RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

i had an open class years ago, and the principal's sole complaint/feedback was that i was sipping water during class (mid-summer!) 

no doubt in a 35 degree room without aircon, because the principal is too cheap to turn it on outside of 3-4 weeks a year.

brand new samsung aircon machines were installed, but no teachers were ever allowed to turn them on

Teachers around the world, for centuries, have been doing this. It's part of being a teacher.

What country are you from?

In public schools in the U.S., there are either district-wide policies or they leave it to each school to draft an appropriate policy regarding beverages and snacks.

You can't just eat and drink what you want during class.

Yes, I know.  Korea is NOT the U.S., but here, rather than a written policy, each principal and/or vice principal will have a list of their do's and don't's.

The sooner you adopt them, the better.

The same can be said for some of the Korean co-teachers as well, and the same applies...learn and adopt.

Curious, those of you who dispense candy, etc., did you ask if it was OK first, and clear it with each homeroom teacher?

Enjoy your weekend.

literally all of the subject teachers at all of the schools i worked at gave out occasional rewards. why would any homeroom teacher care? some of them even asked if they can have some, too

also, i'm from the uk and teachers would always drink tea//coffee during class. a lot would even have their own mini kettles (like many homeroom teachers do in korea)

you usually bang on about this "teacher's guidebook" for specific rules. doesn't it mention anything about drinking hot drinks in there? 

I have been at my school for almost 3 years, longest I have been at any job in Korea. I have loved it, HOWEVER, this year for whatever reason the school calendar changed and it's screwing me over big time.

So, for past 7 years (at least, if not longer), my school has ended the school year at the end of December with no one returning until around February 18th (the first Monday of that week). So this being my last contract, because I want to change, I wanted to go see all of my family, some whom I haven't seen in over 10 years. I haven't seen my immediate family in 4 years. So from January 1st until February 18th would have been perfect to spend that quality time because I probably won't see them for another long stretch. Also, my parents who never ask anything of me and who are much older, have been asking me to come for an extended visit. But when I came back from summer vacation, I found that the school calendar had been revamped, that we were now going to do that stupid thing that elementary and middle schools do where we come in for 4 days in the middle of the break for NO FREAKING REASON. And since this is my last contract it's going to be difficult to convince them to let me out of it because it looks like I am trying to weasel out of the rest of my contract while still getting paid. I was prepared to complete my contract from Feb 18th to the end of the month, but this crap makes me want to punch someone. Also, we used to end school December 30/31st. But now school is ending a week later in January...WTH?!?
I am going to go bang my head now. I have never been homesick...but I miss my family and I'd like to see them and spend quality time with them.

I also drink coffee all the time in front of my students. Obviously not while I am standing there instructing, but when they are doing a team activity and I am supervising and not talking or if I am sitting at my desk while they are writing essays. My students even wrote poems about my coffee addiction...lol. they think it's funny. My school doesn't give a rat's butt. Other KTs do it in their classes as well. It's the norm in my school. Anyway, I am the teacher that feeds their students...constant ly...so my students never complain. I think Pecan either thinks every experience is universal or works in a strict, not nice school.
I also don't have CTs so what I do in my class is my business.

I drink tea and coffee during my classes all the time. I even offer some to my coTs.

Never heard a word about it. I admit I'd get miffed if I did because wtf.

I literally only use Mr C's work and Taramurphys work. I haven't paid yet, but have formulated a plan to get around the "I can't pay" issue I am having, but Tara has already removed her work and if Mr C does the same then I truly couldn't be arsed to even try and make a plan.

I hear you.

As I've mentioned before Mr. C is one of the top two contributors with regards to quality of content and meeting the learning objectives.

The publishing company, Chunjae? needs to hire him to create a supplementary resource kit.

It's great to be appreciated. 

Right now, I'm working on how to share over at Spam.  By the end of the week I'll have to start sorting through what I can leave up here.  That will still be lot of stuff, but nothing with Mickey Mouse or Mr Bean or Pororo or what-have-you.

I just wanted to follow-up on this post.  I decided that the previously mentioned site wouldn't work for me long-term.  Some friends decided to band together and make a place for us with direct up/downloads, removing the need for Dropbox, etc.  it is free.  I will migrate my materials there.  It is spammy.org. 

I literally only use Mr C's work and Taramurphys work. I haven't paid yet, but have formulated a plan to get around the "I can't pay" issue I am having, but Tara has already removed her work and if Mr C does the same then I truly couldn't be arsed to even try and make a plan.

I hear you.

As I've mentioned before Mr. C is one of the top two contributors with regards to quality of content and meeting the learning objectives.

The publishing company, Chunjae? needs to hire him to create a supplementary resource kit.

It's great to be appreciated. 

Right now, I'm working on how to share over at Spam.  By the end of the week I'll have to start sorting through what I can leave up here.  That will still be lot of stuff, but nothing with Mickey Mouse or Mr Bean or Pororo or what-have-you.

I just wanted to follow-up on this post.  I decided that the previously mentioned site wouldn't work for me long-term.  Some friends decided to band together and make a place for us with direct up/downloads, removing the need for Dropbox, etc.  it is free.  I will migrate my materials there.  It is spammy.org.

Yay! Thank you so much Mr C. I really find your material to be top notch!

Teachers around the world, for centuries, have been doing this. It's part of being a teacher.

What country are you from?

In public schools in the U.S., there are either district-wide policies or they leave it to each school to draft an appropriate policy regarding beverages and snacks.

You can't just eat and drink what you want during class.

Yeah, I don't know what part of the states you're from but from my 13 years (including K) attending public schools there and even during my 4 years of university teachers often drank tea, coffee, water when they felt like it. It's perfectly normal/acceptable and no one cares. Not the teachers, not the principals, and not the students.

Teachers around the world, for centuries, have been doing this. It's part of being a teacher.

What country are you from?

In public schools in the U.S., there are either district-wide policies or they leave it to each school to draft an appropriate policy regarding beverages and snacks.

You can't just eat and drink what you want during class.

Yeah, I don't know what part of the states you're from but from my 13 years (including K) attending public schools there and even during my 4 years of university teachers often drank tea, coffee, water when they felt like it. It's perfectly normal/acceptable and no one cares. Not the teachers, not the principals, and not the students.

PNW.

Students spill.  Things get damaged.  Moreover, some smuggle alcohol into their drinks, which is one of the many reasons districts and schools have adopted comprehensive policies to address these problems with snacks and beverages during class time.

PNW, even if not used in acronym form is making a lot of assumptions.

i sometimes think pecan lives in a parallel universe

i sometimes think pecan lives in a parallel universe.

Waygook user Pecan now has a theme song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy_7_tvtc7M


What other posters might have suitable theme songs?

PNW, even if not used in acronym form is making a lot of assumptions.

Huh?

Traversing asked, "what part of the states" and I simply answered.

I don't follow what you mean by the above.

Right. So about a month ago but VP got a bee in his bonnet about co-teaching styles and wanted the homeroom teachers to do more co-teaching with me, which I thought was great and I jumped into it. BUT with one teacher my job is now relegated to standing in the back of the class trying desperately hard to listen to all the Korean being spoken so that I can answer the one question that gets thrown at me. The extent of my English use in that class has been whittled down to "sounds good" or "no problem", or whatever phrase is the main expression.

To all other NETs, I now completely understand why so many Korean teachers in our English classes zone out. Trust me, they aren't being difficult, there is just nothing engaging them.

Teachers around the world, for centuries, have been doing this. It's part of being a teacher.

What country are you from?

In public schools in the U.S., there are either district-wide policies or they leave it to each school to draft an appropriate policy regarding beverages and snacks.

You can't just eat and drink what you want during class.

Yeah, I don't know what part of the states you're from but from my 13 years (including K) attending public schools there and even during my 4 years of university teachers often drank tea, coffee, water when they felt like it. It's perfectly normal/acceptable and no one cares. Not the teachers, not the principals, and not the students.

PNW.

Students spill.  Things get damaged.  Moreover, some smuggle alcohol into their drinks, which is one of the many reasons districts and schools have adopted comprehensive policies to address these problems with snacks and beverages during class time.

I'm also PNW. Oregonian to be exact.  maybe your district was just strict. Students spill, but students shouldn't be messing around a teachers desk in order to spill a teachers drink. If a teacher is going to drink alcohol during class time they will whether you ban drinks while teaching or not (there are always break times, etc), so that's not a very effective deterrent. In elementary school my homeroom teachers were with us all day unless we were advanced enough with math and went to the local middle school for it. Or during PE, or the month of music we got a year.

Sure students aren't allowed to have drinks besides a waterbottle, but teachers are generally fine.

Teachers around the world, for centuries, have been doing this. It's part of being a teacher.

What country are you from?

In public schools in the U.S., there are either district-wide policies or they leave it to each school to draft an appropriate policy regarding beverages and snacks.

You can't just eat and drink what you want during class.

Yeah, I don't know what part of the states you're from but from my 13 years (including K) attending public schools there and even during my 4 years of university teachers often drank tea, coffee, water when they felt like it. It's perfectly normal/acceptable and no one cares. Not the teachers, not the principals, and not the students.

PNW.

Students spill.  Things get damaged.  Moreover, some smuggle alcohol into their drinks, which is one of the many reasons districts and schools have adopted comprehensive policies to address these problems with snacks and beverages during class time.

I'm also PNW. Oregonian to be exact.  maybe your district was just strict. Students spill, but students shouldn't be messing around a teachers desk in order to spill a teachers drink. If a teacher is going to drink alcohol during class time they will whether you ban drinks while teaching or not (there are always break times, etc), so that's not a very effective deterrent. In elementary school my homeroom teachers were with us all day unless we were advanced enough with math and went to the local middle school for it. Or during PE, or the month of music we got a year.

Sure students aren't allowed to have drinks besides a waterbottle, but teachers are generally fine.

Not sure if you are trying to be funny or what, but I was talking about students drinking alcohol, not teachers, which is why beverages, like Coke/Pepsi are not allowed during class.

Again, snacks weren't permitted either due to the potential mess and the distraction that they cause to other students.

Do you follow?

If you permit food, what food would you allow?  All food? Smelly food?  Crunchy/Loud food? Durian? Kimchi?

Do you see the issue and why schools and districts make these rules?

As for teachers, sure, you could make the "argument" that the rules do NOT apply to the faculty and staff, but my point and what typically happens is we LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

Not sure why of all people this is a tough one for "teachers" to grasp, but making rules and exempting teachers from them doesn't end well...

Schools experiencing difficulty:
You usually find some alienation between the teachers and the children and the teachers become negative.

The quickest way to improve this situation is for the teacher to model professional behavior. Then you can see who is following you and you can challenge and support those who are not.

Teachers have to be examples to the whole school community:
− the adults in the school
− the children
− the wider community, especially the children’s parents

Leading by example is particularly effective and important to:
− improve pupil behavior
− improve professional behavior
− promote the importance of teaching and learning
− demonstrate what high standards are

Many schools in Korea don't lead by example, nor do they have a written set of rules addressing food and beverages.  The NETs have to figure things out as the year goes along.

Don't listen to your principal and vice principal at your own peril.

It doesn't impact my life in the least :)

Teachers around the world, for centuries, have been doing this. It's part of being a teacher.

What country are you from?

In public schools in the U.S., there are either district-wide policies or they leave it to each school to draft an appropriate policy regarding beverages and snacks.

You can't just eat and drink what you want during class.

Yeah, I don't know what part of the states you're from but from my 13 years (including K) attending public schools there and even during my 4 years of university teachers often drank tea, coffee, water when they felt like it. It's perfectly normal/acceptable and no one cares. Not the teachers, not the principals, and not the students.

PNW.

Students spill.  Things get damaged.  Moreover, some smuggle alcohol into their drinks, which is one of the many reasons districts and schools have adopted comprehensive policies to address these problems with snacks and beverages during class time.

I'm also PNW. Oregonian to be exact.  maybe your district was just strict. Students spill, but students shouldn't be messing around a teachers desk in order to spill a teachers drink. If a teacher is going to drink alcohol during class time they will whether you ban drinks while teaching or not (there are always break times, etc), so that's not a very effective deterrent. In elementary school my homeroom teachers were with us all day unless we were advanced enough with math and went to the local middle school for it. Or during PE, or the month of music we got a year.

Sure students aren't allowed to have drinks besides a waterbottle, but teachers are generally fine.

Dang my school district even went as far as to ban backpacks from classrooms when I was in grade 7 but we could still have water bottles as long as they were clear plastic and it wasn't a test day. Teachers could drink whatever whenever. Pretty sure if my teachers couldn't have coffee we would have driven them insane. But I most definitely had friends who smuggled straight vodka in as water. I wasn't about to be drunk in class but it made for an interesting mock trial in our law class...

Thank you kriztee.

I drink tea and coffee during my classes all the time. I even offer some to my coTs.

Never heard a word about it. I admit I'd get miffed if I did because wtf.

I was told not to drink coffee in front of the kids. Like, WTF. Teachers around the world, for centuries, have been doing this. It's part of being a teacher.

Seriously, that's like telling The Simpsons writers to kill off Homer Simpson.

We can live without Maggie.

But not Homer.

It's a teacher's rite.

It's a teacher's rite.

I'm trying to tell if your use of 'rite' was intentional or not.

Well, she did 'spring' it on you.