Job Discussion Forums

harry the hobbit · Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:49 am Post subject: The Wonderful world of Academia

Harry would like to state from the outset that this line of work is something he was never trained for , but despite that he has no regrets since he entered the world of teaching . He was pleasantly surprised to find how much he picked up just through his own personal experience and with each days new challenges and obstacles overcome his confidence grew and grew . It would also be fair to say that help and support came from many sources not least of which was and still is this esteemed forum as well as fellow teachers and the odd workshop or seminar conducted by those well known tefl gurus SD and IW and the British Council on more occassions than the Hobbit can count .
This is all well and good and the fact that one receives a monthly stipend for all the Hobbits good deeds makes what he to say next all the more difficult to relate . Perhaps Harry is alone in this idea or perhaps there are kindred spirits with the same story or point of view ,anyway here goes .
In all the different places that he has worked ,in all the different jobs he has done , Harry has never encountered such an unusual and at times socially dysfunctional group of people .
Its difficult to know where to start ,firstly, he met people who are lifetime academics , those who have spent most of if not ALL their lives in schools ,colleges and universities , are extremely well educated ,masters of their craft , very well paid , yet choose to live a bohemeian existance and have not discovered soap and hot water and are completely unfamilair with the concept of " personal grooming " as well as having a problem following a conversation that has nothing to do with teaching .
Why OH Why ,when teachers get together on a social level they have nothing to talk about except the job ? There is always the old standby , yes you guessed it , football the one thing they may know something about outside what they do in the classroom usually because its one of the first questions the kids ask about . But popular culture on any subject ,films ,music , tv shows ,soap operas ,etc they don't have a clue and they probably have never thrown a dart in their life or held a pool cue .
Any way this is something that Harry may regret starting as already he feels it may open up a large can of worms here ,he wishs to state that he is not pointing the finger at any one person in particular or even an instuition for that matter but wishes to merely discuss this topic to see if is alone in coming to the conclusion that a lot of people who teach generally (not just in Turkey ) are a pretty weird lot .
Feel free to give and share your ideas and experiences as to why you may agree or not !

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Ghost, I think it is time you left Korea. It doesn't seem to be doing you much good.

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

Why is the ghost so despised in Turkey? Isn't he a voluble and knowledgeable mate?

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

MOD EDIT

Citizenship from countries can be revoked if the applicants concealed undesirable facts which would have precluded citizenship in the first place.

The Turkish citizenship bureau obviously did not do an efficient job. There are often cases of citizenship being revoked when deception was used to gain citizenship.

Ghost in Korea

Mr. Kalgukshi · Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 7:07 am Post subject:

This thread has been unlocked and we'll try it again.

If it goes the way it went previously into ad hominem and off-topic postings, it will no longer be available and appropriate members will be sanctioned.

Otterman Ollie · Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 7:25 am Post subject:

I never did get the chance to put my 2 kurus worth on on this subject so I for one am happy for its return .
There are a a number of very strange and I think desperately unhappy people circulating in this industry ,I think the word "Dysfunctional " is an unkind term to use but it seems to fit the bill for so many of them .Come on , hands up , how many of them do you socalise or meet with outside the workplace ?
Reason ? most of them are the type of people I would cross the street to avoid ,and yet sometimes reluctantly I am forced to sit down and break bread and attempt to have polite conversation with them knowing they have very little or no respect for me ,at least the feelings are usually mutal .

kestane · Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 21 Location: Istanbul

I don't care what line of work you're in, you will always find yourself questioning the sanity of the people around you in your chosen profession.
From doctors to garbage men, our ranks are crowded with the abnormal.
Just have a look at your family. Any dysfunction there?
Let's face it. We are all dysfunctional. It's a human condition.
We are all one big happy family, trying to prevent our dysfunctions from destroying all life on earth...we'll some of us are trying anyway.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Good point. In my family, we move in two primary circles: air traffic control and teaching. It's very hard to say whether one is any more dysfunctional than the other - both seem to foster some seriously strange characters.

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

Air traffic controllers have, arguably, one of the hardest jobs in the world. The responsibility and pressure in their jobs are immense, even though now, with the upgrade in computer programs and other techno devices, their jobs are somewhat easier than in the past.

The fact that air traffic controllers make so few mistakes, despite increased air traffic is a testament to their willingness to handle phenomenal pressure and workload.

I had a friend who was an air traffic guy at Gatwick (London) and he was a very quiet, stable individual - always calm and collected - and I think that helped him cope with his job. He did a lot of running (up to 20 miles a day) to relieve the stress after his shifts, as air traffic people work 24/7/365 days a year. The monetary benefits, I think, do not match their work output. Many teachers, on the other hand, are overpaid for what they produce.

Ghost in Korea

Robin_UK · Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 6 Location: UK

Reading these posts creates a picture of a working life where meeting and forming valued friendships, in both native and TEFL communities, is very thin on the ground.

The person who stated that 24 hours in a day leaves extra time to be somehow occupied, outside work, implies to me that nothing on offer in areas of culture, history, nature, sight-seeing, exploring, etc, is for the taking in Turkey/Istanbul.

Surely, many interesting people leave behind boredom, routine, not necessarily emotional baggage, etc, to experience something completely different from their all too familiar culture. There must be a high proportion of motivated, open minded, individuals, who make TEFL a positive experience, and have the willpower to avoid the pitfalls of wasting such an opportunity?

Turkish and Kurdish people who I have met are nice people. I can't imagine not meeting a soul as an English teacher in Istanbul, who would enrich my experience a little.

Robin_UK

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

You are in a for a fall.

Robin_UK · Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 6 Location: UK

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

No need for PMs-use the search function.

Otterman Ollie · Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:53 am Post subject:

ıts a nice cosy sentiment Robin but has little to do with the reality of what goes on here . I think from your armchair you have a totally different perspective ,jump into the swamp and struggle in it for a year or two then you may have a small idea about what we are talking about here .