Ben: Oh the absurdity of Business in Korea

I am actually at work right now, but due to the brilliance of Korean business management I have the time to write a post! On Tuesdays and Thursdays we teach middle school kids from 7pm-10pm. This time period is divided into 40 minute classes (I promise I will write more about my job someday soon). For the last week and a half we haven't had any middle school students, because they are currently taking their huge, nation wide, standardized tests that determines which High school they will be going to. This has led to all sorts of tension between the foreign teachers (I am one of four at this school) and the school's administration. The foreign teachers all figure, that since we have no students, and we have no work to do, there really isn't any sense to making us stick around for three hours.

The school administration disagrees. The last three sessions have been an ever escalating battle between Bryan (the most combative of the foreign teachers) and Nicole (the school's academic administrator, i.e. foreign teacher handler, who ironically speaks the least English of anyone on staff) over whether or not we should be allowed to go home early. I really don't care that much, because I can still write emails and read the news on the web, so it really isn't that bad. Bryan however thinks that we have to go home, we must go home, it is our right to go home if there is no work to do!

Tonight things are even more absurd however. Middle school tests finish up today and tomorrow, so the school told the kids that they could come if they wanted. They have the option to go to more school after they just took tests for two weeks, how fun! It turns out that 6 kids are glutens for punishment and they showed up tonight. That is out of the 90 kids who normally show up.  So now we (the four foreign teachers and the four Korean teachers) are sticking around so that we can all teach these six kids. To make matters even more absurd, we aren't allowed to cover any new material, because than the other kids would be a lesson behind. Finally, to top everything off, I don't teach anyone until my last class of the day, so I have 2 hours and 20 minutes to hang around before I have to go and not teach two kids.  I'm not bitter though, mostly just amused.

-ben