tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post7172026784020890587..comments2023-11-03T22:34:56.656+09:00Comments on I'm no Picasso: Ten things you need to know to survive at a Korean public school.I'm no Picassohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06516337555349888808noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-698271433877757772011-06-24T22:10:58.216+09:002011-06-24T22:10:58.216+09:00I never taught in a public school but most of what...I never taught in a public school but most of what you said can be applied to hagwons. Good advice.Flinthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00751432023350206246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-60781856760363536622010-10-09T19:26:20.236+09:002010-10-09T19:26:20.236+09:00I just stumbled upon your blog by accident, and I&...I just stumbled upon your blog by accident, and I'm glad that I did.<br /><br />This is a great post, and I agree completely with all of your points... especially the part about checking the calendar for red days. I also requested a copy of the school calendar and keep it beside my computer. Just by reading at it at the beginning of each month, 90% of potential 'surprises' have been eliminated.<br /><br />My middle school has two foreign teachers, an American guy and me. He's a great co-worker but unfortunately he's leaving in February, and I'll be getting a new co-worker. If they happen to be new to the public school system, this will be the first thing I'll show them.<br /><br />Thank you. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-91024337171011474632010-09-20T15:47:27.661+09:002010-09-20T15:47:27.661+09:00This post was very good and very funny, as I mysel...This post was very good and very funny, as I myself have experienced many of the same thing in the elementary school. Sometimes I still don't understand why a schedule can't be made ahead of time; after all, that is why the word 'planning' was created... right?Chanelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10967575708694650326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-55314187386991460412010-09-16T10:59:40.829+09:002010-09-16T10:59:40.829+09:00Lumped in with the "They didn't know eith...Lumped in with the "They didn't know either"/six jobs/always late thing is that your coteachers have the same problems that you do, sometimes. I had a lot of interactions with the head teacher at my visiting school that I thought were infuriating for a host of reasons, mainly that she pretended to understand me when really she had no idea what I was saying.<br />But I kept it to myself for the semester, until one day close to Christmas, my coteacher witnessed one of these exchanges, and afterwards patted my shoulder and said, "She is very difficult." I shrugged and said something about how I should study Korean harder, and she laughed and said, "That won't help. She is very deaf, but does not tell anyone, so it is very difficult to talk with her."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-43814375224177909012010-05-20T15:53:53.926+09:002010-05-20T15:53:53.926+09:00This part is funny:
"1. Come to school and t...This part is funny:<br /><br />"1. Come to school and the school nurse will take care of you.<br />2. Come to school so the principal can see that you're really sick.<br />3. I am coming to your house to take you to the hospital.<br />4. I am coming to your house to bring you food.<br />5. I am coming to your house to bring you food, bring you to school so the principal can see you're really sick and the school nurse can evaluate you and then I'm taking you to the hospital."<br /><br />I super like this post and I also agree with all of these.iPodhttp://www.mobile-wonders.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-73320336260014634012010-04-22T08:38:21.271+09:002010-04-22T08:38:21.271+09:00Absolutely. I'll come visit you, and you'...Absolutely. I'll come visit you, and you're always welcome down here - whether you're living in Korea or not. :)CeilingofStarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05110238349397590911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-78652534531646340372010-04-17T08:40:16.156+09:002010-04-17T08:40:16.156+09:00In Incheon, on the whole other diagonal part of th...In Incheon, on the whole other diagonal part of the country. We'll have to organize a meetup somehow, sometime.I'm no Picassohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06516337555349888808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-44378024216147880742010-04-15T10:35:13.022+09:002010-04-15T10:35:13.022+09:00Things are definitely going well. I'm in Busa...Things are definitely going well. I'm in Busan, near Seomyeon. Where are you??CeilingofStarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05110238349397590911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-86561783695229863972010-04-15T10:02:08.942+09:002010-04-15T10:02:08.942+09:00Stevie Bee -- There definitely seems to be a hesit...Stevie Bee -- There definitely seems to be a hesitance to make "have to" issues explicit, although they most ceratinly are explicit. Who knows. <br /><br />t-hype -- In general, I will harrass the students about coming in late, the standard line being, "Congratulations! You found the classroom!" Which always gets a few guffaws. But, at least at my school, it's an uphill battle when teachers think nothing of holding students in the offices/classrooms past the bell for all manners of reasons. You have no way of validating who is or isn't telling the truth about that. You just have to watch for patterns, and get the ones who are obviously just meandering in whenever the fancy strikes them. <br /><br />Mike -- That's the really important thing to remember. That 95% of the time the Korean teachers think everything is just as stupid and annoying as we do. It will just take them a while to start openly talking about it to you. <br /><br />Tiffani -- God knows I've done my fair share of ranting, especially after just having arrived. It's only natural. You'd explode otherwise. I hope things are going quite well for you though, for the most part. Where are you at? <br /><br />James -- that's great. Thanks so much for the compliment. And hopefully this can help the Korean teachers understand us a bit better as well. You might want to do a thorough sweep for four letter words though, before you hand it out. I tend to be a bit...I'm no Picassohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06516337555349888808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-79757321892215469382010-04-14T20:49:11.041+09:002010-04-14T20:49:11.041+09:00Great article. I am a teacher trainer, so I'll...Great article. I am a teacher trainer, so I'll be passing this on to a whole bunch of Korean teachers. Hopefully that'll help everyone understand each other a little better.jameshttp://twitter.com/theteacherjamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-89107586318744227862010-04-14T15:02:51.076+09:002010-04-14T15:02:51.076+09:00Liz, I'm doing really well! My school is real...Liz, I'm doing really well! My school is really great, all things considered. I'm so happy I remembered to add you to my RSS feed; your posts are so great. :3<br /><br />You can follow me on http://reiseohneende.tumblr.com . But as a warning, I tend to only write when I'm pissed off about something, so sometimes the posts are a little...ranty. :P<br /><br />Good to catch up with you again!CeilingofStarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05110238349397590911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-91505383218300325792010-04-14T11:42:32.518+09:002010-04-14T11:42:32.518+09:00Almost have to. MhmmmmHHHmmmm
Did I ever tell you...Almost have to. MhmmmmHHHmmmm<br /><br />Did I ever tell you about the fight one of my co-teachers had with the principal over the yearbook? <br /><br />It always made me feel better that the korean teachers were just as disgruntled as I was/am.MikejGreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09499618417606590867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-25003173951102235042010-04-14T10:30:06.021+09:002010-04-14T10:30:06.021+09:00Wow. This post is SO choice.
This is the 2nd year...Wow. This post is SO choice.<br /><br />This is the 2nd year at my school and I really hadn't gotten the depth of point #1 until this time around when a couple of new English teachers got hired. I asked them if they were going to lunch in the cafeteria and they're like, "Wha...we have a...where's..." Right. So no one even mentioned there WAS a cafeteria. The poor girls had been trekking out to a restaurant every day. Can't blame it on the language barrier. They're both Korean!<br /><br />As for the lateness, I don't bother my coteachers about it, but I've started getting my girls for it. If they wander in late--and boy do some of them wander--they have to stay 3 minutes extra after class. I make them write their student numbers on the board and write them down in my notebook. If I were to notice a pattern with a particular student, I can let their homeroom teacher know. It's been pretty positive so far. When the girls see I'm not exactly incensed or anything a lot of them try to chat with me a bit. Bonding with students + English conversation time = win-win! ^_^ (And the lateness has decreased considerably.)t-hypehttp://preseould.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-83966791167476481532010-04-14T09:55:50.163+09:002010-04-14T09:55:50.163+09:00Your comment above reminds me of something that wa...Your comment above reminds me of something that was once said to a friend of mine. His head of department caught him as he was leaving the office and informed him of a meeting that he was about to commence. Being as he was ready for home, he asked if attendance was mandatory. 'Somewhat...' was his edifying reply. <br /><br />Great post, by the way.Stephen Becketthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00786042810055124098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-74405370041842087642010-04-14T08:21:56.355+09:002010-04-14T08:21:56.355+09:00Asdalthought -- The should/have to think took a wh...Asdalthought -- The should/have to think took a while. My friend Mike, who was teaching here with me last year, and I had a good laugh one day after work because his co had told him he should do something. We had already caught on to the implication of this word, so Mike asked, "I should or I have to?"<br /><br />His co sucked air in through his teeth, tilted his head to the side and said, "Almost have to, Michael. Almost have to." <br /><br />Burndog -- Help yourself. I figure the more the new teachers hear this kind of stuff, the happier they'll be in their new work environments. And the happier our co-teachers will be with us. And the happier our reputation will get. Good all around. <br /><br />Random -- Haha thanks. And I think it's just true everywhere in Korea. <br /><br />Tiffani -- I've been wondering about you! How are you settling in? <br /><br />Yeah it helps a lot to try to see things from their perspective. For whatever reason, they seem hesitant to bring up all the stress they're under until they know you better, so it can be hard to understand why all this stuff happens, and there's no explanation or excuse offered at all. There are reasons for it -- they just don't like to complain all the time by giving them.I'm no Picassohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06516337555349888808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-43752335174121612062010-04-14T08:21:54.945+09:002010-04-14T08:21:54.945+09:00And "why don't you try...?" from a s...And "why don't you try...?" from a superior or older person means "have to" also. Don't forget that one!Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03708273691893291730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-51295751075533608542010-04-14T07:09:28.498+09:002010-04-14T07:09:28.498+09:00This post is completely and absolutely brilliant. ...This post is completely and absolutely brilliant. I've only recently started to realize how tough the other teachers at my school have it, and I feel really bad when I get stressed out or annoyed at them for changing my schedule at the last minute or forgetting to tell me something or not being able to drop things right there and help me out.<br /><br />In the states, your teacher might say, "I'm really busy with this exam right now; I'm sorry I can't help you. You can ask _______ or come talk to me after 6th period."<br /><br />But here, the teachers don't have the luxury of a. directly refusing your request, b. shoving you onto someone else, c. knowing what their future schedule entails, or d. having any real free time to help you at all.<br /><br />Anyway, my point is - excellent post. I think it should be required reading for all new teachers in Korea.<br /><br />Btw this is Reise-ohne-Ende from Dave's ESL if you're wondering. :PCeilingofStarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05110238349397590911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-65579026473731006862010-04-14T06:45:42.607+09:002010-04-14T06:45:42.607+09:00This is an awesome post. And...
"Common sens...This is an awesome post. And...<br /><br />"Common sense is something different in Korea." <--- true at all schoolsRandomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-77087920149054122632010-04-13T23:14:13.914+09:002010-04-13T23:14:13.914+09:00Great list. Do you mind if I pilfer some of it fo...Great list. Do you mind if I pilfer some of it for my speech? There are things that the new GEPIK teachers should hear...and I haven't got them in my speech (who can remember everything all of the time??).Burndoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10810891417843137002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21444271.post-9427033234676238872010-04-13T23:01:43.959+09:002010-04-13T23:01:43.959+09:00Ah, the should one, I'd forgotten about that. ...Ah, the <i>should</i> one, I'd forgotten about that. Definitely one for the list.<br /><br />I find it more funny when English speakers who have been in Korea for a long time start to use these Korean Englishisms without thinking about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com