Hi, Losan and Peter

This noon I had lunch with Losan (羅珊), a former colleague and a good friend who is retired, and Peter (劉品君), a former student who graduated three years ago and is studying at Illinois University, Champaign, now.

The Best Advice Nine Financiers Ever Got

On the following blog page you can find an article about the best advice nine outstanding financiers have ever got, which is a translation of part of an English article in Fortune:

http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/636/31753

She's Found What She Loves

Yesterday evening the class leader of my former Class 314, who graduated last year, called to check when I'll be available for the class reunion.

Two Inspiring Quotes

Here are two quotes from the August issue of Reader's Digest which can bring us wisdom and strength:

"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him."

                                                                                        --David Brinkley

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

                                                            --Martin Luther King, Jr

Teacher Selection

This afternoon, I went to Long Shan Junior High School to be a judge for their substitute English teacher selection. My dear friend Annie (詹麗馨), who teaches there, was one of the judges too.

Studying in a Normal University?

Yesterday the WordPress system crashed, which had never happened.  The following is the entry I put on my Life Type blog:

It seems that high school students don't like to choose to study at a normal university. They have the myth that one who graduates from a normal university has to be a teacher.

The Smiling Kingdom

This afternoon I took my parents to National Museum of History for the exhibition "The Smiling Kingdom: The Terracotta Warriors of Han Yang Ling." These terracotta warriors, which were made in the Han dynasty are different than those from the Chin dynasty. The former are mostly naked and without arms and consist of both males and females. Besides, their smiling faces make us believe that they came from peaceful times.

Watching a Movie

Finally I got the time to go to the movies. This morning I watched the movie "Public Enemies." The movie is based on the true story of John Dillinger, a dangerous "bank robber in the Midwestern United States during the early 1930s."¹ In the movie are a lot of car chase and gunfire, interwoven with love between man and woman.

Where to Go

This morning, when I got to my office, there were already many students consulting their homeroom teachers about which universities/departments to put on their final list. Some came to me too. Then in the evening two students called me. I spent quite a lot of time helping them. Of course, they themselves have to make the final decision.

The Last Day of the Summer Class

 



Hurray! Finally we finished the summer class. The moment I stepped out of the classroom, I remembered the sentence in the article "Advice to a Young Man":

"The work...gives you a perfect and grateful appreciation of a holiday."

What Did You Say?

This morning, something funny happened in class. Usually when a student is introducing a new word, the others compete to find in the chapter and read out the sentence with the word in it. This is not hard because the page number is indicated on the handout he/she gives. What is more challenging is that I will ask them to translate the sentence into Chinese or to even act out the sentence. This morning, after a student read out the sentence which gives the word "mess" context:

"He wished he could have talked to her about the whiole dance mess, but ater basketball practice yesterday his father had insisted on taking the whole family out for a pregame dinner."

See You, Sis

My dear sister is going back to the US tonight. Though we have spent all time together since lunch, I'm still going to the airport to see her off. Thinking about her living alone without her husband from now on, I feel a little sad.

Cherish whoever is around you. Say "I love you" to them before it is too late.

A Cool Encounter in Summer

Last Friday, my nephew Bernard and niece Kellie, who came from the US for their father's funeral, came to visit my summer class.

At the beginning of the class, they introduced themselves very briefly. Then I had the students ask them questions to find more information about them.

To Better Validity of the Test

Every year, there are UEE takers who mark their answers in the wrong place. Whenever I heard students made this mistake, positive as I was, I still felt a heartache.  It's true that the testees themselves should be careful, but if the computer answer card can be redesigned, for example, different colors for different sections or two colors come alternately for different sections, then validity would be better.

Some Tips on Choosing Departments/Universities--Provided by NHSH Counseling Office

Those who missed our school's workshop held by the Counseling Office regarding the university entrance issue can visit our school's web site for some useful information: the 3rd to 5th latest headings.

http://web.nhsh.tp.edu.tw/releaseRedirect.do?unitID=183&pageID=3037

The conversion chart is especially useful. So, for convenience sake, I downloaded and put it on my blog.

指考分數轉換表.doc

The Highest Scorer in English on the 2009 UEE

Here is today's UDN news story about the girl who got the highest score in English on this year's UEE: 99.5.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=204130

Keep Going

Finally, students got their UEE report card today. Whether they did a good job or not, they had to face the result. Those who passed with flying colors, congratulations! And move on. Whoever had done their best but didn't get a satisfying grade, at least you have nothing to regret. As long as you keep up with your hard work, you'll end up with the fruit of success at some point of your life. If you hadn't worked hard enough for the UEE and thus got a bad score, learn somethng from this experience. In a word, just keep going.

Samuel's Funeral

Today is my brother-in-law Samuel's funeral. It started at 2pm. We arrived earlier, about 12:50 because we wanted to help. I was going to take photos for my sister. When I set foot inside the hall and saw Samuel's enlarged photo, tears rushed to my eyes.  In the photo he looked so young, so buoyant. As a matter of fact, he was young! Right at this moment, I still can't believe he has left us.

You Got Five Points!

This morning, in the remedial class, when a student introduced the phrase "fall off" and challenged the other students to find in the book and read out the sentence containing the phrase, I asked a student to act out the sentence.

"(Kelsi was struggling to lift a large piece of red-and-black-stripted plywood.) As Gabriella watched, Kelsi finally got the piece of wood off the ground--and almost fell off the edge of th stage."

                            (from High School Musical: Wildcat Spirit)

A Generous and Genuine Friend

When I got the phone call from Annie (詹麗馨老師) this evening and was told that she bought pajamas for me today, I was speechless. It seems that I am always on her mind. Since I got to know her, she has given me a lot, including books, stationery, clothes, food, and most important, spiritual support.

Annie reads extensively and likes to share what she reads with me and on her blog. For example, she told me yesterday that she was reading a wonderful book 給年輕人贏的習慣. I went to the bookstore to buy the book this afternoon.

Annie and I often talk about our teaching on the phone. Both of us know the importance of reading. Annie has her students read something every day. I encourage my students to read by lending them books and giving them some great articles or stories to read.

To have such a friend as Annie is a blessing. My heart is always full of gratitude.

The First Day of Remedial Class

Today is the first day of summer remedial class.   As soon as the students entered the classroom, I handed them the book they're going to read and a packet, with the syllabus, a handout of Chapter 1, and a seating chart in it.

Long Time No See

Last night I got a phone call from an old student I taught about 26 years ago at Chiehshow Junior High (介壽國中).   When he told me he was Peng, Guang-ren (彭光仁), I cried out his name in disbelief and joy. 

How Would You Live Today?

Until this moment, the sentence in a song sung at the NTU chorus concert the day before yesterday  has been lingering in my mind:

"如果明天就是下一生     你將如何度過今天" 

"If tomorrow were next life, how would you live today?"

Often we are asked how we would spend our last day.   However, I prefer the sentence in the song, because it seems more hopeful, leaving us more room so that even if we felt some regret for this life, we could still make up for it in our next life.   Then we would spend the last day of this life more leisurely. 

The song is entitled 如果明天就是下一生 (If Tomorrow Were Next Life).  The lyrics were written by Mei-huei Chang (張惠美), with the melody composed by Ching-ju Shih (石青如).

A Delicate Drawing by Diego

This drawing is drawn by Diego (邱元亨), my former student, who is a junior at NTU.  He gave me this on July 1, when he paid me a visit.  It would take me years to finish such a delicate drawing if I were asked to produce one.  However, he told me he hadn't spent much time on it.  The scene in the picture is a harbor view in Hongkong.

Bravo! NTU Chorus Concert

Tonight, I went to NTU Chorus 2009 Summer Concert, entitled "Meandering (流轉)." Raymond was on stage. In fact, he bought the tickets for us.

The concert lasted three hours, starting at 7:30 and ending at 10:30. Their performance was fantastic! I especially loved the musical part. The handsomely performed "Facade" from Jekyll & Hyde drew so many "Encores" from the audience. The words of the song "For Good" from Wicked touched the chord of my heart.

Michael Jackson

Thousands of people attended Michael Jackson's funeral and billions watched it. His talent for and contribution to pop music are well recognized. Though he was a controversial figure, being accused of molesting boys and using drugs, people still remember him as King of Pop Music.

What We'll Do in the Summer Remedial Class

For the summer remedial class, I finally decided to guide the students to read the book High School Musical: Wildcat Spirit. In fact, before the decision was made, I had several ideas running through my mind. I could have the students

1. review the textbooks--Book 5 and Book 6

An Article on the UEE English Writing

The following is an article about the feedback from the raters of the UEE English writing section.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=202244

中譯英關鍵字「生態多樣」 彈性給分

【聯合晚報╱記者姜穎╱台北報導】2009/07/06

「不用擔心預算，隨心所欲的度過一天，你會怎麼過？」大學指考英文科非選擇題今天起進行閱卷。閱卷老師表示，考生想法五花八門，有人想和NBA球星打球、和總統下鄉、名人共進晚餐等。先前備受討論的中譯英考題關鍵字「生態多樣」則沒有固定單一用法，給分彈性。

Annie's Blog--An Award-winning Blog

My dear friend Annie (詹麗馨) won an award in the blog contest held by National Teachers' Association. She started her blog in December, 2005 and has since shared on it numerous ideas and information with her readers. In her blog, you can find many inspiring passages. What's most special is her reading notes, which can serve as a good guide to book selection. Just browse it, and you'll be amazed at what you find. http://blog.roodo.com/anniechan/ Congratulations, Annie!

Endings Are Beginnings

"All endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time..."

A quote from the back cover of Mitch Albom's book the five people you meet in heaven.

An Amazing Young Man

This is a news report about an amazing young man in mainland China. He got a full score in writing on the entrance exam. Though his total score on the exam was not high, disqualified for admission to any college, a college would take him, as an exception.

http://udn.com/NEWS/MAINLAND/MAI2/4997122.shtml

The Camera

A gadget I like to carry around is my camera.   With it, I can capture beautiful views, record interesting scenes, and even save the effort of taking notes. 

Lying--an Essay by a Student

Lying--An Essay by a Student Writing task: 你曾經說過謊嗎？說謊的感覺是什麼呢？說謊究竟是好還是壞？人為什麼要說謊呢？請同學寫一篇跟謊言有關的文章，沒有預設道德立場，全憑同學自由發揮，題目自訂。