Job Discussion Forums

[billybuzz]

So whats it like at your place right now ? As we slide down the slope towards the finishing line and final exams and (for those of us in private unis) proficiency exams do you wonder if its all a bit frantic with those poor souls(our students ) suddenly having a reality check about passing any of them ?
It seems it happens every year they are focused on only one aspect of achieving that all important pass mark and neglecting their other studies .Why is that ?
Despite the fact that reading and writing carry the highest scores they are more interested in knowing the answers to grammatical questions . The latest craze is cleft sentences !!!!!! Yeah we use them all the time ,but its more advanced than is needed ,what I would give if my students could write sentences using pst simple or even plain old present correctly . Who ever puts these programmes together clearly does not know what life is like in the classroom at this time of year .Classroom ! More like battlefield or zoo . Can't wait till till the last class of the semester ,then I can meet the no hopers for the summer school, someone from these place once described them as wooden tops I think he was refering to the kids but there are a few others here who deserve that title .

Tvik ,any comments ?

[dagi]

Godness, tell me. I teach German, which has been taken off the report card by the Ministry. The ones that actually bother to show up for the lesson come to have some chill-out time.

[tvik]

i am personally happy to have the job and enjoy being with these kids. in high school i was a bit of a shi*t desturber although i did well at university, i waited untill i had worked in the real world and travelled before going to university and did better as a result. these kids don't have that option. many of them should not be in university and many of them have no talent for languages. i can't see the logic in limping through your university years studying terms and concepts you can't grasp in a language you can barely understand. they should be outside using their talents in other areas.

[FGT]

[Otterman Ollie]

I couldn't help but notice that word "logic" was used Tvik, clearly you have yet to learn that concept has no meaning in this society,yet ironically , logical sequence is one of the subjects next week . Yep it sucks ,the lads are here to get a degree so that they have a shorter spell in the army and the babes are husband hunting basically, doesn't matter whats between his ears as long as the poor fish has money . Any extra worldly knowledge or academic skills they acquire while in our care is more accidental than designed ,still, it pays the rent so whats the diff !

[tvik]

generalizations are fair in many cases and i agree that the private uni is a curious creature, however i would like to raise a few points.
These are the conditions we've signed up for so it's best to make the best of it although it may not be the best of all possible worlds.
Moreover, in a hierarchical power structure sh*t often tends to flow downhill and the students will respond to the teacher based on the teachers attitude. Granted there is not much one can do in certian circomstances, it still remains true that if you like your job and you like your students they will return the favor, in their own way.

[Sheikh Inal Ovar]

The only scrambling going on here is by the teachers ... finalising, perfecting and rehearsing their evacuation plans ...

[Otterman Ollie]

Nicely put Sheik,yes we are looking for a chance to jump ship if the truth be known , we just need another ship to jump to . Having said that I don't entirely blame the place itself ,we are as much to blame for signing up in the first place and repeating the same mistake every year without even trying to change the rules a little bit in our favour .
I especially like the word "agreement" used in most contracts, it suggests we are in total agreement to having our working hours lengthened , holidays curtailed ,etc ,etc, without prior consultation yet we have to swallow that bs or find somewhere else thats doesn't do the same , fat chance Eh !