Hello,
Your tired Wintermute here with some quick DUMBR. I just had my open class in front of the principles and all the English teachers and some random people I don't know. It went well. I picked the right class.
They walked in very nervous, so I was very fun and happy. Class started and I could tell they were not ready to talk as even attendance made them nervous. I did talk a little fast once or twice as I was a bit nervous but that's all. After attendance I brought out the 2ne1 ball and said my joke, everybody was laughing, it really helped break the tension. The teachers didn't laugh.
We then did some review, which went by so fast because they are my smartest class. Then we played a matching game. That too went twice as fast as usual. I then skipped a step (and didn't realize it until class was over) which is really bothering me still.
We moved on to charades, which I thought was going to be fantastic with these students. Buuut stupid Winter thinking a student wants to perform silly chores in front of her teachers and principles. She was sweating and red. BUT she gritted her teeth and did ...okay
Then the Haikus. We talked about syllables, they loved it. They were clapping along and doing too good. So that went fast. We did the worksheet a little fast. And then we did rhyming, which I have a lot of fun with. The kids and teachers were all laughing. And then it came time for the kids to write their haikus, I pass out the chocolate and let them write. This is supposed to entertain them for like 3 minutes and the bell rings. I checked the clock... I had ten minutes left. Ohh fudge.
So because I picked my smartest and best behaved it went very good but very fast. So I improved and my kids played along very very well with me. Because they did so well I bought three pizzas and am about to go to lunch with them. I'm glad its over.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Couple games
Hello,
Wintermute here to talk about teaching, welcome to DUMBR. I'm not sure if I have mentioned these things, if I have its always good to review. I have Open Class tomorrow so I am doing a lot of things to make sure it goes well.
Popsicle sticks:
I have placed everyone's name on a Popsicle stick and put them in a cup, when its time to call on someone I shake the cup and draw out a name. This is good because the sound of shaking will get the students ready, and it makes sure I call on everyone. Generally speaking I know who my good kids are and tend to just call on them when need arises. It is possible I will draw a bad kid stick, but then I can just help them which makes me look good too.
2ne1 Ball:
I am overly proud of this ball. I bought a ball and have written questions on it. I throw the ball to a student, they read the question then must answer it. I call it my 2ne1 ball because I can throw it... to anyone!!! DOOHOHOHO. My students like the joke...anywho, this is good because again it gets the kids attention and ready to catch. Its worked better than I thought.
Haikus:
I am also going to do Haikus for my open class. It helps teach syllables, which for Koreans is very important. They tend to put too many syllables in words, even my name. The start of my name does not exist in their language so they supplement it with an extra syllable. I have them clap along with the words we speak. They tend to enjoy it and write more haikus even after class.
I picked my smartest class for open class which is good...and bad. Things tend to go faster in that class, so I will have to try and really slow things down so not to end early.I guess we will find out tomorrow.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Wintermute here to talk about teaching, welcome to DUMBR. I'm not sure if I have mentioned these things, if I have its always good to review. I have Open Class tomorrow so I am doing a lot of things to make sure it goes well.
Popsicle sticks:
I have placed everyone's name on a Popsicle stick and put them in a cup, when its time to call on someone I shake the cup and draw out a name. This is good because the sound of shaking will get the students ready, and it makes sure I call on everyone. Generally speaking I know who my good kids are and tend to just call on them when need arises. It is possible I will draw a bad kid stick, but then I can just help them which makes me look good too.
2ne1 Ball:
I am overly proud of this ball. I bought a ball and have written questions on it. I throw the ball to a student, they read the question then must answer it. I call it my 2ne1 ball because I can throw it... to anyone!!! DOOHOHOHO. My students like the joke...anywho, this is good because again it gets the kids attention and ready to catch. Its worked better than I thought.
Haikus:
I am also going to do Haikus for my open class. It helps teach syllables, which for Koreans is very important. They tend to put too many syllables in words, even my name. The start of my name does not exist in their language so they supplement it with an extra syllable. I have them clap along with the words we speak. They tend to enjoy it and write more haikus even after class.
I picked my smartest class for open class which is good...and bad. Things tend to go faster in that class, so I will have to try and really slow things down so not to end early.I guess we will find out tomorrow.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Blogs to Read
Hello,
Wintermute here with some daily DUMBR. Over the months I've stumbled upon hundreds of blogs, many of which are worth no mention. However there can be no dark without a light so today I bring you the light and recommend some blogs I believe you should look at. Truly I would not have you waste time away from my blog to visit others unless I thought absolutely essential. Before I continue though I would like to point out the blogs on the left of the screen, those are good too.
Blog
Wintermute here with some daily DUMBR. Over the months I've stumbled upon hundreds of blogs, many of which are worth no mention. However there can be no dark without a light so today I bring you the light and recommend some blogs I believe you should look at. Truly I would not have you waste time away from my blog to visit others unless I thought absolutely essential. Before I continue though I would like to point out the blogs on the left of the screen, those are good too.
Mr. B. Natural's Bad Movie Review Archive
Why you should go: The blog has been around for five years consistently reviewing movies that would otherwise be looked over given their bad production value. There are many out there who enjoy watching bad movies, there's even been T.V. shows about it. This blog is for those few who would nine times out of ten pop in "Plan 9 From Outer Space" instead of "Citizen Kane" here is a blog that helps navigate the overwhelming world of awesomely bad cinema.
thingamajig
Why you should go: It's a blog hosted by the cute shutterbug that provides a good brain exercise in the morning with your coffee. On the 1st day she post a picture of a random item, but there is a catch, you never know what the item is as the lens has been magnified to only reveal a small portion. On the 2nd day the whole image is revealed. The site itself is very user-friendly and keeps you coming back everyday for more.Blog
The Joy of Cultured and Fermented Foods
Why you should go: The name really speaks for the blog. The purpose is to give helpful tips so you yourself at home can easily and cheaply enjoy cultured and fermented goods. Most of the authors post are experimental attempts, so its fun to follow along and see what happens next.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tae Kwon Do (sp)
Hello,
Wintermute here. First off thanks for pointing out the typo in my last post. Made me laugh though how well it fits.
Last night the foreign teachers invited me to train with them at some Dojo they go to. I went. I was not impressed. The teacher was 70 some odd years old, so he had experience. He looked just like Master Roshi so that made me happy.
He had me fill out some paper work, I left most of it blank. He wanted 30,000 won for the uniform with a "emblem" on the back resembling some anime kids kick boxing. Admission was 100,000 won a month. I was told I would train for 3 days a week. 1 hour a day. The first ten minutes of every practice is spent meditating.
So assume there are 4 weeks in the month, that's 12 hours of practice. 10 minutes each hour spent meditating is a total of 2 hours a month. Meaning I only "train" for a grand total of 10 hours a month for 100,000 won. I'm not against meditating, it's just, I don't know.
When I got there, there were about 40 students, if he makes that much money per student and has that many students per hour, then he is not hurting for cash. Something tells me this guy is in it for the money, OR he does not charge 100,000 to everyone.
In fact the guy said that because we are foreigners we get special foreign training no one else gets (WOW, SO LUCKY!). Something tells me we got a special foreign discount too.I will let my fellow teachers play DBZ, I however will opt out.
Wintermute here. First off thanks for pointing out the typo in my last post. Made me laugh though how well it fits.
Last night the foreign teachers invited me to train with them at some Dojo they go to. I went. I was not impressed. The teacher was 70 some odd years old, so he had experience. He looked just like Master Roshi so that made me happy.
He had me fill out some paper work, I left most of it blank. He wanted 30,000 won for the uniform with a "emblem" on the back resembling some anime kids kick boxing. Admission was 100,000 won a month. I was told I would train for 3 days a week. 1 hour a day. The first ten minutes of every practice is spent meditating.
So assume there are 4 weeks in the month, that's 12 hours of practice. 10 minutes each hour spent meditating is a total of 2 hours a month. Meaning I only "train" for a grand total of 10 hours a month for 100,000 won. I'm not against meditating, it's just, I don't know.
When I got there, there were about 40 students, if he makes that much money per student and has that many students per hour, then he is not hurting for cash. Something tells me this guy is in it for the money, OR he does not charge 100,000 to everyone.
In fact the guy said that because we are foreigners we get special foreign training no one else gets (WOW, SO LUCKY!). Something tells me we got a special foreign discount too.I will let my fellow teachers play DBZ, I however will opt out.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Chuseok
Hello,
Wintermute here. Korea just celebrated its only real major holiday called Chuseok. It's their thanksgiving so to speak. Everyone leaves home and goes to the grandparents house to eat food such as seongpyeon. That's about it really.
Sadly during Chuseok the whole country is closed, no stores are open. I had to travel for 2 hours just to find an open McDonalds and one of my smartest students who thankfully had forgotten all English and was unable to bother me.
For the majority of the four day break I just played video games and got back into the habit of cooking. While I wanted to message people and friends I figured it best not to bother others during their holiday and family time.
Now school has started back up on a Wednesday and I want nothing more than lots of sleep.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Wintermute here. Korea just celebrated its only real major holiday called Chuseok. It's their thanksgiving so to speak. Everyone leaves home and goes to the grandparents house to eat food such as seongpyeon. That's about it really.
Sadly during Chuseok the whole country is closed, no stores are open. I had to travel for 2 hours just to find an open McDonalds and one of my smartest students who thankfully had forgotten all English and was unable to bother me.
For the majority of the four day break I just played video games and got back into the habit of cooking. While I wanted to message people and friends I figured it best not to bother others during their holiday and family time.
Now school has started back up on a Wednesday and I want nothing more than lots of sleep.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Stalker
Hello,
Wintermute here with a fun foreign fable in our daily dose of Dumbr. I went to the store to use the ATM there. I first wanted to check my bank balance, as i was typing in my pin number some guy came up and stood not 2 inches away from me. He saw my pin number and saw how much money was in my account.
I then took out some money. The guy started talking to me. He was the friendliest person on Earth, so friendly that surely nothing could be wrong about him.He just wanted to be my friend and bud.He started asking for my name and then my address, he wanted to know where I lived. He then began asking for my cell number. I told him I don't know where I live, my name is Winter and I don't have a cell phone. I'm pretty sure he could see the indention in my pocket outlining the shape of a cell phone because he kept insisting on the number saying I do have a phone.
He told me he just wanted to help me out and show me around, he asked how could we meet again. I told him same place same time same day. He said excellent. To be perfectly honest I feel a little insulted. I mean this guy didn't even try, to think I am that dumb, how rude. At least put some effort into it, get to know me a little, take me out for dinner or something.
Anyway, to those of you who travel abroad, don't be dumb, avoid people like this.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Wintermute here with a fun foreign fable in our daily dose of Dumbr. I went to the store to use the ATM there. I first wanted to check my bank balance, as i was typing in my pin number some guy came up and stood not 2 inches away from me. He saw my pin number and saw how much money was in my account.
I then took out some money. The guy started talking to me. He was the friendliest person on Earth, so friendly that surely nothing could be wrong about him.He just wanted to be my friend and bud.He started asking for my name and then my address, he wanted to know where I lived. He then began asking for my cell number. I told him I don't know where I live, my name is Winter and I don't have a cell phone. I'm pretty sure he could see the indention in my pocket outlining the shape of a cell phone because he kept insisting on the number saying I do have a phone.
He told me he just wanted to help me out and show me around, he asked how could we meet again. I told him same place same time same day. He said excellent. To be perfectly honest I feel a little insulted. I mean this guy didn't even try, to think I am that dumb, how rude. At least put some effort into it, get to know me a little, take me out for dinner or something.
Anyway, to those of you who travel abroad, don't be dumb, avoid people like this.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Monday, August 29, 2011
Syllabus
Hello,
Wintermute here with another daily dose of DUMBR. Do you remember the first day of school? You go between 7 classes and in each class the teacher goes over the roster and then the syllabus. I'm starting to learn the power of the syllabus.
Yesterday I just about had it with the boys. Its the same routine every time. "I'm sorry teacher", "I wont do it again teacher", "its okay teacher", "give me one more time teacher". Sadly I dont do warnings, or one more times. I had about a whole day of this, and then I got a good class. Every student was quiet and paying attention and even asking questions! All except two.
They were hitting each other, saying every bad word under the sun, laughing loudly, talking, so on and so forth. I said stop, didn't work, so I had to move them. They wouldn't move. Oh man I snapped, made the two boys cry, which is okay, and then carried on with class and every body was laughing and having a good time so all ended well.
HOWEVER, I am now in the process of making a syllabus, and I will have every student sign the syllabus saying they understand the rules. I do this because of the excuses and sorriness. I do this for every time they say they did not understand, or did not know that was not okay. Which is BS of course, but now I will have their signature. I suggest all do the same.
Your Teacher,
Wntermute
Wintermute here with another daily dose of DUMBR. Do you remember the first day of school? You go between 7 classes and in each class the teacher goes over the roster and then the syllabus. I'm starting to learn the power of the syllabus.
Yesterday I just about had it with the boys. Its the same routine every time. "I'm sorry teacher", "I wont do it again teacher", "its okay teacher", "give me one more time teacher". Sadly I dont do warnings, or one more times. I had about a whole day of this, and then I got a good class. Every student was quiet and paying attention and even asking questions! All except two.
They were hitting each other, saying every bad word under the sun, laughing loudly, talking, so on and so forth. I said stop, didn't work, so I had to move them. They wouldn't move. Oh man I snapped, made the two boys cry, which is okay, and then carried on with class and every body was laughing and having a good time so all ended well.
HOWEVER, I am now in the process of making a syllabus, and I will have every student sign the syllabus saying they understand the rules. I do this because of the excuses and sorriness. I do this for every time they say they did not understand, or did not know that was not okay. Which is BS of course, but now I will have their signature. I suggest all do the same.
Your Teacher,
Wntermute
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Constraints
Hello,
Wintermute here with some daily DUMBR. Kept myself busy this weekend with inFAMOUS 2. Finished it on hero route, played through most of evil. Good game, worth a pick up if you have a PS3.
It always bothers me how I never seem to have time to make good lesson plans for my classes. In Korea most schools pile on busy work for you to do to keep you busy. They don't want their foreigners having it easy. I understand this as most foreign teachers do take it easy and don't make lesson plans and just sort of wing it all the time.
The worst part are the excuses, right now I have to write 40 individual test, one for each class. They say its because they don't want the students cheating, but honestly the kids don't care enough about this test to try and pass, and they sure as hell don't care enough to cheat. Each test is about 25 questions, so that's about 1000 individual questions from my little noggin.
The time spent on this is time that could have been spent on making real lesson plans for my classes. I feel bad as I have a class thats completely free topic that I teach for about 3 hours a week. I could literally do just about anything. However with no time to prepare I just have them watch Modern Family.
Long story short, test suck, even for teachers.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Wintermute here with some daily DUMBR. Kept myself busy this weekend with inFAMOUS 2. Finished it on hero route, played through most of evil. Good game, worth a pick up if you have a PS3.
It always bothers me how I never seem to have time to make good lesson plans for my classes. In Korea most schools pile on busy work for you to do to keep you busy. They don't want their foreigners having it easy. I understand this as most foreign teachers do take it easy and don't make lesson plans and just sort of wing it all the time.
The worst part are the excuses, right now I have to write 40 individual test, one for each class. They say its because they don't want the students cheating, but honestly the kids don't care enough about this test to try and pass, and they sure as hell don't care enough to cheat. Each test is about 25 questions, so that's about 1000 individual questions from my little noggin.
The time spent on this is time that could have been spent on making real lesson plans for my classes. I feel bad as I have a class thats completely free topic that I teach for about 3 hours a week. I could literally do just about anything. However with no time to prepare I just have them watch Modern Family.
Long story short, test suck, even for teachers.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Fireside Chat
Hello,
Wintermute here with some DUMBR. I finally got a PS3, and am very happy. Spent the whole night re-DLing all my games off of the PSN. HOWEVER, because I got the PS3 in Korea it is an Asian PS3 meaning the buttons are mapped differently.
O is enter and X is cancel. Now I will say while it makes since when written out, my hands are permanently registered and wired to want to press X for enter. If you can remember the days of the Metal Gear Solid Menu screen or playing FF7 for the first time, it's like that. It makes every game have a different feel to it, and its a bit hard to get use to.
Some one asked if I'm leaving my Girlfriend for Japan. First off I'm not leaving until February, and I have no problem leaving people to satisfy my own selfish dreams. I would never base my life off of a relationship and I highly recommend you all do the same. Nothing is forever. I have left kith and kin on a daily basis, it gets easier.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Wintermute here with some DUMBR. I finally got a PS3, and am very happy. Spent the whole night re-DLing all my games off of the PSN. HOWEVER, because I got the PS3 in Korea it is an Asian PS3 meaning the buttons are mapped differently.
O is enter and X is cancel. Now I will say while it makes since when written out, my hands are permanently registered and wired to want to press X for enter. If you can remember the days of the Metal Gear Solid Menu screen or playing FF7 for the first time, it's like that. It makes every game have a different feel to it, and its a bit hard to get use to.
Some one asked if I'm leaving my Girlfriend for Japan. First off I'm not leaving until February, and I have no problem leaving people to satisfy my own selfish dreams. I would never base my life off of a relationship and I highly recommend you all do the same. Nothing is forever. I have left kith and kin on a daily basis, it gets easier.
Your Teacher,
Wintermute
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)