Korean Job Discussion Forums

Sarah-in-Korea · Joined: 20 Aug 2003

I think teaching young kids can be VERY harmful to your mental health depending on your personality type. Some of my friends here absolutely love rugrats, but I personally was on the verge of a mental meltdown after a year of kindergarten. By the end of the year I was just photocopying pictures for them to colour and then sitting for almost the whole class repeatedly counting down the days/classes/hours on the calendar till I was out of there. I didn't give a damn what the kids did. I wasn't there mentally. It was possibly the lowest point in my life.

Now I teach high school kids (at a high school) and LOVE my kids! I can actually have conversations with a lot of them, and if their behaviour steps out of line I just dangle the 'minus 1 point from your grade' carrot and they straighten up. It makes all the difference. I'm in my 3rd year at the same job - something I could NEVER have achieved at a hagwon. And contrary to Korean policy, my boss is really nice too.

My point? Don't just do a certain kind of job for the convenience of location, money, or dating potential, but find one that suits you. It makes living that much easier.

SiK

Badmojo · Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:30 pm Post subject:

I'm four months from the end, so I'm not going anywhere. Still I definitely think about giving notice once in a while.

It's not the feeling of wanting to quit, I just need a break. I was on vacation last week, and I thought that would do a lot of good. I'd come back here refreshed, just like at the start. That didn't happen. Two nights out of four so far this week I've gone home and gone straight to bed. Nothing to eat, no supper, I was just too tired.

It's funny. I can kick it up when the classes start because the classes buoy me. The energy is there. I'm happy to see them. We laugh, we have a good time. But before and after, let me tell you, I'm in one bad mood.

Last night, the situation came to a head. It breaks down like this: I have four student classes I see for 45 minutes a day. I also do a teacher class once a day for one hour. Maybe you'll laugh, or think I can't hack it, but those four student classes for 45 minutes is enough for me. That's it. I can't do anymore and do it well. Not after these past five months, anyway. So I told the boss, listen to me, that teacher class has got to go. If you say I still have to do it - fine, I'll do it, but my prep time for that class is going down from an hour, hour and a half, to five minutes. I've never done that before. I've never intentionally tanked a class. But I can't live like this.

She'll let me know at 2:30 today what her answer is.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

44 days to go...not that i'm counting Wink

I too am finding it hard to be motivated.

I do little or no prep for the class.....the hogwan I am at says that you only get paid for class time sooooooo......I only go to class....no prep....nada....zip...nothing! If I need to photocopy I do it during classtime.

I teach from 2-9 or 945 Mon- Fri and have about 155 classes a week.

They say this is only 30 hours a week...I disagree.....been putting up with it since they changed the schedule at the end of January.

Remember that which does not kill us only makes us stronger

Eazy_E · Joined: 30 Oct 2003 Location: British Columbia, Canada

August 21st! August 21st! Having the end in sight does make it hard to keep up the struggle, especially kindergarten. I do pretty much the same thing with the little tots every day: play the tape whether they're listening or not, and if they're tearing around the classroom I couldn't really care less about making them stop. Yelling is bad for your health and I just can't do it anymore.

That said, I still get motivated by the classes that are polite and respectful, and have a genuine interest in English. If they want what you are offering it's much easier than force-feeding.

kelly · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

Some people are just too sensitive and therefore everything gets to them. I'm the only foreign teacher in my school and for the first months was getting really p***ed when people were talking about me while I was there, then I just said it too them, explained that maybe it is ok to do that to a Korean but to a foreigner its plain rude. Never happened again. You really have to stand up for yourself, with your co-workers, your boss and your students, if you let them walk all over you you'll be miserable, seriously Korea is what YOU make of it, I've been in that same school now for close to 2 years, and would contemplate another year if it wasnt so far from my new house, so honestly make what you can of Korea, its not paradise but it sure isn't hell either.

shawner88 · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

Great post Kelly. My now ex- (today's my last day!) coworkers were the same. They said some pretty stupid things to me from time to time. The day I left my passport at the bank (across town) by mistake I wanted to go back to get it obviously. I called my boss and said I'd be late (big big no no in Korea) and when i got back one of the teachers told me, "So and So teacher is so angry at you. She had to teach your class. The boss angry you. Everyone's angry you. You better come early and teach so and so and so's class tomorrow." I saw red and flipped out and told her she has no idea how stressful losing a passport can be and so on and so forth and to mind her own damn business. She was so shocked and later cried and apologized to me. Nobody ever bothered me after that point, at least not like that. The fact that you can't miss work seemingly under any circumstance is one of the most stressful parts of being here.