1. Apparently my principal thinks I ask to go home early too often. I’ve asked to leave early FOUR TIMES this year, always with a legit excuse like needing to go to the post office, bank, or other stores that close before I normally get home, or to deal with paperwork at the education office. I have gone home early more than those four times, but the others have all been times when the school is closing early, etc. I asked if I could leave ONE HOUR early today, so that I could pack and take something to the post office since I’m leaving in 4 days, and he said that I could not, that I ask to leave early too much. Now, I could understand this if I actually taught in the afternoons, or had any sort of duties at all. But no, I don’t. After lunch, I do jack squat in the afternoons. I nap on the couch here in my room, write in my blog, or even watch movies. I don’t even see any of the other teachers or staff after lunch, as I am alone in this room and am out the door and on my bike at 5pm. But no, I must be put in my place as the lowly foreigner, and I have now been told that I am not to leave even one minute before 5pm. Well, tough shit. Wednesday, the next day I have to teach here, I have to leave early to go to the education office, so that I can deal with paperwork that THIS SCHOOL has screwed up. They can go fuck themselves, for all I care, at this point.
2. My kids at this school have been treating me like a spectacle lately. Well, I should say that they’re doing so more than usual, as I am always something of a spectacle to them. But, today really tested my willpower not to go yell at the kids. You see, there’s a big window into my room, almost like an observation window. My desk is directly in front of it. Today, while I was sitting and trying to write, the kids were all crowded against the window with their faces pressed against it. They were making faces, shouting, and tapping the glass, all as if I were some sort of zoo animal. When I got up, went outside, and told them to go away, they laughed at me and ran off. Less than two minutes later they were back, doing the exact same thing. After about five minutes of ignoring them, they decided I was no longer an interesting animal and wandered off. If these were kindergartners, or even elementary school kids, I could forgive them somewhat for such behavior. But no, these are middle schoolers, 6th-8th graders. Most of them are 12-14 years old. Disrespect is one thing, but this is on an entire other level, and I can guarantee you they would never even dream of doing something like this to a Korean teacher.
The best thing about your post, in light of the fact that you’re leaving after a year of service, is that we get to offer you the following consolation: “It’s Korea. Get used to it….” It’s funny how school mismanagement leaves such a bad taste in the mouth, especially after you try to tie off loose ends with a touch of heartwarming sentimentality and good memories over the course of the last 12 months. And then comes along a school administrator who just has to eff it all up.
I had the same experience when I taught MS in north Kyonggi-do. I had great CTs, good students, and yet, on my last day, none of the other teachers, the VP, or the Principal bothered to recognize that my contract was over. All I got was a limp handshake from the VP, as he said in Englishee: “Shee you later.”
But my CTs and students made up for it in the end. I walked out of that school with a mountain of personalized, hand written thank you letters from the Year 1 and 2 kids, as well as a bunch of well intended trinkety gifts that couldn’t fit in my suitcase home.
And an hour later, there I was, in the accountant’s room, blocking his path until he finally forked over my airplane ticket money. He had to drive to the bank to get it for me, in spite of all the promises that it would be ready on my last day….
So hang in there! Just a few more days left!
You hit the nail on the head, here. I’ve tried to leave on a good note, and the last couple weeks, minus me being sick, have been pretty good. But this week is shaping up to be sure to make me not miss Korea.
My last day at my favourite school (I teach at multiple schools) is today, and I strongly suspect I’ll be getting lots of letters, notes, etc. But on my last day at my main school (and the one I reference in this post), I strongly suspect it will be similar to yours – just “bye! shee you later!” like I hear every day.
Yeah, thankfully I have 5 extra days in Korea before I leave, so if they give me any grief over anything monetary, I can stick around and harass them.