Korean Job Discussion Forums

NYC_Gal · Joined: 08 Dec 2009

That was my favorite grade!

I was told today that I will only be teaching 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades this year.

I knew that my school changed one of my 2 coteachers into a homeroom teacher, and hired a part timer for the extra classes that the 3rd and 4th graders would be getting this year, due to the curriculum change, but today I learned that this new teacher would only be working with the 4th grade, and that I wouldn't.

Isn't this a bit silly?

It'd make much more sense if she taught the 3rd grade and 4th grade once a week, letting me teach the second session, rather than have her do both 4th grade sessions. I will be teaching the other grades with other coteachers, but still,

I'm going to miss my adorable formerly 3rd graders. Especially the one I nicknamed Big Bear! At least I have my 2nd grade/now 3rd grade little friends from lunchtime to look forward to. I always spent time with them, and this year I'll have 3rd graders who aren't afraid of me at the beginning of the term.

BigLarry · Joined: 09 Sep 2009 Location: Anywhere there is wine.

Oh common sense doesn't exist here, though you just have to put up with most of it. Though I openly criticize any move that is not in the best interests of my students' education.

I built up an amazing working relationship with my co-teacher and they sent her off to another school with one weeks warning. My new one is not confident, is at pre-intermediate level (well below many of the other teachers) and was given the post after I made a report stating that he was not suitable. A report requested by the school!

They also removed my second grade classes, after requesting a full syllabus! Not to mention dissolving a special class that are years ahead of all the other students.

I shall be enjoying some large glasses of single malt this weekend!

Seoulio · Joined: 02 Jan 2010

To the OP, and to the other person who responded.

It is LIKELY that this makes perfect sense as it happenned to me and all I had to do was ask.

This MAY not be the case with you, but its likely that it is.

ECONOMICS!!!! In my school they wanted me to teach grades 4,5,6 but the combined number of classes for these grades is 23, plus I do a ten minute radio broadcast 4 times a week, totalling 24.

NOw if I taught 3,4,5 it was 21, and the broadcast made it 22.

The school did not know if they wanted to fork over the overtime to have me teach the grades they wanted

NOw some may say I am a pushover for this, but seeing as though I wanted the 4,5,6 I told them that the Overtime was not an isue and that they did not need to pay me it, I would waive it. This got me like 10 steps higher in respect and she immedialtly told me to name my vacation dates and Id get them no matter what ( which is what she knew I wanted anyway as we were in discussion about when I would take them)

So If I was you I would ask if that was the case, If it is you can likely have the classes you want to if you foreit the overtime ( which with cancelled classes you are likely to miss half of your overtime hours anyway)

Dont forget too this is a pieced together new prgram that is going on for one year, while they construct an entirely new curriculum for 2011. It's a bit of an odd year as it is

Seoulio · Joined: 02 Jan 2010

NYC_Gal · Joined: 08 Dec 2009

Sorry I didn't explain how this was done last year.

Each grade in my school has 6 classes/forms. I taught 3rd and 6th grade one week (18 hours) plus my teacher and parent lessons. The other week it would be 4th and 5th grade, plus the teacher and parent lessons.

Morgen · Joined: 02 Jul 2008

I guess this is a trend? Both main elementary schools in my city decided to have their foreign teachers teach one full grade (6 classes) alone and split another grade, while 4th grade is taught exclusively by a part-time lecturer who also teaches at two other schools. I was assigned to third grade and half of fifth grade, while the other foreign teacher takes sixth and the other half of fifth; at the other school they split third grade and then take either fifth or sixth, leaving fourth grade twisting in the wind. At my school there's enough room in our schedules to fit in 4th grade without exceeding 22 hours. What is this about?

NYC_Gal · Joined: 08 Dec 2009

gillod · Joined: 02 Sep 2009

Dude! The same thing happened to me. No more 4th Sad

They stuck me in a 3rd with another teacher who has never taught 3rd grade. And we didn't get the books yet. Should be a blast tomorrow.

NYC_Gal · Joined: 08 Dec 2009

It's terrible! I'd finally gotten the majority of the 3rd graders comfortable with me. I was looking forward to it!

On the bright side, many of the now-third graders are already pretty familiar with me, because I made a point of visiting them at lunch and playing silly games with them, or brushing my teeth with them after we ate. There was even one class where I had a "little sister" (so cute when she calls me onni!) that I ate with sometimes. She was sick one morning, so I brought in a pack of fizzy vitamin C tablets, and we kept them in her locker, and every day I'd bring in 2 cups of water and we'd race, to see whose dissolved first, then drink up. I'm very happy that I'll be teaching her this year!