RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Harry Potter=Halloween. The older you are, the less you should care about it until at some point you need to gracefully hand it over to the next generation to enjoy and help facilitate their fun.

Yeah, I only really like the first two films. After that the directors try too hard to illustrate a shift in the characters' maturity levels (to be reflected in the tones of the later films) but it's all too sudden and doesn't match up with what the movie series had established before then. I agree that there were too many visions getting crammed into the films, but they didn't really have the time to iron out the wrinkles to make it all fit better, either. That's the problem working with child actors, unfortunately.

But I still love the first two films. Third film is the worst, imo.

And I suddenly realized today that I'm basically my old high school choir instructor.

These kids turned me into a choir teacher. ****** hell.

This is what I'm afraid of... All of my closest friends will tell you they've never seen me angry. Just this year alone would make you think that's not the case. I'm sorry your classes are so rough

Kids are great at getting under people's skin, lol. It's only normal for teachers to feel the frustration when they're having to deal with hundreds of them on a regular basis.

And this is why we need vacations. The burnout is real.

In my own case it's not really the kids I'm frustrated with but how other teachers are dealing with student misbehavior, and just the overall attitude that many of them have about what they feel they're not responsible for. There's not much of a unified front here, everyone is on his or her own, and the kids know that and take full advantage.

I've culled the rebellion in my own classes because I've been very aggressive about it, but the result has been a lot of pouting. So like half the class is engaged while the other half is still busy sulking over the fact that I make them do their work and am not intimidated by any of their tantrums. And I don't expect this to improve, not when the students are still free to repeat their behavior in other classes. They'll just bide their time and attempt to test me again later, especially now that the end of the school year is approaching.

How have you been dealing?

Harry Potter=Halloween. The older you are, the less you should care about it until at some point you need to gracefully hand it over to the next generation to enjoy and help facilitate their fun.

halloween stopped being fun when i was about 10 (as did harry potter). north americans go nuts go it though, which i find it hard to get my head around

also, did anyone go to itaewon on saturday night? heard it was a shit show

also, did anyone go to itaewon on saturday night? heard it was a shit show

I got dragged there by friends last year, it was a shit fest then, too. Itaewon is always shit during major holiday events.

Never again.

So Starbucks is playing christmas music already..  can't even relax and have coffee without hearing "giddy up giddup let's go... bla bla in the snow bla bla sleigh ride together with you...  Not even November.  So two more months of this.  Time to find a new coffee shop.  Anywhere else have good normal drip coffee?

And I suddenly realized today that I'm basically my old high school choir instructor.

These kids turned me into a choir teacher. ****** hell.

This is what I'm afraid of... All of my closest friends will tell you they've never seen me angry. Just this year alone would make you think that's not the case. I'm sorry your classes are so rough

Kids are great at getting under people's skin, lol. It's only normal for teachers to feel the frustration when they're having to deal with hundreds of them on a regular basis.

And this is why we need vacations. The burnout is real.

In my own case it's not really the kids I'm frustrated with but how other teachers are dealing with student misbehavior, and just the overall attitude that many of them have about what they feel they're not responsible for. There's not much of a unified front here, everyone is on his or her own, and the kids know that and take full advantage.

I've culled the rebellion in my own classes because I've been very aggressive about it, but the result has been a lot of pouting. So like half the class is engaged while the other half is still busy sulking over the fact that I make them do their work and am not intimidated by any of their tantrums. And I don't expect this to improve, not when the students are still free to repeat their behavior in other classes. They'll just bide their time and attempt to test me again later, especially now that the end of the school year is approaching.

How have you been dealing?

Trying my best not to explode. It's gonna sound bad, but I've given up on some of the kids at my main school. I'm moving to a new school next semester and it's not worth trying to correct their behavior at this point. (Is it just me or are kids in the metropolitan areas far worse than the ones in the countryside?) I'm just looking forward to starting over again. I'm still learning here, and it'll be much easier to apply these new ideas once I'm at a new school with students who are unfamiliar with me.

Can't confidently say I'm going to stay in Korea after next semester (things could change), but I'll give it my best at the end.

I lost my f*cking flashdrive. I've been procrastinating to back it up for months and now I've lost it. Years worth of lesson materials and lesson plans gone.

I lost my f*cking flashdrive. I've been procrastinating to back it up for months and now I've lost it. Years worth of lesson materials and lesson plans gone.

Time to purchase a waygook.org subscription. 

also, did anyone go to itaewon on saturday night? heard it was a shit show

I got dragged there by friends last year, it was a shit fest then, too. Itaewon is always shit during major holiday events.

Never again.

Halloween in Itaewon is... definitely something.

Yeah, I only really like the first two films. After that the directors try too hard to illustrate a shift in the characters' maturity levels (to be reflected in the tones of the later films) but it's all too sudden and doesn't match up with what the movie series had established before then. I agree that there were too many visions getting crammed into the films, but they didn't really have the time to iron out the wrinkles to make it all fit better, either. That's the problem working with child actors, unfortunately.

But I still love the first two films. Third film is the worst, imo.

Waygook.org user Chinguetti, I'm going to reply to this message in two parts: first, Harry Potter movies. I remember when I first saw the first two movies, I thought they sucked. But that was like a really long time ago. Then, I randomly came across a HP marathon on TV here, and it just happened to be after I'd watched Star Wars Episode XIII. And something to do with the contrast between how awful SW was and how much I remembered disliking the first HP movies, I remember watching Chamber of Secrets and thinking, "Okay, this movie is really decent, especially considering it relies on child actors. Because like, it has an actual narrative going on and I kind of care what happens to the characters. Okay. Decent movie!" [disclaimer: reasons for not liking SW Ep. 8 have nothing to do with the characters or what they do. It has to do with it just being a terribly written and paced movie.]

That said - I still think 3 and 4 are the best Harry Potter movies. They did go a little hard on the grimdark spooky factor, but I think they really have the most coherent stories, and the kids have a lot more acting experience under their belts, too. And then once you're into Order of the Phoenix, the movies just turn into hot trash because there's no way to cram that much book into a single movie. But, I digress. HP 1 and 2 do hold up really well.

I lost my f*cking flashdrive. I've been procrastinating to back it up for months and now I've lost it. Years worth of lesson materials and lesson plans gone.

ooooooh!  Dang!  I'm so sorry!  It hurt just reading it! 

And I suddenly realized today that I'm basically my old high school choir instructor.

These kids turned me into a choir teacher. ****** hell.

This is what I'm afraid of... All of my closest friends will tell you they've never seen me angry. Just this year alone would make you think that's not the case. I'm sorry your classes are so rough

Kids are great at getting under people's skin, lol. It's only normal for teachers to feel the frustration when they're having to deal with hundreds of them on a regular basis.

And this is why we need vacations. The burnout is real.

In my own case it's not really the kids I'm frustrated with but how other teachers are dealing with student misbehavior, and just the overall attitude that many of them have about what they feel they're not responsible for. There's not much of a unified front here, everyone is on his or her own, and the kids know that and take full advantage.

I've culled the rebellion in my own classes because I've been very aggressive about it, but the result has been a lot of pouting. So like half the class is engaged while the other half is still busy sulking over the fact that I make them do their work and am not intimidated by any of their tantrums. And I don't expect this to improve, not when the students are still free to repeat their behavior in other classes. They'll just bide their time and attempt to test me again later, especially now that the end of the school year is approaching.

How have you been dealing?

Second:
I'm lucky enough that at my school, my coworkers and I are all on the same page as far as discipline and expectations for respectful behaviour in the classroom go. So, there's a lot of good cop, bad cop, but we do alternate so the students a) don't get used to it and b) don't build up a strong hatred of one or the other.

But the thing that burns me out is just how completely people don't care about learning. Like. At all. Anything. Like, some students - despite being developmentally typical - just actively refuse to learn, like we talked about in the other thread. It's Sisyphean (wow look I'm fancy big words). But it's impossible not to get disheartened when you see that you're doing this thing, and even though you're getting paid for it, it's really just kind of... not contributing anything. To anyone.

Getting angry isn't helpful, though. Back in the day, in my first year or two of teaching, I remember occasionally getting really heated and angry at a few students / classes. But these days, it's just not worth the effort. I just mentally throw my hands up and phone it in super hard when that happens.

But it's impossible not to get disheartened when you see that you're doing this thing, and even though you're getting paid for it, it's really just kind of... not contributing anything. To anyone.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

If you get through to at least ONE kid, you're doing something right. 

Let's remember what it's like to be 12-17.  Only thing you or I cared about was hanging out with our friends.  School sucked, teachers sucked.  Your hormones were all OVER THE PLACE!  You had the attention span of a Golden Retriever.  So you can't give the kids too much sh*t, ya know? 

I have plenty of students that actually pay attention in my classes.  Those are the ones I focus on.  If the others want to pick at their notebooks or sleep, let em'.  They're only hurting themselves.  I refuse to take it personally only because they're 12 - 17 yr old.

One of the few times I need to use the toilet at work to take a dump and both toilets on the first floor are absolutely blown out. Bowl is filled to the brim with brown shit water and turds. Both toilets. Run upstairs.....both toilets blown out. One has overflowed. It must have been the same person going around each toilet after he blocked the other ones up. How is this possible? Tempted to use the ladies facilities.

There is no one at my place of work under the age of 18.

Harry Potter=Halloween. The older you are, the less you should care about it until at some point you need to gracefully hand it over to the next generation to enjoy and help facilitate their fun.

  Wrong!

  Adult Hallowe'en parties can be absolute blasts if they are planned and executed PROPERLY... My mates and I (right up and into our 40's) used to throw legendary Hallowe'en parties back in my city in Canada - even made the local media. And, our events were private - held in our old house which was an old late Victorian style place with 3 floors, so there was lots of room.

  Proper attention to detail, ticketing (we charged a flat $20 per head which covered everything...), costumes required, a serious mix/assortment of people, prizes for best/weirdest costumes, great music, food (ours were catered by a local restaurant), kegs of local craft beer (15), security, and enough toilets, all contributed to a fantastic soiree. These parties cost around $4000 to put on, so the entry fee helped us break even; any extra was used to take the people who came over the next day to help us clean up out for a big dinner.

  We held these parties every year for 13 years, and attendance was always around 150-200 people each time; the record attendance was our 6th bash which had 230 people show up to our house. Never had ANY hassles with the cops, or agro of any kind among the guests - everyone was too busy having a tremendous time.

  So spare me the 'Hallowe'en is only a children's thing' bullshit... Perhaps you've never been to a real adult Hallowe'en party...? If  that's the case, maybe you should give it a go. If you have been to one, and it wasn't great, maybe you just went to/go to lame parties...!

That's what Mardi Gras, New Years, Cinco de Drinko, and St. Paddy's are for.

As I said, Halloween once every 4 years or so when you're over 30.

At least you did it right and kept it private.

But it's impossible not to get disheartened when you see that you're doing this thing, and even though you're getting paid for it, it's really just kind of... not contributing anything. To anyone.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Don't feel bad

Your typical Korean office worker will be spending 80% of their time:

- Writing up reports that get filled away and are never looked at again.
- Making and beautifying overblown, hour long presentations for the the boss whenever he/she
  asks an arbitrary questions.
- Going to hweshiks
- Attempting to look as busy as possible
- Warming chairs while sitting in pointless meetings

It's no secret that South Korea, while one of the most overworked, has one of the lowest levels of productivity in the OECD.
http://annals.yonsei.ac.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=1687

There will be at least one, or a group of kids, in your class who learn something new from each of your lessons, whether you're teaching passively or actively. As long as you're doing your best with what you have, you've no reason to feel disheartened or ashamed.

Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/30/humanity-wiped-out-animals-since-1970-major-report-finds

Itaewon was indeed a sh*t show on Saturday.

I too have turned into the teacher I swore I would never be. Thankfully my days are short, and it's almost time to go home but teaching in Korea has convinced me that I never want to teach again.