This is the conversation that I had with my 9 year old student. I thought it was funny.

Dan

are you a baby?

no I am an adult.

Are you a giraffe?
no,I'm a piano teacher.then you are monster.
If I am a monster then I:m going to eat your feet and then your nose.
then you are a crazy baby monsteI am an adult crazy monster and you look like dinner.
then I will eat your face and I will cut your body.Is it OK?

NO! It is not ok. If you do that then I:ll have to swallow all of your clothes and shoes and I'll burn your piano!

then you:re a baby,monster,crazy,bad boy,and I will give your clothes to the factory worker. Is it good?

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!I will run away and I:ll find you and I:ll steal your ipod.
then I will throw away

your bodyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!

Then I'll come out of the trashcan and I:ll break your ipod and steal all of your CDs and music. hahahahahahaha&&
then your will dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you are too scary. I'll just go home :P
then your crazy baby,crazy monster,crazy boy and you will DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifHere are some resources I've found for Beloved by Toni Morrison:

Did you want to know what a "pateroller" was? Look here:
http://pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmBeloved65.asp

This sight has a whole list of definitions that Morrison uses.

And here

I really like these questions.

This one has several different links:

This website is good too.

I like the last one because it seems to be more indepth than Sparknotes.

I'm changing my grading for essays since too many students are getting A's. Not that I have anything against A's, but I want my students to work for their grades.

I am pondering two different grading schemes right now. The bonus points that I worked in this year has been effective and kids are starting to work in vocabulary and figurative language. Overall the papers have been vastly improved.

9=A
7-8=B
5-6=C
4=F

or
8-9 A
6-7 B
4-5 C
3=F

If I do the first, an A would be a real accomplishment and it would really force kids to write well and to work in bonus points. The second one would make getting A's something common.

I am choosing the first one. Let them work for their grades.

Dan

PS. I reviewed my papers and my students are getting a medium grade of 5.5 and that would give them a C in the first grading system and a B- on the second.

At my school, getting C's means that the school will call their parents and give them a warning. I know it sounds weird but the cut off range for grades are C+s. I don't want to do stress out my kids, because it means that students will end up dropping my class. And because I think my students already have enough stress. I am going to choose the second option for grades because I feel it'll be easier for kids to make it into that B range. Plus, the grades I usually give in order to encourage them to work harder is a B-. I've found it's being on the brink that makes them try.

8-9 A
6-7 B
4-5 C
3=F

Ugh...I'm a little hungover today. (Remind me never to do jello shots ever again.) Today I'm going to do a process analysis, which is always a very fun thing. I got a funny example in "How to Kill a Zombie."

Last term, I did how to make ramyeon and that was fun because some people recommended boiling the noodles in milk first.

I think I asked them to write out the process for for tying one's shoes, but I thought that was a bit of a disaster.

I Googled it and here's what I got so far:

"How to fail out of college swiftly and completely"
"How to be a super villain"
"How to protect yourself from a robot uprising"

I think that'll work. I'm going to get them to write a funny process for their essay. I think I'll also get them to do a little editing and rewriting.

Dan

A bachelor breakfast and a cool samsung phone.

I would totally buy this phone except it weighs a ton and it's a bit thick. I totally like the sliding concept though.

I've been teaching a couple of different essays about the rights of passage for men and the depictions of manliness in American society. These essays include Dubus's "Digging," Cisnero's "Only daughter" and Staple's, "A Brother's Death" and the conclusion that I've come to, which is especially relevant in Korea and the more affulent "upwardly mobile" demographic, is that civilization is emasculating men and inhibiting them from being what nature has conditioned them to be for millions of years. Of course, this is a good thing, but sometimes the only true catharsis can come from going a bit berserk sometimes.

Think about it. Lifting a 200 pound dumbell over your head isn't as rewarding as punching some jerk in his gut and likewise; there is no wake up than a full afront confrontation. I sometimes think this whole passive approach to asserting authority is entirely ineffective because the lines between the acceptable and expective are starting to blur.

The warriors in our society wear suits and their swords are lawyers. They practice warfare around roundtables in boardrooms; where in the past they would plan for an impending attack or they would accept concessions for losses. You can't practice war in a box.

I think this is why I really like the movie "Shaun of the Dead." Before the zombies attacked London, he was written off- he had a dead end job working as an assistant to the assistant manager(or something as equally innane), he wasn't married, and he was sharing a house instead of owning his own. When the zombies came, his innate sense of leadership was allowed to flourish and he in turn killed a whole lot of zombies and he saved the love of his life.

(Hmmm...I'm realizing Shaun of the Dead also has a thread of "elite-ism" because after the zombies decimate or turn the population, only those that were leaders or closet leaders live. Everyone else becomes the doorstops that the closet warriors once were.)

I guess what I'm saying is that we all need to do is to have a good old fashioned fight. No rings, no kicking, no head butting or anything dirty. We need some self reliance in ourselves. Let's go primal!

Maybe Tyler Durden did have a point.

Dan

"Tuesday, a mutual friend of Monday and Wednesday, pondered if she had to go to Monday's birthday party or Wednesday.

Thursday was feeling gloomy today. However, after talking to her frend Friday on the phone, she perked up with overwhelming joy.

Saturday donned his old jacket and left the busy city in search of a placid quiet village.

Sunday the philosopher was stuck in a stumper question of life then at last an answer struck his mind."

Written by Jenny Heo

I'm going to have to threaten my students with death today. They need to underline the vocabulary words in quizzes. It slows down my grading when I to search for the words. Hey, I'm the king and they've gotta follow my rules.

Jenny wrote some fun sentences this week. I'll post them during my next break.

Dan

If anyone needs English Help with KTF, call this number

02-2190-1180

If anyone needs KT the Korean Internet service like Nespot call

02-100, then when the machine starts dial 8

Dan

Today I'm reading one of my favorite essays, "The Saturday Evening Post." I really want to focus on characterization because I feel many of my students lack a voice in their essays. I mean if I was to draw a picture of who they were according to their essays, I would get a bland cutout of a lethargic kid listening to pop music, trying to be cool.

All these kids need to have some gumption!

Any of these qualities would be nice:

1. initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness: With his gumption he'll make a success of himself.
2. courage; spunk; guts: It takes gumption to quit a high-paying job.
3. common sense; shrewdness.

I should also explain what a chasuble is because there is metaphor to religion and being a priest in the essay. There is a sacredness in putting on the newspaper pouch.

I think the lesson today is on using examples in writing, but I'm really going to focus on what I expect on rewrites. I'm going to give them a short passage that a student wrote and give it to all the students. Then I'm going to rewrite it on the bored and then get them to rewrite their's too. This should take like 30 minutes so, I'm going ot have to watch my time.

I'm thinking I should use Michael's essay, since he only turned in half a page and made me so angry that I wanted to use his essay as toliet paper, but I think that'll send out the wrong message. I'm going to pick an average essay as an example.

Dan

I've figured out my grading system for papers. I'm going with a 9 point system because I feel that a numerical system will make it easier for students to gauge their work. Instead of writing CHECK GRAMMAR!!!! over and over on paper, I'll give them points out of 3 for that category. Then if they want to improve their score then they have to rewrite.

The categories I've made, and I might tweak these in the future, are

Grammar- 3 points
Content- 3 points
Style- 3 points

I'll give them points in increments of .5.

Content includes research and the ability to support their main ideas with strong examples.

Style refers to their ability to write in a cohesive way that is of interest to the reader. This includes using figurative language, framing, idioms, quotes, narratives, etc.

I'm also going to encourage them to use vocabulary collocations and figurative language in their essays. They should underline them, like last year, and I'll give them extra points. I'll give them .10 a point for each one they use.

If I were to convert the numerical grades to letter grades then it would be as follows.

9 =A+
7-8 =A
5-6 =B
4 =C
3 =F

Dan

I hate them. I hate them. I hate them! I don't know how they keep getting in my house, but I'm going to kill them all!

How do I do that!

A couple of things I've learned is that mosquitoes don't like moving air, so I'm going to buy a fan.

Articles I've found also think DEET and Skin so soft will help a bit. I was looking for more natural cures, but nothing seems too promising.

I've found an article that says that cinnamon oil might have some repellant qualities.

I'll do more research and I'm going to kill them all!

Dan

An essay I'm teaching next week has a pith hat in it and none of my students have any idea what it is at all. So...I decided to post a picture.

Dan

전 강사 선생님들께,


강사 선생님들의 연락처를 재확인하고자 하오니 핸드폰(HP) 번호를 저에게

메시지로 회신해주시기 바랍니다.


주형돈

When you translate the above message in Google Translate, this is what you get^^


To the former lecturer teachers, the contact place of the lecturer teachers under reconfirming under the man with underdeveloped genital organ it comes the cell phone (in me sliced raw fish shoes Haeju time it wishes HP) numbers with message. Pouring into a mold money

Today's lesson is on Narration. I'm going to go over what a good narrative is and then I'm going to get them to write letters to themselves.

I need to tell them about structure. Narratives are normally chronological and they have to be plausible in the realm of the story. If they are writing about their school life then an elf riding a unicorn should not appear in the story. The students should focus on answering the "who, what, when, where, why, and how"s of each story. If they don't the narratives will lack substance and believability. Also, I MUST GO OVER HOW TO WRITE DIALOGUE!!! This is something that all of my students seem to have problems with.

And finally. I need to go over writing from perspective or as this book calls "vantage point."

Student Activity.
Last term I got the students to write a letter to themselves at the beginning of the term to themselves at the end of term. The letter has to be in English (duh). And they should focus on telling a story about what has been going on in their life for the time being. Or they could write a funny story to cheer themselves up at the end of the term or they could try to write a motivational letter. It's up to them and I'm not going to read it so they can write whatever they would like.

I think that's a wrap.

Dan

on the web on Fridays.

I realize that I need to unplug.

I am becoming too dependent on the web and I have a couple big projects on my plate and the inability to concentrate on any of them.

So...

I am signing off for the rest of the day today and I won't use the net on Fridays after today.

Sometimes we all need to unplug.

Oh, and everyone, go see HOT FUZZ!! It's the greatest movie ever!

And if you need a laugh then listen to Weird Al's "I'm the only Gay Eskimo."

Dan

I had old CD's that I never use anymore and lots of wine corks. I also found white grippy jawns that keep stuff from sliding around...so I put them all together and made a nice stand for my iPod.

I know I should just go out and buy an iHome or something, but I don't want to sacrifice anymore real estate on my desk and I don't have any free electric outlets at the moment. Plus...the official ipod docks are like 50,000 won (and the iHomes are like 150,000 won.)

check it out and make your own!

(Oh...I put it all together with my hotglue gun.)

Dan

"If a Negro got legs he ought to us them. Sit down too long, somebody will figure out a way to tie them up."

This has been a question I've been pondering for the last couple days and I've come to a conclusion: if it is approached with maturity; it is.

I think the Korean students can relate, especially since Korea has suffered so many hardships in their history i.e. Japan, China, US etc. The people have suffered and the country as suffered and I think this is what gives Korea its strength: its perserverance and strength.

Morrison's book is also filled with an unspent rage and I feel there is a bit of that in Korea and I feel they have a strong case for it. This rage is the fruition of competition, class disparity, and the obvious corruption in society. In class last night, one of my students told me that he questioned his teacher about one of his test questions that was marked wrong. The student felt the question was misworded and his peers in the class felt similary, but were too scared to bring it to the teacher's attention.

For this student's efforts, he was beraided and hit; his paper went from the equivalent of a B to an F.

Is this fair? Is this right? I don't think so.

I hope none of these students come back as ghosts to haunt the schools.

Dan

My girlfriend asked me this question today when I served her yogurt that was past the expiration date. Here's the answer I found from the Food Goddess.

How long after the sell-by date stamped on the bottom of yogurt containers is the yogurt still OK to eat? I figure since yogurt already contains active ingredients that it is good for at least a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.'

KYLE R. TODTSCHINDER, Duluth

For the goddess' non-yogurt-eating fan base, let her give a basic introduction. Yogurt is milk that has been inoculated with friendly bacteria with appetizing names like Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. These living cultures convert the milk's sugar into lactic acid, which gives yogurt its tangy taste.

The goddess checked the Web sites of two leading yogurt makers, Dannon and Stonyfield Farm (a major producer of organic yogurt), and found an interesting fact that makes a general recommendation more difficult. While the date on the Dannon yogurt refers to the consumption date, Stonyfield's is the sell-by date.

But those specifics don't seem to matter much in this instance. While the National Dairy Council recommends a one-week refrigerated shelf life for yogurt, both Dannon and Stonyfield Farm imply a much longer life. Both clearly state the stamped date is not the date that the yogurt will "expire" or "go bad." It's more of an optimum eating period.

As long as yogurt is properly refrigerated and it looks, smells and tastes good and there are no visible signs of mold or discoloration, the yogurt remains safe to eat.

So if a container of yogurt gets hidden for a week or two behind that giant jar of pickled eggs in your refrigerator, you have no cause for alarm. Just remember your food is not intended to become a science experiment.

I'm selling my beloved slingbag because, I just upgraded to a Northface. Here's a pic.

Dan

I just upgraded and I'm selling my old monitor off. Here's a pic. Details will follow soon- I've gotta run to work now.

Dan

I'm also selling a TV card for PC.

Dan

I am starting a new term at my academy and I'm looking forward to it. There are going to be many new students and some returnees.

The first class is the basic introductions and I'm going to be going over description today. I could do the describe the pencil thing, but I think it would be better for them to write a description of something more fun such as my Japanese Cat ornament: rotund yet springy, like the Pillsbury Doughboy. Or my stapler that's on the offensive, all it's sides scrawled with messages of territorial ownership. Or I could get them to describe the room.

Or I could do my famous, "the boy description."

"The boy in the corner."
"The dirty haired boy in the corner." What can you infer?
"The dirty haired boy in the corner with the black soles of his barefoot feet on the desk puffs smoke rings out the corner of his chapped lips."

I wonder if I can fit Hemingway's shortest story in here too:

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Class Plan
1. Introductions- Welcome letters, annotation, class expectations.
2. Lesson- Description
A) Objective and Subjective descriptions
B) Focus on visualization
C) Brainstorm descriptive words to trigger the five senses: taste, sight,
hearing, touch, and smell.
D) Read Grandma's House and Ray Bradbury's Summer Rituals. Focus on similes and
metaphors.
E) Go over homework essay and expectations