Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Summer Wine]

I have just recieved my schedule for the next month. Its the next month as this is my last month with the school.

I guess this is why they didn't feel the need to ask any questions of me, but just a couple may have helped them.

I asked for it last year when I saw the teacher responsible for making it, and he told me that my kindergarten classes were being cut to one a week.

I asked for it yesterday and again this morning. Hooray, I finally recieved it. Its great, its fantastic, its also sort of screwed up if I am reading it right.

Firstly, its in Korean and shows all the classes for the students in each grade, so 6 pages showing all thier classes on each page, but thats ok. I am sure 영어 relates to me, though I am not sure I understand why they gave me classes on a saturday.

Its also not one or two classes, but four. Its also really interesting how they managed to schedule three classes at the same time. One class is the period before that.

On the thursday they managed to schedule grade 5/6 at the same period. I will mention to them that the reason they never saw me at school on a saturday except for the graduation day was that I dont work saturdays.

Either this is the biggest mishandled situation I have ever seen or this is the easiest month of teaching I have ever done as my schedule only shows 10 classes through Monday - Friday.

*ModEdit

[bobbybigfoot]

Are there actually schools that do talk to their foreign teachers?

[happiness]

[bobbybigfoot]

[Summer Wine]

[bobbybigfoot]

[Skyblue]

The local folks in my office were so nice to me when I first showed up. Now that I don't tutor them as a courtesy and look the office manager in the eye and ask him to clarify when I don't know what he's on about, no one talks to me.

Last week, they all went out to lunch together without telling me, and I showed up at the same place on my own by chance. I just sat down at a different table and had some food. They couldn't make eye contact for the rest of the day.

[Summer Wine]

Bobby, you may be right about the lack of thought.

I turned up to my two classes at the same time period which is easy as they are right next to each other. Playing the dumb am I in the right place game as I have a class next door, wait a minute I will go check.

I actually discovered that it wasn't a cunning plan to mix the two classes, but rather not one teacher actually checked thier schedules to see if they actually crossed over each other.

It now seems that they are going to have to rewrite my schedule. I wonder if they will pick up on the "NET doesnt work on saturdays". If not, then that will be a fun day for the kids.

Though it looks as my job is to simply stand in the back of the classroom and twiddle my thumbs while they teach. I dont mind that at times, when its fun to see how little the new teacher knows.

Korea still has a long way to go if replacing NETS for Korean teachers who are teaching words that they dont actually know how to pronounce is an improvement for thier education system. I mean seriously, is the standard increasing or dropping when you are teaching the names of countries and you dont actually know how to read them.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

My former coteacher truly always said Englishee.

Don't mention the Saturdays until someone asks why you didn't turn up. They should know this by now. You won't be penalized. You're leaving, anyway.

[Summer Wine]

NYC. Dont worry about that.

If they dont pick up on it, then I wont say a word.

It will feel so good, knowing that for once its not me standing there with a 'WTF is going on' look on his face.

It will also make up for the times they all took off for lunch and forgot to mention it to me.

Damm, now I am hoping they dont pick up on it.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

The best thing is, you'll have a really easy week. You don't have to make up for it, because Saturday is the last day of the week.

Where are you off to next?

[Summer Wine]

[RMNC]

[ESL Milk "Everyday]

Wait... are you sure that those Saturday classes are yours? I know that the Korean schedules that I get just say 'English' and don't specify who is teaching what... I think there's a good chance you might be misunderstanding something.

And anyway, this is a really busy time of year and a lot of the teachers everywhere are still trying to figure everything out... and doing all the stuff that they have to do for you is probably at the very bottom of their to-do list. I don't even have a schedule (or classes) yet.

I think a big part of the reason they're so busy is that schools in Korea really get a lot more involved in their students' lives and this means extra work, and on top of that there's all the extra work they like to give themselves just to prove how great they are... until finally there's so much to do that they can't get it all done and everything is chaos.

[Summer Wine]

Yeah, well they realise my schedule was screwed up and so they are making a new one, or so I have been told.

Though I don't know what it is and no one can tell me either. Plus they introduced a new system, whereby there are no bells and so (apparently) no real ending of a class with break times. Its called block teaching.

Yeah, no one has explained to me what that means either. I thought I had a class in second period, but have been told that I haven't.

The students asked me today that if I dont come to school on Saturdays then do they have too? They expected to see me on Saturday and I wasn't there. So I am sure the schedule was made for me to come on Saturdays.

I now have a new co-teacher (well really its an old one), but she was so bad the last time I had her that the other Korean teachers spent more time apologising to me for her mistakes and then in the end just told me the information, as they knew she would always forget to tell me.

I am just playing dumb and waiting for them to call me to come to the classes they want me in. That way, I wont stress and it seems I am already considered not needed in my 6 grade class and possibly all my others as well.

I dont have anything to do in there, except look bored. Thogh they do have 2 teacher-aides in that class as well as me and the Korean teacher who is taking the class.

So its going to be a cruisy last month for me, until they forget to sort out my final payments, which I am kind of expecting to happen.