Kpop

Continuing this monologue today is a discussion on Kpop, aka Korean Pop Music. It's a cultural wave that has swept across Asia even reaching the shores of the West in various places. In fact, one of the leading artists, known in the West as "Rain" and in Korea as "비" (means rain) was even voted as more important than Stephen Colbert in last years 100 most influential people. Here's Colberts response. So it's not like this is a small thing. Hell it was dominating Thailand when we went and even led to the two nations signing some kind of cultural sharing treaty, the hell asia??

But when you actually break it down, Kpop is basically american music with korean words. The beats? yea those were all done about 5 years ago. The dance? About 10 years ago. And the very image of the bands themselves? Good lord is that N'Sync??

Look, all I'm trying to say is essentially Korean music is following the same path that American Pop music took almost 2 decades ago. And I remember haaaaating it. God I hate you soooooo much JT, N'Sync, Otown, Fab Five. I don't know.

But for some reason I've actually really started to enjoy Kpop. Maybe it's because of certain songs like this.

WHO CAN SAY??

Alright, I also happen to be starring in a dance off, Kpop all the way. We'll see how that goes. I'm doin Rain's "Rainism."

Oh, for a really good list of top dance moves check out this awesome couples youtube video. They are the shiznit.

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Teaching Techniques

Alright, another in a slew of posts i want add. This one is on appropriate teaching techniques. Check it, one of the hardest things any teacher has is effectively maintaining control of their class and at the same time communicating the material to all of their learners. This is made even more difficult (or challenging) for me because my learners happen to all be at very different levels, and ya'know, speak a different language. Some of my english students can have a conversation with me, some don't know how to answer "how is highschool?" So you can see, I'm coming at this from a difficult position right from the start. The fact is though that i also have no idea how to actually teach. Last year was a slideshow in failure for the most part. Every now and then a lesson would really connect with the students and let me tell you, that was bliss, but overall it was a waste of everyone's time. This is my hypercritical view on last year. Part of that was me banging my head up against a system of teachers who didn't really want me adding more work to their load. Those teachers are gone now, and have been replaced by a couple very new, hopefully excellent teachers that I will fully manipulate to make the most use. This year hasn't exactly started off exciting, I've been in school all week and I have yet to teach a class...or get my schedule. That has given me a lot of time to review, plan and prepare though. I've basically redecorated my classroom, I've got a whole new approach to learning (from actual professionals!) to try out, and more helpful than anything, I'm actually mentally ready to teach this year. I feel like I understand these kids (don't ever try and tell a korean you as a foreigner understand them though) and their culture infinitely better and to some extent I've finally grown to appreciate it. Let me tell you, last year was a struggle. This is not a very pretty culture but there are shining parts of it and the results seem to be pretty incredible (highest test scores, highest olympic performance in asia, incredible economic growth etc). So something's going right.

Anyways, I just came across this interesting article by the NYTimes. Basically it's an interview with a guy that's writing a book that specifically deals with how to effectively communicate with children. Essentially the book is about classroom management. Another studious person mentioned in the article is focusing specifically on how to impart teachers knowledge onto the pupil, but her research is far behind the articles main subject. anyways, here's some highlights;

"All Lemov’s techniques depend on his close reading of the students’ point of view, which he is constantly imagining. In Boston, he declared himself on a personal quest to eliminate the saying of “shh” in classrooms, citing what he called “the fundamental ambiguity of ‘shh.’ Are you asking the kids not to talk, or are you asking kids to talk more quietly?” A teacher’s control, he said repeatedly, should be “an exercise in purpose, not in power.”"

"...One [student] is playing with a pair of headphones; another is slowly paging through a giant three-ring binder. Zimmerli stands at the front of the class in a neat tie. “O.K., guys, before I get started today, here’s what I need from you,” he says. “I need that piece of paper turned over and a pencil out.” Almost no one is following his directions, but he is undeterred. “So if there’s anything else on your desk right now, please put that inside your desk.” He mimics what he wants the students to do with a neat underhand pitch. A few students in the front put papers away. “Just like you’re doing, thank you very much,” Zimmerli says, pointing to one of them. Another desk emerges neat; Zimmerli targets it. “Thank you, sir.” “I appreciate it,” he says, pointing to another. By the time he points to one last student — “Nice . . . nice” — the headphones are gone, the binder has clicked shut and everyone is paying attention.

"Lemov [explains] “Imagine if his first direction had been, ‘Please get your things out for class,’ ” he said. Zimmerli got the students to pay attention not because of some inborn charisma, Lemov explained, but simply by being direct and specific. Children often fail to follow directions because they really don’t know what they are supposed to do."

There's also a great little selection of video's. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/07/magazine/20100307-teacher-videos.html#/joy

Unfortunately this seems to be predominantly useful in control of younger classrooms and in specific subjects. But there is wisdom to glean here and I'm excited to read this book when it comes out (hopefully reasonably priced) in April. It's odd how much I'm investing in learning to teach but I suppose it's worthwhile given my plan is to teach for a solid four years.

SHAZAM! (I couldn't decide how else to end this post)

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Invested in Learning Korean.

I have finally decided to make use of the fact that I'm actually living for a long time in a foreign country to try and learn that country's language. It really sucks that the first real language I'm trying to learn is Korean, which bears a slight resemblance to japanese in terms of grammatical layout but that's about it. I spent most of last year basically learning the languages sounds (that's about how long it takes an infant to learn the sounds of the language). Now i can distinguish between say 여 and 요, sounds that are infinitely close but change the entire meaning. I bought a book that the top school in the nation uses to teach Korean to foreigners (at a hefty price of around 700 dollars for 10 weeks) and I'm working through it with my favorite Korean co-teacher. In theory this language isn't that difficult. The grammar, as I've said before, is like Japanese. It's difficult in that it's completely reversed from english but once you acknowledge and accept that basic fact it becomes easy. Reading the language is likewise easy. the Korean alphabet may be the simplest on the planet. Even the endings aren't that difficult. FYI, Korea has seven different ending structures for sentences that show respect for the various positions in society you may be talking to. In fact, only 3 are still really used in modern Korean, but that still means you have to learn 3 modified (in some cases largely modified) versions of everything. and then there's of course the fact that the entire attitude of the speaker changes depending on who he is talking to. Old people have the right to bitch out anyone but you literally cannot tell an old drunk person to leave you alone. Like, you CAN'T do it without incurring severe social penalties. So to learn korean you not only have to learn the language but also the mentality, the entire social culture. German is fucking eaaaasy.

But here's the best part. Every Korean seems to speak Korean in a different manner. And they seem hopelessly confused when I ask one co-teacher to clarify what another co-teacher has taught me. Furthermore, they can't even completely clarify what k-pop is saying. This could simply be old people not understanding modern slang, but it is slightly worrying as a language learner to see so many discrepancies from the very beginning in terms of how to use the language. One of the descriptions I have heard to describe the Korean language is that it is the "language of the heart" which I interpret as, basically you can say it however the fuck you want and everyone can understand it because you live in a really close insular society. That also happens to be how their social interactions work so I'm assuming I'm right.

I'm definitely not giving up though. My goal is to become verbally fluent within 2 years and gain enough skills to continue learnign the language on my own after leaving. This fits within another arch-goal i have. to be proficient in 3 languages; english, spanish, korean. I could pick up german pretty quickly and i hear french is practically spanish so there's that too.

here's hoping.

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Discussion with Jill

I may be annihilated for this. But I love the conversations I have with this girl. Ridiculous. This is in reference to a FB update she left about the length she goes to for her students.

Jill

well were watching run lola run in my 3/4 class today, and i had to get the movie. so i called last night before i went out to get drinks with some friends to see if they could hold it. and apparently they can only do that for an hour, so i sort of freaked out at the girl about how i really needed it, etc. so she let me rent it over the phone with my credit card and said it would be waiting on the counter for me to get sometime before close

so i went out with my friends and ended up staying out till like ten and got nice and tipsy and had to go get the movie still

and just like wander into blockbuster in my leopard print heels clearly been drinking and am like "i rented a movie on the phone! and its supposed to be behind the counter!"

and its like this obscure german movie

im positive the guys working talked about me when i left

i was looking so ridiculous

8:45pmJon

...leopard print heels??

8:45pmJill

hahah yes

8:45pmJon

jill

i'm posting this monologue on my blog

8:45pmJill

oh lord

8:45pmJon

ITS TOO LATE!

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Thailand!

Alright, Thailand adventures. I will summarize the trip as I did in an email. "Funniest part. a french dude came and yelled at us AS WE WERE SINGING MY BIRTHDAY SONG so we went and pissed on his front door. that's...not the best idea...but we had a LOT of whiskey. oh and we got blessed by a monk! on top of a mountain! oh and we rode elephants! and we were molestered by the village idiot in sukhotai! and we adopted a cat for the night in literally every place we stayed! Jenni got attacked by monkeys! I got a naked massage! so awesome!"

videos are on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/jh64487
Pictures are on FB.

Enjoy!

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Ice Skating in Gwanghwamun

Gwanghwamun is right in the heart of downtown Seoul. I suppose it's the administrative/arts sector. On one side is the US embassy, which sadly looks like a friggin military bunker, and on the other is the Seoul Arts Hall. I have no idea what the purpose of the arts hall actually is. I've been several times and events are either private or being held at the other Seoul Arts Hall in Gangnam. I think it's just a stellar building that high rollers can be brought to so Korea can show off, kinda like they do in Pyongyang. Anywho, between these buildings is an open area that featured the snowboarding qualifications for the winter olympics. that was pretty awesome even if it was impossible to actually get close enough to get a decent view. p.s. i actually took that badass picture.

The next awesome thing was definitely the Ice skating. basically they froze over the entire pavillion and allowed people to skate around it. Tickets and rentals together only cost 1,000 won and covered an hours worth of skating. it was both cute and hilarious to watch the uber concious koreans desperately trying to look cool. most of them had never skated before and simply walk-skated along the ice. A few of them, mostly the younger kids, were actually pretty awesome and were racing around annoying everyone with their awesomeness. I worked as hard as I could to capture a video of someone wiping out but a watched pot never boils, and koreans never do windmill falls when they sense someone is watching. We had a lot of fun though and i just wish it was closer cause I would totally go again! p.s. i definitely did not take this CG picture.

Oh i did take some video of the iceskating though. This one is just of ice skating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlFJYStF7xk. and this one is of an old skating master I followed around for much of the night. He would even raise his leg as if he was about to pull a jump and then he'd pause, seem to remember his age, and think better of it. Talented and wise! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzSBvhQNJ0A. enjoy :)

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School Festival Day and Sports Day

There's a student rock concert and dance routine on youtube. Next year I have decided that I will be part of the show!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E7b6pqipM4

This is actually an old event that I only just got to. Basically it was a school festival day where all the achievements of the students are shown and celebrated and the kids run around the school yard doing activities. The activities ranged from the interesting (bb gun range) to the mundane (straw distance spitting contests). Overall is was a great way for the kids to relax and appreciate all the hard work they had accomplished during the year. Here's one of the art projects that I thought was hilarious.
Homework is the devil!

Sports day was another exciting event. all classes competed against each other in various sports events. The highlights were the coed track events and tug of war. My favorite was playing soccer against the students, and destroying them! This is one of those times where the responsibilities of the principal is clear. He's in charge of the pop gun.

get it sir, get it!

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