Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wanderingsalsero]

I'm sure this has happened to other people who work in the public schools but I can't help but comment on it. It does happen to other FTs too, right?

I've noticed that toward the last 2-3 weeks of every semester and also around the mid-term that most of my Korean co-teachers tell me they'd like to take my class.......i.e. don't bother coming to class.

It sure seems strange that they schedule us for only once a week to see these kids anyway yet at certain times during the year they utilize me even less. Sometimes I feel like I'm stealing their money .....although I know that's not the case.

Does that happen to other teachers too........i.e. being told you're not needed in class?

Regards,
Art

[bacasper]

Yes, but not often enough.

[Xuanzang]

I just say go right ahead and take my class. Hae jusaeyo.

[nomad-ish]

i'd love it if my school did that. right now my school makes sure i do as much work as possible both in and out of class, which truly sucks

[TeeBee]

It's happening to me right now.

But once the exams are finished, I'm going to be working my butt off trying to keep the kids busy while we wait for the vacation to start.

[xCustomx]

I actually enjoy that part of the job. I don't have any 2nd grade classes this week because we finished the book last week. Next week the teacher wants to give them time to prepare for their finals. I don't teach at all during the exam week, so I have a 3 week break from 2nd graders, and 2 weeks off from first grade. After the exams, I have to keep them occupied for two weeks and then it's time for winter vacation. I'm basically finished teaching until March

[cruisemonkey]

I wish it would happen to me. In over a year it never has.

[Cornfed]

A few of my lessons get cancelled, but not as much now as in the past. At first I thought it was a good thing, but on reflection if my classes are cancelled at the drop of a hat it means that the students are likely to stop taking them seriously. Also, the school would surely get round to firing me once they realized that I was dead weight.

[Perceptioncheck]

My classes are only occasionally cancelled but I still feel like I'm dead weight because I'm used as a human tape recorder in all the curriculum classes. I guess I should be grateful that I have no prep but I feel like I'm not needed a lot of the time. I suppose my saving grace is that I teach after school classes and the first and second grades by myself which makes me feel a little bit more useful.

OP, I totally hear you on the stealing their money thing but I figure that if they don't utilize me it's not my problem and then I laugh all the way to the bank.

[EzeWong]

Happens often.

The co-teachers fall behind on their materials and want to take up your class time to teach. Be careful...

Don't let it happen too often. After a while, by allowing them to do it too often, you're basically admitting that your class is useless.

I let them ONLY IF they really need the time and I'm not teaching anything spectacular that day. In addition, I will make it CLEAR to them that "Ok you should use this classtime because you need to review important test material, but the next class I cannot give up because I have important material to teach about blahblahblah." This miracle line works great to give her face in front of the students and maintain your authority as a teacher.

Sounds like overthinking it a bit, but you aren't just some foreign teacher... you're THE foreign teacher.

[cdninkorea]

I used to work in a public school and felt pretty much useless even when I was teaching: how much knowledge can you convey in 40 minutes a week with each class? I got out of curriculum public school teaching (ie daytime classes), and later teaching children altogether, for this very reason.

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

That simply isn't fair and if I was asked by my co-teacher I'd say no way.

[sojourner1]

I haven't been told I wasn't needed, but I do get informed when a class is canceled. Canceled classes are my favorite. I had some yesterday and today, because the students rehearsed for their festival. I know some more canceled classes are coming up in December too.

[Zutronius]

I imagine my classes will be used to let students self study for their high school exams. I'm ok with that.

[wanderingsalsero]

I sorta thought that would be the case.....i.e. it happens to other FTs too. It did in fact occur to me that such happenings might be taken as an indication that my classes weren't very valuable but, on the other hand, it could just be an indication of the local school administration's attitude toward native speakers(as I suspect).

It seems that no matter what I/we do, a large percentage of the class simply doesn't care. The students who do care, and try.......they benefit and they'll be sorry to see me go.

That's why I basically don't feel bad about taking their money. Matter of fact, I even volunteered to do some extra classes, free, for the students who wanted to work with me. I told my co-teachers.

Guess what happened.....nothing.

So in my case I don't feel embarrased or insulted at all about it. I'm just somewhat amazed by it. Seems to me that somebody in the upper management levels might not like the fact that schools are wasting money on FT's that aren't being utilized.

If I was staying here I might feel differently and try to come up with some sort of creative solution. But I'm not staying.

When my contract was up last June they only renewed me for 6 months. The very fact that they used some silly excuse about 'the budget was cut' to only renew my contract for 6 months (notified only one week before my contract expired, I might add) indicates to me that this particular school simply doesn't care that much about English. And yes......I think it is one of those lower level schools that people sometime refer to.

Anyway.....I'm looking forward to a new school and a different level of kids.

Thanks,
Art