Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chaz47]

I have details on why I feel this way but am too washed out and rage filled all at the same time to post them.

Suffice to say I am seriously considering leaving my school.

[Beej]

Come on. Dont tease us.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

Booo-urns!

[chaz47]

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=66947&highlight=

This is the same guy who has been bugging me from the beginning.

Anyway, this day opens with his return to work from some such and such po-dunk academic whatnot he managed to go to.... where he wins some such and such prize for his idea about some phys. ed. coursework... blahblahblah... I was preparing for our shared lesson when I was called to the teacher's office to share in his glory... not knowing anything about what was going on because no one ever tells me anything, I ask him what the occassion is for... I guess I should have been embarrassed, but I wasn't I simply congratulated him and told him no one tells me anything... he gives me an icy glare and walks away... minutes later he returns and tries to reply to the genuine appreciation I really did then have for his accomplishment.

I could see that I had indeed wounded his little Korean boy I am the king of the world because my mother told me so pride. What could I do, I tried to be as friendly as possible. I really had not meant to offend him. He drifts away from me and converses with other teachers about what I had said laughing all the while.

I thought that it was understood and that we had settled our brief miscommunication and social faux paus. The classes we taught went rather well, I didn't do more than I was asked to do... as he prefers I do only what he tells me to do. I had decided that this is the best course to pursue with this guy as I simply cannot win. No one on the staff speaks more English than him, none of my superiors would understand my grievances.

Lunch passes uneventfully and then my afterschool classes begin, which I was told to design a curriculuum for. At the beginning of the second class he pops into the room and begins to disrupt the generally good mood that usually exists in my afterschool classes. Usually there is an assistant teacher who helps with the afterschool classes and she is pleasant and patient with me and the students.

This guy though, good lord... He is sooo freaking full of himself... how else could he be sooo socially oblivious. Ok... back to the story.

My plan was to play a game of "hangman" with the class today prior to a review test tomorrow. My goal for their studies was to introduce new vocabulary and phrases to them to supplement the sentence structures they learn in their usual classes. The afterschool stuff seems to me like its meant to be a sort of English club... I dunno.

Anyway, I had a bilingual Korean friend type up a statement I gave the students awhile back stating that we would play games and do wordsearches and the like but I expected them to keep a file of all completed puzzles and to note down any vocabulary they didn't know. It also informed them that there would be a test, and if they didn't pass it adequately then we would return to a more traditional curriculuum.

Here's a link for the website we were using for the game:
http://kr.dic.yahoo.com/kids/wordbook/word_game.html?part=puzzle

Most of my students drift in late so I let a few of the kids draw on the chalkboard or noodle at the game for a bit from the teacher's station until everyone else arrives.

It's generally very friendly and the kids are learning.

He immediately tells my best student that the computer is for teachers and that he needs to take his seat. He then tells all the students to take their seats. He then says that I should probably start to teach.

OK.

I ask the 10 students that have arrived to distribute themselves among the 6 tables so that I can roll a "virtual dice" to determine who gets to choose a letter from the puzzle. Usually they love this game. Anyway as I mentioned, there were only 10 students present so they lacked that sort of energy you get from a class when they are all focused.

He proceeded to tell me the puzzles were too difficult for the students. I suggested that a challenge will help them learn and what fun is the game if they know all the answers. He insists that I lower the level and then starts to shout out the answers to the puzzle once I do. I suggest that he take a seat at one of the tables and join a team, he ignores me and wanders around the room shouting out the answers from time to time.

Total buzzkill.

He finds one student doing her hagwon homework and stops the entire class to tell me that my students aren't listening to me and that I need to keep their focus on me. Perhaps I should sing songs or something like that ( a sidenote here, I was told that I wouldn't have to sing with the kids, that that was his job... usually I do sing along with the class though because I like the kids and the mood can be contagious, but today he chose some obscure piece of rubbish with no melody and an odd vocabulary, I couldn't sing it and after awhile I refused to try... I suggested that the kids play charades to practice there present continuous tense... I see the error of my ways now, at that point I crossed him... damn, petty weasel...)

He continues to tell me I am doing the wrong thing in front of the class. He makes no further constructive suggestions but then goes on to tell me that some of the student's parents have called because my level of teaching is too high for their kids.

I was pissed, I can't discipline the kids. The only hope I have of control is that they believe I am a nice guy and that I sincerely care about trying to teach them something. This guys is trying to make a fool of me in front of them and he can tell that he is pissing me off as I had turned a bright red, yet still continues to harangue me.

Then he begins surfing the web, trying find something more appropriate for the students. Hello, the class is supposed to in session at this moment, are you an idiot? If you are going to do this you should at least dismiss the students, but no... he continues.

He eventually finds some stuff on some sort of private members only teacher's site that I obviously never had access too and suggests that I use that. He then tells me to his sudden discovery that the download of this book and all the materials was going to cost about $300, and that since the afterschool program has no budget he will pay from his own pocket. He was so proud of himself... it was so funny... what a guy... I wish I could be like him... wow.

Even funnier, once the package has downloaded and his account has been charged he realizes that the non-English portion is actually in Chinese. Hahaha... hahahaha... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha

What an ass.

OK, finally the class ends. He suggests we go for a walk and get a Coke, now he wants to be my buddy. Oh, and he also told me not to change out of the school slippers to walk a block to the convenience store with him. The rules just don't apply to this guy, he's a walking wonder.

Then we meander back to the teacher's room where the assistant school master tries to tell me in his attempt at English (he is a nice guy though) that he knows I try hard and that he wants me to "upgrade my mood" or something like that. He is a nice guy but his English is terrible.

I take this opportunity to tell my Korean coteacher that I appreciate his criticisms and any constructive advice that he might offer, but I do however feel that is very unprofessional to do what he did in front of students. I intentionally did this in front of the superior, I doubt that he understood a single word of it though. My Korean coteacher did though, he looked away apparently shamed and then briefly apologized.

Then! Then! He wants me to help him with his analysis of the academic paper he is trying to understand. Hahahahahahahhahahahahahaha!

Then! Then! Then! He tells me that he will give me a ride home and then makes me wait 10 minutes after my original ride has left the school to leave. Not to mention on the way back he stops for gas because he can save 100 won a liter... I guess that is about... 2 cents a gallon... All the time singing to himself and talking about the "naive" fish he will eat tonight. Occasionally trying to make conversation. He even went so far as to show me the pictures of my wife and daughter... again, as he showed them to me when we first met... apparently being the only foreigner that he has ever met in person, it's easy to forget what I do or say or even what he has already said to me or shown me.

This guy is just the total piece of work. I no longer think he is... I don't know I guess I once actually thought he was a bad person. Now... I just think he is completely and utterly full of himself, completely oblivious to others... or at least to those he considers his inferior as he seems to treat the assistant teacher in a similar way.

I just hope that he is happy he saved all that money on gas... I think it would have been about 80 cents... because all that Chinese/English instruction material cost his heroic self a good bit more than that.

The level of unprofessionalism is just too much. I think I'd rather be in a hagwon than enduring this guy's ego.


(((LONG,LONG<LONG POST... please forgive all of the errors, I need to grab a beer and relax... no time to edit...)))

[chaz47]

Mods, can you move this to Job Related... ?

[chaz47]

How hard is it to leave a public school?

Would an early release be a huge mark against me down the road if I wanted to work at a university?

[Son Deureo!]

Man, I can't believe I read all that. In your damning indictment of your coworker, I don't see much more than a minor conflict of personalities and differences in teaching style. A lot of what you're making fun of him for (winning an education award, offering you rides, buying teaching materials with his own money, etc.) make him sound like a good person. It sounds like he's trying in his best to be a good teacher and to get to know you.

At any rate, your rant makes you sound like the hard one to get along with, not him.

[Homer]

[ChuckECheese]

[Grotto]

It sounded pretty accurate to me. Self centered egotistical Korean screws around with FT classes because 'he' knows best. Then asks for help. Then wastes more of FT's time.

Typical....nice to see the apologists are out in force!

[chaz47]

To all those who think this guy is a good teacher please read the link I posted within this thread. The guy is completely out of touch with any semblance of tact.

Between this incident and the last one I have watched him intimidate and embarass kids in class. I didn't raise a stink then because I thought maybe possibly it was a cultural thing. When he tries this stuff on me... well, come on... I shouldn't have to kowtow to his ego.

Seriously now though, I work at this school with Mr. Tactful 3 days a week and a different school 2 days a week. What would happen if I announced I would not return to work at the other school. It's just such a small school, the only way I could possibly be happy there is if the guy absolutely promised to stay away from me.

I have had it. I like the kids and just about all the other coworkers I have there, but this guy just... I don't know... Interestingly enough the one other teacher that I have a problem with there is from the same village/city as my coteacher. Everybody else is very kind, the two goons are my superiors though and I cannot get away from them.

[Homer]

Grotto....you must be kidding.

Have you actually read the OP or are you just responding to the follow up posts????

[babtangee]

Co-teacher sounds like a prick the way he's messing with your classes. That's about it though. He probably just thinks your stupid. Could be childish envy/resentment. Who knows. Who cares. Why don't you just tell him to butt out and let you teach? Seriously. If you're confident in your abilities then take a stand. What's he gonna do; have you fired? Seems to me you wouldn't mind; if he in fact can, which I doubt. Tell him to let you do your thing or bugger off. If you truly can't get him to stop, just refuse to teach when he interferes: "Okay, you do it." <Waegookin sits. Unsubtly mocks Korean teacher's pronunciation and teaching methods>

I do love how the apologists just dumped the whole thing in your lap, though. While you're clearly dealing with the problem poorly (i.e. passively), it's entertaining to see how they apparently just assume you're a crap teacher, and that the KT was right to disrupt your class and make you look a dunce in front of your students.

[Grotto]

I read the OP. Perhaps I read it more thoroughly than you.

How would you respond to someone who criticized you in front of your students?

Comes into YOUR class, takes over it, doesnt have a clue as to what is going on. Undercuts your authority.

Hey...i'll give you a ride.....time passes.....regular ride leaves....you're thinking I could be home by now.....eventually he leaves.....stops for gas....you're thinking I could home by now....he's prattling on about crap you care nothing about....you were being polite by accepting the ride home.....but you're thinking I could have been home a while ago.


yeah I read the post...did you?

[captain kirk]

Hilarious post, I laughed aloud in the pcbang here reading about him downloading, for three hundred bucks, those materials in Chinese. I can immediately identify with your pain having to be invisible to this guys ego. But you present it in a funny way and I think you've got him pegged so can relax, I guess. His leading behavior overshadowing you in class I wouldn't, personally, tolerate. But putting him in his place would involve a lot of fuss and bother that, I guess, makes me difficult to work with. Until those around realize they must respect me. Then it's smooth.

On the other hand, muddled in with it, these 'fluent' types aren't actually and they tend, it seems, to speak in LOUD voices and give off statments that seem, to us, more like commands. It's kinda bizarre. Like they are asserting their fluency while, at the same time, feeling challenged about it in your presence. It sounds like you're keeping your distance from the high volume, too.