RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

I've heard of things like this happening to other people, I never dreamed it would happen to me.

I took vacation days Monday and yesterday.  I come back today, and I see the cars in the parking lot.  I get to the teachers' room.  It is locked and empty.  I think maybe the teachers are in a meeting, so I go to the multipurpose room and then the gym.  Both empty. 

I don't know what to think.  Zombie apocalypse?  Alien abduction?  Did I miss the rapture?

I call my coT and another T.  Neither answer. 

I send my coT a text.  She responds that they'll all in another city for training.

It would have been so nice to be told.

Tell them to enjoy their day at the Olympics.

Deskwarming is boring and irritating. I only have 8 days left in this country, and I could be out sightseeing or packing but nooooo. I have to come to school and sit here. 

I'm in the same boat. Take solace in how diligent you are currently being.

Jokes aside, I feel like if you're not renewing you should have 2 "clear out" days where you can stay home and sort your sh*t out. It's not too much to ask considering they cut vacation days from 21 to 18 out of sheer spite.

The resentment at the moment is strong. I didn't mind too much at first since it gave me a reason to jump out of bed, but not this week. This is an absurd waste of time.

Deskwarming is boring and irritating. I only have 8 days left in this country, and I could be out sightseeing or packing but nooooo. I have to come to school and sit here. 

same same. it's my last week, contract ends at the end of this week. have had to come in the whole week and i am doing literally nothing.

my desk is all cleaned out, no lessons to prepare since i'm leaving the country, but nope, gotta come in and sit here all day for 8 hours doing sweet f-all because "it is what the contract says".  meanwhile none of the korean teachers are here, despite the fact that classes start next week.

it's insane. the NET who has nothing to do and is leaving the country has to come to work, but the korean teachers who should have classes and paperwork to prepare are scratching their hairy balls at home.

not going to miss this country or this job one bit.

Deskwarming is boring and irritating. I only have 8 days left in this country, and I could be out sightseeing or packing but nooooo. I have to come to school and sit here. 

same same. it's my last week, contract ends at the end of this week. have had to come in the whole week and i am doing literally nothing.

my desk is all cleaned out, no lessons to prepare since i'm leaving the country, but nope, gotta come in and sit here all day for 8 hours doing sweet f-all because "it is what the contract says".  meanwhile none of the korean teachers are here, despite the fact that classes start next week.

it's insane. the NET who has nothing to do and is leaving the country has to come to work, but the korean teachers who should have classes and paperwork to prepare are scratching their hairy balls at home.

not going to miss this country or this job one bit.

Seems a few of us are in the same annoying position. Leaving for good then? What do you have planned for life after Korea if you don't mind me asking?

Me: *Spends all of the winter break preparing lessons for the new semester*

My Co-Teacher, one week before the semester starts: There will be a new curriculum, and a new textbook!

 

they cut vacation days from 21 to 18 out of sheer spite.

Not spite. The purpose of that was to be able to fit in more English camp days during the break / get more work out of the native English teacher.

Me: *Spends all of the winter break preparing lessons for the new semester*

My Co-Teacher, one week before the semester starts: There will be a new curriculum, and a new textbook!

 

Don't you just love being kept in the loop?! 

Seems a few of us are in the same annoying position. Leaving for good then? What do you have planned for life after Korea if you don't mind me asking?

Same situation here. My plan? Return home (US), see family, buy a car and drive to Moab/Canyonlands area and camp and hike for several weeks. Relatively no people, fresh air, and no internet. The exact opposite of this country. Then, hitting up Denver for some much needed greenery time. After that headed to glacier national park for work.

Glad to have experienced this job but it wasn't what I had thought it was when applying.

How about you?

Why oh why did they split my holidays by bringing me back from abroad for 4 effin days of deskwarming!!!! 4 days!!!!  I mean, I did absolutley nothing in those 4 days. Zilch!!!! The kids were eating pizza and watching movies but I had to come back as I had to "work".

Deskwarming is boring and irritating. I only have 8 days left in this country, and I could be out sightseeing or packing but nooooo. I have to come to school and sit here. 

same same. it's my last week, contract ends at the end of this week. have had to come in the whole week and i am doing literally nothing.

my desk is all cleaned out, no lessons to prepare since i'm leaving the country, but nope, gotta come in and sit here all day for 8 hours doing sweet f-all because "it is what the contract says".  meanwhile none of the korean teachers are here, despite the fact that classes start next week.

it's insane. the NET who has nothing to do and is leaving the country has to come to work, but the korean teachers who should have classes and paperwork to prepare are scratching their hairy balls at home.

not going to miss this country or this job one bit.

Complains about Koreans not following contracts, complains when he has to follow the contract.

You signed the contract. You have to show up and be there. Besides, you're getting paid money to literally DO NOTHING.

You clearly have never worked an hourly pay job in which if you didn't get enough hours per pay period, you might not be able to go out and have fun or pay a bill. You also have clearly never done a job involving hard labor.
The Korean teachers don't have to come in because they are on a different contract and have different rights and privileges that are enabled through collective bargaining and being certified teachers and members of their respective unions.

Spoiled NET: "What do you do to earn you salary for the month?"
Person Who Does Manual Labor: "I have to be on site at 6AM and we don't leave until the project is finished. During that time I carry heavy objects while exposed to the elements, do energy expending repetitive motion work, and risk maiming. How about you?"
Spoiled NET: My boss is making me come in and sit at my desk and watch Netflix so I get paid. Screw this job. They're horrible. They won't let me off work and still pay me so I can run around town taking pictures for my Instagram account.

 

Anyone who whines and moans about deskwarming should be handed a shovel and told to dig ditches for 12 hours.

When I first started working, I once made the mistake of saying the words "This sucks. I've got nothing to do." while it was dead and we were just staring into space but couldn't get sent home yet. My manager promptly said "You want something to do? Go take down the ceiling panels and clean them."

That taught me about ever complaining about sitting around with nothing to do while getting paid good money to do it.

Now before you go and say "That's tyrannical." You know what it did? It instilled a work ethic, so that when I became manager (and even before then) sometimes during dead periods we would find things to do like clean this or do that or get something ready for the next shift to make their job easier.

Maybe you should do the same. Print out some stuff for the next teacher. Spruce up the classroom. Organize some files. If you're coming back next semester, get started on some plans and materials. Organize some books. Take out some trash.

"My school is selfish they never think of me."
"So what are you doing for the school or the next teacher?"
"Nothing, that's not my problem."

 

Steels. The good little Korean drone worker.

Anyone knows that contracts in this country are more of a guide; a framework in which certain things can be negotiated, rather than something that has to be followed to the tee. Of course, salary isn't flexible, but, given certain situations, a little leeway could be given.

If it's vacation time, and the NET has nothing to do, a logical and sensible thing to do would allow the NET to "work from home" or something along those lines. This has nothing to do with digging ditches or hard labour; it's basic, common sense.

Some folks such as myself have had to return from abroad to deskwarm for less than a week and then be given our remaining vacation. This is incredibly stupid. Even if I wanted to stay in this school, that would have been to deal breaker there. There is no reason at all that they have to follow the contract so closely. Some schools have principals or VPs that are a little more forgiving; a little smarter and less anal retentive. A friend had his 24 days off in a row which is how it should be.

Anyone knows that contracts in this country are more of a guide; a framework in which certain things can be negotiated, rather than something that has to be followed to the tee. Of course, salary isn't flexible, but, given certain situations, a little leeway could be given.

If it's vacation time, and the NET has nothing to do, a logical and sensible thing to do would allow the NET to "work from home" or something along those lines. This has nothing to do with digging ditches or hard labour; it's basic, common sense.

Some folks such as myself have had to return from abroad to deskwarm for less than a week and then be given our remaining vacation. This is incredibly stupid. Even if I wanted to stay in this school, that would have been to deal breaker there. There is no reason at all that they have to follow the contract so closely. Some schools have principals or VPs that are a little more forgiving; a little smarter and less anal retentive. A friend had his 24 days off in a row which is how it should be.

No one forced you to sign the contract. The contract said X number of days working. Now at the time you signed, if they said 10 of your working days would involve you coming in, orfering Chinese food and watching Netflix, would you have refused to sign? Would you rather be doing English camp?

As far as flexibility, if you point to the contract and howl about coming in on a Saturday two times a year or staying late a few times, don't complain when you're forced to deskwarm!!!

Dude, just let people rant and vent. That's what this thread is for. If you want to bring your apologetics into specific threads people start to discuss these things, fine, fair play. For Pete's sake, though, try to leave your nonsense out of this thread. Nobody likes it, and you aren't changing anybody's minds.

And yes, before you point it out, I know you think ranting and venting don't actually help, and have some studies you like to link to back that up. I don't care. Nobody cares.

Seems a few of us are in the same annoying position. Leaving for good then? What do you have planned for life after Korea if you don't mind me asking?

i got a job teaching a content subject at an international high school in another country. i don't have a teaching certificate, but have a Master's degree in what i'm going to be teaching, and have previous experience teaching it.

the pay is only a little bit more but i was earning 2.8 mil here in Korea, so already on the high end. real chance of career advancement. 15-18 teaching hours per week, fully-paid summer and winter vacation + national holidays - about 3 months of vacation total. no deskwarming or summer and winter camps (i asked). 2-bedroom apartment, fully furnished and paid for.

EFL in korea is really going  downhill, even at the university level. teaching content subjects is where it's going to be at in the near-to-long-term future at the university level, imo anyway. get an MA in a content subject and a teaching certificate and a ton of great jobs in all sorts of different countries will open themselves up to you.

either that or get an MA TESOL and actually do research and publish - something that a lot of these university 'professors' seem to be averse to - and get a job as an actual professor, not just an instructor, which is what the vast majority of these 'professors' actually are.

Dude, just let people rant and vent. That's what this thread is for. If you want to bring your apologetics into specific threads people start to discuss these things, fine, fair play. For Pete's sake, though, try to leave your nonsense out of this thread. Nobody likes it, and you aren't changing anybody's minds.

And yes, before you point it out, I know you think ranting and venting don't actually help, and have some studies you like to link to back that up. I don't care. Nobody cares.

I'm ranting and venting at their rants and vents. 

It really is a truly incomprehensible stance that deserves a good rant and vent.

Complaining about getting paid money to sit around and do nothing. Wow.

Me: *Spends all of the winter break preparing lessons for the new semester*

My Co-Teacher, one week before the semester starts: There will be a new curriculum, and a new textbook!

 

Don't you just love being kept in the loop?! 

I was lucky and got told about new textbooks, but they don't have them at the school yet, so I can't start planning. :'( I'm pretty bored deskwarming, however, my home is really close to the school, so I've been having extended lunchbreaks - which involves video games at home. I can do that from work, but my home pc is much better than my PoS laptop.
My head teacher (who is the highest person around) doesn't mind either. He is really bored and is just watching TV shows on his PC at work haha (He even asked me for recommendations on English shows he can watch)

Anyone knows that contracts in this country are more of a guide; a framework in which certain things can be negotiated, rather than something that has to be followed to the tee. Of course, salary isn't flexible, but, given certain situations, a little leeway could be given.

If it's vacation time, and the NET has nothing to do, a logical and sensible thing to do would allow the NET to "work from home" or something along those lines. This has nothing to do with digging ditches or hard labour; it's basic, common sense.

Some folks such as myself have had to return from abroad to deskwarm for less than a week and then be given our remaining vacation. This is incredibly stupid. Even if I wanted to stay in this school, that would have been to deal breaker there. There is no reason at all that they have to follow the contract so closely. Some schools have principals or VPs that are a little more forgiving; a little smarter and less anal retentive. A friend had his 24 days off in a row which is how it should be.

No one forced you to sign the contract. The contract said X number of days working. Now at the time you signed, if they said 10 of your working days would involve you coming in, orfering Chinese food and watching Netflix, would you have refused to sign? Would you rather be doing English camp?

As far as flexibility, if you point to the contract and howl about coming in on a Saturday two times a year or staying late a few times, don't complain when you're forced to deskwarm!!!

Mate, how did I know you're going to say "no one forced you to sign the contract"? That's NOT THE POINT!  I think everyone in the school knows the one week the Ss come back is basically a week of nothing, so why make the NET, who has flown to another country and does so only once a year, come back for 4 days to do nothing? Only a complete retard would make the NET return for 4 days and then have the remaining 10 days off.

For the record, I would have ZERO issue with coming in on two weekends during the year. No issue at all because guess what? I'm flexible!

No one forced you to sign the contract. The contract said X number of days working. Now at the time you signed, if they said 10 of your working days would involve you coming in, orfering Chinese food and watching Netflix, would you have refused to sign? Would you rather be doing English camp?

As far as flexibility, if you point to the contract and howl about coming in on a Saturday two times a year or staying late a few times, don't complain when you're forced to deskwarm!!!

if at the time that you signed, they told you that you would be literally the only teacher in the school while all the other teachers were off on vacation - despite the fact that there is actually a category on NEIS allowing you to 'work from home' - would you still have signed the contract?

if they told you that the Korean contract English teachers, who do exactly the same job as you - but at a worse level of performance than you, and who are often less qualified than you - get double the amount of 조튀, double the amount of sick leave, and double the amount of vacation - would you still have signed the contract?

and things like the above are exactly the reason why most people choose to 'nope' out of there after 1-2 years. schools here just have a way of destroying any goodwill the NET might have towards them when they first start out. the entire concept of positive reinforcement just seems to have completely passed south korea by.

Mate, how did I know you're going to say "no one forced you to sign the contract"? That's NOT THE POINT!  I think everyone in the school knows the one week the Ss come back is basically a week of nothing, so why make the NET, who has flown to another country and does so only once a year, come back for 4 days to do nothing?

Because of government regulations. If you use government money and hire employees, and one of those employees gets hurt while not on the job or on vacation, that's an issue for insurance. It's also something that auditors could look at. Then you get the issue of favorable and unequal treatment amongst different NETs. Now some schools don't care and are willing to accept those risks, but you cannot be upset because your school doesn't.

No one forces you to fly every year, that's your choice. It was your choice to leave home. If you don't want to tour the world, don't join the Navy. Don't expect other people to go out of their way just to make the choice you made yourself any easier. Obviously it would be nice if they did, but that is to be appreciated, not expected.

You can't be angry at people for not doing nice "bonus" things. That's an entitled mindset and one that has unreasonable expectations.

For the record, I would have ZERO issue with coming in on two weekends during the year. No issue at all because guess what? I'm flexible!

That's how I got the time off. Unfortunately, prior to your hiring, the school or district might have had some moron who screamed about the contract and now you're held to the contract. Or maybe you had a chill principal and he let his NET stay at home or whatever, but some other NET complained about it and now he can't do that anymore because it's unfair.

What looks "stupid" or "retarded" to you, might not actually be those things. You can't just look at things from your own point of view.