Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lukas]

When I teach 27 classes a week, I have agreed to all extra work thusfar, and have survived teaching half my classes without a co-teacher.

Even now I don't feel like I can adequately prepare for my classes with the time I have. If I just had a class or two less, my performance would be much better. As opposed to stumbling through my first couple classes due to not enough prep time. As well as fighting the keep the kids occupied as an edutainer. Honestly, I can make a class informative or fun with very little effort, but to do both together takes a little bit more time.

Also, without any feedback from my seasoned KETs, who are just too busy to be bothered, it leaves me wondering what they can realistically expect from a first year teacher. I actually pity the KTs that the administration can whip them into working so much. However this one cultural difference I'm not embracing. I'm a foreign worker under contract and my hours are 840am-440pm

Anyway, long story short my school now wants ridiculously detailed lesson plans for my afterschool classes. For what use you might ask? To be filed into large binders never to be looked at again. I'm sorry, but there just aren't any more hours in the day. It is possible I do these LPs at home, which I have done before, but I'm not in the mood to set a precident for it to happen on a regular basis. In all likelihood, I will end up comprimising and making very half-assed LPs, but they're going to have to really beat it out of me. Also, let me add I always prepare my classes, and know exactly the activities that will be done. It's not like I'm putting on a movie and surfing the internet in the other room.

For now, I will exercise the Korean "no", by not outrightly disagreeing to them, but dragging my feet until they are pressed to ask me: "Why why why why why aren't you doing your busywork?" Hopefully then it will open up a dialogue where we can come to a comprimise. That or my school will just hate me forever and fire me.

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

Are you with EPIK? Because teaching without a KET is illegal. As is teaching 27 hours/week unless you're getting beaucoups of extra money (i.e., at least an extra 100,000 or so a week).

As far as the lesson plans - you're right, they'll never be looked at again. My suggestion, via my own coteachers: Make the first two or three. For the rest, make good titles. Then just copy and paste crap from the internet...standardized lesson plans. Nobody is going to read it...and if they do, it's doubtful their English is good enough to understand it...and even if it is, it's doubtful they'll care.

[Skippy]

Please read Scott Adams book Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel

Yep that is pone big major problem that always comes up when it comes to school. The paper work.....

Now what to do!

Tactic 1 - Try the NO! It could work but likely will just peeve off any hire ups. Who will soon call for your head! Or atleast add you to their sh!t list! The hard NO only really pisses people off. Learn to say the soft no. Like hmmmmm are you sure or whoops I can't I am too busy at the moment.

Next, ignore and delay. They ask, you say yes I am one it and ignore it.....They ask again say you are doing it, flash them some half completed reports. Delay means is do a few and then say you will get the rest but it is taking some time. Now this can work as I found a good many paper work do prove to not be important because if it was they would be always asking about it. A few times what was once needed to be done just seem to be forgotten about. The consequence is this could very likely brand you as lazy. But no real cause for panic the lazy ones are not the ones who get fired or not renewed it is the uglies or the ones that do not play the office game. Do not be too lazy that you do not at least go out and drink some soju and eat some burned meat.

Tactic three, I heard once that some one in a PS was asked to do some paper work like you. He created a nice first page then printed out some basic ESL worksheet and other fluff stapled it together and hand it in. It was accepted. So make something look good on the front and then submit the rest. It does not have to be perfect it just has to LOOK good.

Tactic 4 - help it to death. For some reason you just can not seem to get it right. So go ask your co-teacher for some advice and help. Ask the principal if it looks good enough, ask for his critique. Every bloody page and sentence needs that PROPER way to be done... You want people so annoyed that when you do hand something it they will just want to grab it and run from you.

Tactic 5- Shorts Cuts.... Learn to copy and paste. Keep backups of all submitted work. You can be amazed that crossing out the date and writing in the new one can save you so much hassle. Keep a nice list of inoffensive comments that you can rotate thru. You teacher will very likely not notice that "Class went okay. Kim needs to practice writing/reading/listening/sitting down more"

Give me more time I can give you some more hints!

[Girlygirl]

Do you use a textbook? If so, this is what I do: take a chapter as a title of each of your lesson, type in key words, expressions, etc. Worksheets: put in word searches, cross word puzzles, etc. Activities: games, songs etc. And of course paste and copy materials from the internet like the previous poster suggested.

[salgichawa]

[lukas]

Actually I'm with Gepik. It's funny too, because my KET mentioned to me that at a meeting with Gepik, or whoever, they told her in no uncertain terms she MUST attend all my after school classes. Also, starting in June should said she would! Suprise suprise, she hasn't, which I don't blame her for. She's super busy, and stressed out, so I'm not going to press the issue. We get along well enough as co-workers, my only criticism is that she refuses to do any co-teaching at all.

During the regularly scheduled classes, periods 1-5, she just stands there and stares at the wall (sigh). She even told me once that the administration wants her (i.e. the KET) to do about 30%-40% of the speaking, yet feels that it's okay if the NET does 100% of the speaking. So, this is what happens, I do 100% of the speaking haha. It's very exhausting doing 100% of the teaching while your partner is daydreaming. I feel like asking her, "so let me get this straight, all of our classes are really just my classes? If you do the math, you only teach 9 classes a week (the ones where I am doing 100% of the teaching with KET #2).

It's one of those things I am still scratching my head over. Why would you blatantly tell me you're not doing what is asked of you? As I think to myself, "Are you trying to give me ammunition against you?" At any rate, the last thing I want to do is call up GEPIK like a rat and snitch her out. It's just not my style, even back in the west. She's a nice enough person.

At this point I'm wondering why can't I get away with murder if she can? Not really murder, but a formality.

Thank you guys so much for the paperwork advice, which I have been doing up until now. I used to just copy verbatim sentences from the standard textbook. But even that just takes too much time. Why am I spending quality time BSing paperwork that has no bearing on what I actually did in class, so that later I'm scrambling to figure out exactly what to say to these kids the next day. The next day where I do 100% of the co-teaching and my KETs are day dreaming.

My current plan is to just keep asking for extensions on the busywork until it just gets so out of hand, that I can nonchalantly explain to her all the other stuff I'm doing to make sure my classes run smoothly. Last week she asked for a months worth of LPs handed into her at the start of this week. Needless to say she doesn't have them, nor have I had to chance to begin. On a positive note, she hasn't even asked for them. Maybe she forgot, but I doubt it.

All I need to do is get through this week, a week of summer camp next, and it's smooth sailing to a nice long vacation. hopefully.

[lukas]

[NYC_Gal]

Give her lesson plans, and make sure that a good 30% is allocated for her part of the lesson. Smile while showing it to her.

[lukas]

[NYC_Gal]

I wasn't saying that you should write what she should do with that time. Just fill 70% of the time (put 5 minutes for this, 4 for that, etc...) and leave a blank spot with her name

It lessens your workload and makes her earn her salary.

[Who's Your Daddy?]

Tell her you're tired from doing 100% of the teaching. If she doesn't care, the next morning, text message her that you're sick and you need rest.

It sounds funny, but even after a lot of bitching, nothing rams the point home like taking a sicky.

[drama_addict]

[southernman]

I agree with NY-Gal. Just do the lesson plans with her doing 30-40% of the work. She will probably be getting much more money than you and she will deinitley be getting far more vacation time than you. You've got to look out for your self here. It may sound harsh, but she can always go on stress leave. I worked a pretty high stress joib back home, people were off on stress leave all the time

I actually walked out of one of my public schools after the first class. My co-teacher had left the room and the kids acted terribly. When she came back 25 minutes later. I said I had a headache and went home. I told her the reasons for my headache i.e her not being in class and the kid's beaviour. I'm with EPIK though so I just stated that I am not allowed to teach by myself.

The next day and for the rest of the semester I had no problems at all