Stuff about Stuff

Best book review ever

2008-07-02T05:56:17Z

I have friends who have written books like this.

Best book review ever

The Coast of Scotland

2008-07-02T04:52:20Z

improving Japanese English education and team-teaching

2008-07-01T06:29:44Z

Here is my mandatory end of year report. I tried not to write it at all, but I got re-asked this morning.

*******************

Based on my two years experience teaching here, there are a number of
suggestions I have for the improvement of English education and team
teaching. Unfortunately, many of these suggestions are constrained by
the dependence of the Japanese education system on poorly designed,
poorly thought out and poorly implemented testing. English in this
country is taught and evaluated with the same basic techniques as math
or science. Countless studies throughout the world have shown that
this is a poor method at best, and may actively hinder learning in
languages and critical thinking.

I also realize that no one really cares about my recommendations, and
that this letter is largely perfunctory because "everyone" knows that
year end reports should be written. If Japan was interested in
improving English education, then they would have started taking the
advice of ALTs and JTEs decades ago. Truthfully, I resent having to
write this at all, and think it is a waste of time for me and for the
few people out there who may actually read what I have to say.
That being said, hope springs eternal, and I do have some suggestions.

The first and most important is the removal of the separation between
speaking and grammar. English is not a dead language like Latin.
Nowhere else in the world is language taught with this kind of
segregation, and Japan lags almost last in the first world in English
comprehension. These two facts are not isolated. The lack of English
comprehension does not reflect on either the students or the teachers,
but rather on the system in which education is performed.
Memorization is not an effective way to teach a language. Stop
teaching English as a series of "sound bites" or phrases that need to
be memorized with little or no understanding of how they are used
contextually. Despite the similar use of the word "on", the following
phrases should not be taught together:
On Time
On Board
On The Table
I have personally seen this kind of grouping for memorization, and it
is pointless and frustrating for students.
Second, the text books for English are the worst texts I have ever
seen in my life as a teacher and a student of language. Instead of
starting simply and building in complexity, they merely give new
examples of word usage for memorization. I have seen almost no
complexity difference between the 1st year Junior High School book and
the 3rd year Senior High School text.

Third, English classes should be taught in English. I can't believe
how obvious this one is, and yet 99% of all English grammar classes
are taught almost exclusively in Japanese. If teachers aren't
comfortable teaching in English, they should be replaced by either
native speakers, or JTEs with a higher level of ability.

Fourthly, creative use of English should be stressed. Students should
be required at minimum to write as much as possible in English, and
speaking drills should not be memorized, but rather interactive.

In regards to my school in particular, there are a number of
suggestions that I feel would improve English learning. The first is
that ALTs at my school are incredibly under-used. I, and my
predecessor before me, taught less than 6 hours a week. My strongest
recommendation is that each class be cut in half, to double the number
of classes taught by the ALT and to improve one on one interaction by
shrinking the class size. It is impossible to teach spoken English
effectively in a class of 40 or more students.

In terms of the tests, exams should be graded on a positive scale
instead of a negative one. In other words, a student should start
with 0 points and gain points rather than starting at full points and
losing points for trivial grammar or spelling mistakes. The current
system encourages mediocrity, as students who play it safe and write
the minimum are much more likely to get high marks.

Finally, if the school were truly serious about teaching English, the
ALT would be used for 2nd and 3rd year students in addition to
freshman. It is incredibly sad that the average high school student
is best at English their first day at school, and that their ability
to speak and listen decreases throughout their three years in high
school.

Those are my suggestions for improvement. To tell you the truth, I
wish you would stop asking ALTs to write these sorts of reports,
because they just bring home to us how under-valued and basically
useless we really are. I have never in my life before felt more
helpless to enact change or to effectively do my job, which is
teaching incredibly intelligent and motivated students how to speak
and understand English. Clearly, the Japanese government does not
really want it's citizens to speak English, as they fear any change
that might reduce the country's "Japanese-ness".

Tree stump in a forest

2008-06-30T01:00:48Z

Another one I'm quite happy with...maybe I'm actually making progress? *grin*

It's Stump

first cityscape I'm happy with

2008-06-27T06:32:21Z

Recommend looking at it full size.

Night City

lemming

2008-06-26T02:08:25Z

Rules: Post 3 things you've done that you believe nobody else on your F-list has done. Indulge in remorse if someone calls you out on a listed item.

1: Talked to Roger Zelazny in an elevator in Greenville South Carolina. He called the facehugger model my friend Scott was wearing "One hell of a monkey on your back." Roger died soon after.

2: Been to a Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix in Kita Kyushu, Japan. Hung out with professional magic players for a weekend. (hey, I'm a nerd, deal)

3: Had photos I've taken printed in a professional body building magazine.

Yosemite Sketch

2008-06-26T01:56:43Z

Quite pleased with how this one turned out.

Time: approx. 90 mins

Yosemite

Yorkshire Moor

2008-06-24T05:53:54Z

Just a quick sketch, haven't really felt the creature urge to paint for a while, but today I wanted to do something, so I re-created a photo I found on google images. (This means I didn't paint over the photo, I just used it as a reference)

Yorkshire Moor

Bunkasai Day #2

2008-06-23T02:33:03Z

Here are the picts from the 2nd day of our Culture Festival.

Bunkasai, 08/06/22

Bunkasai Day #1

2008-06-22T01:02:05Z

Here are some pictures from the first day of Nobetaka's Bunkasai (Culture Festival) '08:

Bunkasai '08 Day #1

for my friends in America

2008-06-20T00:38:27Z

Strange Bedfellows Unite to Fight FISA Deal

Ron Paul supporters, the ACLU and liberal blogs are uniting
Contact: Liz Rose (202) 675-2312 media@dcaclu.org
For Immediate Release: June 18, 2008

Washington, DC — A sham spying deal could be rammed through both the Senate and House this week. It's moving that fast. If we don't stop this, telecom companies that broke the law by supplying mountains of personal information to the government without a warrant will be let off the hook.

A broad alliance of strange bedfellows is now forming to support a campaign to fight the gutting of FISA (The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) with the intent to work together on all civil liberties, constitutional rights and rule of law issues.

The ACLU is joining with activists from the Ron Paul campaign, represented by Break the Matrix, Rick Williams and Trevor Lyman, and civil liberties writer Glenn Greenwald of Salon, and leading liberal bloggers including, Jane Hamsher of firedoglake, Matt Stoller of Open Left, John Amato of Crooks and Liars, Howie Klein of Down with Tyranny, Digby, Josh Nelson of The Seminal and activist Josh Koster to tell Congress that we will not let them ignore the Constitution or give immunity to telecoms which deliberately broke our laws for years.

This group of Strange Bedfellows is mobilizing a broad-based left-right coalition of office holders and candidates, public interest groups and individuals who are devoted to preserving basic constitutional liberties to join in the fight. The goal is to work together to impede the corrupt FISA/telecom amnesty deal.

Glenn Greenwald said, "The Beltway establishment has made clear that they support the Bush administration's assault on our basic constitutional protections and the rule of law. Constitutional rights and the rule of law are not liberal or conservative principles. They're American principles, and this broad-based alliance is devoted to defending them from the bipartisan political class that wants to trample upon them."

Lust for freedom can lead to some pretty strange bedfellows

For more information:

thestrangebedfellows.com
http://www.breakthematrix.com/node/10780
http://fearistyranny.wordpress.com/2008/02/12/breaking-the-matrix/
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/17/hoyer/index.html
http://www.theseminal.com/2008/06/18/say-no-to-fisa-compromises/
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2008/06/jaccuse-steny-hoyer-has-betrayer.html
https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=975&page=UserAction
www.aclu.org/fisa

man...

2008-06-19T09:38:53Z

Robert Aspirin and Erick Wujcik in the same month. Sad times.

True geek points to those who know who Mr. Wujcik is btw.

flying and dying

2008-06-17T01:56:42Z

Three nights ago as I was going to sleep, I had this
incredibly strong thought, right before I fell asleep. I
realized how many different ways there are to look at things. We see
someone who jumps off a cliff/building and dies, and we think, "Oh,
it's sad that he killed himself."

My thought was, "If I were to do something like that, it would be to fly. Who is it that
has the right to tell me that four seconds of flight isn't worth
dying for?" (Don't worry, I'm not in a hurry to jump off a mountain!)

We say people jumped to kill themselves, but that's the height of
arrogance. All we can really say is that they jumped, they flew, and
they died. We're all going to die anyway, wouldn't you like to fly
first?

*shrug* Not even sure where I'm going with this, but it's trying to
make something of itself, and I thought writing it down might help ;)

[EDIT] Maybe it's not even the flying that's important...maybe it's the decision that you can fly, and are willing to pay the cost of that. If everything is composed of three parts:

a) The Decision to Do Something
b) The Act of Doing Something
c) The Consequences of Doing Something

Which is the most important part? Does the reason for Doing Something fit into this as well?

We call it suicide when someone jumps off a building, but we regard "Give me liberty or give me death!" as noble.

I love this kid

2008-06-13T04:06:28Z

Same student who wrote about the Dark truth of studying:

This week, his topic was "I disagree with the idea that Japanese High School should return to a six day school week."

******

If happen this, the students won't know pleasure, because they will be busying studying and they won't play. I think that studying very very very hard is bad for the students.

If happen this, the students will surely become evil human.

I make an assertion that Japanese High School should not return to a six day school week.

Studying is good!? That's a complete fiction!

********

Fuckin' A. This may not seem great to you, but compared to the other essays in his class, it's *amazing* Not only is he using complex English forms, but he wrote a closing sentence! He had a rational argument that he defended...I love this kid.

Most of the essays were, "This should not happen because I like free time." - That's the level of difference we're talking about.

tree Week #6

2008-06-13T03:10:48Z

Ending tree week with an Asian pine tree. Makes me feel like I'm back in China...

Asian Pine

I AM KING NERD!!!!

2008-06-12T23:43:18Z

Ganked from josakura

They said it couldn't be done, but I got 60/60 :)

Your Score: Geek

You scored 60 out of 60

Congratulations. I bow to your DVD collection. You probably have half a dozen other movies or TV shows I forgot to include.

Link: The General Geek Knowledge Test written by mister_ibis on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(mister_ibis)

Tree Week #5

2008-06-11T15:06:14Z

Technically it's 12:05am now, so I can post day #5 :)

This one's a little different, after some advice, I decided to try just a tree, without background, to work on lighting and rendering. I'm quite happy with the results :)

Just a Willow Tree

Tree Week #4

2008-06-11T04:22:19Z

Here's the fourth entry in "Tree Week".

Sunset Tree

Zombie Attack

2008-06-10T04:22:31Z

Well, lovely_fatima stole my idea (ok, she had it at the same time)...I totally had an image of me and the Backstreet Boys doing "Backstreet's Back" with the zombies in the mall....but on a more serious tone:

Zombies attack you in the Mall. Choose:

[01] one weapon.
[02] one song blasting on the speakers.
[03] one famous person to fight alongside you.

01: Katana. Zombies can survive blunt force, fire, yada yada yada...but you cut off their legs, they ain't gonna getcha.

02: Hmm...ironic or hardcore? I think "March of the Sugar Plum Fairies"

03: Jet Li. He's nobody's bitch.

curious what you guys think

2008-06-10T03:29:39Z

Here's a dramatic departure in style for me. I sketched out a tree, and then scanned it and basically just colored it in (and added a background).

Cartoon Tree

Tree Week #2

2008-06-09T04:46:34Z

Here's Monday's "Tree Week" entry. The star detail got lost when I downsized the image to upload, I probably should have made them bigger...oh well, live and learn ;)

Tropical Palm Tree

Comments/criticisms welcome :)

Tree Series #1

2008-06-08T15:43:04Z

Ok, this week is "Tree Week"...I'm going to try to paint at least one scene with a tree as the predominant element each day this week....good practice, if nothing else, and I've had a hard time getting inspired these last couple of weeks.

Here's the first one:

Tree by Pond

best essay evar

2008-06-06T04:03:13Z

So my students are starting to do what I call "debate style essays" Check this one out:

If your student number is odd, tell me why English should not be taught in Japan until Junior High School (at least 20 words.)

Elementary school students haven't known truth of studying yet. Studying is sometime Dark, and very difficult. If the teacher teach English to elementary school students, they every time study hard, so they will not remember to play. Elementary school students must play every time, because, when they become a Junior High School student, they can't play every time.

Ah, the Dark truth of studying....

Seriously, I laugh, but this is quite a difficult concept to explain in a foreign language in 15 minutes of in-class writing. I don't think I could write something this good in Japanese in that time-frame....

eldritch48 @ 2008-06-01T00:11:00

2008-05-31T15:13:32Z

We did a photowalk today in Miyazaki City...and being me, I decided to shoot using something I don't normally take with me...extreme macro.

The following pictures were all taken with a 100mm macro lens with a 25mm extension tube. Most of them 12/14 were taken using all 3 of my magnification filters on top of that. At F/8, we were looking at an in-focus range of about 1-2mm. Oh, and I handheld all of these. I am a God!

For a size perspective, the ring in 6283 is my wedding ring, and it one of the two taken *without* the mag filters.

Extreme Macro Photography

VX Gas attack

2008-05-30T13:53:35Z

Well, not really, but close enough.

As I said yesterday, some guy in the house right next to my school killed himself with poison gas. The cops and the fire department came by about 1:45 yesterday afternoon, and they made us close all the windows and doors in our school, which made teaching right uncomfortable (getting hot in Japan at the moment)

Found out a few more details in the news today...the guy was 20 years old, living at home with his parents, who were out when he killed himself. He bought the chemicals to make the gas at a hardware store, and the clerk called the police due to the fact that many people have offed themselves in this manner this year...the police broke into his house, but too late to save him.

I really want to show this sort of thing to the incoming JETs who are starting to post with wide-eyed innocence on all the websites. I feel like saying, "You know, if this is such a *great* country, why do its citizens keep offing themselves in record numbers?" Not only that, but they seem to enjoy killing themselves in ways that cause maximum problems for those around them.

I have no real issue with suicide. Hell, I've recommended it, semi-seriously, to some of my depressed friends on occasion. If you truly feel like your life has nowhere to go, then maybe ending it is the best thing....

But.

Don't fucking bother the rest of us with it. Last week in the neighboring prefecture, 70 people were hospitalized after some asshole pulled the same gas-bullshit. Several weeks ago in Tokyo, it was over 300 people.

You want to end it, end it. If you have the energy for grand statements, make them in person. Dickheads.

Oh yeah, still haven't found out who our successors will be, so we have no idea if they'll buy our stuff, or even if they'll be married and can thus have our apartment. Semi-stressful. I'd almost rather know I wasn't going to get a successor, then I could start dealing with stuff. I don't mind taking care of things, I just like to know when I have to.

In final news, I have to go to work tomorrow to SIT AT MY FUCKING DESK ALL GODDAMN DAY, BECAUSE SOME ~~SHITHEAD~~ [edited but left in so comments make sense] CLUB LEADERS HAVE TO GO TO A BIG SPORTS MEET. See, being Japan, it wouldn't be fair for some teachers to have to work, so the rest of us have to come in and jerk off all day, even though we have nothing to do. I'm going to slip out about noon and hope no one notices - it's not like any of them talk to me anyway. Worst that happens is I fall on my sword on Monday and claim I "forgot" to write down my half day of vacation.

I'm done. I still really enjoy teaching my classes, but that's a maximum of 5 hours a week. The rest of the time at school, I'm just thinking about leaving.