Blowouts, zombie people in Taiwan classes, punishment, and embarrassment

Teunis was going to go out, but didn't - he actually slept through most of the game! He said he'd make potato pancakes, but of course the radio disturbs his concentration. Oh well, I do want to be a good friend to him also. Talked to Corey, as well... he did get my email the other day, haha.

flamsterette: HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!
Corey: tonsil hockey
flamsterette: no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
flamsterette: THE CANUCKS JUST WON 2-1 IN OVERTIME AGAINST CHICAGO!!!!!!!! ON TO NASHVILLE!
Corey: is that good?
flamsterette: what kind of a question is that?! of course it's good... Vancouver was up 3-0 in the series, then lost by blowout / heartbreaker scores in the next three games...
Corey: speaking of blowouts, there's a good chance I'll have one tonight in class!
flamsterette: don't have a heart attack, man!
Corey: I've been trying incredibly hard for a long time now to get one problem class to do more than just sit there and look at the floor
Corey: there's another teacher that has the same class at the same time, and everyone in his class talks, which means his classes are probably fun and not soul-crushingly boring like mine
Corey: if I ask them to speak, or do an activity where they have to speak, they might just leave the room, and the next class will be down to literally 1-3 people
Corey: finally, a student told me why, when I complained about those idiots to her... they just don't WANT to speak. the other teacher makes people speak, so they've decided my class is the one they don't speak in
flamsterette: what do you do in class?
flamsterette: oh
Corey: so, all my effort to help them is completely wasted
Corey: so, I've been caring about these shitheads for nothing
Corey: they leave BECAUSE I try to get them to practice English
Corey: in English class
flamsterette: that is ridiculous, as I've said already
Corey: last week, people talked and we had fun... Monday, we had more people - the quiet zombie people - and people here just follow the crowd, so NOBODY would talk, for two hours
Corey: that fucking sucks
Corey: that's boring for everyone
Corey: sometimes, those people that ruin the class get bored and leave in the middle of class... when it's completely their fault that the class is boring
flamsterette: I'm sure you try to make it fun
Corey: up until now, I thought maybe I just didn't have good activities, and I needed to fix something.. but no... it's their damn attitude.. people go there just to sit and listen
Corey: so, I'm about ready to kill them since they've been making my life miserable for a long time now, and I've made the mistake of trying to help them
Corey: so today, they're going to be punished somehow... I need a good way to embarass them and make them "lose face" so they don't come back
Corey: that's not very hard with Chinese people, actually... Chinese people kind of act like babies sometimes with this face stuff...
flamsterette: they've been doing this for months
Corey: it seems like it's generally "you don't do things exactly like I want to because you can't read my mind, so now I don't like you anymore"
flamsterette: yeah, just about right
Corey: well, I've been nice before. now, I'll tell them they suck at English and have a terrible attitude and will never learn anything this way
Corey: I'll be slightly nicer than that, but I think the gloves are off now
flamsterette: HAHAHAHA - they'll probably take that way too personally, but if they've been doing that for way too long... do it
Corey: well, I don't want those people in my class
Corey: I want to run them off without pissing them off so much that everyone complains about me
flamsterette: yeah, that is good
Corey: nobody is assigned to classes or anything, they just go where they want. it's a subscription based school
Corey: so it's not like they lose money or something if I essentially toss them out of my class
flamsterette: if it doesn't affect your job / contract, then go for it
Corey: there's a CD for every lesson too, so I really don't understand why they don't just listen to that if they're so afraid of speaking
Corey: they don't ask me questions or anything to help them understand, so it's not like they have any advantage by listening to me... I have to ramble about nonsense to fill up two hours
flamsterette: if they were out of your class, the others would listen more, I'm guessing
Corey: no, they'd speak more
Corey: everyone here is terrified of talking when other people are there
Corey: people here are pretty ridiculous, really... they pay to learn English, but they're afraid to use it, so they just don't
Corey: if you ask them to, they get embarassed and might never come back to class
Corey: I don't understand how they expect to learn English if they're that afraid of learning English
Corey: keep in mind that these are people that feel they're ready to go to a 100% English class...
flamsterette: why would they feel that way?!
Corey: in my Japanese class in the US, we were having conversations with native speakers in the first freaking semester... not very good ones, but we were expected to make an effort...
Corey: they're like that because schools here are terrible
Corey: they learn English for years and years in school, but Chinese teachers explain everything in Chinese, and never ask them to practice anything
Corey: they're all good at parroting words or sentences if you ask them to, but they have no capacity for actually doing anything themselves
flamsterette: does that describe everyone?
Corey: most days, "hi, how are you?" when I walk into the class is too hard
Corey: I have to repeat it three times, and then feed them the answers "how are you? .... how are you today? ... good? bad?" "....... good?"
Corey: if they're not afraid to talk, they just say "normal"
Corey: I've taught them better ways to say that, but they don't use them
Corey: so really they all just waste their time, and their attitude completely prevents them from learning anything
Corey: school here is basically like that... they just waste their time studying for literally 12+ hours every day, and they practice nothing because they're studying the whole time
Corey: they actually think I'm a lazy teacher from the sound of it, because I don't spend the whole class writing down example sentences for them to mindlessly copy down
flamsterette: yikes...
Corey: they're also deathly afraid of giving you any feedback.. if I have an activity they hate and I ask if they liked it, while telling them that if they say yes I'm going to keep using it because I think they like it, and I want their honest opinion... they'll all say "yes"
Corey: actually, they won't say anything... they'll just stare at me... but if I push them about 83 times, someone will say yes, and nobody will argue
Corey: it's also not embarassing to them to look at the floor when the teacher talks to them
Corey: in the US, everyone would think you're an idiot for not answering the teacher
Corey: here, they're just afraid of saying the wrong thing... because if they did, it would be embarassing...
Corey: so, the only way to not embarass them is to be sure they never have to think or do anything
Corey: so, they just want to listen to me talk, then they get bored
Corey: stupid fuckers
flamsterette: that is insane, yes
Corey: so tonight, I'll probably call them idiots in some way, and tell them to just stay home and listen to the CD if they want to act that way
flamsterette: haha - you'll have to tell me how that goes
Corey: but I still have to prepare for the class, which I hate since I don't care about them anymore. if that's really their attitude, I want them to leave... and I'll start over with better people, if they come...
flamsterette: yeah, I understand
Corey: and I'm definitely not talking for two hours tonight, so I'll probably just do activities the whole damn time, and force them to talk
flamsterette: good idea
Corey: they'll probably leave, though, so then I'll have a few people, and not enough for groups and team games...
flamsterette: ooh =/
flamsterette: hope it goes well
Corey: it won't, but I expect that :P
Corey: I'm planning to only talk for 30 minutes per page today. they're going to do other stuff for the rest of the class, like it or not
Corey: I'm done with that shit
Corey: I just need to figure out a plan for a two-hour class with only a few students...
Corey: WITH activities
Corey: that happens, then I guess they hear I'm not doing activities anymore, and all the zombies come back and ruin things. when there's a few people, they generally talk to me, so it's not bad, but then I get all the zombies back, and they infect the people that do talk, so I try to HELP them by making easy activities, and they're rude and don't come back
Corey: then I'm back to a few people, and can't do activities
Corey: but they specifically go to my class to just not talk... so if I try to help them, that's the actual reason they leave my class... idiots
Corey: I have private students that want classes with me, too... for more money... but I'm busy and don't really have time. and they can't do a class at night because they have families to take care of in the evening.. if they didn't, I'd love to cancel this class and do classes with these people instead
Corey: so I have people that really want to learn that I turn away, and I have to teach a bunch of idiots that don't want to learn.. in a 100% voluntary class....
flamsterette: that's nuts
Corey: I really don't understand why they even go
flamsterette: I wouldn't understand, either
Corey: everyone here thinks they're so smart and study hard, though, compared to those lazy Americans.... people here have no life, and literally have lost the ability to be creative... and they can't do anything either, because they're afraid of mistakes... if I have kids, I'm absolutely leaving Taiwan :P the schools here are awful
flamsterette: they may study hard, but if they're too afraid to actually USE and APPLY what they learn, then I don't think it's very useful
Corey: ah ha... I have to teach them about "passive income" today... which I've never really heard anyone use... but that's a good chance to teach them about passive vs. active
Corey: I have some great examples of passive right in the room
flamsterette: HAHAHA
flamsterette: what IS passive income?
Corey: interest, stock dividends... stuff like that
Corey: basically, you're rich enough to stop earning money and just live off interest
flamsterette: OH
Corey: like... your expenses are $100 a month, but you earn $150 in interest or whatever each month
Corey: usually, I think people just say live off interest...
Corey: I can't think of another good way to say it
flamsterette: I think I got it, but then business / math has never been my strong point
Corey: well, you have to be rich or have no expenses for that to happen :P
Corey: well... I'm almost done with this stupid article... now I have to figure out some activities......... and tonight, I need to really do more of them as punishment for last time... and most importantly, I need to get the message across (it's hard to tell if those people even listen to me though) that sitting there and not talking isn't going to cut it any more
flamsterette: if you actually SAY that, what would happen?
Corey: we'll find out in a few hours
Corey: I actually hate those jerks for having that attitude, so I really don't care what they think
flamsterette: haha, okay
Corey: I just want to run them off without making good people (the few of them that there are in this class offended, too
Corey: I've been wasting my time caring about them and trying to help them for months, and they just shit all over any effort I make because they've just decided that they'll go to my class because they don't have to talk
Corey: who the hell says they get to decide that? it's my class
Corey: I'll do what they want, not that they ever give me suggestions, but if it's just me talking for two hours about boring shit, that doesn't work
Corey: I do actually kind of care about them learning... they're just stupid and don't know what learning means...