Korean Job Discussion Forums

Swampthing · Joined: 10 Jun 2010

What is it with teachers and the refusal to put on the air-conditioner in the morning?

I know it has nothing to do with Korea itself. My students are Korean, and they literally get down on their knees to thank me when they walk into my nice, cool classroom.

Seriously though. It's warm, there is no air circulation, and their standard solution is to keep the windows open so all that wonderful, smoggy air can come in.

ticktocktocktick · Joined: 31 Mar 2009

It's just a cost cutting thing, enforced by some retard administrator who hasn't been in a classroom since they were old enough to whinge about the air-con.

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

You're certainly not the first and you definitely won't be the last foreign teacher to despair at how a lot of Koreans regulate room temperature.

DeMayonnaise · Joined: 02 Nov 2008

Tell me about it. It's usually OK in the morning, but the afternoon can get brutal. Nevermind the teachers office doesn't even have a fan to get the air circulated, or even screens on the widows to keep the bugs out.

But to be fair, I remember some days in high school that were really warm. Our building had new and old parts, and the old classrooms didn't have any ACs. Just fans.

One thing that bugs me is the time we're allowed to use the A/C...from 12-3. 12:00 is usually pretty cool still, but at 4 it's really hot in the office.

Gotta love micromanaging!

oldfatfarang · Joined: 19 May 2005 Location: On the road to somewhere.

While we're on the subject of micro managing - our Mandarin wants the computers shut down in the ten min. break between classes (to save power).

Words fail me.

Alphabet_Stew · Joined: 13 Jun 2010 Location: Earth

seoulsucker · Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 5:58 pm Post subject: Re: Teachers and Aircons - WTH?

Underwaterbob · Joined: 08 Jan 2005 Location: In Cognito

The air conditioners in my main school are on some kind of main control box. They get turned on half a dozen times per year, on only the hottest days and usually only for the last couple classes as a treat. Why even have them?

confucian · Joined: 13 May 2010

" I can't eat Korean food when it's this hot"

works for me

HalfJapanese · Joined: 02 Feb 2010

Perhaps it is kind of hard to imagine the monthly electricity bill the school gets for one month, or the amount of money for the electricity budget.

I remember one of my high school teachers saying that the electrical bill for the school in one month was more than her yearly salary. (This was a small school housing roughly 400 students; USA; central air-con-heat).

jonpurdy · Joined: 08 Jan 2009 Location: Ulsan

I've posted it before and I'll probably post it again. Go to school wearing tshirt and shorts and make sure your VP and Principal see you. Say it's too hot for other clothes without the air-con. You'll either get air-con or you'll get to wear tshirt and shorts when it's hot. Sort of win-win, except for the kids.

nomad-ish · Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 10:12 pm Post subject:

recently, my school's been regulating the AC too. so, right now i've decided to stay in my english zone and crank the AC instead of going back to the nasty office. i'm just a little bitter since my co-teacher has been turning off the AC during my class, leaving all the windows shut, while she sits on her ass relaxing. she may not find it hot, but then again she's not doing anything.

Ramen · Joined: 15 Apr 2008

DrugstoreCowgirl · Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 10:39 pm Post subject:

My school usually turns the air on for 30 mins-2 hours a day. There's really no rhyme or reason for why they turn it off. Sometimes it turns off at the end of the last class, sometimes right after lunch. It's awful though, so hot.

Today the air in the classroom was on, but the office ac wasn't (I dont know why the front office wouldn't give ac to the office as well since it connects to the classroom). There's a gap between the top of the office wall and the ceiling, so air from the classroom can come into the office. I had closed all the office windows since the ac was on and of course my main co-teacher had to go and open them all again, raising the office temperature probably close to 10 degrees. Lovely.

Darkray16 · Joined: 09 Nov 2008

My old public school would only turn on the AC on the hottest days in summer, which for me meant every day but sadly it was like 1-2 weeks the whole summer.

Strangely, they would only turn on the AC for the classroom full of students, not the teachers office, probably afraid of complaints from parents about heat strokes, etc.