea does have some of the most days per year worldwide that schools must be open for. although the number of instructional hours per day is less than the US, so students in the US have about the same number of instructional hours per year as kids in korea, even though they're spending less days in school: https://nces.ed.gov/pubs/eiip/eiipid24.asp

and http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Time-in-school-How-does-the-US-compare

WHY does my school have classes today? It's been two weeks since exams and they have the summer vacation ceremony on Wednesday. WTF could possibly be learned today?

Ten years in public school here and I've never understood this. Middle schools are the worst. They'll have final exams, and then another three weeks of classes before vacation during which they watch movies, play games or listen to Kpop while their teacher isn't even in the room.

I've seen the first half of Frozen 32 times!

Yeah, I'm in middle school and I've been playing games for 2 weeks. After exams, class just feels like babysitting.

Camp was supposed to start at 10:45. They moved it back to 8:50 and meglected to tell me. Even after my class was supposed to have started.

Oh, and they also have construction across the entire campus so camp itself was cancelled and I have 4 hours with a SINGLE student for "conversation" and no clue what to do. I wanna die.

No money camp (Bull shit they have money, they just don't want to spend it) means western play ground games, party games, movies, and anything else that Korean teachers don't like or think is "not learning".

I don't even have ****** colored paper, what a joke.

You can buy 200 sheets for something like 5000원. Yeah, it sucks to spend your own money on school supplies, but it's better than playing bingo or four corners for three hours.

Seems like summer camp is especially 스트레스ful for a lot of waygook.org users this year...

I have a week of desk-warming before camp to get everything finished and put together but I can't focus. I can't finalize anything in my mind and I can't bring myself to care. I hate planning camp especially with a $0 budget and no supplies. What do they expect us to do? Sit around and bang rocks together? I feel bad because the students are expecting something fun but for 4 hours they need to be doing something other than playing PPT games. No craft supplies available, no games, no snacks, but I have to entertain 20 kids for an entire week. I don't even have ****** colored paper, what a joke.

I know this doesn't help you now, but this is the reason why I've invested in a lot of board games that I've paid out of my own pocket, or have made with school supplies made available to me during the year (outside of lamination -- I bring my own sheets but use the school's laminator).

I'm lucky that the schools I'm currently assigned to actually give me a budget that I can work with, but I've been given 0 budget before and I've been able to get by by using survival/murder mystery types of activities (adjusted so that all clues could be printed on paper), capture the flag (during the Winter because Summer is just too hot for this game), board and card games, and drinking games adjusted for the classroom (often instituting weird rules or penalties to change them up). If I needed a ball, I just crumpled a bunch of sheets of paper and taped it up, lol. Wasn't pretty, but it worked. xP

They're not going to get a whole lot of English-learning out of that beyond what the students can get from either trying to communicate with you or interpreting the instructions from you (with the help of vocabulary sheets and MAYBE some target phrases)... but that's what they get for 0 budget.

I've invested in a lot of board games that I've paid out of my own pocket

I would like to do this, but I could never prevent the kids from wrecking them. I bought a deck of cards for one vacation class and tried my best to get them not to fold, spindle or mutilate them to no avail. I'm not risking that with a $40 board game. Elementary kids almost subconsciously destroy things.

I've invested in a lot of board games that I've paid out of my own pocket

I would like to do this, but I could never prevent the kids from wrecking them. I bought a deck of cards for one vacation class and tried my best to get them not to fold, spindle or mutilate them to no avail. I'm not risking that with a $40 board game. Elementary kids almost subconsciously destroy things.

Yeah, I work primarily with older students, so I've got the advantage there. I'm also lucky that I've purchased a lot of my games from leaving foreigners, so I didn't pay out of the ass for most of what I've got.

But yeah, I'd only use laminated homemade games with the tykes, unless I were assigned to a small rural school with something like only 4-5 kids. Jenga is the exception, those are pretty durable. I would just have to make sure I have the same number of blocks by the end of the activity, which wasn't too hard for me in the past (in fact, it's easier for me to keep track of my blocks with younger students than it is for older students -- I don't let anyone move on to the next activity or leave the room until all blocks are accounted for). My main focus with a 0 budget for the younger students would be more on active games, anyway, designed to keep them out of their seats or using their hands a lot. So, scavenger hunts, simon says, red light/green light, classroom pac-man, capture the flag would still be an option (just with an emphasis on the more polite rules), pin the body part on the body, drawing games, and etc. I'd just add a simple English spin on all of those games, and that would be that.

I've invested in a lot of board games that I've paid out of my own pocket

I would like to do this, but I could never prevent the kids from wrecking them. I bought a deck of cards for one vacation class and tried my best to get them not to fold, spindle or mutilate them to no avail. I'm not risking that with a $40 board game. Elementary kids almost subconsciously destroy things.

Ah. I've got middle school and I have invested a lot of time making some games like UNO and PIT using the school printers and lamination machines.  At least i have access to colored printing and laminate sheets though.  I know not everyone does.  Time consuming but fun to theme the cards something more interesting like Super Mario or Pokemon.

If you have paper though, origami can be a fun craft as can making snowflakes (3D or flat).  I'm gonna have my kids make frogs and then have competitions like whose can jump the farthest. 

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu***********kkkkkkkkkkk

My camp started today. Camp 1, School 1. It is now 1:15pm and the classes are being moved forward for the 3rd time today. What was to have begun at 9, is now beginning at 1:50pm.

I am not in the mood for this today. I am beyond pissed at my significant other and I have a might awful migraine and now all this is just rolling down.... I don't know if i want to cry or throw a chair across a room, of course i will do neither.

Ima just gonna sit here and smile all nicely and then go home and get wasted.

  Please make 2 games for Monday for the Grade 3 class.

  Ok. (Jesus, 2?)

  (Proceeds to talk for 30 mins of a 40 min class)

Started camp and did a scavenger hunt. Spent a lot of effort hiding the items in 16 locations all around the school. I also made clues for each of the 4 teams. Started the game and found my CT following the students telling them EXACTLY where each thing was hidden!

My school has started to take the piss. They told me about a week ago that they didn't have the budget to renew me and ever since nothing has gone right.

The principal has decided that I'm no longer allowed to turn on lights, aircon or the fan to save power and my co-teacher , who agreed to write a letter of reference for me, has run off on an out of country business trip for the next 3 weeks.

To make this worse my afterschool classes were finished for the semester last Thursday but apparently that just means they send the kids to come hang out in the English room when they would be in my class. I have all of second grade in here being their usual "touch / move literally everything while screaming constantly" selves. 

Only 32 days left till unemployment and I'm genuinely not sure if I'm scared that I won't find a job or just happy to not have to come here again.

When in doubt, be happy. (Just find a different thread to do it on. )

If it's a teaching job in Korea you'll be looking for, don't worry; it'll come~

As expected, today was pointless. The kids don't even want to play games.

My school has started to take the piss. They told me about a week ago that they didn't have the budget to renew me and ever since nothing has gone right.

The principal has decided that I'm no longer allowed to turn on lights, aircon or the fan to save power and my co-teacher , who agreed to write a letter of reference for me, has run off on an out of country business trip for the next 3 weeks.

To make this worse my afterschool classes were finished for the semester last Thursday but apparently that just means they send the kids to come hang out in the English room when they would be in my class. I have all of second grade in here being their usual "touch / move literally everything while screaming constantly" selves. 

Only 32 days left till unemployment and I'm genuinely not sure if I'm scared that I won't find a job or just happy to not have to come here again.

Sorry to hear this.
Are you with EPIK?  I know the province I'm in is not replacing teachers who are leaving and are spreading the rest of us among the schools.

Please make 2 games for Monday for the Grade 3 class.

  Ok. (Jesus, 2?)

  (Proceeds to talk for 30 mins of a 40 min class)

That happens a lot with my elem. coT. Sometimes there's five minutes left and then she'll announce to the students that it's game time. Dafuq am I to do for 5 minutes??

Me: there's only 5 minutes left...

  oh five minutes?? FREE TIME! (Hurries off to the computer)

Oh... Oh. So I am actually just babysitting a kindergarten class for 80 minutes day and a Gr1 and 2 class for 80 minutes...... Why on earth did I have to make detailed lesson plans and why was I told Grds 3-5? Thank god for youtube, bananagrams and human alphabet saving the day.  Why am I always so taken aback when this shit happens... I seriously should know better by now!!!

I can't stop laughing at myself all prepped and ready for these fabulous phonics lessons..... arms filled with posters and cards and games (moving from one class to another) I look like a right tool.