Yes, I've been home in the US for about two weeks. But the damage may have already been done by living outside of the country for a whole six months...
Tonight, I couldn't name all of the amendments to the Constitution. And, worse, I couldn't name all of the Chief Justices who have ever presided over the Supreme Court of the United States.
On the bright side, I could still describe the American flag.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Weekly Mandarin: 25
25th week: Ju Shou
Next semester, I'll be teaching different grades at the same school I've been working with this year. So this was my last week of classes with the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th graders. And silly me, I thought that giving them candy, telling them they're smart, and reminding them that this was their last impression on me would be enough to get us peacefully through the last week.
However, their misbehaviors did solidify the term "ju shou" in my brain: raise your hand. I don't know it from Chinese class cause I'm a spoiled kid in a one-on-one tutoring class:)
There may be a hiatus in Weekly Mandarin while I'm in the US... which will not be a place to improve my Mandarin, but will be a place full of new wonders, like salad bars, pizza, family, and indoor heating.
Next semester, I'll be teaching different grades at the same school I've been working with this year. So this was my last week of classes with the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th graders. And silly me, I thought that giving them candy, telling them they're smart, and reminding them that this was their last impression on me would be enough to get us peacefully through the last week.
However, their misbehaviors did solidify the term "ju shou" in my brain: raise your hand. I don't know it from Chinese class cause I'm a spoiled kid in a one-on-one tutoring class:)
There may be a hiatus in Weekly Mandarin while I'm in the US... which will not be a place to improve my Mandarin, but will be a place full of new wonders, like salad bars, pizza, family, and indoor heating.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Weekly Mandarin: 24
24th edition: Kao shur
Kao shur, kinda rhymes with lao shur (teacher)... and they happen at the middle and end of the school term... that's right. Kao shur is an exam.
Luckily, I didn't have to take an exam myself during the past few weeks because I'm an adult and I chose to take Chinese class.
Unluckily, I spent a remarkable amount of time writing, rewriting, administering, and grading kao shur (s) for my students. And I personally graded almost all of them (about 285 out of 315).
The whole experience reminded me of a major reason why I wouldn't want to be a classroom teacher for the rest of my life. I hate giving tests. They have the potential to break kids down and make them feel like they haven't accomplished anything. They're really hard to make valid measures of a student's learning. And here, they are really really important to kids and parents.
Entire families are committed to their childrens' success, even on elementary school midterms. I was shocked to hear my students tell me about what their parents thought of their grades and the corporal punishment used in homes to respond to anything but perfect scores. I've had kids tell me they failed because they got a grade below a 90. And, honestly, that just makes me want to give all the kids A+s because they're good people and shouldn't be emotionally or physically hurt over English class. But then it would just lead to more chaos later down the line when the same student has a less constructivist teacher and ends up "failing" later on.
The importance of testing here is a real culture shock for me. The last classroom I was a part of ran on the paradigm of giving A's to everyone because students and teachers are doing the best they can. Honestly, this testing season has made me even more convinced that testing is a bunch of bunk and nothing I want to ever do again.
On a related note, here's a picture I took pretty soon after I arrived here in Taiwan. This was the front of one of the local high schools, and the red sheets you see here are the students' scores on their college entrance exams. Posted, on the sidewalk, for everyone to see. They're even lit up at night.
It's intense, and I have no idea how students survive this educational culture with any interest at all in learning.
Kao shur, kinda rhymes with lao shur (teacher)... and they happen at the middle and end of the school term... that's right. Kao shur is an exam.
Luckily, I didn't have to take an exam myself during the past few weeks because I'm an adult and I chose to take Chinese class.
Unluckily, I spent a remarkable amount of time writing, rewriting, administering, and grading kao shur (s) for my students. And I personally graded almost all of them (about 285 out of 315).
The whole experience reminded me of a major reason why I wouldn't want to be a classroom teacher for the rest of my life. I hate giving tests. They have the potential to break kids down and make them feel like they haven't accomplished anything. They're really hard to make valid measures of a student's learning. And here, they are really really important to kids and parents.
Entire families are committed to their childrens' success, even on elementary school midterms. I was shocked to hear my students tell me about what their parents thought of their grades and the corporal punishment used in homes to respond to anything but perfect scores. I've had kids tell me they failed because they got a grade below a 90. And, honestly, that just makes me want to give all the kids A+s because they're good people and shouldn't be emotionally or physically hurt over English class. But then it would just lead to more chaos later down the line when the same student has a less constructivist teacher and ends up "failing" later on.
The importance of testing here is a real culture shock for me. The last classroom I was a part of ran on the paradigm of giving A's to everyone because students and teachers are doing the best they can. Honestly, this testing season has made me even more convinced that testing is a bunch of bunk and nothing I want to ever do again.
On a related note, here's a picture I took pretty soon after I arrived here in Taiwan. This was the front of one of the local high schools, and the red sheets you see here are the students' scores on their college entrance exams. Posted, on the sidewalk, for everyone to see. They're even lit up at night.
It's intense, and I have no idea how students survive this educational culture with any interest at all in learning.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Comments
Thanks to anyone who reads my blogs and leave comments. It's nice to know people are reading:)
I've started getting comment spam (which makes me sad, because I think "Oh boy, someone else wanted to write something about what I wrote" and then get disappointed by offers to enlarge my... heh.) Anyways, please don't be surprised if you're asked to type in a smooshed word when you want to post a comment. Hopefully it'll cut the spam, but please don't let it prevent you from saying "Hi" or "Gee, Korea was COLD?!"
I've started getting comment spam (which makes me sad, because I think "Oh boy, someone else wanted to write something about what I wrote" and then get disappointed by offers to enlarge my... heh.) Anyways, please don't be surprised if you're asked to type in a smooshed word when you want to post a comment. Hopefully it'll cut the spam, but please don't let it prevent you from saying "Hi" or "Gee, Korea was COLD?!"
Friday, January 4, 2008
Hanguo!!! (Korea)
I spent the 5 days surrounding New Years in Korea with my great friend Hwa Jeong. We met during grad school and she was a wonderful hostess in her home city of Seoul! I think this is a story best-told through pictures: enjoy!
I didn't have a thorough understanding of how cold it would be in Korea. Heh. It was REALLY cold. But to deal with that fact, the Koreans came up with this brilliant heating system a long time ago. All the heat, radiating from the floor, but none of the smoke. Genius! If only they could do it to the sidewalks too.
Awesome apotropaic stone figure. Didn't really scare me though.
Having fun with the giant plastic figure...
..and the giant stuffed figure.
Hwa Jeong took me to visit Korea's National Folklife Museum. It was really interesting (and they had a cool proximity triggered electronic self-guide). Their special exhibit was about the Chinese zodiac system, which obviously isn't just used in China, but also Chinese restaurants all over the world;) It focused on art including the rat-- this upcoming year and MY zodiac year! Outside the Museum, they had an arrangement of the zodiac figures! Here's me and the rat:)
Me and the cute drummer guys. Right now they're not wearing their beanie hats with ribbon-dancer ribbons on them. But it was pretty awesome when they were dancing, drumming, and ribbon-dancing.
Korea has Outback. I couldn't have been happier.
For New Years Eve, Hwa Jeong and I went to Lotte World (any MEPs out there, you KNOW that's funny!). We ended up going on a rollercoaster at about 11 PM and then watching indoor fire works. (Side note: not us) What a great way to ring in the New Year-- at Asia's largest indoor theme park...
Ok... but not all of it was indoors. I almost turned into an icicle on the swing ride.
Cold + going fast = really cold.
It only snows on mountain tops in Taiwan. So I wanted to see some snow in Korea. It actually led me to get really excited when I saw about 5 snowflakes in a flurry one day. But the most snow I experienced was in an aquarium with a snow machine. I don't think there are polar bears in Korea.
Hwa Jeong got us tickets to the Must See performance in Korea-- Nanta! It's a percussion show based around the sounds and drum-able things in the kitchen. It was highly participatory; Hwa Jeong went on stage to make dumplings with the cast during the show. And my personal favorite part was when they quoted Street Fighter 3. And I understood it. (Brian, be proud)
Hwa Jeong was a reaaaaaally generous hostess.
She even gave me a departing gift--mousy goodies for the lunar new year!
I didn't have a thorough understanding of how cold it would be in Korea. Heh. It was REALLY cold. But to deal with that fact, the Koreans came up with this brilliant heating system a long time ago. All the heat, radiating from the floor, but none of the smoke. Genius! If only they could do it to the sidewalks too.
Awesome apotropaic stone figure. Didn't really scare me though.
Having fun with the giant plastic figure...
..and the giant stuffed figure.
Hwa Jeong took me to visit Korea's National Folklife Museum. It was really interesting (and they had a cool proximity triggered electronic self-guide). Their special exhibit was about the Chinese zodiac system, which obviously isn't just used in China, but also Chinese restaurants all over the world;) It focused on art including the rat-- this upcoming year and MY zodiac year! Outside the Museum, they had an arrangement of the zodiac figures! Here's me and the rat:)
Who says my sister should have all the fun trying on wedding dresses? Me in a Korean wedding dress:)
Hwa Jeong and I took an awesome Korean drumming lesson. We were really good at it. AND THEN, we clapped the same rhythm during the Nanta performance a few days later. How cool.
Hwa Jeong and I took an awesome Korean drumming lesson. We were really good at it. AND THEN, we clapped the same rhythm during the Nanta performance a few days later. How cool.
Me and the cute drummer guys. Right now they're not wearing their beanie hats with ribbon-dancer ribbons on them. But it was pretty awesome when they were dancing, drumming, and ribbon-dancing.
Korea has Outback. I couldn't have been happier.
For New Years Eve, Hwa Jeong and I went to Lotte World (any MEPs out there, you KNOW that's funny!). We ended up going on a rollercoaster at about 11 PM and then watching indoor fire works. (Side note: not us) What a great way to ring in the New Year-- at Asia's largest indoor theme park...
Ok... but not all of it was indoors. I almost turned into an icicle on the swing ride.
Cold + going fast = really cold.
It only snows on mountain tops in Taiwan. So I wanted to see some snow in Korea. It actually led me to get really excited when I saw about 5 snowflakes in a flurry one day. But the most snow I experienced was in an aquarium with a snow machine. I don't think there are polar bears in Korea.
Hwa Jeong got us tickets to the Must See performance in Korea-- Nanta! It's a percussion show based around the sounds and drum-able things in the kitchen. It was highly participatory; Hwa Jeong went on stage to make dumplings with the cast during the show. And my personal favorite part was when they quoted Street Fighter 3. And I understood it. (Brian, be proud)
Hwa Jeong was a reaaaaaally generous hostess.
She even gave me a departing gift--mousy goodies for the lunar new year!
Weekly Mandarin: 23
23rd edition: Men
I was in Korea for a week, which I'll go into more detail in another post, but I resisted the temptation to bow out of a Weekly Mandarin 'cause they don't speak Mandarin in Korea.
They speak Korean. Duh.
I like Korean a lot. There are no tones. There are clever little tag words that identify what word is what part of the sentence. And a lot of Korean is phonetic. But, because they were a part of the whole China thing for a while, they still use a lot of Chinese characters (which, haha, of course, are not phonetic).
But while we were touring Seoul, I was really thrilled to see and use Chinese to understand what was going on around me. A great example of this was "men" meaning gate or door. Seoul has lots of old, fancy gates which have been preserved and kept in place right in the middle of the city. And I kept being so excited to read the labels on them "West Gate," "East Gate!" It was all just exciting and made the Chinese studying seem a little more useful.
I was in Korea for a week, which I'll go into more detail in another post, but I resisted the temptation to bow out of a Weekly Mandarin 'cause they don't speak Mandarin in Korea.
They speak Korean. Duh.
I like Korean a lot. There are no tones. There are clever little tag words that identify what word is what part of the sentence. And a lot of Korean is phonetic. But, because they were a part of the whole China thing for a while, they still use a lot of Chinese characters (which, haha, of course, are not phonetic).
But while we were touring Seoul, I was really thrilled to see and use Chinese to understand what was going on around me. A great example of this was "men" meaning gate or door. Seoul has lots of old, fancy gates which have been preserved and kept in place right in the middle of the city. And I kept being so excited to read the labels on them "West Gate," "East Gate!" It was all just exciting and made the Chinese studying seem a little more useful.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Weekly Mandarin: 22
22nd edition: Jia ren
I'm late, I know! I've just been busy: Christmas, teaching, globe trotting. Sorry.
In any case, Christmas week's Weekly Mandarin was jia ren, which means "family people." Christmas abroad wasn't the easiest thing ever, because you don't really realize what you've got until you don't have it available. So I was definitely thinking wistfully of real Christmas trees, ovens to bake cookies in, and the friends and family I've spent so many Christmases with. But, I ended up with a pretty good Christmas with a few gifts and calls from the families at home (Dad's family, Mom, my sister, the Brian, AND the Williammees of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Georgia) and the families I'm creating here, with my host family, haircut family, co-teachers, fellow Fellows, and of course, my students. Here are the highlights of Christmas in Taiwan...
With the sixth graders, we had a little Christmas party where we sneakily made them practice their new grammar structure and vocabulary. And they needed to put the hat on me.
I don't think most of them understood that in the US, sometimes we have real trees as Christmas trees.
Or for that matter, yes, my dad is a Chinese-American.
Christmas pictionary with the second graders-- what's he drawing?
T is for Christmas TREE.
Me? I don't pick favorites. At all. Technically, she's not even one of my students! This is the famous Gladys:)
I'm late, I know! I've just been busy: Christmas, teaching, globe trotting. Sorry.
In any case, Christmas week's Weekly Mandarin was jia ren, which means "family people." Christmas abroad wasn't the easiest thing ever, because you don't really realize what you've got until you don't have it available. So I was definitely thinking wistfully of real Christmas trees, ovens to bake cookies in, and the friends and family I've spent so many Christmases with. But, I ended up with a pretty good Christmas with a few gifts and calls from the families at home (Dad's family, Mom, my sister, the Brian, AND the Williammees of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Georgia) and the families I'm creating here, with my host family, haircut family, co-teachers, fellow Fellows, and of course, my students. Here are the highlights of Christmas in Taiwan...
With the sixth graders, we had a little Christmas party where we sneakily made them practice their new grammar structure and vocabulary. And they needed to put the hat on me.
I don't think most of them understood that in the US, sometimes we have real trees as Christmas trees.Or for that matter, yes, my dad is a Chinese-American.
Christmas pictionary with the second graders-- what's he drawing?
T is for Christmas TREE.
Me? I don't pick favorites. At all. Technically, she's not even one of my students! This is the famous Gladys:)
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