Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bingo]

I gave the following letter to my K co-teacher today.

Mr. Kim,

Too often children are arriving to my special classes late. Sometimes they are more than thirty minutes late. I think that this situation is completely unacceptable. I have the children only for a short time each week. The home room teachers have them for 90% of the time. Yet they tell their students to clean their classroom during my teaching time. I am very insulted by this, and I want it to stop.

Children should not be late for (or absent from) my classes without my permission. Would you please ask all teachers to respect my teaching time.

Thank you for your help.

[ilovebdt]

Cleaning time is part of the school timetable. At my school it is from 3-3.30pm.
Why are you having a class during the designated cleaning time?

What response did you get to your letter?

ilovebdt

[Junior]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Aren't elementary school classes 40 minutes? If they're coming 30 minutes late just don't let them in. You should also talk to the homeroom teachers directly. Do you get along with them? If they're letting their kids bunk off from your class they probably have no respect for you or perhaps really dispise you being there. It would be impossible to carry any authority if your kids are allowed to do this, so if it doesn't stop you should simply quit and let the principal know exactly why. Then you can explain things to GEPIK. Complaining now will only breed greater resentment towards you.

[hellofaniceguy]

[Junior]

[Bingo]

I work in the boonies. None of my colleagues (with the exception of my co-teacher) speaks English. Directly speaking to them about the matter is impossible.

Here's what grinds me. Children aren't stupid. They pick up on things. Here's the messages that they receive:

1) The F/T isn't a real teacher.
2) Attending his classes isn't that important.
3) We don't respect him, so you don't have to either.
4) English is not important.
5) You can mess around in the F/T's class, because its not that important anyway. If it was, I wouldn't have you clean the classroom during his classtime.
6) Foreigners aren't as deserving of respect as Koreans are.
7) And since they aren't as deserving of respect, you can feel free to mock them when you see them on the street. And when your F/T tells you to stop talking in class, obeying him is optional. (Remember he's not a real teacher, anyway.)

How can the Korean teachers not realize the impllications of what they are doing? Or do they, and simply don't care. Or, maybe they take quiet satisfaction in disrespecting the F/T and chuckle about it over soju.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida]

Reminds me of my first job. A Korean co-worker (24 years old) told me that I was a "poor teacher". Now this person was maybe 4 months on the job and also never attended any formal training. So, I replied that nobody who worked at the hogwon was a "real teacher" but instead adequate babysitters. Well, my response didn't go over too well But c'est la vie. Hogwons will always be businesses first and educators last.

[Yu_Bum_suk]