Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Freddypops]

Good co-teachers (like mine) make a state school job fun. Bad co-teachers can make a state school gig hell (ask fromtheuk). Here's a quick run-down of the lovely ladies I spend my working life with:

Mrs A

Wears more blue eyeshadow than a Lebanese madam. Deducts minus points from students enthusiastically � not just for bad behavior, which is fair enough, but for getting answers wrong. Hardly ever gives the kids a chance to answer my questions without answering them herself. Fond of �suggesting� changes to my open classes in the middles of aforesaid open classes. Got angry when I suggested she was argumentative (�I don�t think so! I�m not argumentative!�), which sort of proved my point. Accused me of not being a true Christian when I said I would have to live with a girlfriend before considering marriage. Despite all this, I get on well with her. She�s told me lots of interesting stuff about life under the various Korean dictators, and she runs her classrooms with a fist of iron. Her harsh comments are often very funny. �Pyeong-jin! You will end up in prison like your father!�

Mrs B

Head of English. Great sense of humour (considering she�s Korean), and manages a classroom well. Stupidly asked her to take me to her church (we�re both Catholic). Now if I miss a session with the Big Man upstairs I face questions on Monday. �Thomas (church youth club nutter) says he misses you at Mass, were you busy this weekend?� Gave me a huge pile of t-shirts and polo shirts which her husband no longer wanted.

Mrs C

A beaming ray of sunshine. Only problem � her inability to speak a single sentence of English! That�s exaggerating, but I do find it hard to understand her. I inadvertently agreed to attend her brother-in-law�s brass band concert due to smiling and nodding as she babbled on in her unique hybrid of Korean and English. Realisation dawned when she handed me the leaflet the next day. The concert was actually quite enjoyable, and not too long at an hour. Gave me cinema vouchers for my birthday. Was shocked to discover that students don�t elect class presidents in the UK � they�re chosen by the teachers. (Actually, what am I saying? Calling schoolkids �students� is stupid � they�re pupils - and we have prefects, not class presidents.) �I think this is not democratic!� howled Mrs Y in horror. The UK: a parliamentary democracy since 1707. Republic of Korea: a semi sort-of democracy since, er, 1993. I kept quiet on that point.

Mrs D

Imagine Robert Smith if he were a middle-aged Korean woman. Dresses exclusively in black. Regales me with tales of insomnia and medication. Is actually a good laugh, but insists on translating everything I say word-for-word. Kids I teach with her don�t listen to a word I say (unless it�s Korean) but simply wait for the translation. As a consequence I have some extremely high-level conversations with some extremely low-level classes, with Mrs B acting as translator. My go-to for school gossip; yesterday 15 second-graders were detained by the school policeman after allegedly plotting to throw a fake birthday party and rob hapless first-grade attendees (I think). More details to follow on the foiled heist.

Mrs E

Seemingly a graduate from the Mrs C Academy of English. Teaches the first grade overflow classes � this year the first grade has been split between three teachers instead of two, meaning smaller classes. It�s a good idea. I�m often bewitched by Mrs E�s tight jeans and figure-hugging tops, but her pixie haircut repels me. Shakes uncontrollably when she has to speak English, but a nice lady nonetheless. Nixed my incredibly fun �kings, guards and commoners� paper-scissors-stone round-robin mega-game on grounds of ear-canal shattering vocal outbursts by overexcited children (translate that, AES, you fucks!).

Miss F

Wowsers � I just made a mess in my trousers! Despite being forty, Miss F combines the body of a 19-year-old cheerleader with the face of a� er, 28-year-old sexy librarian. Or something. Is actually divorced, but I haven�t challenged her use of �Miss� rather than �Ms�. My handler. Very helpful, but very Korean � does everything by the book. (If only �the book� were the Kama Sutra instead of the BMOE handbook! Laugh out loud.) Things started getting a bit weird last year when we began spending a lot of time together outside school, including undertaking family-style activities with her and 10 year old daughter. Then she went back to uni for six months for a professional development thing, and I got a girlfriend. We've kept more of a distance since then. (Not literally, she's sitting next to me as I type this. I can smell her perfume.) I don�t think anything would have happened anyway, but it�s certainly a compelling fantasy. She gets a bit funny when I talk about my better half.

[Mr_Anderson]

I've had 5 co-teachers in my year.

Mr A: Fresh out of the army, disciplinarian authoritarian. Has this motto: 'work for the sake of work'. Member of the young male korean teachers club. Massive inferiority complex. Not very easy to get along with, unfortunately. Too obsessed with work and hierarchy and going by the book to truly consider relating to him on a friendly, personal basis. My handler for the year. Had him both Term 2, 2008 and Term 1, 2009.

Mrs B: A lovely young thing, newly married, no kids as yet. Easy to get along with, even if most of it is just to save face. Unfortunately became a homeroom teacher in 2009, so I only had her for Term 2, 2008. Good english skills and big teeth.

Mr C: An older man, who's idea of co-teaching English was to endlessly play the CD and have me act as tape recorder, all the while he texted on his cellphone. Nice man, and easy to get along with, but a little overbearing at times. The students thought he was crazy. Only had him for Term 2, 2008, after which he disappeared and I never saw him again. He had rotting teeth.

Mrs D: 2008's school supervisor. Middle age lady who strongly reminds me of a Mama-san at a hostess bar, that is until she cracked a smile. Tough lady, demands respect, and gets it too. Quite easy to get along with, but overly tough - she told off a student who was crying and getting teased, yet the bully got off scott-free. I couldn't ever bring myself to trust her, however. Dressed like she was 16. Only had her for Term 1, 2009.

Mrs E: A nice young thing, married with a kid, but 'doesn't love her husband'. Very cute, and had peculiar (but very lovable) quirks in her English. Commonly pulled faces to the kids, as if she was one of them. I found myself doing the same. The best of the five; I'd date her. Nice teeth. Only had her for Term 1, 2009.

[Zantetsuken]

Another great post by the fred-meister....I think the mods won't smack down this one...it has family values written all over it.


As for me..my co-workers are a bunch of a-holes...so without further ado

A-hole Kim- Typical A-Hole Backstabber

A-Hole Park- D-bag to the extreme

A-Hole Choi - A-Hole times infinity

A-Hole Jung - Less of an A-hole than Choi but more of an A-hole than Kim. Ties with the aforementioned D-Bag park in A-holeness

A-Hole Lee - Just Kidding there is no Lee...but I figured we needed a Lee to make sure I've covered all the major Korean surnames.

[Beeston27]

Classic psots. I have regaled some of my coteachers with those tales. THey love them!!!

[Xuanzang]

Drone: Middle aged ajumma who goes heavy on the hand cream. There's a lot of silence between us. Only communicating when it's something school or class related. Poor classroom management skills. Children don't respect or listen to her. Hardly ever punishes kids and this classroom looks way worse than last year. Above average English abilities but doesnt use English at all in class. Lots of English related accolades and certifications but just a paper/handout pusher. Congrats Korea. Taxpayers money, well spent. An odd, shrieking fake sounding laugh when around the VP or other Korean teachers.

Sun Tzu: His Korean name sounds similar to the author of the Art of War. A portly but jovial guy. Booming voice. Smokes in his class or the washroom and maybe even the staircase. Decent English skills and his kids arent unruly.

Nick Carter's hair: Picture Nick Carter's hair but heavily greyed and on a skinny, old Korean guy in their standard rayon shirt and tie. He's a strict disciplinarian with a raspy smoker's voice. Yeah, he sneaks ciggies in the supplies room at least three times a day. Works hard. Wants to become a VP and definitely is putting in the butt kissing and paper work time. I like his class because they are generally well receptive and keen.

Miss B: Soon to be married (quite a shame). A stunner. Great body and eyes. Great style as well. Mid 20s with impressive musical talent. She plays the violin and piano. Did so for a music concert at the school. Plays the piano for the choir class, as well. Her English skills are okay but could use improvement. Tends to switch to Korean much too easily. Downside is that her class is full of troublemakers and she isnt such a stern lady. They give me grief.

Mrs. JJ: Young but married. Incredible body. Most Koreans dont have a booty but this one does. Love when she wears sweats, short shorts or jeans. She can fill it up. Has the front to match. Hosts a yoga after school program. Must be the yoga. Unfortunately, her English isnt there and she doesnt excel at disciplining either. Her class is full of cell phone playing, desk marking eejits.