Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The Great Toad]

I'm trapped in mandatory office hour limbo - who else has the heinous contracted punishment of the grinding doom that's like staring in the gaping maw of a lazy white shark ...... so boring and yet irritating when you know you are wasting your life's few moments. So I have decided to take suggestions on what to do when you are trapped in office hours I list some of my favorite uses of my required Office time...

1. Court the way hot secretaries / teachers - in America this is could become a sexual harassment thing but here saying "Hi you look nice today." to a fellow employee is fine.

2. Go use the bathroom - I necessitate this great glut belly I have- the results I can wipe away while at work pooing about - what a waste.

3. Go outside and do pullups / dips on the gymnastic bars. If you do this on a 5 day basis you don't have to go to a gym.

4. Wander about the school and observe the other very board teachers - inevitably ether the principle, vice principal or some other male teacher will be in the copy room / grounds keeping room smoking sleeping or watching TV.

5. Consume mass quantities - I destroy any edible food stuffs in the school fridge.

6. Talk to students. For some reason students seem to love me... not sure why... but they are always eager for me to pay attention to them.

7. Try to sneak out early - the "bank" excuse works best.

8. write / read

Ok my ideas are all a bit lame I'm sure you all have better...

[JacktheCat]

I'm using all this extra mandated-by-gyeonggido office time to do something I should have done a long time ago and that is Study Korean.

The students make great conversation partners and can also teach me all the lastest idioms and slang.

And then of course .... you can always post inane things on Dave's.

[pet lover]

Go over your lesson plans and start working on the plans for the following week.

Create new games to review key concepts that the students are having a difficult time getting.

Make worksheets to assess what the students have mastered and what they need to have again.

Make manipulatives for whatever unit your classes are studying. (I teach six classes in the afternoon and a full kindergarten in the morning and I make things for ALL of them.)

Make things to decorate your classroom.

Reorganize all your materials, manipulatives and your desk so that you can find things more efficiently.

Teach some remedial classes to the students who need your help the most.

Read books that will help you become a better teacher.

Check all those workbooks, worksheets, tests, and review papers that your classes are always working on.

For each unit in each book you teach, plan out what you expect the students to master, what you hope they will master, and what you wish you could manage to help them master. This makes lesson planning easier and helps you to see what kind of games and review activities you should be making.

Make copies. I like to have all the copies I will need made as much in advance as possible. For example, my kindy kids work on their penmanship twice a week. So, I've copied all the penmanship papers, all the way to Z...a copy for each kid. And they are all put in a folder clearly labeled, "Kindy Penmanship". This way, I don't need to worry about not having the copies I need because the machine is on the blitz or I was running late.

I do all of those things. I actually never really have a free moment when I'm at work. There is ALWAYS something that needs to get done. But, the good part is that when I go home, I am generally free to do whatever I want and I can show up five minutes before class and know that everything is already planned, finished (copies, etc.) and put right where I can find it immediately. I'm big on organization.

And something that I am planning to do is create a huge folder of emergency activities. I want activities for each level to cover for the following possibilities:
1. I have a migraine and need as much quiet as possible.
2. I am sick and don't want to think much.
3. Half or more of the class is absent for one reason or another so I can't follow my preplanned schedule.
4. I'm out sick and someone is covering for me.
5. The kids are overly stressed out due to elementary or middle school tests and need something relaxing and fun.

I'm hoping to make all those activities independent of their book units so that it won't matter when I use a certain activity.

[peemil]

Think about beer.

Think about when the next beer will be.

Count the hours till the next beer, then count the minutes and then the seconds.

Look at beer on the internet.

Think about beer from home.

Think about home that cold beer slips down on a warm day.

Make amusing acronyms out of beer.

Go to the shops and admire the beer in the fridge.

[coolsage]

I'm certainly not as diligent as the posters above. When students aren't coming in for proofreading or taping for their 'Spit and Screech' contests, I'll occasionally play some on-line cribbage, or if it's a longer stretch, the strategy game 'Civilization'. Either of these keep the synapses synaping; and then of course, there's internet radio. Find your favorite station, and you're good for hours. I wouldn't recommend downloading porn on the office computer, though. That could catch up with you.

[steroidmaximus]

www.proxify.com

great for getting to those sites the admin doesn't want you to.

[zappadelta]

Yea, I agree with Pet Lover. I have an incredible amount of free time, but it is all taken up by prepering for future lessons. My classes are much better because of this and the time flies on by.

[FUBAR]

[JacktheCat]

One of the music teachers here at my school offered to give me some guitar lessons when we both have free time and I just may take him up on that offer.

[JacktheCat]