My stress

 Story book week…. So, the cause of the stress? Number one is definitely the storybook. Storybook. Not just, it is also everything that goes along with it.

So, all of the 7 year old classes are making story books. It is a great idea.  But the time frame the expect us to do it was rather insane.

So, last week we did a lot of writing and editing. This week, every day we had to draw the pictures. Which means for the last 2 weeks, I have did pretty much nothing in any of my classes. So, I am 2 weeks behind in all of the work I need to do.

Meh….

So pictures this week. Why so bad? Well, we worked Friday last week and Monday this week we were working on pictures. We were working on regular A4 paper (like regular 8.5x11 paper). Well, Monday afternoon, after I thought I was halfway done with Australia and had a good lead on Denmark and France, we (the foreign teachers) are told that there is special paper that the students have to draw. So, that was a major blow. Very frustrating. This project is a completely foreign teacher (….more on that later) venture, and yet we are not told the basic details. Several of us got screwed over.

No let me preface, before I go any further…. All of the foreign teachers that were doing a storybook were super stressed. Almost all of them only have 1 class making it. One has 2. I am the only with 3.

Tuesday I spend all classes drawing pictures. Easy, right? No. The paper they have to draw on is big, and the pictures they have to draw need to be big. This is outside of what most of the kids can do. Imagine normally drawing faces and pictures the size of a penny, and now you are told they have to be the size of a half dollar. If they are two small, they have to draw again. Very hard concept for them to grasp.

On top of that, the kids had to color with crayons and pastels. These kids have never drawn with them before (they always use colored pencils- which in Korea is a mix between a colored pencil and crayon). These kids do not know how to color with them. Unlike what they are used to, these cannot be erased…. As soon as a kid tries… they try more, and in 5 seconds the picture is ruined.

Christine came in France, and told Fred he had to redraw because it was two small… he cried (something that is extremely rare).  Drawing with Australia, Helps a little, she says even if the pictures are small, they company can blow up the pictures to make them bigger….

Tuesday night was actually really fun and not stressful. We had a company Christmas dinner at Ashley’s. The all you can eat American Buffet. Everyone came. It was great. I knew I was going to break my diet that night, and I did, and I was happy. I love food..

On Wednesday… aye aye aye…. So, our different Korean co-teachers, though it is completely the foreign teachers project, have veto powers. Why is this bad… well they all had to be done on Thursday. Today was Wednesday. I have 2 different co-teachers. Christine and Christina. Christine with France and Christina with Denmark and Australia.

They both had different philosophies… Christine was vetoing pictures that did not contain every single thing that the story said. She would either change the story or make the kids redraw the picture. Like, one part of the story, we are talking about a zoo. The story says lions and snakes and crocodiles…. Well originally the kid drew just 3 cages. Christine made him draw more cages… and after he only had one animal in each cage, she changed the story so instead of lions, she made it a lion. One part of the story said multiple things the kids like to do on the moon. Well the picture only had one of them. She changed the story from a paragraph of everything they like to do, to one sentence about the picture.  If a kid could not fit everything into the picture, she had me make them redraw the picture. I have read many books, and never have I seen a book where each picture had to contain every detail of the story. (and with her changing the story… she is the one that adds ‘the’ infront of almost every noun, so I am afraid to see her edits. On the other hand… Christina make me make kids redraw pictures if the kids drew too much of what the story said. One part was the princesses were having a tea party in the floating castle and they called down to the boys that were fighting the monsters below. The girl worked on drawing it all, and Christina said to just draw the tea party. Another girl drew a snowball fight between all of the characters, but Christina said there was too much going on, so just draw a few of them….

Complete different thoughts… Thoughts that I did not know. Was not told of until I thought I was nearly done.

Now, I only had Thursday left. For Denmark and France, it was a gym day on Thursday so I would only have one class with each of them. Luckily Niamh volunteered one of her teaching periods to help me. Christina even used one of hers. Christine used one of hers too!  So, we finished it. Thank God… I know by just typing this, it is hard to really convey the feeling and emotion….

So, on top of this, it was a report card week. Christine gave me the cards on Monday. Christina on Tuesday. So the first night I could work with them was Wednesday night. I had to stay after tonight. Report card week is always stressful. Being homeroom teacher for 3 classes means I have more report cards to do than anyone…

On top of all of that, we got our schedules for  January… on Monday Wednesday and Friday. I have Kindy, Kindy, Kindy, Kindy, Lunch, Kindy, Kindy, 40 minute break, England Class, a brand new class, Greece class. Only one break. During that one break, I have to prepare for 3 classes. It used to be break, class, break, class. So I prepare, class, prepare for the next and class. Now, I have to prepare for 3 in one 40 minute break. This immediately after being on my feet with Kindy for 6 hours straight (I do get to sit down for part of lunch with the kids). So that is going to be incredibly tough. The worst part is my one on one with Chloe… I am losing it. It makes me really sad. I love my one on one with her. Even on tough days, it is refreshing.  But they wanted to give me this brand new class.  Why me? I don’t know. I know Chloe will be disappointed. I know I am.

So, January, I get 3 gym days. I say get… but that is wrong. Gym days are nice because of the break, but I would rather not have them. Why? That is one less teaching period for me. I get 10 a week. With gym I only get nine. I am still responsible for all 10. So I fall further and further behind. Now, can I complain about it? No. Why? If I do not have 3 gym classes, I am over the maximum hours before overtime. So, they would have to give me overtime pay. That is not something they want to do.

Tomorrow is a field trip. Monday is Market Day, and Tuesday is Christmas Party, Wednesday is no school for Christmas, and Thursday is Gym day.  All of that being said, we are still expected to do all of the class work. I will get to none of it. So, out of the 4 week month, I am 3 weeks behind (well, foreshadowing), actually nearly 4. The first week of December I missed a lot of classes due to class pictures during my class time (a lot of graduation pictures). So, come next week Friday, my co teachers will be bugging me about being behind in everything and not having the supplements that we send home finished. I only have 2 classes per day with these classes, and all of them are devoted to something. Each class has 2 classes with me. 3 with a Korean teacher, and 1 with another foreign teacher. But the story and everything falls on my class time. Christine and Christina do not fall be behind. They have more classes then me and did not have these extra ‘projects’ during their class period.  So, January is really going to suck… I envy the 6 year old teachers. A lot of these things they do not do. Being home room teacher for three classes wouldn’t be as bad if at least one was a 6 year old class. At least then I would not be behind in 3 classes.

On top of all of all of this, there is Drama with Regina from Denmark. It’s hard to describe. She is starting to mesh and get along and make friends with the kids.  There are many days when she is late, or does not come. Why? Well, who really knows. But from what I gather she does not like to come early because of the classes (vocab tests) and also because of waking up early. She usually misses the first bus. The first bus picks up in front of her apartment. The second does not. So, for he second, she has to walk to a bus stop. Her mom does not like that. Then, on Wednesday, she took Regina in a cab. She lost her phone in the cab. Ostensibly she blamed ECC. She also blames ECC for Regina for being behind (she misses 1 day a week, sometimes 2, and she normally gets to school late) and ECC for her not getting along with everyone. But missing classes, missing events, missing field trips, it is hard for her to really make bonds. She is making progress. A lot of times, other kids ask where she is, or ask why she is late.

According to ECC’s understanding, her mom blames ECC. There is a fine line… I do as much as I can, I know my co teachers do too. But if she cannot make the bus, or misses a lot of days, it is really hard to really get involved. As of this morning, it was a question if she would come back. In the afternoon, we got word she would come back in January. But, she will be back next week for the Christmas party. So, she is missing Friday (field trip) Monday (market day) she will be here on Tuesday, Wednesday no school. Will be gone Thursday, gone Friday, gone Monday, no School Tuesday or Wednesday (New Years Eve and day), and Next Thursday, she will be back. These days we are getting a lot done, so she is going for fall even further behind. I understand wanting your daughter to be happy… but next year in elementary school, this wont fly…. So ECC is between a rock and a hard place, so us teacher are too.

So…. That is why I am a bit stressed this week….tomorrow is Friday (field trip) then the weekend. I know I laid pretty low last weekend…. This weekend, as boring as it is, I kind of want to do the same.  I am completely mentally drained….