Things at Haesa Go

Things at Haesa Go have been a little shaky these days.

After a particularly rough week last week, things are finally starting to look up. To start with the negatives:

Monday: I called in sick to work because I felt like hell and couldn't possible teach for three hours.

Tuesday: 1st period. One student looked me in the eyes and repeated constantly for at least 10 minutes (followed by intermittent repetitions for the next 20 minutes) only "Teacher, you ugly, ugly, you ugly, you ugly." This was interrupted only by his answer to my question, "What does a zombie look like?" which was, "Zombie ugly like you." Another pair of students spent 30 minutes talking (not whispering) throughout my speaking, my instruction giving and preparation of an activity. I repeatedly asked them to stop and they completely ignored me. Another student found a sewing kit (not his) in the desk at which he was seated. He proceeded to open the kit, pull out a needle and begin playing with it. I told him to stop (uh, playing with a needle that isn't yours??? WHO DOES THAT?). I turned to write on the board and I turned around and discovered this student had put the needle in his ear (which had already been pierced, but that's entirely beside the point). Who puts a needle (let alone one that isn't his/her own) in his/her ear?????? So, livid at the general disrespect I had been shown by my class, I sent this student out of my classroom. One minute late, one of the constantly talking students raised his hand and blurted out, "teacher, bathroom." I said, yes, go and don't come back to my classroom. I was completely fed up with this class. It's unfortunate because two or three of my best students are also in this class and I feel awful for them. After I sent the two students out, two other students began complaining, "teacher, me too. Make me leave too." At the point, I lost it. I looked at the remaining students in the class (the bad ones at least) and I just said: "WHY? Why are you so rude? Why do you disrespect me? If I was Korean, would you do this? If I spoke Korean, would you do this? If I were the principal, would you be rude like this? You are always talking and you never do you work. You take my pens and you waste them. You throw away everything, you are unprepared for your tests. You are wasting my time and it isn't fair to me. Every day I come here with work that I did, and you don't care." They understood nothing and just looked at me and said 뭐? (What... in low speech). At that point I lost it. I started crying. Hysterically. And I made everyone leave.

What a fucking waste of my time. I almost quit on the spot. I'm glad I didn't because my 2nd and 3rd classes were quite good and I was happy.

I complained to the schools native speaker. I complained to my co-teacher at my middle school.

And the school informed me that there would be dire consequences for students who misbehaved (a separate class with disciplinary teachers).

Wednesday: I came to my first period, the boys were like corpses. Like dead bodies, seriously. No one looked at me. No one talked to me. Just sheer anger. They were mad at me????? what. the. fuck.

Anyways, today was better. My students were only a little bad as opposed to positively hellish. So I am now in a good mood.

I just wish I could make the first class less evil.

The good news: 4 more weeks. To be exact: 11 classes. That is, 33 hours. Then, I am done with that stupid place. Forever.

Good night!

A