Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mrsquirrel]

One of my co-teachers told me a couple of weeks back that she was in the early stages of pregnancy and had to sit down.

Since then she has been completely apathetic to her role in the classroom. She comes late, doesn't come, comes and sits there, comes and looks sorry for herself, comes and wanders around not helping or guiding the students or my favorite comes and looks in the window then stands outside the door.

Is this normal behavior for pregnant women? Should I be more sympathetic. I don't really want her there if she doesn't want to be there but a decision would be nice rather than just flopping about like a wet fish.

[shifdog]

In Korea it's acceptable for pregnant women to be lazy.

[mrsquirrel]

Fair enough.

She used to be on the ball as well.

I will be more sympathetic to her situation.

[nobbyken]

My wife was floored with tiredness from week 8 to 12, but has been OK since. My sister had tiredness throughout almost all of her second pregnancy.

The tiredness and lack of energy will probably pass and she will blossom for the remainder of her pregnancy.

[garykasparov]

EDITED

[bosintang]

Stressful time for public school teachers right now, too. Demo lessons, contests, and all that jazz. They take these things seriously. It might be grinding her down more than usual.

[mrsquirrel]

I shall climb into my tactful shoes and be nice. Hopefully she will remember and I can cash it in at a later date.

[mrsquirrel]

I shall climb into my tactful shoes and be nice. Hopefully she will remember and I can cash it in at a later date.

[periwinkle]

[Wondering]

There are also the women who have a difficult time STAYING pregnant. They might need the extra sitting down time, not just for their health, but for the baby's life.

[Ozabout7or8]

I am on the side the you should cut her some slack. I have heard though that Korean women have a habit of staying in Maternity hospital for over a month after giving birth and for basically needing to be waited on hand and foot for a few months afterwards.

You might need to attribute this to their confucian heritage and that baby of hers might be so important to her that she would do anything to ensure it is healthy and born safe. It might be a boy!!^^

You could sit down for half an hour at the beginning of the week and try and devise some ways you can involve her in the lesson without her having to be too active, because it is possible you know.

You could:

1. Ask you students to go to her with problems to check;
2. Have activities where she can participate but simply by being in the same spot and students come to her;
3. Get the students to do some homework and she could help mark it during classtime;
4. Get some assistance from her before the lesson to ask her what she is more comfortable doing. Don't just say "what is more comfortable?" but instead offer her a couple of alternatives that she might like such as: her taking a part of the lesson, you taking all of it but she assists, or her agreeing to take part in some activities or games as a (seated) helper.

I think overall you have to feel sorry for her because she shouldn't be working in her condition and it is the fault of Korean School system that means she only has a certain portion of time off when pregnant. Sometimes life doesn't go the way it is written in those 10 year old school regulations....She might have to choose between her career and the baby's health...

Oz

[Saxiif]

[mrsquirrel]

[periwinkle]

[mindmetoo]