Lunch

hey all,

I just finished Visible Learning for Teachers a few days ago, and I've gone back to reading Making Thinking Visible and Teach Like a Champion. I actually got reminded by one of the techniques in Champion that I'm being negative when I remind my students of how to behave during lunch ("Don't do that" "Knock it off") instead of telling them what to do ("We're eating lunch" "It's lunch time" "Time to eat")

Cheers,

Nostalgia

hey all,

This weekend was Michi's interview for the Eiken Pre-2. We're not sure if she passed or not. I guess she'll get the results in about three weeks.

We finally got our kitchen knife back from the store. We took it in the weekend before to get it sharpened, and the whole week in between was tough. Michi's old knife is about as sharp as the broad side of a barn, so cutting fruits and vegetables is not easy, and forget about chicken.

Yesterday we finally got around to making falafel. We had the ingredients for it a week ago, but weren't able to get around to it. We used canned garbanzo beans, and fresh grated onion and garlic, and of course plenty of spices. Once fried, the insides were softer than I remembered from the co-op, but still really good. It really took me back to be able to have that food again, and especially to make it from scratch (even more "from scratch" than we made it at the co-op). Although it feels like I've been enjoying something of a Renaissance at my current job, living at the co-op was also such a time. I learned a lot about life, school, friends, food, and work while living there.

Cheers,

And...We're Back

hey all,

I'm still kicking around here in Japan. Yes,I know it is now July, and no I didn't really do anything special for the 4th.

Michi and I are planning a hiking trip to one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains. Length-wise, and fitness-wise, it does not seem too bad, but we are going shopping for crampons since they are recommended for this mountain. Oh, and Michi still hasn't gotten her foot x-rayed or spoken to a doctor to see if this is a good idea. It seems like her ankle is doing OK recently, but still. She didn't wear the brace as long as she was supposed to, and she had a resurgence of the pain after our last hiking trip to Aomori, which was somewhat lengthy but only involved walking along a river trail with no serious ups or downs...and for this climb we will need to be walking on snow/ice and using crampons. Sounds like it will do therapeutic wonders for her ankle, doesn't it?

At work, we're still training one of the teachers, and we've started having another one come in to see how he does.

I finished Infinite Jest the other day. I'm a lot less satisfied with the ending this time around, and I find myself wondering about the meaning of the eponymous film in the book and the meaning of the main character's loss of communicative ability. I'm back to reading my teaching books sporadically.

Cheers,

Short Fuse

hey all,

Last week was E3. We got some interesting games coming out this year, but nothing that really grabbed me like last year.

I barely got any sleep at all last week, but that is my fault. I started a new series called The Kingkiller Chronicles, and the first two books were really good. So good, in fact, that I didn't get to bed until 1AM or 2AM most nights. Not sure when the third book is coming out, but I'm looking forward to it.

I'm still plugging away at the teaching books, though my pace is slow. One of my coworkers complained about books all having the same plot, etc, and I recommended she read Gravity's Rainbow and Infinite Jest. I actually started Infinite Jest for my second read through this weekend, as well.

Friday was a brutish day. We had a potential new teacher come in and teach a bit, but he had zero experience and would need a lot of training. My class had to finish early so I could head over to the immigration bureau and pick up my new visa. I applied for the three year visa, and I actually got it, so that was nice. But then both of my afternoon classes severely disappointed me. The younger kids never look up any words, and I yelled at them for not making enough efforts at home (such as looking up words they didn't know). Then my high school class. It starts at 6:10PM, and despite telling them to review the vocabulary because there would be a quiz, they hadn't. The class only meets once a week, and is only 50 minutes long, but it is nothing but a waste of time. The students don't study, they don't seem to retain what is taught, etc. I told them to come back next week with a goal for us to reach. Hopefully, if they can come up with a reason to study, it will go much smoother.

Probably because of the stress and lack of sleep, I've come down with a headcold. One of those, "why did my ancestors need to have evolved sinuses?" headcolds that through off your balance, your hearing, and give you a killer headache. I slept through most of Saturday, and I'll be going to bed early tonight as well.

I have got in a few more hours in Kingdoms of Amalur, too. The combat really makes the game.

Next week we have more potential teachers coming in. We'll see if they work out.

Cheers,

Course

hey all,

I've gotten the feedback for my final assignment in that curriculum development course. I basically got half points on one part, and almost full points on the other part, so it evened out to 75% percent. The instructor liked my powerpoint presentation, but for some reason did not like the critique I wrote up. I think part of it was the formatting. He wanted a title page, references listed on a separate page, etc. And all I could think about was how much paper that would waste. Of course, he returned the files with digital comments on them, so I know he didn't print them out to grade them. But still.

The other part was citations. Apparently, I was supposed to cite the textbook (or some other source) as a credible source for my judgment of the quality of the presentation, but I didn't.

Oh well. I guess that's what I get for being out of academia for a few years.

Cheers,

One More Year

hey all,

Just finished watching the season finale of Game of Thrones. I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with how they have adapted the books so far. I still have my grudges and gripes about that one red haired whore character, and I'm a little tweaked that some characters were introduced and then apparently cut for no reason. But their handling of the battle on Blackwater was very well done, even if yes, it was different from the book. And they did manage to justify, at least partially, a major deviation involving the dragons and Qarth. Of course, down the road, this also means another deviation if they get around to filming A Dance with Dragons, as they have killed off one (at least implicitly) of the characters who comes back in that book.

But they can deal with that problem when they get there. For now, they have apparently already started casting for season three, and probably will be moving into shooting sooner or later. But that means I've got a whole ten months or so to wait for the next season.

And who knows when good old GRRM will get around to publishing the next book in the series. My bet is that I will have my student loans paid off before he finishes his next novel. I mean, he has the TV series to help with, his various conventions to go to, his other projects such as Wild Cards and others to keep going.

Cheers,

Funny

hey all,

Just a short one here. Yesterday there was an earthquake during one of my PM group lessons. I was quizzing them on pronoun references in one of our reading passages, and then the building started shaking a little. My students kept their hands up so I could call on them, even though their moms, myself and the other classes in session where judging whether or not to get out of the building. I only smiled and said "I love your focus right now."

Cheers,