Monday, October 25, 2004

Two classes, three teachers, a secretary, a boss and a mess

Part 2
Click here for Part 1

Young Secretary: 'If I was free tomorrow, I'd take her there and pick her up, but I'm not.'
MrTeacher: 'My God, she's 28, not 16!'
Pompous Ponce: 'It's not my fault.' and flounced out of the school.

Ring ring

New Girl: 'Hello?'
MrT: 'Hi NG, it's MrT. Bad news, PP is having a coloscopy tomorrw and someone needs to cover his class S. It's in M, 50km from here.
NG: 'I'd have to drive?"
MrT: 'You could walk, but driving would be quicker.'
NG: 'I can't. It's too far. I can barely drive to class T'

Note: Class T is 6km from the school.

MrT: *sigh*
MrT: 'You know that class K has an exam coming up in six weeks and I need to be there.'
NG: 'I'll teach it for you.'
MrT: 'I though you had never prepared students for it before.'
NG: 'I haven't.'
MrT: 'Do you know anything about it?'
NG: 'Not really, I've only used a little of the book before.'
MrT: 'That's why you need to teach class S, which will allow me to teach class K!'
NG: 'It's too far.'
MrT: 'Please?'
NG: 'No, I can't.'
MrT: *loud sigh* 'Goodbye'
MG: 'MrT, I....'
Click

This is that point at which I accepted the fact that I'd have to teach class S, so I got out the logbook, and steam started bellowing out of my ears again. Not only did it not tell me which materials are used for the class, it didn't even have the name of the students written in it! Also, the description of what had been done in the classes was very vague. Last class, 'Past continuous.' Great. From what source? The class before: 'names of office furniture', 'tenses', passive'. What? Why would a teacher do passive with students who don't even know the names of office furniture? Fury raged again.

MrT (irritated, firm tone): 'YS, PP hasn't included ANY info on here that tells me about the class. Call him and tell him that I want a lesson plan [standard procedure at our school when a teacher has to miss a class] and to know about the level. Names of students too, if he happens to know them.'
YS: 'STOP SHOUTING AT ME AND ORDERING ME AROUND.'
MrT: 'AARRGGHH.'

With that, I left and went home. I was fuming the entire way. I went back to the school around 14h15 to make some photocopies for my 15h class, and YS was there.

MrT: 'Do you have any info for me on the class yet?'
YS: 'No, I just got back from lunch.'

She then called PP and he gave her ONLY the following information:
-technical English
-general English
-Murphy's
-articles
-heating machines.

MrT: 'Which Murphy's, red, blue or purple?'
YS: 'He didn't say.' (in a 'fuck off' tone of voice)
MrT: 'Level?'
YS: 'He didn't say.' (again in a 'fuck off' tone of voice)

I had heard the conversation - she hadn't asked him any of the questions I had told her I needed to know. So, basically, I had to miss my exam class because NG wouldn't drive to class S, and was left with a class that I knew nothing about shouldn't have had to teach, and I had no clue as to what I should prepare.

The fact that no one else saw neither how illogical the above was, nor the idiocy of the whole situation were the reasons I was so livid.