RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

No. My CTs were nodding in silent agreement as I given this information. I wouldn't even be angry with a lot of these criticisms if they weren't things my CTs could've told me.

A lot of people have a hard time being direct with their coworkers about stuff like this, so they'll wait for someone with authority to say something, or just agree with the collective should the subject come up.

I will say, though, that sometimes people will just agree with the collective because of conformity and not because they actually agree with it.

With that being said, apparently crossing your legs while sitting with others (one leg over the other, not when you're on the floor) is considered rude, too. I only learned about that this year because no one ever said anything to me about it. I just happened to be around when a CT scolded a student for crossing her legs, and I was all like, "What, that's not allowed?"

Yeah. But for reals, a lot of these little faux pas are only a problem if someone decides to make them a problem.

Example: I once had a deeply unpleasant manager (who I mentioned in the other thread about waygook.org user JVPrice's consulting experience) who REALLY wanted to get me fired / not renewed.

So, during a big 'consulting'ish meeting, the following complaints were brought up:
- that I didn't go into neighbouring classrooms to chat with teachers [who I didn't know] in between classes
- that I worn jeans
- that I put my hands in my pockets
- that I didn't smile enough outside of class
- that I brought a water bottle to class
- that I didn't greet the VP every morning in her office
- that I didn't speak Korean well enough

And all of these things are things I had been doing / have continued to do before and since then. And they're literally not things that should be made an issue of. Nobody - sincerely nobody- has ever complained about or mentioned any of those things to me, ever. Except for that one person, who wanted to cause a stink.

Contrary to what some people on this website might have people believe, the vast majority of Koreans are not  hyper-dogmatic 'this is wrong / this is right' people who nitpick every little thing. BUT! Those kind of people do exist. And they can make your working life absolutely miserable.

I'm not one to b*tch much.  It usually take A LOT to annoy me, but...……………..  Why is it that the traveling Violin Teacher HAS to use my classroom when the auditorium is empty?  The kids literally drag their music stands into my room from the storage closet in the auditorium.  The EMPTY auditorium.  Did I mention that it's EMPTY?! She's also the type when she talks, she yells.  She also constantly clears her throat.  And it's not what you think... it's the ajishi style hack 'cuuuuuuuuuuk!

**sigh** 

...
Contrary to what some people on this website might have people believe, the vast majority of Koreans are not  hyper-dogmatic 'this is wrong / this is right' people who nitpick every little thing. BUT! Those kind of people do exist. And they can make your working life absolutely miserable.

I think that is more "Some people will nitpick every little thing if they don't like you, and if they are the highest ranked person in the room everybody else will nod in agreement".

This gives the illusion of a strict code of conduct the everybody is cool with, but it is really just lack of willingness to go against a senior.

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Contrary to what some people on this website might have people believe, the vast majority of Koreans are not  hyper-dogmatic 'this is wrong / this is right' people who nitpick every little thing. BUT! Those kind of people do exist. And they can make your working life absolutely miserable.

I think that is more "Some people will nitpick every little thing if they don't like you, and if they are the highest ranked person in the room everybody else will nod in agreement".

This gives the illusion of a strict code of conduct the everybody is cool with, but it is really just lack of willingness to go against a senior.

Absolutely.

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Contrary to what some people on this website might have people believe, the vast majority of Koreans are not  hyper-dogmatic 'this is wrong / this is right' people who nitpick every little thing. BUT! Those kind of people do exist. And they can make your working life absolutely miserable.

I think that is more "Some people will nitpick every little thing if they don't like you, and if they are the highest ranked person in the room everybody else will nod in agreement".

This gives the illusion of a strict code of conduct the everybody is cool with, but it is really just lack of willingness to go against a senior.

You beat me to it.

Honestly, though you shouldn't be walking around with your hands in your pockets, when at work, I doubt anyone truly gives a crap.
It's basically someone with a modicum of authority taking another opportunity to remind everyone who is in charge, lest they forget.

Saw a lady with a baby strapped to her chest get in the front seat of her car and drive off with the baby still strapped to her chest between her and the steering wheel. I wanted to say something along the lines of, if you crash you will crush your baby or the air bag will crush your baby. A few years ago I would have said something but these days I just think meh, what's the point? 

Saw a lady with a baby strapped to her chest get in the front seat of her car and drive off with the baby still strapped to her chest between her and the steering wheel. I wanted to say something along the lines of, if you crash you will crush your baby or the air bag will crush your baby. A few years ago I would have said something but these days I just think meh, what's the point? 

At least the baby was strapped to something, I guess. I've seen a few instances of mothers driving along with their babies just sitting in their laps.

Saw a lady with a baby strapped to her chest get in the front seat of her car and drive off with the baby still strapped to her chest between her and the steering wheel. I wanted to say something along the lines of, if you crash you will crush your baby or the air bag will crush your baby. A few years ago I would have said something but these days I just think meh, what's the point? 

At least the baby was strapped to something, I guess. I've consistently seen a few instances,mothers driving along with their babies just sitting in their laps.

I see this kind of stuff all the time.The IF can become a reality at the drop of a hat. I am waiting for the police crackdown. I may be waiting forever...

Saw a lady with a baby strapped to her chest get in the front seat of her car and drive off with the baby still strapped to her chest between her and the steering wheel. I wanted to say something along the lines of, if you crash you will crush your baby or the air bag will crush your baby. A few years ago I would have said something but these days I just think meh, what's the point? 

At least the baby was strapped to something, I guess. I've consistently seen a few instances,mothers driving along with their babies just sitting in their laps.

I see this kind of stuff all the time.The IF can become a reality at the drop of a hat. I am waiting for the police crackdown. I may be waiting forever...

I see kids not buckled in and crawling around all over the place in the backs of cars fairly regularly. I suppose I'll consider myself (and my blood pressure) lucky that I haven't seen too many lap-babies in the driver's seat. 

Today I had my most dreaded class with the 2nd grade (Middle School) boys.

One of the students asked me if they could use the restroom, and I told him like a lazy father to go ask my CT. I only did this because I knew he was one of the most disruptive students. Later my CT tells me that he and another student are missing and she leaves to find them. This class still remains somehow more behaved than usual.

After they come back, I'm trying to do the listening activities but my CT is chastising them and nobody can hear the dialogue. She had them both stand in the back, and the other kid had the absolute worst attitude (the kind that would get you smacked back home). He sat next to the cleaning cabinet, and started hawking up loogies and spitting them inside, behind and around the cabinet area.

The amount of disrespect this kid had. I would've been furious if my CT wasn't already.

I see kids not buckled in and crawling around all over the place in the backs of cars fairly regularly. I suppose I'll consider myself (and my blood pressure) lucky that I haven't seen too many lap-babies in the driver's seat. 

The day after I made this comment, I went and had my annual health check.

Surprise! High blood pressure!

 

 

 

Speaking tests have begun again.

And the pressure to give students undeserved grades is a lot higher this semester than in previous semesters. Their reasoning? That more students are wanting to attend non-technical high schools than in previous recent years, so they want to encourage that.

And it's like... students who put in zero effort for their speaking exam won't do very well in "regular" high school anyway. The only reason why those students even have a chance of getting into a non-technical high school is because KTs have fudged with their scores and grades. And they keep pushing me to do the same, when, honestly, those kids SHOULD go to a technical high school. They're clearly not invested in their academics, so they need to learn a trade instead.

I will not be persuaded. The teachers are just gonna have to start learning to push the students to take the speaking exams more seriously and to stop sheltering them from life. More students would take reality more seriously if teachers weren't so easily manipulated or coerced into rewarding students for putting in little to no effort.

There's just no ****** way I will be pressured into giving a student who can't even answer "How are you?" an 'A'. ********* no.

This is probably why certain KTs kept coming at me with "English is hard" within the last few weeks. They knew that the speaking exams were close and were trying to manipulate me into being "easier" on the students (i.e. giving them high grades regardless of their actual performances). To complete the picture for everyone, they were insisting that I only really needed to do it for certain students, not all (basically, their pets).

I ****** said 'no'. I will never change my mind. I'm actually seriously tempted to be harsher in my grading this year because of the constant pressure. You're just hurting yourself at this point, start ****** realizing that, I will ****** leave Korea before I dole out A's or B's to arrogant brats who refused to put in any effort because they felt entitled and above it all.

Speaking tests have begun again.

And the pressure to give students undeserved grades is a lot higher this semester than in previous semesters. Their reasoning? That more students are wanting to attend non-technical high schools than in previous recent years, so they want to encourage that.

And it's like... students who put in zero effort for their speaking exam won't do very well in "regular" high school anyway. The only reason why those students even have a chance of getting into a non-technical high school is because KTs have fudged with their scores and grades. And they keep pushing me to do the same, when, honestly, those kids SHOULD go to a technical high school. They're clearly not invested in their academics, so they need to learn a trade instead.

I will not be persuaded. The teachers are just gonna have to start learning to push the students to take the speaking exams more seriously and to stop sheltering them from life. More students would take reality more seriously if teachers weren't so easily manipulated or coerced into rewarding students for putting in little to no effort.

There's just no ****** way I will be pressured into giving a student who can't even answer "How are you?" an 'A'. ********* no.

This is probably why certain KTs kept coming at me with "English is hard" within the last few weeks. They knew that the speaking exams were close and were trying to manipulate me into being "easier" on the students (i.e. giving them high grades regardless of their actual performances). To complete the picture for everyone, they were insisting that I only really needed to do it for certain students, not all (basically, their pets).

I ****** said 'no'. I will never change my mind. I'm actually seriously tempted to be harsher in my grading this year because of the constant pressure. You're just hurting yourself at this point, start ****** realizing that, I will ****** leave Korea before I dole out A's or B's to arrogant brats who refused to put in any effort because they felt entitled and above it all.

In Korea, your integrity is the last bastion defending your mental well-being.

Speaking tests have begun again.

And the pressure to give students undeserved grades is a lot higher this semester than in previous semesters. Their reasoning? That more students are wanting to attend non-technical high schools than in previous recent years, so they want to encourage that.

And it's like... students who put in zero effort for their speaking exam won't do very well in "regular" high school anyway. The only reason why those students even have a chance of getting into a non-technical high school is because KTs have fudged with their scores and grades. And they keep pushing me to do the same, when, honestly, those kids SHOULD go to a technical high school. They're clearly not invested in their academics, so they need to learn a trade instead.

I will not be persuaded. The teachers are just gonna have to start learning to push the students to take the speaking exams more seriously and to stop sheltering them from life. More students would take reality more seriously if teachers weren't so easily manipulated or coerced into rewarding students for putting in little to no effort.

There's just no ****** way I will be pressured into giving a student who can't even answer "How are you?" an 'A'. ********* no.

This is probably why certain KTs kept coming at me with "English is hard" within the last few weeks. They knew that the speaking exams were close and were trying to manipulate me into being "easier" on the students (i.e. giving them high grades regardless of their actual performances). To complete the picture for everyone, they were insisting that I only really needed to do it for certain students, not all (basically, their pets).

I ****** said 'no'. I will never change my mind. I'm actually seriously tempted to be harsher in my grading this year because of the constant pressure. You're just hurting yourself at this point, start ****** realizing that, I will ****** leave Korea before I dole out A's or B's to arrogant brats who refused to put in any effort because they felt entitled and above it all.

Accurate. I will, very, very occasionally, reward effort or improvement over actual performance. Like, if a student just naturally isn't very good at English (or academics, in general), but they always make an effort to complete all the assignments, participate actively, and really make a genuine effort to learn, I may mark them more generously than I would someone who refuses to pick up a pencil for the entire year. But yeah. I refuse to give free grades to students who literally just sit there and say nothing. Like, yeah, I get it - English is hard, but like, that doesn't mean you can't try.

Also, ugh - the whole attitude towards technical schools being for the failed students really grinds my gears. Measuring intelligence or potential by such narrow criteria as academic performance in a small selection of subjects is so wrong. Some people might be awful at math, language, and science, but could be a gifted musician, woodworker, electrician, plumber, or something. And all of those are skilled labour. There's literally no shame in that.

But regrettably, in Korea, tradespeople are not necessarily expected to be educated in their field, or particularly skilled, or anything. And they're paid accordingly. And this is why you get shoddy, poor quality buildings, and people generally not taking pride in their work, because nobody would recognize a good job if they even saw it.

Tradespeople should be required to be educated and / or licensed in what they do, for a lot of jobs. They should also be paid accordingly. There's a reason why, in most western countries, plumbers, electricians etc make respectable money - it's because they need to be good at what they do, and what they do is difficult.

Maybe youth unemployment here wouldn't be so miserably high if society didn't actively discourage students from going into fields where workers are most desperately needed.

(Disclaimer: yes, obviously there are skilled, professional tradespeople here - but there are also a lot who are not)

In Korea, your integrity is the last bastion defending your mental well-being.

Nah. Even if they totally destroy my integrity, they will then need to deal with plan b, which is utter apathy. That said, I feel that while I've learned to be flexible, my integrity is still okay. Hopefully it'll stay that way, fingers crossed.


Also, be careful about taking a very strong stance wrt speaking tests.

If I were a Korean teacher, and was unhappy with the grades my lazy-ass NET was giving to my little angels, I would just fudge them when I enter the scores into their grade spread sheets. It's super easy, completely avoids conflict, and leaves everybody happy (because ignorance is bliss).

I suspect it's been done a few times behind my back which is frustrating but, I mean, it's not like I can demand to see the final grade breakdown of each and every student...

In Korea, your integrity is the last bastion defending your mental well-being.

Nah. Even if they totally destroy my integrity, they will then need to deal with plan b, which is utter apathy. That said, I feel that while I've learned to be flexible, my integrity is still okay. Hopefully it'll stay that way, fingers crossed.


Also, be careful about taking a very strong stance wrt speaking tests.

If I were a Korean teacher, and was unhappy with the grades my lazy-ass NET was giving to my little angels, I would just fudge them when I enter the scores into their grade spread sheets. It's super easy, completely avoids conflict, and leaves everybody happy (because ignorance is bliss).

I suspect it's been done a few times behind my back which is frustrating but, I mean, it's not like I can demand to see the final grade breakdown of each and every student...

Waygook.org moderator LVL 1 kyndo knows what's up.

Apathy is the answer.

I ****** said 'no'. I will never change my mind. I'm actually seriously tempted to be harsher in my grading this year because of the constant pressure. You're just hurting yourself at this point, start ****** realizing that, I will ****** leave Korea before I dole out A's or B's to arrogant brats who refused to put in any effort because they felt entitled and above it all.

I wish so badly that I could give some of these kids a 0. I don't see the point of lower numbers existing if they can't be used. If all the students get A's or B's by default, the bad students who don't try don't deserve it, and it's unfair to the students that DO make an effort. Not to mention the arrogance it fills in some of their heads knowing there's no consequence to not trying.

I'd be pissed if I studied for hours and hours on end just to end up with the same result as my slacker of a classmate who didn't even make an attempt on the test.

Haha, sorry to hear that.  Will that effect you if you're trying to renew your contract?

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

EDIT: Well, that's a first. Never had a post I'm responding to disappear while i'm typing my response to it before. 

Haha, sorry to hear that.  Will that effect you if you're trying to renew your contract?

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

EDIT: Well, that's a first. Never had a post I'm responding to disappear while i'm typing my response to it before. 

Lol sorry I wanted to edit my post to make it look neater (reduce the quoted part).  You replied too quick haha. Good luck.

Haha, sorry to hear that.  Will that effect you if you're trying to renew your contract?

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

EDIT: Well, that's a first. Never had a post I'm responding to disappear while i'm typing my response to it before. 

You should be fine. If they don't make you schedule a return visit when you get the results, you're good. If they do decide it's too high, they'll just tell you to come back and test it again in a week or so. Giving you time to make it okay.