Friday, August 11, 2006

New Guy’s next problem

Upon entering the teachers’ room, I greeted Two-Face (that’s the nicest nickname I could think of for her, so perhaps I’ll have to make a Name the **** post) and she started a conversation with me:

TF: ‘Some guy just came in here and stole my markers for the whiteboard.’
MrT: ‘Some random bloke?’
TF: ‘Yes.’
MrT: ‘What did he look like?’
TF: ‘He was good looking and about my age.’
MrT: ‘That’s New Guy.’
TF: ‘Oh?’
MrT: ‘Yes, he’s a new English teacher here.’
TF: ‘Do you think I’ll get my markers back?’
MrT: ‘Perhaps.’

Thursday, August 10, 2006

More from the record setting day.

I was told that I wouldn’t be teaching my normal class that day because they had scheduled me to teach Student X again.

MrTeacher: ‘Why?’
Young Secretary: ‘Because Pompous Ponce normally has one hour of translation with them and I don’t think they want to do that right before school ends.’
*I didn’t even begin to look for logic in that ‘explanation’*
MrT: ‘Right, then you need to call the student that will be giving an oral presentation that day and tell her she has to do it tomorrow. I need that time!’
YS: ‘Go ask PP if you can have it.’

At this point I was bewildered. Why should I have to ask the teacher that will be taking over a class for me that I didn’t want them to take over for permission to take back a class that was rightfully mine, just because the secretary didn’t have the brains to think things through?

*I find PP*

MrT: ‘PP, I need that class you’re supposed to be taking over for me because a student has to give a presentation that day.’
PP: ‘That’s fine. You can have the last 1/3 of it. I’m going to watch a movie with them.’
*I was puzzled but didn’t say anything to him about that*

So, I went back to the office and had the schedule changed to reflect the new ‘change’.

I still don’t understand the logic of it. Many teachers watch movies with their students the last couple of weeks of school (after exams have finished), but I keep mine working by having them do presentations and things like that to keep them learning.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Enter New Guy

So far he seems like a decent bloke. He’s from the USA and hasn’t spoken out much yet (Monday was his first day) while he’s getting used to how things work (or don't) here. I don’t have enough of an impression yet to get a nickname for him.

He did ask Pompous Ponce if we had a dress code, and the response was, ‘You should be okay as long as you don’t come in wearing a clown suit.’ Unfortunately, he took that literally on his second day, when he came in wearing a nice shirt and trousers and also flip-flops. In my wildest dreams, I would have never thought of wearing flip-flops to work, but it was none of my business.

Later in the day in the office (I was walking out, but lingered for a bit after it started):
Bossman: ‘Can I assume you own shoes?’
NG: ‘Yes.’
BM: ‘Wearing flip-flops to an incompany class won’t work here.’ [NG was going to a company for his first lesson with one of the Vice Presidents.]
NG: ‘I asked about a dress cold was told that I could come in wearing anything but a clown suit.’
*I had my stifle my desire to laugh*
BM: ‘We need to find some shoes for you.’ [There wasn’t time for NG to return to his flat and then get to the incompany class on time]
*BM looks at my shoes*
MrT: ‘That’s not going to happen.’

BM then found PP, had him take NG to PP’s house and lend him a pair of shoes.

When PP returned to the school, I asked him if his shoes had fit NG. He told me that NG said they were a bit tight, which didn’t seem odd due to the fact that NG is a bit taller than both of us (he had told PP that he wore 42). I asked him what size they were and he told me they were 43 (I wear 44), so we figured that NG probably had no idea what size he wore in European measurements.

He returned in his flip-flops after the lesson.