Least Favourite Character From The Textbooks

[gmosborn]

then there is Nami's mother.  The bad acting with the sarcastic unloving attitude that she displays towards Nami.  No wonder Nami has problems.  I would love to hear from these actors and what they have to say about their experience making these.  They have to be somewhere.

[hoopyfrood]

any single character that says "you're a good boy" instantly drops 10 charisma points.

[wajowens]

Ha I second the motion for Nami's dad being declared a hero. That 80's infomercial voice... "It's time to wash the dishes!!"... and his James Bond hair haha. comedy genius.

Kevin (in the real-life ones, not the cartoons) - with his [mod edit] braces, blonde slick-back hair and "punch-me" face - grrr.

I taught one class the word "[mod edit]" in the lesson where Namsu couldn't make a paper aeroplane by himself, despite having a paper aeroplane book in front of him. Because he is a ****ing [mod edit].

[cad123]

That annoying girl who is always in the hat, I don't know her name, but I hate that girl, and that stupid robot what the crap, i mean really, also that alien needs to get the heck off this planet, i mean really

[ramkyles]

Nami's Dad for the win! He's my hero, and is overworked by his entire family. Look and Listen of "Will You Help Me Please" has to be one of the most inspiring stories of overcoming family adversity I've ever seen. I hope my future wife and children prepare cut cucumbers for me in exchange for my hard labor.

[stephenflett]

"oh snap! i forgot about That Guy. he also dressed up as Santa for 3rd grade's Merry Christmas. SUPER SKETCHY. the entire "Who Is He" lesson was awkward and bordering on illegal. why are these grown-ups inquiring about elementary students?!"

What worries me even more is that they seem to be teaching kids that they should talk to a stranger if said stranger a) speaks english and b) enquires about the age of their sibling/friend. Disturbing!

[Selda85]

Definitely JULIE! Yes that stupid hairstyle really gets me...in which universe is that an OK hairstyle? One of my kids actually does that hairstyle now thinking it's nice...it's some stupid Dracula hairstyle...

[BryceSK]

I don't know whether it's the characters or their catch phrases which I hate more. My gf teaches in a hagwon and I told her about the "Happy birthday Julie" and "Thank you Julie" phrase ages ago. Now it's a running joke! I'll hand something to my gf and she'll blurt out "Thank you Julie" or "Ok, Julie!"  FML...Julie is driving me crazy!

[Paul]

"oh snap! i forgot about That Guy.

I once wondered why That Guy made my skin crawl a little. Nothing he said or did was really that offensive. I mean, he was always just That Guy doing That Job. Like That Shopkeeper, or That Santa Dude. I felt ashamed that I automatically eyed him with a little suspicion and honestly wondered about the source of this prejudice (well, although minor, that is what it is!)

Now, in his defense, I think its actually the wardrobe! His attire appears hastily cobbled together with poorly fitted, oft oversized pieces that makes him look like he's trying to hide his identity. Couple this with his role changing between sucessive clips and it clearly evokes the image of a "Carmen Sandiago-styled comic-book fugitive". Maybe I should tell me students who comment about his re-appearance that he's a secret agent!

Just a positive thought for the record here though: I actually genuinely like the 3rd and 4th grade books.

[elspeth]

Has anyone said ALL OF THEM yet?

Because they ALL make me want to kick kittens.

[mteacher]

My students call Julie - Julie Hamburger cos of her hair... we don't like her much but they really can't stand Zeeto.. some if my kids aren't shy to tell me that they want to kill him :)
As for poor Thomas???? What's up with him? And the odd foreigners in the books - my kids think they are friends of mine.. haha.

[daninsanam]

Nami is terrible.

Have you guys seen any of the new books for next year? They are full of characters I know I'm going to hate. Lots of Zeeto imitators as well.

[Gillod]

I hate that lesson where Nami goes "Oh he has a long hair!" and I was like DO NOT REPEAT AFTER NAMI

[crjumjr01]

Nami has got to be the worst. Does she EVER take the hat off to wash her greasy bangs?!

[shelleydee]

Even with the new textbooks coming its still gonna be atrocious!
In the grade 4 textbook with the real life videos for the What do you want unit, there's this random video of a black dad and a brown daughter where she mumbles something and then when asked she says she wants a chair while they awkardly wait at the red light.  My kids thought the dad was a burglar!

But in grade 5/6 textbooks
I can't stand how the cartoon version of Peter is like the cartoon version of Blackface,

Nami can't say anything properly

and Joon needs to stop trying so hard, clean the freckles off his face and talk like a regular person.

The way these people talk drives me nuts and now I started picking up on it too!

[jhill8787]

I have to start off by saying that this thread is beyond HILARIOUS! The rest of the teachers in my office are looking at me like I am crazy!

I seriously hate ALL of the characters and think that the Look and Listen/Listen and Repeats are HORRIBLE! But there are THREE characters who REALLY work my nerves!

3rd place: Joon! The Steve Urkel Pants, the annoying freckles, the fact that he says his birthday is July 14th and holds ups 5 fingers! I mean come on now!  We are not here to confuse the children.  Joon is just a mess- both versions of him.

2nd Place: Peter! Really?!? The "nappy hair" in the cartoons, the high pitched voice in the "I Like Spring" Lesson (Wowwww! what a beautiful day!), and everything else that he does.  This is the BIGGEST stereotype in the world! The worst "Peter" was the clay figure in the "That's Too Bad" lesson.  It was just pitiful, the extra big lips and all was just too much for me.

And the winner is...... NAMI!  How in the world are students supposed to learn how to speak properly when they are listening to that???? "Its over dere".... "We get a long bay-cation"... No one should be repeating after her because she pronounces everything wrong.  And the bang sticking out of the cap... Come on now!

Whoever created these characters should have been sent back to the drawing board. TRY AGAIN... EPIC FAIL!

[bern]

Best we not forget fat Tony mumbling awkwardly along to the pepper pig theme tune on TV.

Or, Kevin slow-clapping Julie's terrible violin playing.

[rainesbaines]

This is SO FUNNY.  Keep it up.  I am going to check this all day tomorrow (while my students are in their exams) too.

[rhetoric]

I'm torn between Jinho's uncle, who hits on Mrs. Smith in the park in front of Jinho; and Mrs. Smith herself, who starts taking the bait when she learns the uncle is a musician.

[RufusW]

I'm torn between Jinho's uncle, who hits on Mrs. Smith in the park in front of Jinho; and Mrs. Smith herself, who starts taking the bait when she learns the uncle is a musician.

When was that?
I don't use the videos much, now I'm going to have to watch them all...