RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Thanks for the reassurance, y'all. I'll just monitor them for now (it's almost finals so they're really just doing self-study at the moment). Maybe I'll use the two weeks after exams to figure out what's up and what they'd like to see more or less of. And definitely have a fun day at some point.

I teach what would be considered AP psychology in the States, with a side dose of logic. And yes, I have the appropriate visa lol. I think they're frustrated with the level of thought and problem solving involved. It's not a "memorize this and get a perfect score" class, and my class is a also a portion of their final grade. Plus.... they see me three times a week, which is a lot for them AND me.

I really like my students, so their input matters. I'll try not to dwell on it, but also make a plan to see what's going on.

I basically interpreted the "if you want them to like a class, then don't teach it" as the student telling me no matter what I do, the kids still won't like me, so it isn't worth my effort to try to change anything.

First off, don't take what ONE student says as fact.  They may have told you that because THEY don't like you, or just to be a little sh*tass. 

Secondly, if you want to know, ask the class when they come in.  Just ask straight out... "[insert kids name here] informed me that everyone in the class hates me and my class."  Call um out!  If all the students agree, which I doubt they will, just say "I'm sorry you don't me or my class, but I'm doing this for your benefit, not mine."  "You'll thank me when you're older."

And if they do hate your class and you, make them wish they had never got up and came to school.  Slap so much homework on them, that they'll never sleep, strict no fun, no smiling teacher.  Be brutal. 

And thirdly, just like most kids, they're smart@ss sh*theads [especially high school] and it's their job to push your buttons.  Don't take what kids say personally.

This.

Bring it up at the end of class.
"Student Kim said he doesn't like the class. He didn't tell me why. My guess is, I've been too soft. Here's some extra homework. Thank you Student Kim. Everyone tell him thank you."

That will nip that nonsense in the bud. Let Student Kim be the first out the door at the end of class and give him a 5 second head start before you dismiss everyone else. What happens after that? Whatever.

*1 caveat- if the student mentioning this is a "good" student, then it might be good to actually listen to what they have to say and maybe they have some good advice. In that case the student might have some legit criticism that should be addressed, something like "It's hard to understand you" or "we go through topics too quickly or too slowly" "We want more speaking/reading/writing/etc." or maybe you legitimately are giving too much homework or something.

It's the fine balance of leadership. Sometimes you have to bring out the stick, but other times you have to know when to listen.

This is when I miss Pecan.

First off, don't take what ONE student says as fact.  They may have told you that because THEY don't like you, or just to be a little sh*tass. 

Secondly, if you want to know, ask the class when they come in.  Just ask straight out... "[insert kids name here] informed me that everyone in the class hates me and my class."  Call um out!  If all the students agree, which I doubt they will, just say "I'm sorry you don't me or my class, but I'm doing this for your benefit, not mine."  "You'll thank me when you're older."

And if they do hate your class and you, make them wish they had never got up and came to school.  Slap so much homework on them, that they'll never sleep, strict no fun, no smiling teacher.  Be brutal. 

And thirdly, just like most kids, they're smart@ss sh*theads [especially high school] and it's their job to push your buttons.  Don't take what kids say personally.

This.

Bring it up at the end of class.
"Student Kim said he doesn't like the class. He didn't tell me why. My guess is, I've been too soft. Here's some extra homework. Thank you Student Kim. Everyone tell him thank you."

That will nip that nonsense in the bud. Let Student Kim be the first out the door at the end of class and give him a 5 second head start before you dismiss everyone else. What happens after that? Whatever.

*1 caveat- if the student mentioning this is a "good" student, then it might be good to actually listen to what they have to say and maybe they have some good advice. In that case the student might have some legit criticism that should be addressed, something like "It's hard to understand you" or "we go through topics too quickly or too slowly" "We want more speaking/reading/writing/etc." or maybe you legitimately are giving too much homework or something.

It's the fine balance of leadership. Sometimes you have to bring out the stick, but other times you have to know when to listen.

Accurate.

Also, my initial glib post was going to be 'Reply with "It's okay. I hate it, too." But that is not meant to be taken as a serious reply to waygook.org user Sasstiel's post, as that is obviously an upsetting thing to have said to you.

Waygook.org user Mr. DeMartino's advice is very good.

This is when I miss Pecan.

I also miss waygook.org user pecan.

First off, don't take what ONE student says as fact.  They may have told you that because THEY don't like you, or just to be a little sh*tass. 

Secondly, if you want to know, ask the class when they come in.  Just ask straight out... "[insert kids name here] informed me that everyone in the class hates me and my class."  Call um out!  If all the students agree, which I doubt they will, just say "I'm sorry you don't me or my class, but I'm doing this for your benefit, not mine."  "You'll thank me when you're older."

And if they do hate your class and you, make them wish they had never got up and came to school.  Slap so much homework on them, that they'll never sleep, strict no fun, no smiling teacher.  Be brutal. 

And thirdly, just like most kids, they're smart@ss sh*theads [especially high school] and it's their job to push your buttons.  Don't take what kids say personally.

This.

Bring it up at the end of class.
"Student Kim said he doesn't like the class. He didn't tell me why. My guess is, I've been too soft. Here's some extra homework. Thank you Student Kim. Everyone tell him thank you."

That will nip that nonsense in the bud. Let Student Kim be the first out the door at the end of class and give him a 5 second head start before you dismiss everyone else. What happens after that? Whatever.

*1 caveat- if the student mentioning this is a "good" student, then it might be good to actually listen to what they have to say and maybe they have some good advice. In that case the student might have some legit criticism that should be addressed, something like "It's hard to understand you" or "we go through topics too quickly or too slowly" "We want more speaking/reading/writing/etc." or maybe you legitimately are giving too much homework or something.

It's the fine balance of leadership. Sometimes you have to bring out the stick, but other times you have to know when to listen.

Yeah. This is part of why I make a point of having a "check-in" survey for my students once a semester. A quick anonymous survey (in Korean) so they can give any feedback they have, good or bad, and let me know if they don't understand a chapter. If something comes up relatively often, I'll adjust. If it's just one kid complaining about not playing enough games, they can get over it. But if there's a lot of "There's too much homework" or "You talk too fast" or "I don't understand this chapter", I know what to change and what to focus on during reviews. But I also tell them beforehand that they we will read all the feedback, but me and my coteacher will decide what, if any, changes we make.

I do written feedback because 1) they can write in Korean, and I can translate at my own speed, and 2) a lot of students are more comfortable giving written anonymous feedback rather than speaking out in class, especially if part of that feedback is admitting they have trouble understanding something.

Yeh was just about to suggest handing out a survey and pinpointing any issues (if there are any .. could just be that one kid is a knob!).

This is how I imagine you saying that:

Toss in a little more crazy eyes, and that's basically my doppelganger.

Why do you hate speaking tests so much?? The way I see it, it's a free week of not having to teach. At least at my schools, my teachers give me the rest of the period off once the testing for that class is finished.

First, they're monotonous as hell, and most of the students' speaking abilities are horrible. I only get a handful of students every semester who really try and give me more than the standard, imperfectly-memorized answers.

Second, even though I don't have to teach, it's not free time. I have almost 30 students in each class, so the speaking tests take up the entire class period. I would much rather teach.

Then you can toss in the added irritation of dealing with people (both students and teachers alike) trying to pressure me into giving grades that aren't deserved.

Overall, this is a mentally draining time for me due to both boredom and frustration. I think the speaking tests are a big waste of everyone's time because they don't actually effectively evaluate language abilities as they currently are, and too many people cheat the system anyway.

Kill 1 child at the start of the semester.  Use an overly long knife and decapitate them in front of the class.  Smear the blood on the faces of the front row, and tell them they will be next if anyone steps out of line.  Place the head on a spike in the corner and let it serve as a warning for transgressors.  Minor offences can be punnished by cleaning the flies and maggots of the decaying skull of the "example".  When semester finishes, return the head to the family.  Repeat each semester.

Overall, this is a mentally draining time for me due to both boredom and frustration. I think the speaking tests are a big waste of everyone's time because they don't actually effectively evaluate language abilities as they currently are, and too many people cheat the system anyway.

THAT part I completely agree with

Korea afterschool English teacher is in the next room. I have the great pleasure of listening to her reinvent the English language and berate students for not being able to mimic her God awful pronunciation.

Korea afterschool English teacher is in the next room. I have the great pleasure of listening to her reinvent the English language and berate students for not being able to mimic her God awful pronunciation.

The afterschool teacher at my old school could barely string together "Hi, my name is --." Trying to undo all the crap she'd taught my students the year before was terrible. I will never, ever for the life of me understand why they allow people to teach a subject they don't even know. As far as I know, only contract teachers have to pass a certain TOEFL level to maintain their contracts. Regular teachers don't have to do that.

Korea afterschool English teacher is in the next room. I have the great pleasure of listening to her reinvent the English language and berate students for not being able to mimic her God awful pronunciation.

The afterschool teacher at my old school could barely string together "Hi, my name is --." Trying to undo all the crap she'd taught my students the year before was terrible. I will never, ever for the life of me understand why they allow people to teach a subject they don't even know. As far as I know, only contract teachers have to pass a certain TOEFL level to maintain their contracts. Regular teachers don't have to do that.

But the qualification requirements for contract teachers are generally much lower and a much less restrictive barrier than the qualifications required to be a regular teacher these days. Note: older teachers are still hit or miss, but almost any teacher under 33-35 (at least in Seoul) is going to be more than proficient in English, because the competition to get into public teaching jobs is savage, and only the highest level people tend to get in.

So, while contract teachers have too pass a certain TOEFL level, they don't necessarily have to be of the same caliber that regular teachers are. And those TOEFL tests are a joke, anyways.

Korea afterschool English teacher is in the next room. I have the great pleasure of listening to her reinvent the English language and berate students for not being able to mimic her God awful pronunciation.

The afterschool teacher at my old school could barely string together "Hi, my name is --." Trying to undo all the crap she'd taught my students the year before was terrible. I will never, ever for the life of me understand why they allow people to teach a subject they don't even know. As far as I know, only contract teachers have to pass a certain TOEFL level to maintain their contracts. Regular teachers don't have to do that.

But the qualification requirements for contract teachers are generally much lower and a much less restrictive barrier than the qualifications required to be a regular teacher these days. Note: older teachers are still hit or miss, but almost any teacher under 33-35 (at least in Seoul) is going to be more than proficient in English, because the competition to get into public teaching jobs is savage, and only the highest level people tend to get in.

So, while contract teachers have too pass a certain TOEFL level, they don't necessarily have to be of the same caliber that regular teachers are. And those TOEFL tests are a joke, anyways.

Yeah, that's true. I didn't think about the other qualifications. I just know that, generally (from schools in large non-Seoul cities and in mid-size Seoul-satellite cities) the contract teachers I've worked with have had much higher English levels than the regular teachers. Regular teachers, whatever their age, always had either near perfect English or didn't even know the alphabet, while contract teacher (even the older ones) consistently had excellent English.

My PoE is having one of its semiannual provincial training seminars this Friday. That alone is reason enough to want to rant and vent, but my school has decided I need to come in and teach my first period class that morning, too. That means I get to make the 45 minute commute in the opposite direction of the training location, teach one class, then make the 2 hour trip to the training, finding some time/place to eat lunch on the way (no food or drinks in the training rooms, of course).

Every other time, I've been allowed to just stay home in the morning and go straight from my apartment to training, which allows me to just eat at home, cuts out the morning commute, and cuts the travel time to the venue in half. I don't know why they've decided it needs to be different this time, but I'm... less than thrilled about it.

In other news, some students broke into the school late last night, apparently, and were caught by the security system. I only found this out when I asked an absentee CoT where he was during a particularly unruly class I had just finished. He was off investigating the incident, but that's something I apparently didn't need to be told ahead of time.

In the subway underground there's a foreigner (backpacker?) selling photos of himself 

Really? lol. Has he sold any?

No idea.  Didn't stick around to see 

Oh. Uhh... That's too bad. haha

My PoE is having one of its semiannual provincial training seminars this Friday. That alone is reason enough to want to rant and vent, but my school has decided I need to come in and teach my first period class that morning, too. That means I get to make the 45 minute commute in the opposite direction of the training location, teach one class, then make the 2 hour trip to the training, finding some time/place to eat lunch on the way (no food or drinks in the training rooms, of course).

With you on that. Especially since I'm leaving...can't be arsed is a massive understatement.

My PoE is having one of its semiannual provincial training seminars this Friday. That alone is reason enough to want to rant and vent, but my school has decided I need to come in and teach my first period class that morning, too. That means I get to make the 45 minute commute in the opposite direction of the training location, teach one class, then make the 2 hour trip to the training, finding some time/place to eat lunch on the way (no food or drinks in the training rooms, of course).

Every other time, I've been allowed to just stay home in the morning and go straight from my apartment to training, which allows me to just eat at home, cuts out the morning commute, and cuts the travel time to the venue in half. I don't know why they've decided it needs to be different this time, but I'm... less than thrilled about it.

can't you just go to the seminar, sign your name, then leave? that's what i used to do (and the korean english teachers)

In the subway underground there's a foreigner (backpacker?) selling photos of himself 

Really? lol. Has he sold any?

No idea.  Didn't stick around to see 

Oh. Uhh... That's too bad. haha

It's not the first time I've seen him so I do wonder if he's actually had any sales 

In the subway underground there's a foreigner (backpacker?) selling photos of himself 

Really? lol. Has he sold any?

No idea.  Didn't stick around to see 

Oh. Uhh... That's too bad. haha

It's not the first time I've seen him so I do wonder if he's actually had any sales 

Ahh really?! :O If you have the time / motivation to do so, please find out. FOR SCIENCE!