They heard it through the grapevine.

Well. I don't know what the son of a bitch is going on. All I know is, I don't feel guilty.

That Co I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, who Mingi flipped his shit at and who I defended, has been really, really jumpy lately. I think the job is starting to get to her. She has, by far, the roughest classes. This week, she's been really nervous during my classes, getting on to the students way more than usual. Usually, I just handle them myself.

But yesterday three different teachers came into my office to ask me what happened during my fifth period class. I just gave them blank stares. Nothing. Why? Apparently, this co was downstairs in the third grade teacher's office carrying on about how awful class 6 and 7 had been during my classtime, and how angry I was.

Um. False. They weren't any worse than usual. I was more strict than usual. This week, we are doing a hell of a difficult activity, as specified in the book. It is way too hard for them. But. I have to teach it. And I can do it. But I need to hold their full attention, or they're not going to be able to understand. It's my responsibility to make sure that they understand. Therefore, none of the usual muttering and fidgeting has been allowed this week. They need all of their focus to grasp the concepts and language structure. But I haven't been angry, and I haven't been more put out than usual.

After the third teacher came in to ask me what had happened today that was so awful in my fifth period class, I finally thought to ask: Is this teacher saying this to these students' homeroom teachers?

Yes.

Well, who are their homeroom teachers?

One is a woman who's always been a bit of a cow to me anyway. She's annoying. She's pushing forty and dresses like a five year old. She puts on a fake high-pitched voice and wears her hair flipped out like a doll. She always has a bit of strain in her face when I bow to her. Once, when she brought her daughter to work, the girl wandered over out of curiosity and started to chat with me in Korean. I squatted down and started to answer, before this woman just came over and yanked her daughter away. Fuck knows. Not my problem if Holly Hobbie has beef with me for some reason, and I generally don't worry about it.

But. This morning I've already bowed to her twice, and her eyes have just gone a bit strained, brushed over me, and she's completely blanked me. Not so much as a nod.

The other teacher is Mingi's homeroom teacher. She came up to the office specifically to ask me about the issues I was having yesterday. I told her that nothing particularly bad had happened in either her class or the other class yesterday. She leaned in and started to spin it: I think that other teacher doesn't know what she's doing. Now she's complaining about seven class, as well. I think it's not my students....

Bullshit. It is your students. And it's the seven class students as well. They are rude and generally out of control. I don't have issues with them because they've known me and I've been teaching them for over two years now. But they are by far my roughest classes and the only ones I have to consistently scold. And I am not the only one who feels this way about them.

That teacher just blanked me in the hall as well.

I mean. Fuck sake. I don't even speak Korean. I can't even really defend myself. And I don't actually have a mind to. The homeroom teachers have a responsibility to control their class's behavior, even when they are not in the room. But at the same time, I feel like this co is throwing me under the bus a bit -- I wasn't complaining about their behavior, or having any problems I can't control. So to go around trumpeting it that I'm furious at the students and that I can't control them during class time is just a bit shit of her. I don't even have any way to set the record straight.


This school is just not what it used to be.