RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

On the Kakaotaxi stuff...crucial detail; how good is your Korean?   Remember even if you think your pronunciation is good, to a local it probably sounds like the equivalent "Me go ghkdiuhgbg station, yes?"  The sad reality of trying to speak Korean 

My Korean is so-so, but my pronunciation is on point, at least for all of the major things.

The driver even repeated what I told him, so there was no misunderstanding there. He was just being a dick and pretending the address and landmark I gave him didn't exist, but ignoring that and everything else the driver tried to do after the fact, he still has the Kakao app and GPS telling him exactly where he needs to go.

I'm still really irritated about it, and I'm about to have one of my worst classes, lol.

Left my first bad review for a Kakao Taxi driver.

**** that guy.

What'd he do?

So after I put in the request, he calls me about a minute later, wanting to know where I want to go. It's, like, right there on the map. But okay, I think maybe he has a problem seeing small print or whatever, so I tell him the closest well-known landmark to my school. Then he asks me where I'm at, so I tell him, and he gets confused, even after I refer to a well-known landmark near my home, and he starts getting frustrated and short with me. So I start getting pissy with him, too, and tell him to use the ****** GPS he has right in front of him, and he backs down and says he'll pick me up soon, like he suddenly understands where I'm located and it isn't a problem anymore.

So he arrives in less than a minute, and this ****** starts driving as slowly as possible, but he speeds up a little when he notices me looking to see if there was anything in his way.

Then he started changing lanes into slower traffic. This was the last straw for me and I told him to stop. He refuses to do so at first, and it wasn't until I ****** raised my voice at him that he finally pulls over. Then he waited for the meter to run up another 100 won before he charged my card. Like he was literally moving slow motion while keeping his eyes on the meter, just waiting for it to roll over.

I didn't say anything but once he gave me my card back I threw a 100 won coin at him and told him I didn't need it as badly as he did, then found myself another cab.

I ended up around ten minutes late to work because of this guy.

I should have just canceled the request after I got that phone call but I was running late. Ended up just wasting even more time because the guy was an absolute dick.

Wat a dick (taxi driver), sorry to hear that.
Yesterday, when I took a taxi to work, I almost fell asleep and the taxi driver gave me a free chocopie and vitamin drink haha.
He knows where I'm going, as I have to take his taxi most wednesdays, as long as I'm going to my travel school.

On the Kakaotaxi stuff...crucial detail; how good is your Korean?   Remember even if you think your pronunciation is good, to a local it probably sounds like the equivalent "Me go ghkdiuhgbg station, yes?"  The sad reality of trying to speak Korean 

My Korean is so-so, but my pronunciation is on point, at least for all of the major things.

The driver even repeated what I told him, so there was no misunderstanding there. He was just being a dick and pretending the address and landmark I gave him didn't exist, but ignoring that and everything else the driver tried to do after the fact, he still has the Kakao app and GPS telling him exactly where he needs to go.

I'm still really irritated about it, and I'm about to have one of my worst classes, lol.

I'm sure you considered this before and I'm not looking to be sarcastic, I endured all these problems incl. but not limited to:

- Taxi drivers, most of whom, have feet with the dexterity and impact of a falling piano... 80% of the time I get terrible motion
  sickness.
- Taxi drivers who insist on engaging in conversation (particularly personal questions, I'm tired and need you to STFU for and
   drive)
- Taxi drivers on their phone, speaking and texting.
- Taxi drivers who're obviously a bit tipsy or smell of alcohol
- Don't know where you're going or where you are
- Finding out halfway through the journey that you're on your way to Stonehenge or Mordor, not the bus terminal
- Arguing with the asshole who demands cash, despite his taxi having the card sign (it's really not my problem if you make less on
  card payments. I don't always have cash on me)

What I'm trying to say is, get your license and get a car.

Korean English teacher has been chewing a grade 1 (middle school) class out for the last 20+ minutes, shouting and screeching and a hollerin' and all sorts. It was funny (and impressive) at first but now I'm just wishing she'd give it a rest, jeez.

Korean English teacher has been chewing a grade 1 (middle school) class out for the last 20+ minutes, shouting and screeching and a hollerin' and all sorts. It was funny (and impressive) at first but now I'm just wishing she'd give it a rest, jeez.

Wish my co-teachers had this tendency. Students rule the roost here, and they know it.

Korean English teacher has been chewing a grade 1 (middle school) class out for the last 20+ minutes, shouting and screeching and a hollerin' and all sorts. It was funny (and impressive) at first but now I'm just wishing she'd give it a rest, jeez.

Wish my co-teachers had this tendency. Students rule the roost here, and they know it.

At one of my travel schools they do too.
My co-T chewed out a bunch of boys for being late to class, and punished them for about 5 - 10 mins (once class had started), and they came into the classroom laughing afterwards. In the same class, only 3 / 20 students pay attention and try to do anything. I have no issues with my other classes too. :\

Soccer students though, they listen to no one. :\

What I'm trying to say is, get your license and get a car.

Yeah, I get what you're saying, but buying a car here when I'm never fully sure if I'm going to renew the following year isn't really worth the trouble, and I don't ride taxis enough to justify the additional costs, either. I can literally walk almost anywhere where I live, and I've got bus stops no more than a couple of minutes walk away from my home. I only really take the taxi when I'm pressed for time or I'm really tired.

Which is maybe once or twice a month.

But I do have the license, though. Wanted it just in case because you never know.

Wish my co-teachers had this tendency. Students rule the roost here, and they know it.

Yeah, she's quite the teacher (classroom management wise). Don't hear her use a lick of English in class though, and just seems to press play on English songs.  Her classroom management style also isn't so conducive to creating the kind of atmosphere you need for a speaking lesson, but I do definitely wish I could turn into a banshee at the drop of a hat like that!

Wat a dick (taxi driver), sorry to hear that.
Yesterday, when I took a taxi to work, I almost fell asleep and the taxi driver gave me a free chocopie and vitamin drink haha.
He knows where I'm going, as I have to take his taxi most wednesdays, as long as I'm going to my travel school.

Yeah, thanks. It's nowhere near the worst I've experienced, but stuff like this still never fails to piss me off for a while, lol.

And I love the nice drivers. They're always trying to give me candy and fruit.

Korean English teacher has been chewing a grade 1 (middle school) class out for the last 20+ minutes, shouting and screeching and a hollerin' and all sorts. It was funny (and impressive) at first but now I'm just wishing she'd give it a rest, jeez.

Wish my co-teachers had this tendency. Students rule the roost here, and they know it.

At one of my travel schools they do too.
My co-T chewed out a bunch of boys for being late to class, and punished them for about 5 - 10 mins (once class had started), and they came into the classroom laughing afterwards. In the same class, only 3 / 20 students pay attention and try to do anything. I have no issues with my other classes too. :\

Soccer students though, they listen to no one. :\

I hear ya! I teach at a soccer middle school and it's taken me a LONG time to get them on board.

I WISH my coTs cared about lateness....student s walk into my class 5-10 minutes late regularly and when I call them out the teacher just says "Ohhh they had P.E they had to get changed" or some other lameo excuse...then they have "forgotten" their book or need to t\go the bathroom so she lets them waltz right back out again. Not a chance.

Left my first bad review for a Kakao Taxi driver.

**** that guy.

What'd he do?

So after I put in the request, he calls me about a minute later, wanting to know where I want to go. It's, like, right there on the map. But okay, I think maybe he has a problem seeing small print or whatever, so I tell him the closest well-known landmark to my school. Then he asks me where I'm at, so I tell him, and he gets confused, even after I refer to a well-known landmark near my home, and he starts getting frustrated and short with me. So I start getting pissy with him, too, and tell him to use the ****** GPS he has right in front of him, and he backs down and says he'll pick me up soon, like he suddenly understands where I'm located and it isn't a problem anymore.

So he arrives in less than a minute, and this ****** starts driving as slowly as possible, but he speeds up a little when he notices me looking to see if there was anything in his way.

Then he started changing lanes into slower traffic. This was the last straw for me and I told him to stop. He refuses to do so at first, and it wasn't until I ****** raised my voice at him that he finally pulls over. Then he waited for the meter to run up another 100 won before he charged my card. Like he was literally moving slow motion while keeping his eyes on the meter, just waiting for it to roll over.

I didn't say anything but once he gave me my card back I threw a 100 won coin at him and told him I didn't need it as badly as he did, then found myself another cab.

I ended up around ten minutes late to work because of this guy.

I should have just canceled the request after I got that phone call but I was running late. Ended up just wasting even more time because the guy was an absolute dick.

It's actually so annoying now that if you cancel a taxi request you have to wait ten minutes before requesting another :( means you're stuck with whoever picks it up.

My pet peeve is when they pick it up then you watch them via the app driving the complete wrong direction towards the petrol station or dropping off someone else. :( It means it takes absolutely ages and they aren't even close by.

when you use kakaotaxi and they instantly call you to ask where you are. i mean, fuk me

Been doing this stupid teaching job for several years, I hate that I'm back and have to be told exactly how to run my classes. my co-teachers stop me in the middle of the class and tell me, you should do this, you should do that. while another teacher showed me how she runs her class, and then asks me if i can do it. I said I'd try, but I have my own style too which doesn't involve 20 minutes of drills. that is literally all they do in regular classes, is memorize a script and then read it about 20 times (not exaggerating) in every class, until they reach 100 times and then they get a sticker. I ask them simple questions which they can't answer or understand because it'snot on their script. When I try to deviate from how the teacher does things, she stops me and says that's too difficult and do it her way instead....

Been doing this stupid teaching job for several years, I hate that I'm back and have to be told exactly how to run my classes. my co-teachers stop me in the middle of the class and tell me, you should do this, you should do that. while another teacher showed me how she runs her class, and then asks me if i can do it. I said I'd try, but I have my own style too which doesn't involve 20 minutes of drills. that is literally all they do in regular classes, is memorize a script and then read it about 20 times (not exaggerating) in every class, until they reach 100 times and then they get a sticker. I ask them simple questions which they can't answer or understand because it'snot on their script. When I try to deviate from how the teacher does things, she stops me and says that's too difficult and do it her way instead....

I'm lucky enough to have CTs who're mature and we work well together, usually.

Co-teaching is something many Korean teachers aren't used to and instead of working with you, it's easier to tell you what to do.
It sounds like you've adopted a submissive role and your CTs are asserting their style, mainly because it's easier but perhaps, they feel the need to assert themselves as the dominate teacher, particularly to the students. Despite being English teachers, many CTs are incredibly insecure about their English ability and will go to great lengths not to jeopardize their reputation, this includes falling back into rote-learning, it's predictable to teach and there's little margin for error and making sure they're never put in a position to expose their English ability. Ever wondered why she doesn't want to you or the students to deviate from the script? She can't answer those questions and it terrifies her.

The easiest solution would be to split the period into your CTs time and your time.

The other way, of course, as to assert yourself as an authority of what you teach and as a teacher, this includes everything from how you present yourself, your tone of voice and projecting confidence. Conflict is likely to arise, but IMO, it's for the best.

- If your CT interrupts you mid-lesson,  cut him/her off before they can finish, tell them you'll speak about it later, and carry on.
- Stay polite, but be abrupt. Stop saying "ummm, well, I dunno etc." when asked to do something you don't want to, just say no.
- Stick to your guns and be stubborn but leave the door open for compromise.

You are the NET, you are the sole authority on correct English in your classroom. Act like it and your CT and students will treat you this way.  Good luck

Been doing this stupid teaching job for several years, I hate that I'm back and have to be told exactly how to run my classes. my co-teachers stop me in the middle of the class and tell me, you should do this, you should do that. while another teacher showed me how she runs her class, and then asks me if i can do it. I said I'd try, but I have my own style too which doesn't involve 20 minutes of drills. that is literally all they do in regular classes, is memorize a script and then read it about 20 times (not exaggerating) in every class, until they reach 100 times and then they get a sticker. I ask them simple questions which they can't answer or understand because it'snot on their script. When I try to deviate from how the teacher does things, she stops me and says that's too difficult and do it her way instead....

I've always wondered about memorising and repeating.  My coteachers are obsessed with it.  I think it's a tactic of theirs to fill time in the class by saying something like "memorise this dialogue for twenty minutes".  Well that works out pretty well for them and not having to plan much for the class.

They've suggested the same thing to me and I've always thought to myself "what was the point in me flying thousands of miles to come here if all you want me to do is have the students memorise and recite dialogues?"

Been doing this stupid teaching job for several years, I hate that I'm back and have to be told exactly how to run my classes. my co-teachers stop me in the middle of the class and tell me, you should do this, you should do that. while another teacher showed me how she runs her class, and then asks me if i can do it. I said I'd try, but I have my own style too which doesn't involve 20 minutes of drills. that is literally all they do in regular classes, is memorize a script and then read it about 20 times (not exaggerating) in every class, until they reach 100 times and then they get a sticker. I ask them simple questions which they can't answer or understand because it'snot on their script. When I try to deviate from how the teacher does things, she stops me and says that's too difficult and do it her way instead....

I've always wondered about memorising and repeating.  My coteachers are obsessed with it.  I think it's a tactic of theirs to fill time in the class by saying something like "memorise this dialogue for twenty minutes".  Well that works out pretty well for them and not having to plan much for the class.

They've suggested the same thing to me and I've always thought to myself "what was the point in me flying thousands of miles to come here if all you want me to do is have the students memorise and recite dialogues?"

It's one of those things where I question the point of us being here. I'm all for an easy lesson plan, but at least give it us some purpose here

Been doing this stupid teaching job for several years, I hate that I'm back and have to be told exactly how to run my classes. my co-teachers stop me in the middle of the class and tell me, you should do this, you should do that. while another teacher showed me how she runs her class, and then asks me if i can do it. I said I'd try, but I have my own style too which doesn't involve 20 minutes of drills. that is literally all they do in regular classes, is memorize a script and then read it about 20 times (not exaggerating) in every class, until they reach 100 times and then they get a sticker. I ask them simple questions which they can't answer or understand because it'snot on their script. When I try to deviate from how the teacher does things, she stops me and says that's too difficult and do it her way instead....

I've always wondered about memorising and repeating.  My coteachers are obsessed with it.  I think it's a tactic of theirs to fill time in the class by saying something like "memorise this dialogue for twenty minutes".  Well that works out pretty well for them and not having to plan much for the class.

They've suggested the same thing to me and I've always thought to myself "what was the point in me flying thousands of miles to come here if all you want me to do is have the students memorise and recite dialogues?"

It's one of those things where I question the point of us being here. I'm all for an easy lesson plan, but at least give it us some purpose here

I find that often my actual, unofficial, role is as an English editor i.e. finding and pointing out all of the English errors and bizarre style choices that somehow made it into the official materials (not to mention the extra materials made by KETs). I want to find out how much our city spends on the official English textbooks but at the same point I think I might self-immolate if I do.

Been doing this stupid teaching job for several years, I hate that I'm back and have to be told exactly how to run my classes. my co-teachers stop me in the middle of the class and tell me, you should do this, you should do that. while another teacher showed me how she runs her class, and then asks me if i can do it. I said I'd try, but I have my own style too which doesn't involve 20 minutes of drills. that is literally all they do in regular classes, is memorize a script and then read it about 20 times (not exaggerating) in every class, until they reach 100 times and then they get a sticker. I ask them simple questions which they can't answer or understand because it'snot on their script. When I try to deviate from how the teacher does things, she stops me and says that's too difficult and do it her way instead....

Your coteachers actually come to class? And they stick around for the whole period? And they try to teach?

Far out.

Been doing this stupid teaching job for several years, I hate that I'm back and have to be told exactly how to run my classes. my co-teachers stop me in the middle of the class and tell me, you should do this, you should do that. while another teacher showed me how she runs her class, and then asks me if i can do it. I said I'd try, but I have my own style too which doesn't involve 20 minutes of drills. that is literally all they do in regular classes, is memorize a script and then read it about 20 times (not exaggerating) in every class, until they reach 100 times and then they get a sticker. I ask them simple questions which they can't answer or understand because it'snot on their script. When I try to deviate from how the teacher does things, she stops me and says that's too difficult and do it her way instead....

I'm lucky enough to have CTs who're mature and we work well together, usually.

Co-teaching is something many Korean teachers aren't used to and instead of working with you, it's easier to tell you what to do.
It sounds like you've adopted a submissive role and your CTs are asserting their style, mainly because it's easier but perhaps, they feel the need to assert themselves as the dominate teacher, particularly to the students. Despite being English teachers, many CTs are incredibly insecure about their English ability and will go to great lengths not to jeopardize their reputation, this includes falling back into rote-learning, it's predictable to teach and there's little margin for error and making sure they're never put in a position to expose their English ability. Ever wondered why she doesn't want to you or the students to deviate from the script? She can't answer those questions and it terrifies her.

The easiest solution would be to split the period into your CTs time and your time.

The other way, of course, as to assert yourself as an authority of what you teach and as a teacher, this includes everything from how you present yourself, your tone of voice and projecting confidence. Conflict is likely to arise, but IMO, it's for the best.

- If your CT interrupts you mid-lesson,  cut him/her off before they can finish, tell them you'll speak about it later, and carry on.
- Stay polite, but be abrupt. Stop saying "ummm, well, I dunno etc." when asked to do something you don't want to, just say no.
- Stick to your guns and be stubborn but leave the door open for compromise.

You are the NET, you are the sole authority on correct English in your classroom. Act like it and your CT and students will treat you this way.  Good luck

best advice i've seen in a long time.

if i may add my dos pesos...

in my experience working with Korean Co-Teachers, I always sit down with them BEFORE the semester begins and go over our individual teaching styles, rules we each have for the classroom, and our expectations of the students and of each other.

I've found it's much easier to work with somebody when there are defined roles and boundaries. some KTs have even expressed relief after our initial meeting knowing that I plan on doing the bulk of the English teaching and they can kinda just chill or do some translating when necessary. a lot of NETs and KTs get into an immature power struggle or pissing contest in the classroom because they didn't get things squared away from the get go. 

Been doing this stupid teaching job for several years, I hate that I'm back and have to be told exactly how to run my classes. my co-teachers stop me in the middle of the class and tell me, you should do this, you should do that. while another teacher showed me how she runs her class, and then asks me if i can do it. I said I'd try, but I have my own style too which doesn't involve 20 minutes of drills. that is literally all they do in regular classes, is memorize a script and then read it about 20 times (not exaggerating) in every class, until they reach 100 times and then they get a sticker. I ask them simple questions which they can't answer or understand because it'snot on their script. When I try to deviate from how the teacher does things, she stops me and says that's too difficult and do it her way instead....

Your coteachers actually come to class? And they stick around for the whole period? And they try to teach?

Far out.

Aaand it's comments like this that remind me not to take my position for granted