Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sojourner1]

Why would a Korean co-teacher interupt your class to tell you about a hiking trip the school is taking in 2.5 weeks? The co-teacher was not working with me at the time, but walked in to pull me off to the side of the room to tell me I have to go on this hiking trip on October 31st at 1PM which will leave us just getting off the mountain at about 6:30 and back around 8PM. I demanded that we start at 9 or 10AM instead of teaching 4 hours morning before the trip or I'm not going just to be out unecessarily late, because I value my Friday evening when I'm tired. Funny thing is my main school is going on the same hiking trip on October 30th at 1PM and we'll be out late so I said NO to my secondary school since I got ticked off about getting interupted. I told him that I'm already going on the same trip the day before and said it was a bad time to talk about it. I then continued with the class kinda in a pissed off state with another co-teacher filming me with a small video camera. I broke to the point of asking if she was filming a video and why. She had been filming since before the interuption, but stopped filming and left the room when I said something about it.

It was mighty thoughtful to tell me in advance, but this announcement could had waited until after class. I feel this manner is an indirect way of telling me I'm not liked. I feel they can kiss my ass on this style of running things. Why should I really teach since they obviously don't see it important? This is the school with a principal that tells me at 4:55 just when I'm leaving to catch the 5 o'clock bus 2 weeks ago I must go drink soju with him. I finnagled my way out of that one by telling him it was too short notice and I was very tired which I really was very tired and didn't feel like drinking on a Wednesday night. I told him our drinking party will have to wait until a Friday night, but he says no everyone leaves on Fridays. This little country school is so badly ran that they don't even serve lunch or have drinking water availabe for students. The students are horribly behind their peers in other schools in all areas when it comes to academics. I'm considering requesting to be assigned to another school. I was at another school which was going well, but the county office made the 2 schools trade foreign teachers since the other one was not happy where I'm at now. Now he was my old job that I liked.

[Teelo]

Just be thankful she didn't tell you an hour before the trip.

[mogbert]

[Kimchieluver]

[Illysook]

My boss has been interrupting my class quite a bit lately. Usually, they want some non-urgent bit of information from me. Yesterday, they wanted to give me a clock for my classroom. They may not think that it's rude.

[oskinny1]

You had 2 schools just give you 2 weeks notice about a teacher trip and you are complaining? You will be home at 8pm on a Friday?

Some of you prima donnas amaze me with your petty complaints (though the moving you to a school another teacher complained about was lame).

[dean_burrito]

Just tell them you need halloween off for religous reasons.
Hail Satan!

[pkang0202]

My VP calls my classroom all the time in the middle of lessons to tell my coteacher that some paperwork is due immediately. Her computer is the one thats hooked up to the TV.

So, I have to stop my lesson to let my coteacher finish paperwork.

I complained and the school administration said "Official school work is more important than teaching class."

[Horangi Munshin]

A certain person calling for my co-teacher while I was teaching my parents' class got quite angry when I've told them "I'm teaching, she's not here, don't call back before 4:00 please" <hangup>. Two minutes later ring ring ring, same person calling back to yell at me!

Really annoying!

[Sleepy in Seoul]

[Horangi Munshin]

Last lesson was Japanese stereotypes, using The Simpsons.

[bobranger]

Man... relax.. interuptions are a part of teaching, deal with it. Going on trips is part of teaching.. deal with it. The world does not revolve around one person. I'm sure everyone values thier off time but they suck it up. So what you got filmed. It's Korea, nobody will see it. It sucks you got moved and I think that is the real issue. My advice, not that anyone asked, would be to pick and choose your battles. Demanding a trip time be changed is useless, so why do it. Smile and say "thank you" or smile and come up with some excuse why you can't go.
I hope things get better for you. If not, get a new job. Life is too short to be so annoyed.

[sojourner1]

Wow, that same co-teacher that interrupted me to tell me about a hiking trip in 2 weeks waited until tonight to tell me we have no school tomorrow. YAY! He seen me walking and stopped to tell me. How thoughtful of him to do that. And he even apologized that I didn't have to teach tomorrow after I gave a thumbs up and said, "yes, let's enjoy the weekend and the festival, have fun." He said, "I'm sorry to have to tell you, we are taking the day off for the festival." "Bye." I smiled and told him to have fun.

How weird is that?


I found that Koreans who don't respect you will interrupt you unnecessarily during classes on purpose while those who do respect you, don't act like morons. It's the same as anywhere else you go in those regards. Don't discount this as being a part of Korean culture, because it's not. When I 1st started at a hagwon my 1st time, I thought it was OK to interrupt classes since it was done to me by a few, but it's not OK and is looked down as being rude and inconsiderate. A Korean teacher looking for your respect will directly tell you not to interrupt their classes to talk to them when you do that. If you think it's a part of teaching, you're wrong as it's a part of being disrespected on account of not being liked or accepted for some odd reason.

I'm willing to go on trips, I just said NO since I was offended. Heck, I like going on school field trips since it gets me out a bit on a work day to get some exercise, see, and experience something I wouldn't ever have seen.

[some waygug-in]

Some people interrupt classes because it's their way of stealing your power.

They probably feel intimidated by your masterful displays of classroom control... so they have to push their way in trying to show the students that
they have power over you.


or the person could just be a d&*(head. Take your pick.


I had to suffer through a whole year of a co-teacher who wouldn't let me complete even one sentence without her interjecting something in Korean to the class.

I finally gave up trying to talk at all. She couldn't figure out what was wrong, just thought I was lazy or something.

Her English was so bad that we simply could not communicate...yet she had to run the class.

[nizpaz]

Well hey at least you got told of the trip, was asked to join it and got some notice.

But it's easy to get pissed here because we value different things. Remember when dad said "don't interupt me!" you knew you were in trouble. I dont think it's about respect or lack of on the Korean part. I think they just don't see it's rude/offensive. I've been learning that this week! But all this "reasoning" doesn't help that irritation boiling up, because "don't interrupt" is a conditioning we've grown up with.

My useless CT interrupts my lesson constantly to twitter in my ear in Korean she knows I dont understand about some little detour I've taken from the "script".... so yesterday I sat down and said you do it, you take the lesson (she never does anything in the class except twitter at me) and I milked it for a good 5 minutes. Ofc course she didnt do anything (she;s incapable) and actually apologised to me and then I continued the lesson.