Listening to Black Moon with Why We Act This Way…

What do I want to say. Sometimes I want to listen to something that’s got a hard edge like this. I have no Chinese equivalent at the moment. Haven’t found one yet.

Kenny don’t download this. I know some people read my weblog and sometimes I should censor what I write…but I sometimes I don’t want to and don’t know where to draw the line. The main thing is that I’m writing for myself. Though it is a great way to keep in touch. They can see more than I probably would’ve shared otherwise. I usually don’t talk all that much. It’s interesting I write for myself and yet the whole world can see. It doesn’t happen often but you never know who might see it.

Something not as rowdy, 2Pac with To Live and Die in L.A. and Do For Love…

喝一點兒酒吧，冷靜一點兒

I met Lewis from San Diego in Jinshan on Saturday while eating duck in a restaurant. He’s a Senior Field Engineer in Tactical Systems for Lockheed Martin. His major was East Asian studies, not quite your systems or technical specialist. He speaks Japanese. He doesn’t speak Chinese. He told me Taiwan is into building up their defense (who didn’t know? it’s a pity they have to) and they have work for the next eight years. There is always work in the government defense for contractors.

I’m not ready to go back into the corportate world unless they can help me with studying Chinese. Lewis said they want people, even if they can speak some. He heard me talking with his Chinese girlfriend’s mother. Another thing, the work week should be 30 hours a week, 8am-3pm with an hour lunch.

I want to know who thinks updating resumes is fun. Hehe, well, I am going to do it. I can hear my mom, my cousin Chris and some others telling me to do so. I’ll keep my options open.

Why teaching in Taiwan can be sour? In buxibans that is. A buxiban is a cram school, an afterschool school. A place to learn a foreign language (English, French, Japanese, you name it, they got it), a place to do the enormous amount of Chinese homework the kids are given, and a daycare while the parents are at work. A buxiban is a business. They are quite successful as can be seen by the shear number of them in the country. Being a business, the parents are the number one customers. Dropping the kids off (actually, most of the kids are picked up at the schools by the buxiban) and picking them up, that’s what the parent pay for.

Some schools teaching are quite poor and the students don’t seem to come away with much after years of studying. Some schools are quite organized and have high standards of teaching. I have to admit that my school is very organized and the level of English is quite high compared to other schools. See some of the grammar I was teaching to my 8 year olds.

What am I getting at? Well, I’m not in the best mood. The sour has got the best of me. The problem that gets me (and I’m generalizing now, which I don’t usually like to do but have had this experience more than once now and I feel I can go ahead and do it) is that there often times seems to be a student in a class that doesn’t belong there. He failed last year’s exam but moved ahead anyways. He should stay with his friends. Or, there is a class with some experience trying to reach the next level at a faster pace. Yet, a student with no experience comes along and joins the class. Now, teach that class and don’t forget the special attention and tutoring needed for the student with no experience.

I’ve been put into this situation a second time. I’ve made my claim with the key person. I don’t want to stand by and take everything that is thrown at me. I am willing to compromise but at some point a line should be drawn. I drew it. Wonder what they’ll say.

I didn’t mention anything about the fact of how Asian kids are pushed to limit when it comes to their studies. A movie that explains it quite well is 小孩不笨 (I Not Stupid). I don’t quite agree with the teaching methods. It’s a different world in some places.

When I was in the 11th grade I think, I had a teacher by the name of Ms. Melton (I need a yearbook to be exact). She called me a name she had made up herself to call students who can make it but don’t apply themselves. The meaning of the word was to the effect of knucklehead. I’ve realized it’s best to apply yoursef in what your intersts are. I guess I didn’t care much for my math studies. I enjoyed skating and surfing more. I did like art but I was slow at it and self-conscious. Anyways, here’s to pursuing your intersts. GO!

Back to teaching in Taiwan. It’s not all bad. I do enjoy being able to teach kids. They can be fun sometimes. And I have lots of freedom in my life these days. It’s a unique experience.

[stress released…]

Sometimes you are better off not knowing, or in the case of learning Chinese, not thinking too much about how hard it can be. I read this article about the difficulty of learning Chinese (the reading and writing aspect mostly). This article puts a humerous spin on the topic. Learners of Chinese should get a kick out of it.

Why Learning Chinese Is So Damn Hard by David Moser (1991)