RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Just watched a KT super-praise a student for something several other students did much better, and this particular student does NOT need the ego boost. She actually really needs to be brought down a few pegs.

I really hate seeing favoritism coming from teachers over their students, especially when the students they favor are spoiled, two-faced little terrors. It's strange to me that as adults they play that kind of game AND that they can't see through obvious riffraff, and overall it's really detrimental to the kids.

I get having favorite students, but that's not the same as actually playing favorites. It affects the dynamic of the classroom, how the students interact with each other, and how they perform.

Feels like remnants of high school that refused to die out in some people.

A sixth grade teacher has changed the 6th period class on Tuesday to first period on two occasions this past month. Both times, she asked me the day before so it was fine.

Today, at 8.45, a student from her class came to my office to say that from now on, the teacher wanted to have our class in the sixth period. Seemed a bit odd, but the teacher is very anxious, so I figured she just wanted to clarify everything.

A few minutes later, the student came back out of breath, explaining that his teacher wants our class to be in the first period from now on. I've complained many times about not having proper notice of schedule changes, and was in the process of eating breakfast and drinking coffee, so I told the kid to tell his teacher that I was eating breakfast and I'm not going to accept schedule changes without being told the day before. Ten minutes is not acceptable notice.

I do kind of feel sorry for that teacher as she's extremely anxious and cannot control her own class. She's even had parents insulting her over Kakao Talk which brought her to tears. But in the Korean workplace, you have to draw firm lines unless you want the crap to roll downhill onto you.

To just play devil's advocate; didn't you anticipate that the class might be moved again since it had already happened twice in the past month?  In that situation I would have waited until you knew for sure before tucking into a full blown meal at your desk during work time.

Has there been any fallout?  Because surely the message is "StillInKorea didn't come to class because he was eating his breakfast (during work time) and refused to stop". 

Aristocrat and Dave Stepz are talking about bullying.  Did she really bully you? lol  I just think that however annoying last minute changes are (and I know they are!!) we should try and be flexible because it is a different culture.

I think that spitting the dummy just makes you come across really badly to your coworkers.

you're allowed to eat breakfast during your free period. it's not StillInKorea's fault another teacher wanted to change his schedule, without any warning. she didn't even ask him herself, just got one of her students to ask. i would have refused too

A sixth grade teacher has changed the 6th period class on Tuesday to first period on two occasions this past month. Both times, she asked me the day before so it was fine.

Today, at 8.45, a student from her class came to my office to say that from now on, the teacher wanted to have our class in the sixth period. Seemed a bit odd, but the teacher is very anxious, so I figured she just wanted to clarify everything.

A few minutes later, the student came back out of breath, explaining that his teacher wants our class to be in the first period from now on. I've complained many times about not having proper notice of schedule changes, and was in the process of eating breakfast and drinking coffee, so I told the kid to tell his teacher that I was eating breakfast and I'm not going to accept schedule changes without being told the day before. Ten minutes is not acceptable notice.

I do kind of feel sorry for that teacher as she's extremely anxious and cannot control her own class. She's even had parents insulting her over Kakao Talk which brought her to tears. But in the Korean workplace, you have to draw firm lines unless you want the crap to roll downhill onto you.

To just play devil's advocate; didn't you anticipate that the class might be moved again since it had already happened twice in the past month?  In that situation I would have waited until you knew for sure before tucking into a full blown meal at your desk during work time.

Has there been any fallout?  Because surely the message is "StillInKorea didn't come to class because he was eating his breakfast (during work time) and refused to stop". 

Aristocrat and Dave Stepz are talking about bullying.  Did she really bully you? lol  I just think that however annoying last minute changes are (and I know they are!!) we should try and be flexible because it is a different culture.

I think that spitting the dummy just makes you come across really badly to your coworkers.

I've been in Korea for a long time and observed that those who are too flexible always get taken advantage of, which eventually leads to them breaking down and snapping. It's much better to refuse unreasonable requests. If you don't refuse those requests, they will get more and more unreasonable.

The teacher first came to my office the previous afternoon to ask to change the schedule. That was OK. The following time, she called me at home after working hours to ask. I don't really mind a brief phone call outside of work hours, but it's not ideal (I was actually starting a multiplayer League game). This time, she sent an elementary school child to deliver the message ten minutes before she wanted me to teach an unexpected class. At that point, you have to put your foot down.

I will talk to her this afternoon and politely explain my boundaries. Having been in the Korean PS system for years, I'm past worrying about 'fallout'.

Eating breakfast during work is an allowance, not a right. You're supposed to take care of that before you come into work.

You have every right to stand your ground over short notice, NOT because you're eating breakfast during work hours (unless as part of a designated meal break time)

Eating breakfast during work is an allowance, not a right. You're supposed to take care of that before you come into work.

You have every right to stand your ground over short notice, NOT because you're eating breakfast during work hours (unless as part of a designated meal break time)

If she'd asked me yesterday, I'd have eaten breakfast earlier and been ready to teach her class in the first period. However, when you give somebody no notice of changes, there's a pretty good chance you're going to be interrupting something, which is really quite rude. In this case, it was my breakfast that she would have interrupted.

Got a new coteacher halfway through the semester. Not ideal, but okay. I'll roll with it. The original coteacher was super nice, wonderful teacher, excellent English. Completely in control of her classroom. Definitely gonna miss her, but what can you do?

Well, the new coteacher is a back just for the rest of the semester until she can retire. She can't speak English. The students don't respect her. I can't improvise in class if I need to because she can't keep up, and will stop class to have me explain what I'm doing to her. And the grade we teach together is the worst behaved grade in the school. The entire grade is notoriously poorly behaved. I can control them slightly more than she can, but I can feel them slipping away, especially as the rainy season hits and they can't really go outside during the day anymore.

I just want the old coteacher back.

Eating breakfast during work is an allowance, not a right. You're supposed to take care of that before you come into work.

You have every right to stand your ground over short notice, NOT because you're eating breakfast during work hours (unless as part of a designated meal break time)

If she'd asked me yesterday, I'd have eaten breakfast earlier and been ready to teach her class in the first period. However, when you give somebody no notice of changes, there's a pretty good chance you're going to be interrupting something, which is really quite rude. In this case, it was my breakfast that she would have interrupted.

My point is if you mention your breakfast, that kind of ruins it for you. Might as well say they interrupted your minesweeper game. Otherwise, the less said the better. Just say it's too late of a notice and that the lesson wouldn't be effective. Leave it at that. If they insist, tell them it's a movie and that's all.

A sixth grade teacher has changed the 6th period class on Tuesday to first period on two occasions this past month. Both times, she asked me the day before so it was fine.

Today, at 8.45, a student from her class came to my office to say that from now on, the teacher wanted to have our class in the sixth period. Seemed a bit odd, but the teacher is very anxious, so I figured she just wanted to clarify everything.

A few minutes later, the student came back out of breath, explaining that his teacher wants our class to be in the first period from now on. I've complained many times about not having proper notice of schedule changes, and was in the process of eating breakfast and drinking coffee, so I told the kid to tell his teacher that I was eating breakfast and I'm not going to accept schedule changes without being told the day before. Ten minutes is not acceptable notice.

I do kind of feel sorry for that teacher as she's extremely anxious and cannot control her own class. She's even had parents insulting her over Kakao Talk which brought her to tears. But in the Korean workplace, you have to draw firm lines unless you want the crap to roll downhill onto you.

To just play devil's advocate; didn't you anticipate that the class might be moved again since it had already happened twice in the past month?  In that situation I would have waited until you knew for sure before tucking into a full blown meal at your desk during work time.

Has there been any fallout?  Because surely the message is "StillInKorea didn't come to class because he was eating his breakfast (during work time) and refused to stop". 

Aristocrat and Dave Stepz are talking about bullying.  Did she really bully you? lol  I just think that however annoying last minute changes are (and I know they are!!) we should try and be flexible because it is a different culture.

I think that spitting the dummy just makes you come across really badly to your coworkers.

I'd hazard a guess that you haven't been here long.
I mentioned bullying because that's what it's related to. The culture, in Asia, Japan and Korea is to be non-confrontational in order to save face and not put others in a position to lose face. When being bullied or being obstructed by a problem, or issue, that will lead to confrontation, what Confucianism teaches is to:

A - Run away
B - Ignore the problem and/or endure it
C - Shift the responsibility on someone else or blame someone else
D - Play the victim

The homeroom teacher has opted for 'C', she probably got some BS errands to run for parents or God knows who as she's too weak and meek to refuse... option 'B'

Be very, very careful when doing 'favours' for Koreans at work... personal life, that's your business. Trust me, they're well aware that you're trying to be mindful of the culture and don't want to offend. Many will take full advantage of it, never has the proverb "Give him a finger and he'll take the whole arm" been more appropriate.
When my wife first came to Korea, the school got her to teach 26 classes! The kept saying there wasn't a budget for overtime and that the previous NET did it and everyone loved her, they even tried to get her to "hang out with the students" during lunch, in the English class. They specifically called it "hanging out" so they didn't have to register as teaching time.

Be professional and have your boundaries.

A sixth grade teacher has changed the 6th period class on Tuesday to first period on two occasions this past month. Both times, she asked me the day before so it was fine.

Today, at 8.45, a student from her class came to my office to say that from now on, the teacher wanted to have our class in the sixth period. Seemed a bit odd, but the teacher is very anxious, so I figured she just wanted to clarify everything.

A few minutes later, the student came back out of breath, explaining that his teacher wants our class to be in the first period from now on. I've complained many times about not having proper notice of schedule changes, and was in the process of eating breakfast and drinking coffee, so I told the kid to tell his teacher that I was eating breakfast and I'm not going to accept schedule changes without being told the day before. Ten minutes is not acceptable notice.

I do kind of feel sorry for that teacher as she's extremely anxious and cannot control her own class. She's even had parents insulting her over Kakao Talk which brought her to tears. But in the Korean workplace, you have to draw firm lines unless you want the crap to roll downhill onto you.

To just play devil's advocate; didn't you anticipate that the class might be moved again since it had already happened twice in the past month?  In that situation I would have waited until you knew for sure before tucking into a full blown meal at your desk during work time.

Has there been any fallout?  Because surely the message is "StillInKorea didn't come to class because he was eating his breakfast (during work time) and refused to stop". 

Aristocrat and Dave Stepz are talking about bullying.  Did she really bully you? lol  I just think that however annoying last minute changes are (and I know they are!!) we should try and be flexible because it is a different culture.

I think that spitting the dummy just makes you come across really badly to your coworkers.

I'd hazard a guess that you haven't been here long.
I mentioned bullying because that's what it's related to. The culture, in Asia, Japan and Korea is to be non-confrontational in order to save face and not put others in a position to lose face. When being bullied or being obstructed by a problem, or issue, that will lead to confrontation, what Confucianism teaches is to:

A - Run away
B - Ignore the problem and/or endure it
C - Shift the responsibility on someone else or blame someone else
D - Play the victim

The homeroom teacher has opted for 'C', she probably got some BS errands to run for parents or God knows who as she's too weak and meek to refuse... option 'B'

Be very, very careful when doing 'favours' for Koreans at work... personal life, that's your business. Trust me, they're well aware that you're trying to be mindful of the culture and don't want to offend. Many will take full advantage of it, never has the proverb "Give him a finger and he'll take the whole arm" been more appropriate.
When my wife first came to Korea, the school got her to teach 26 classes! The kept saying there wasn't a budget for overtime and that the previous NET did it and everyone loved her, they even tried to get her to "hang out with the students" during lunch, in the English class. They specifically called it "hanging out" so they didn't have to register as teaching time.

Be professional and have your boundaries.

But there's a huge difference between your wife's situation and StillInKorea's.  She was being asked to do things not in her contract and well outside the realms of reasonable "extras".  I'm all for standing your ground there and having boundaries.

StillInKorea refused to teach a class because he was annoyed at the short notice.  He literally refused to do his job.  A world of difference!

I don't get this crusade to try to change Korean culture.  Trust me, the lesson that StillInKorea thinks he taught his co-teacher is totally lost on her.  She's not going to be hit with the epiphany "You know what?  This foreigner has really opened my eyes.  My culture really is sh*t isn't it?!!"

I don't get this crusade to try to change Korean culture.  Trust me, the lesson that StillInKorea thinks he taught his co-teacher is totally lost on her. She's not going to be hit with the epiphany "You know what?  This foreigner has really opened my eyes.  My culture really is sh*t isn't it?!!"

One of the best points i've seen on here in a while.

what Confucianism teaches is to:

A - Run away
B - Ignore the problem and/or endure it
C - Shift the responsibility on someone else or blame someone else
D - Play the victim

Dude, you could say that about anywhere. And there's plenty of conflict here. While there can be tendencies or greater odds of something happening, you're statement is far too over-broad and generalized.

Half of America blames the other half for those very things whenever they yell at each other about politics. Not sure how much "Confucianism" has to do with it in that case.

Humid today.

Humid today.

Not until cyanae says so

AvecPommesFrites,

You have received a warning for harassment and trolling. Please review the terms and conditions of Waygook.org http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,2425.0.html and cease harassing users otherwise we will take further action.

Quote from: AvecPommesFrites on June 15, 2018, 08:06:04 AM
Don't eat yellow snow.

Never call the police for anything in Korea. If you see someone getting murdered just, smile, nod and proceed.

Those low calorie banana milkshakes have like 1 less calorie than the full fat version. Don't fall for the low calorie hype.

DeMartino can literally say anything he wants and derail as many threads till the end of mankind on waygook.org and escape any form of punishment.

Don't go to the cinema before 10pm in Korea, EVER.

Really?? By taking potshots at DeMartino like this you could potentially do the same thing you accuse him of doing. Targeting speicific users and insulting them throughout multiple unrelated threads like you do is considered harassment. Drop your petty grudge, quit your trolling and flame war baiting. If you have a problem with future posts from DeMartino (thread derailing or what ever) report them.
 
Regards,
gagevt

I really get the Impression Gagevt doesn't like me. +45 points for literally saying DeMartino can say anything he wants and not get banned.

How is that harrassing someone or attacking them? It's a simple statement on topic in a thread.

I've been well and truly mugged off by 1 mod here. None of the others warn me and I even had a post pass moderation by a random mod later be flagged by Gagevt and warned. Who's got the petty grudge here?

A sixth grade teacher has changed the 6th period class on Tuesday to first period on two occasions this past month. Both times, she asked me the day before so it was fine.

Today, at 8.45, a student from her class came to my office to say that from now on, the teacher wanted to have our class in the sixth period. Seemed a bit odd, but the teacher is very anxious, so I figured she just wanted to clarify everything.

A few minutes later, the student came back out of breath, explaining that his teacher wants our class to be in the first period from now on. I've complained many times about not having proper notice of schedule changes, and was in the process of eating breakfast and drinking coffee, so I told the kid to tell his teacher that I was eating breakfast and I'm not going to accept schedule changes without being told the day before. Ten minutes is not acceptable notice.

I do kind of feel sorry for that teacher as she's extremely anxious and cannot control her own class. She's even had parents insulting her over Kakao Talk which brought her to tears. But in the Korean workplace, you have to draw firm lines unless you want the crap to roll downhill onto you.

To just play devil's advocate; didn't you anticipate that the class might be moved again since it had already happened twice in the past month?  In that situation I would have waited until you knew for sure before tucking into a full blown meal at your desk during work time.

Has there been any fallout?  Because surely the message is "StillInKorea didn't come to class because he was eating his breakfast (during work time) and refused to stop". 

Aristocrat and Dave Stepz are talking about bullying.  Did she really bully you? lol  I just think that however annoying last minute changes are (and I know they are!!) we should try and be flexible because it is a different culture.

I think that spitting the dummy just makes you come across really badly to your coworkers.

I'd hazard a guess that you haven't been here long.
I mentioned bullying because that's what it's related to. The culture, in Asia, Japan and Korea is to be non-confrontational in order to save face and not put others in a position to lose face. When being bullied or being obstructed by a problem, or issue, that will lead to confrontation, what Confucianism teaches is to:

A - Run away
B - Ignore the problem and/or endure it
C - Shift the responsibility on someone else or blame someone else
D - Play the victim

The homeroom teacher has opted for 'C', she probably got some BS errands to run for parents or God knows who as she's too weak and meek to refuse... option 'B'

Be very, very careful when doing 'favours' for Koreans at work... personal life, that's your business. Trust me, they're well aware that you're trying to be mindful of the culture and don't want to offend. Many will take full advantage of it, never has the proverb "Give him a finger and he'll take the whole arm" been more appropriate.
When my wife first came to Korea, the school got her to teach 26 classes! The kept saying there wasn't a budget for overtime and that the previous NET did it and everyone loved her, they even tried to get her to "hang out with the students" during lunch, in the English class. They specifically called it "hanging out" so they didn't have to register as teaching time.

Be professional and have your boundaries.

But there's a huge difference between your wife's situation and StillInKorea's.  She was being asked to do things not in her contract and well outside the realms of reasonable "extras".  I'm all for standing your ground there and having boundaries.

StillInKorea refused to teach a class because he was annoyed at the short notice.  He literally refused to do his job.  A world of difference!

I don't get this crusade to try to change Korean culture.  Trust me, the lesson that StillInKorea thinks he taught his co-teacher is totally lost on her.  She's not going to be hit with the epiphany "You know what?  This foreigner has really opened my eyes.  My culture really is sh*t isn't it?!!"

I did not refuse to do my job. I taught the class at the time designated according to my schedule. I'd have been willing to change the time with reasonable, polite notice.

I've been in Korea for a long time. You clearly haven't. One gets to a point where it's not just a matter of cultural differences, but rather about having some respect for yourself. I'm not a snobby imperialist who loves his home country and expects the whole world to be like it. However, I'm also not going to accept poor treatment out of fear of offending cultural sensibilities. I follow my own moral code independent of Western or Korean culture.

You're clearly new, as Aristocrat said, and it's silly that you're trying to tell us how things should be done with your very limited experience. People like you get taken advantage of, and I'm not willing to let that happen to me. The lesson I wanted to teach my co-worker (homeroom teacher, actually) was not part of some East vs West battle that new people like you are obsessed with, but one of boundaries. She was pushing against them more and more and needed to see that there was a line. As a teacher, you should know how that works.

I hate it here so much, I feel like such a ****** jackass for picking a 12 month contract. I'm 4 months in and I'm having such a shit time and there's so much time left until I can go.

I refuse to do a runner but **** I hate this

So far I've been:
Headbutted in the spine
Purposely shoved walking down the hall and laughed at when I stumbled
Had students try to pull me off the floor while rearranging books by my ponytail because I wouldn't get up and unlock my computer
Had a kid post up to me because I tried to take his phone
Been body bumped off my own computer multiple times
Had the bathroom sign thrown into my room with nose bleed tissues

I'm so mentally exhausted and reporting things just made it worse for me

If you're 100% miserable, quit.  30-day notice would give you time to get your things in order.  Or...  There is nothing illegal about pulling a runner.  Not too classy, but it's your life.

If you're 100% miserable, quit.  30-day notice would give you time to get your things in order.  Or...  There is nothing illegal about pulling a runner.  Not too classy, but it's your life.

Bingsu should do a midnight run, report everything to the Education Office, and then name and shame her school and co-teacher once she's left the country. The people at her school are absolute scum.

If you're 100% miserable, quit.  30-day notice would give you time to get your things in order.  Or...  There is nothing illegal about pulling a runner.  Not too classy, but it's your life.

Bingsu should do a midnight run, report everything to the Education Office, and then name and shame her school and co-teacher once she's left the country. The people at her school are absolute scum.

My poe knows about the school and about the headbutt, nothing came of it.