"Puppet On A String"

 It's not like me to write this many posts within a few days, but today calls for an "emergency session of the joint chiefs" as I need to vent my frustration and disapproval with the Gunpo Education Department's Web Cam Class.

I have been teaching this webcam class for the past few weeks, which frankly, I am not thrilled with - and have told my co-teachers this. There are many reasons why I dislike this webcam class - the top being:

• I really, REALLY, don't like being on camera.
• I think teaching over the web is frustrating as it's so much easier to teach in person.
• I'm teaching adult teachers rather than children.
• There are always issues with the audio/video.
• Those issues waste about 10 min of time out of a 30 min class.
• The adults I teach are also teachers with busy schedules, so their attendance is spotty (and always late).
• The textbook is horrendous, and has a complete lack of flow.
• I think it's a complete waste of my time and runs later than my normal school day.

That being said here are some of the reasons I think it is a good thing.

• It gives adult teachers in the district a chance to practice English.
• It lets them take a class without leaving their office.
  
• that's about it...

 My "student" - how would you like staring at this to teach?

Now for my ranting...

Today I was told that the Education Office wanted to come and videotape me teaching my webclass and then give me an interview. I was pissed because they didn't give me any heads-up about this, and I hate being on camera - never-mind being interviewed for their new web program that I have very little good to say about. I even told my co-teachers "I hope they don't want me to be honest - because I'll tell them how lousy I think it is!"

The Ed Office said they would be over around 4:00 (the time my class starts) to videotape/interview me. I was wrapping up my first class - of which I have 2 students, when one of the Ed Office's administrators (who went to school in Canada and speaks very good English) jumped into my lesson and told me that the videographers would be there soon. She then told me I should really be wearing their issued headset (which I didn't use because I initially couldn't get it to work, and because it makes my ears too damn hot). She instructed me to reinstall the web program in order to get it to work, which I did as her boss came in to my office (a rather pushy, fake looking, and annoying lady I might add).

We both started becoming frustrated with one another, because I was reinstalling the program as her administrator instructed, and because no one signed into my web class (I only had one student, and she was probably busy preparing her mid-term exams). So she got on the phone with her administrator who told me to log in to another teachers room. The other foreign teacher began teaching the lesson as the videographers rolled their cameras watching me watch him teach. The administrator (also logged in to make it look like there was more than 2 students in the class) stopped him and told him that I should teach his class because the Ed Office was filming. Great - now I'm teaching someone else's class! I couldn't even teach my own lesson because I wasn't the moderator of the 'room' and ended up bullshitting my way through their crappy textbook. (excuse the language, but that's how I felt!) Halfway through a sentence to these other students, the supervisor tapped me on the shoulder and said "That's enough teaching, now let's do the interview." I ignored her the first time because I thought it was rude to the adult students in the class - and wrapped up what I was saying.

For the "interview", the supervisor put me back on the phone with her admin - who said "So, this is what they want you to say, tell them the program is a great program and that it gives teachers a chance to practice and learn English without having to leave their offices, and that it is a new program that very few school systems offer, and that it is very good and fun." My reply (in my head), "So, you want me to lie??" This is what I really said "Ooooooookkkaaayyy" [insert a mix of a frustrated/sarcastic tone in there why you're at it]

So, I gave them the interview they wanted - they pay my salary I suppose, what can I really do without looking like a jerk and jeopardizing my employment with the district? - (besides blog about it to retract what I said in the interview) I felt like a complete sell-out, no better than those Fox News commentators.... (groan!)

As I've said before, almost everything in Korea is about image. From the high rates of people getting plastic surgery to give off a better image, to things like this promotional video to make the class look better than it really is. It's too bad things have to be so fake, but I guess I'm no better as I contributed to it, and gave them my fake "opinion".

Here's the kicker. After the supervisor left, my co-teacher told me that they chose me because I supposedly, "am more handsome than the other teacher" whose class I took over. I'm taking that as a fake compliment - everything else seems to follow that theme today.