RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

I would think better.  Not in a life changing way, just it can suck your life away with the constant checking, and when you remove it, your focus comes back for more important, fulfilling things.  Like drinking everyday on holiday, it's nice, but it kind of takes away your normal self and can becomes a habit, then you stop drinking for a bit and you find yourself doing more useful things and feeling better on holiday.  Bad analogy, maybe. 

Doing that for October, too. haha

Speaking test time.  Some students are inevitably absent during the class so they'll come to the office later on at random times to take the test.  So they wander in, I'll stop what I'm doing and ask them to write their name down, student number and we'll start the test.

Me: Question 1
Student: "No"

Me: Question 2
Student:  "No"

and so on.

Why go to all the trouble of coming to see me just to sit there and reply "No" to every question?  Jesus, it bugs me.

Speaking test time.  Some students are inevitably absent during the class so they'll come to the office later on at random times to take the test.  So they wander in, I'll stop what I'm doing and ask them to write their name down, student number and we'll start the test.

Me: Question 1
Student: "No"

Me: Question 2
Student:  "No"

and so on.

Why go to all the trouble of coming to see me just to sit there and reply "No" to every question?  Jesus, it bugs me.

is it because they'll still get 7/10 for doing absolutely nothing? used to happen at my old school

Speaking test time.  Some students are inevitably absent during the class so they'll come to the office later on at random times to take the test.  So they wander in, I'll stop what I'm doing and ask them to write their name down, student number and we'll start the test.

Me: Question 1
Student: "No"

Me: Question 2
Student:  "No"

and so on.

Why go to all the trouble of coming to see me just to sit there and reply "No" to every question?  Jesus, it bugs me.

is it because they'll still get 7/10 for doing absolutely nothing? used to happen at my old school

In my first school/s it was like that when I done it.
At my current schools, I'm the one that gives them their grade, and my co-teacher won't change my grading; or if she does, she hasn't told me :p

Speaking test time.  Some students are inevitably absent during the class so they'll come to the office later on at random times to take the test.  So they wander in, I'll stop what I'm doing and ask them to write their name down, student number and we'll start the test.

Me: Question 1
Student: "No"

Me: Question 2
Student:  "No"

and so on.

Why go to all the trouble of coming to see me just to sit there and reply "No" to every question?  Jesus, it bugs me.

is it because they'll still get 7/10 for doing absolutely nothing? used to happen at my old school

In my first school/s it was like that when I done it.
At my current schools, I'm the one that gives them their grade, and my co-teacher won't change my grading; or if she does, she hasn't told me :p

God I still remember one year, my coteacher was worried about the students' scores being too low so she changed the grading system to move in increments of five (100,95,90,85,80) instead of ten (100,90,80,70,60).  So even if a student said nothing they would still score 80 

Speaking test time.  Some students are inevitably absent during the class so they'll come to the office later on at random times to take the test.  So they wander in, I'll stop what I'm doing and ask them to write their name down, student number and we'll start the test.

Me: Question 1
Student: "No"

Me: Question 2
Student:  "No"

and so on.

Why go to all the trouble of coming to see me just to sit there and reply "No" to every question?  Jesus, it bugs me.

is it because they'll still get 7/10 for doing absolutely nothing? used to happen at my old school

In my first school/s it was like that when I done it.
At my current schools, I'm the one that gives them their grade, and my co-teacher won't change my grading; or if she does, she hasn't told me :p

God I still remember one year, my coteacher was worried about the students' scores being too low so she changed the grading system to move in increments of five (100,95,90,85,80) instead of ten (100,90,80,70,60).  So even if a student said nothing they would still score 80 

That irks me so much. Especially when some teachers wonder why we can't motivate these kids.

Speaking tests are the worst.

The frustration and boredom I go through kills me a little every semester.

Speaking tests are the worst.

The frustration and boredom I go through kills me a little every semester.

There aren't  many things that really drive the disappointment home for me like speaking tests do.

  What's this? (picture of an apple)

  (Gr 4 Student) 뭐?

     This was the only real point of contention between myself and my old school: the fact that students couldn't fail the speaking exams no matter how hard they tried (and some of them tried so hard that I almost wanted to bump their scores for the effort they put into failing (or rather, not failing...)). After a year of my complaints, the head teacher and I finally had a good sit down and came to a compromise: I couldn't give students a big shiny 0%, but I could go as low as a 40 rather than the 60 that was the minimum previously.

    Now, a few years later and a few years wiser (it works like that, right? Wisdom increases linearly with age?) I'm more aware of why the school fought so hard against my constant whinging suggestions:

A) in middle school, a 60% *is* considered a fail. Grade inflation has basically turned any grade other than a high B or an A into crap. Getting into a good highschool with Cs on your report is gonna be pretty tough: basically, you need to be a president's kid...

B)Giving poor grades reflects poorly on teachers and the school, which can jeopardize a teacher's career advancement track, as well as funding for the school. Good grades obviously means good students, right?

So I recently just found out that one of the lowest level and biggest problem students in my school is actually from a fairly affluent and wealthy family.

He's still in middle school but he's supposed to be in high school (that's right, it IS possible to get held back a grade in Korea, but you've really got to make the effort, and this boy has apparently excelled).

His scores are literally at the bottom for every class, and he honestly and truly is as ignorant as he behaves, despite his family's background. He's actually very uneducated, almost as if he'd been kept locked up in a basement somewhere, but he's not stupid, and he doesn't have a learning disability of any kind. He doesn't have any of those disadvantages. He just refuses to learn anything, like, at all.

He honestly and truly doesn't fit the profile that most students with his kind of behavioral and academic problems have. I'd like to know what his story is.

So I recently just found out that one of the lowest level and biggest problem students in my school is actually from a fairly affluent and wealthy family.

He's still in middle school but he's supposed to be in high school (that's right, it IS possible to get held back a grade in Korea, but you've really got to make the effort, and this boy has apparently excelled).

His scores are literally at the bottom for every class, and he honestly and truly is as ignorant as he behaves, despite his family's background. He's actually very uneducated, almost as if he'd been kept locked up in a basement somewhere, but he's not stupid, and he doesn't have a learning disability of any kind. He doesn't have any of those disadvantages. He just refuses to learn anything, like, at all.

He honestly and truly doesn't fit the profile that most students with his kind of behavioral and academic problems have. I'd like to know what his story is.

Going by what you said, I'm guessing he's employing a defense mechanism.

He's able to save more face by refusing to do work than to admit or demonstrate that he's unable to do it.
He might very well have a mental problem or, his self-esteem might be in the mariana trench, thus making him believe that he's incapable of doing anything, so it's easier to refuse than to admit incompetence. 

The whole, grade 1s don't have to take exams this semester thing.
My grade 1s at my main middle school, are by far my favourite class but, they have slowly been getting a lot worse this semester because they know they don't have to take exams. >.<

Regarding my student, he definitely doesn't have a learning disability. I've found him to actually be quite intelligent, and, if you can manipulate him just right, he catches on to things just fine.

I'm pretty sure his problems can be traced back to his family. He's probably one of if not the youngest member of his family who ended up developing a rebellious streak early on, but instead of dealing with it his family probably chose to ignore both him and it, and at most they just try to hide him away where he can "stay out of trouble." He's definitely spoiled, tries to talk down to everyone, including the teachers, and he feels entitled to everything. Might explain why he's at my school (it's not a bad school, but a kid with his background wouldn't normally be here). One of my coteachers said that his family life is normal, but I'm very doubtful of that. It's normal as far as the family wants anyone to know, but the boy's lack of anxiety over any consequences for any of his behavior indicates some kind of major dysfunction in his personal background. So, lack of interest and discipline from his parents, is my best guess.

But it is still anyone's guess.

Regarding my student, he definitely doesn't have a learning disability. I've found him to actually be quite intelligent, and, if you can manipulate him just right, he catches on to things just fine.

I'm pretty sure his problems can be traced back to his family. He's probably one of if not the youngest member of his family who ended up developing a rebellious streak early on, but instead of dealing with it his family probably chose to ignore both him and it, and at most they just try to hide him away where he can "stay out of trouble." He's definitely spoiled, tries to talk down to everyone, including the teachers, and he feels entitled to everything. Might explain why he's at my school (it's not a bad school, but a kid with his background wouldn't normally be here). One of my coteachers said that his family life is normal, but I'm very doubtful of that. It's normal as far as the family wants anyone to know, but the boy's lack of anxiety over any consequences for any of his behavior indicates some kind of major dysfunction in his personal background. So, lack of interest and discipline from his parents, is my best guess.

But it is still anyone's guess.

Sadly, I've heard of many kids who fall into this bracket and taught a few of them. Usually, they're poor and/or the parents don't give a sh*t about the kid. The parents would dump the kid on the street if they legally could. I taught a kid whose mother never spoke more than 5 or 6 words to him a day for years. She'd lock herself away and watch dramas on her phone 24/7. The father just drank and went to PC bangs... Heard this from his HR teacher who was a good friend of mine.

Like many societies and cultures around the world, in Korea, it's traditionally the eldest son whose expected to shoulder the family responsibilities and live up to expectations, the eldest son is also the one who gets the most attention. This rings particularly true for wealthy families.

In Korea, face matters more than anything. Perhaps the family has gauged that the lose in face they'd suffer, from all the attention, trying to correct his behaviour would be far more than the cost of setting him up with some tenured position of no consequence where he can rack in a fat cheque.
According to Erikson, his rebellious nature (if it is that) is perfectly normal at his age. Between the ages of 12-18, Erikson argued that teens are essentially trying to find their own identity, oftentimes this includes a rebellious phase.

On the other hand, it's worrying that, as you say, he demonstrates a lack of anxiety, remorse or empathy (I assume) for his actions. These are clear indicators of antisocial behaviour attitudes, which could lead to him becoming a Sociopath.

Webpages and news sites that have videos that autoplay at full volume.

**** off with that shit.

Webpages and news sites that have videos that autoplay at full volume.

**** off with that shit.

All my devices are set to "mute" unless I turn them up.

The facebook app still makes some noises. That one pisses me off!

Had an absolute laugh yesterday. My CT begged me to reschedule my lessons at my other school so that I could leave early and drive across town to judge the school speech contest.

After planning, practicing, running around and telling me how busy she was, my CT and the head teacher for the English department were ready to unveil the fruits of their 2 months of diligent work and meticulous planning. It was time for the English speech contest and I'm judging.

- We start with my CT, the MC, asking everyone to stand and salute the flag. Sure... but there is no flag. The entire school standing, hands on heart, awkwardly saluting the empty stage.
- First act... mics are broken.
- 10min delay, they get replaced.
(students in audience are only slightly more disciplined than a riot in a Turkish prison, this doesn't stop till the contest is over)
- First act, kid starts singing a song by Ed Sheeran, here are some of the lyrics:

"Grab on my waist and put that body on me" "And last night you were in my room
And now my bedsheets smell like you" "Me and my friends at the table doing shots"

His performance is cut short... apparently, 2 months was not enough time to make sure all the performances were appropriate.
Furthermore, my CT didn't have the sense to use a karaoke version of the song without the vocals, she used the original, meaning you couldn't hear a damn thing the kid was singing.

- Following performances follow the same formula, mics keep messing up, music is too loud, no karaoke versions of the song and can't hear anything, projector (supposed to project lyrics and background images) is doing nothing but casting a massive shadow of the students in the background by shining glaring lights into the eyes of those on stage (of those kids weren't blind at the start, they must be by now).

- For the speeches, they've all been taken from the speech book students have been using since the 90s... I had two students reciting exactly the same speech, "My Dog Fluffly"... What a coincidence.

- Final performance was the Snow White play.... AGAIN! Last year, our students actually performed this play at an inter-school competition, winning school received quite a large cash prize. We were disqualified because all the songs the students had learned were of course, the originals and contained vocals in the mix so the students were essentially lip synching; my CT was quite livid and embarrassed about this and a few of our student's parents were very upset with her. Not one to learn from her mistakes, my CT made the exact same mistake again this year, same songs, same play.

Finally, the students had all practiced to perform and act at different parts of the stage. Obviously no scholar of acoustics, my CT didn't foresee that having 2 microphones, on stands at the front of the stage, wasn't really going to do much to amplify the voices of 7 dwarves positioned right at the back of the stage trying to squeak through their lines, all competing with the sea of cacophony that is the rowdy audience, the blaring music and chorused by the school bell. Each student had to improvise and constantly run to the front of the stage, to say a line, and then back.

I have to give it to the students performing the play. Not unlike Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room', it was so bad and goofy that it was hilarious. I was all smiles at the end.

I completely understand that a school concert isn't supposed to be professional, it's supposed to be innocent and fun, but that's no excuse for poor planning.

It just goes totally over my head how my CT and the head English teacher spent 2 months cutting short lessons, asking me to fill in for her and even help her with her online English exams (she had 'no time' to study) and generally making a huge fuss, all to plan the Burj Khalifa of f*ckups.

But did the Ed Sheeran kid win? 

But did the Ed Sheeran kid win? 

He could've been singing Hakuna Matata for all I know, couldn't hear a damn thing he was singing.

I gave the highest scores to one girl, she actually wrote her own speech on the dangers of young girls dieting. Brilliant speech, excellent pronunciation and well delivered. No contest.

Had an absolute laugh yesterday. My CT begged me to reschedule my lessons at my other school so that I could leave early and drive across town to judge the school speech contest.

This is begging to be turned into a short film.