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fromtheuk
Joined: 31 Mar 2007
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 Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:20 pm Post subject: |
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Of course I don't read from textbooks or sound like a robot........I'll be back...asta la vista.......  |
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icicle
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Location: Gyeonggi do Korea
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| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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| fromtheuk wrote: |
| Of course I don't read from textbooks or sound like a robot........I'll be back...asta la vista....... |
What do you do ... ? I am interested ...
Icicle |
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jaderedux2
Joined: 09 Jul 2007
Location: lurking just lurking
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| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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Wow you have been here five months??? So long! I have been here actually 7 years. Yes I have been asked to verify my credentials before and have done so. Not always happy about it but I do it.
However, why in the name of all that is holy can they not keep the information I have given them at least 4 times. It is not easy to just get another set of transcripts. I have to get the form. Send the form back. Pay for the freaking transcripts and then I have make sure the University seals it in a separate envelope and make it very clear to the people down in the office DON'T OPEN THE ENVELOPE.
All of this ON MY TIME NOT THE SCHOOLS. All of this because I have to call and fax when the schools are open.
I was told Friday the office in Gyeonggi do (Suwon) couldn't find my file. I find this interesting since I was chosen to interview prospective supervisors twice and prospective Korean English teachers once. So I can interview Korean higher ups and English teachers but they have never heard of me...sorry I am done like dinner.
Jade |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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The problem I've found with this sort of approach is that you end up punishing everyone but those really deserve it - you punish your school, your students, your co-workers, and your own professional development. I can remember being really offended by the approach that my school district took to my first contract renewal - handing me a copy of the previous contract with the dates changed. When my VP and the head of English found out that I was 'offended' they went to every length possible to try to straighten things out. In the end I realised that the idiocy at the school district was out of their control, and that the best course of action would be to view my contract as a piece of paper that gets me my E2 visa, and then work everything out between me and my school. The result has been that apart from requests for pointless information that they should already know, my school district has left me well alone. I've made it clear to them that while they may pay most of my salary, everything I do is between me and my school, and in a way I'm sort of glad now that they know I was pissed off and want to have nothing to do with them when it comes to my life as a teacher.
A couple of other points that are worth considering:
(a) what if you don't come up with all the right bumf? What are they going to do? I can gaurentee that they're never going to come up with all the paperwork they're after, especially with FTs having such a revolving-door relationship with Korea.
(b) it's not like Korean teachers never have come up with mounds of pointless paperwork. Junior teachers often have to do not only mounds of useless paper crap for themselves but for the senior teachers as well. It's not really like waegooks are being treated to any special treatment in this respect. We're just getting the same Klogical treatment as everyone else. |
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jaderedux2
Joined: 09 Jul 2007
Location: lurking just lurking
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| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
The problem I've found with this sort of approach is that you end up punishing everyone but those really deserve it - you punish your school, your students, your co-workers, and your own professional development. I can remember being really offended by the approach that my school district took to my first contract renewal - handing me a copy of the previous contract with the dates changed. When my VP and the head of English found out that I was 'offended' they went to every length possible to try to straighten things out. In the end I realised that the idiocy at the school district was out of their control, and that the best course of action would be to view my contract as a piece of paper that gets me my E2 visa, and then work everything out between me and my school. The result has been that apart from requests for pointless information that they should already know, my school district has left me well alone. I've made it clear to them that while they may pay most of my salary, everything I do is between me and my school, and in a way I'm sort of glad now that they know I was pissed off and want to have nothing to do with them when it comes to my life as a teacher.
A couple of other points that are worth considering:
(a) what if you don't come up with all the right bumf? What are they going to do? I can gaurentee that they're never going to come up with all the paperwork they're after, especially with FTs having such a revolving-door relationship with Korea.
(b) it's not like Korean teachers never have come up with mounds of pointless paperwork. Junior teachers often have to do not only mounds of useless paper crap for themselves but for the senior teachers as well. It's not really like waegooks are being treated to any special treatment in this respect. We're just getting the same Klogical treatment as everyone else. |
These are very good comments. However perhaps it is time for me to make the change. The school has been so unreasonable and I have bent over backwards on other things...so perhaps a new perspective would be good for everyone involved.
I am going to be teaching at University Level next and I think this will make me a better teacher. I hope to gain some experience working with older, more advanced students.
Thanks for the input.
Jade |
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Young FRANKenstein
Joined: 02 Oct 2006
Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:15 am Post subject: Re: Message for Jade who resigned....... |
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| fromtheuk wrote: |
| My co-teacher also once advised me my special classes need to be exciting [...] |
Why is English the only subject taught in Korean school that are expected to be exciting. And why is it always up to the FT to be exciting? I don't see KTs jumping around like monkeys in their classes of rote memorization. Neither do I see the math teachers, history teachers, etc do the same.
| jaderedux2 wrote: |
| I am going to be teaching at University Level next and I think this will make me a better teacher. I hope to gain some experience working with older, more advanced students. |
Boy, are you in for an awakening. |
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Jizzo T. Clown
Joined: 27 Mar 2006
Location: at my wit's end
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:20 am Post subject: Re: Message for Jade who resigned....... |
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| Young FRANKenstein wrote: |
Why is English the only subject taught in Korean school that are expected to be exciting. And why is it always up to the FT to be exciting? I don't see KTs jumping around like monkeys in their classes of rote memorization. Neither do I see the math teachers, history teachers, etc do the same.
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Exactly what I told my coteachers. I asked if their classes were exciting and funny. When they said no I asked them why they expected my class to be any different. After all, they are the "trained" teachers. Then I asked them if they wanted a teacher or a monkey. Now they're happy if I attempt to use any humor at all. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:24 am Post subject: |
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| soju pizza wrote: |
| pest2 wrote: |
| what the hell is this thread about, anyway???? |
Tequila Sunrise
2 msr tequila
orange juice
2 dashes grenadine syrup
Pour tequila in a highball glass with ice, and top with orange juice. Stir. Add grenadine by tilting glass and pouring grenadine down side by flipping the bottle vertically very quickly. The grenadine should go straight to the bottom and then rise up slowly through the drink. Garnish stirrer, straw and cherry-orange. |
You know what would taste good with that. Home made chocolate chip cookies.
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. shortening
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda, salt
3 c. flour
First mix eggs, butter, shortening, vanilla and both sugars. Then add flour and baking soda. Mix very, very well. Add nuts, about 1/2 cup, and chocolate chips, 1 package. Heat oven to 375 degrees and there you have it - Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. |
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Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:37 am Post subject: Re: Message for Jade who resigned....... |
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| Jizzo T. Clown wrote: |
| Young FRANKenstein wrote: |
Why is English the only subject taught in Korean school that are expected to be exciting. And why is it always up to the FT to be exciting? I don't see KTs jumping around like monkeys in their classes of rote memorization. Neither do I see the math teachers, history teachers, etc do the same.
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Exactly what I told my coteachers. I asked if their classes were exciting and funny. When they said no I asked them why they expected my class to be any different. After all, they are the "trained" teachers. Then I asked them if they wanted a teacher or a monkey. Now they're happy if I attempt to use any humor at all. |
Damn straight. This bullshit makes our jobs harder since the kids expect to be entertained, not educated. The first kid to say something is "Not fun" or ""재미없어" in my class gets in some serious trouble with me and my co-teacher. You must be vastly entertaining, educate and keep order while no one respects you or the effort you put into your job...Right... 
Oh and I should mention that it's funny considering that a lot of my coworkers yell, scream, shiek and holler at their kids all day long and somehow they are "teachers" and I'm not? |
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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:39 am Post subject: Re: Message for Jade who resigned....... |
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| fromtheuk wrote: |
| I politely, but firmly explained I was employed to teach English, not make the materials. I said I was not the previous native teacher, and if she wanted to make materials that was up to her. I said I was different to the previous native teacher, we already had enough materials to use, and I would not make any materials because that was not what I was employed to do. |
Damned straight.
| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| (b) it's not like Korean teachers never have come up with mounds of pointless paperwork. Junior teachers often have to do not only mounds of useless paper crap for themselves but for the senior teachers as well. It's not really like waegooks are being treated to any special treatment in this respect. We're just getting the same Klogical treatment as everyone else. |
This is happening at my hagwon more and more. In order to get it all done, you gotta put in unpaid overtime.
"Unpaid" and "overtime" are two words that should not be put together, and I'm pretty much reaching the end of my patience with trying to fit it all in. |
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jessie-b
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:35 am Post subject: Re: Message for Jade who resigned....... |
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[quote="Alyallen"]
| Jizzo T. Clown wrote: |
| Young FRANKenstein wrote: |
Why is English the only subject taught in Korean school that are expected to be exciting. And why is it always up to the FT to be exciting? I don't see KTs jumping around like monkeys in their classes of rote memorization. Neither do I see the math teachers, history teachers, etc do the same.
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Exactly what I told my coteachers. I asked if their classes were exciting and funny. When they said no I asked them why they expected my class to be any different. After all, they are the "trained" teachers. Then I asked them if they wanted a teacher or a monkey. Now they're happy if I attempt to use any humor at all. |
Damn straight. This *beep* makes our jobs harder since the kids expect to be entertained, not educated. The first kid to say something is "Not fun" or ""재미없어" in my class gets in some serious trouble with me and my co-teacher. You must be vastly entertaining, educate and keep order while no one respects you or the effort you put into your job...Right...
Oh and I should mention that it's funny considering that a lot of my coworkers yell, scream, shiek and holler at their kids all day long and somehow they are "teachers" and I'm not?[/quote
Last semester when I was the "speaking" teacher, getting the students to speak was like pulling teeth. Now that I'm the "writing" teacher, I can't shut them up long enough to write. Whatever is "fun" for them changes according to what they hate more. I find if I'm mostly serious and on-task in class, they're much more grateful for the tiny moments of fun we have. The jokey foreigner routine gets old fast. Just do what you're paid to do and stay sane. |
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The Bobster
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| the kids expect to be entertained, not educated. |
These two things are not necessarily contradictory.
A well-executed lesson can be fun, and people learn more easily when humor and physical activity lower the affective barriers - yeah, balance is required, but ideally, when done the right way, people can laugh and smile and also focus on the learning task.
Me, I get a little depressed when i hear people talk about just showing and getting a paycheck - people like that are missing opportunities of their ow, as well. |
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Jizzo T. Clown
Joined: 27 Mar 2006
Location: at my wit's end
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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| The Bobster wrote: |
| people like that are missing opportunities of their ow, as well. |
I can't for the life of me figure out what you tried to say here...  |
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Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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| The Bobster wrote: |
| Quote: |
| the kids expect to be entertained, not educated. |
These two things are not necessarily contradictory.
A well-executed lesson can be fun, and people learn more easily when humor and physical activity lower the affective barriers - yeah, balance is required, but ideally, when done the right way, people can laugh and smile and also focus on the learning task.
Me, I get a little depressed when i hear people talk about just showing and getting a paycheck - people like that are missing opportunities of their ow, as well. |
I"m not saying they are contradictory but the point is that everyone whines about whether the English class is fun but wouldn't question that about Chinese, Math, Social Studies, Science, etc. etc.
I don't think they can have it both ways: study English as a subject but expect to be entertained constantly and not improve considering the amount of effort I as an educator put in. What I find particularly funny is that quite a few of my students can speak Chinese (I couldn't tell you how good or bad the accent is) but English...Pulling teeth with howls of "not fun." I somehow doubt that their Chinese teacher is bouncing around like a meth head getting these kids to write in hanja |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:58 pm Post subject: Re: Message for Jade who resigned....... |
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| Alyallen wrote: |
| Jizzo T. Clown wrote: |
| Young FRANKenstein wrote: |
Why is English the only subject taught in Korean school that are expected to be exciting. And why is it always up to the FT to be exciting? I don't see KTs jumping around like monkeys in their classes of rote memorization. Neither do I see the math teachers, history teachers, etc do the same.
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Exactly what I told my coteachers. I asked if their classes were exciting and funny. When they said no I asked them why they expected my class to be any different. After all, they are the "trained" teachers. Then I asked them if they wanted a teacher or a monkey. Now they're happy if I attempt to use any humor at all. |
Damn straight. This *beep* makes our jobs harder since the kids expect to be entertained, not educated. The first kid to say something is "Not fun" or ""재미없어" in my class gets in some serious trouble with me and my co-teacher. You must be vastly entertaining, educate and keep order while no one respects you or the effort you put into your job...Right...
Oh and I should mention that it's funny considering that a lot of my coworkers yell, scream, shiek and holler at their kids all day long and somehow they are "teachers" and I'm not? |
My students have given up shouting game at the beggining of class thinking I'll drop everything and play another silly round of Jeopardy. |
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