A New Class--Class 214

 



On the first day of the new semester. I met my homeroom class--Class 214.   My first impression of them was  good.  When I went to the class at 7:35, almost everyone was in the classroom, very quiet, as if there were already a teacher standing inside watching them.   "What a well-behaved class!" I told myself.  Later when some students were distributing the new books, I noticed a few students unfolding the boxes without instruction from me.   They had the spirit of service.  I really admired such kind of people.  Good!

Learning Tips for High School Students

I came across this treasure yesterday.  It is a web page at Lishan High School's web site (麗山高中).  On the page are some learning tips for high school students.  Though its target readers are freshmen, the tips are useful for both second- and third-year students. 

http://www2.lssh.tp.edu.tw/~guid/2005/freshman/learningtip.html

學習錦囊

If I Were a Freshman Again--7

The seventh article in the UDN on "If I Were a Freshman Again."

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/5106942.shtml

再當新鮮人／孫維新：像逛超市 去各學院旁聽

聯合報╱孫維新／口述、記者楊正敏／整理

The Reader, plus Language Learning

I finished The Reader this morning. Touched by how Hanna, illiterate before going to prison, finally learned to read and write in prison, I was amazed at her strong will. Of course, the protagonist Mike's keeping sending Hanna tapes of his reading contributed too.

創造教學的「聲」命力--美聲專家 周震宇先生 的演講 我的筆記

Topic: 創造教學的「聲」命力

Speaker: 周震宇先生

 Time: 8:30~10:30am, Aug. 28, 2009

Place: 內湖高中活動中心三樓會議廳

 My notes:

Jack Chuang Reciting "The Road Not Taken"

Yesterday afternoon, I shot a video of my 310 student Jack Chuang (莊子賢) reciting Robert Frost's famous poem "The Road Not Taken," which was once recognized as the most popular poem in the States. Though the video runs only around one minute, Jack and I spent three hours making it. Since I don't know how to edit a video, Jack had to recite the whole poem from his memory without any mistakes before I could call it a day. Now I learned how difficult it is to produce a film! I will be more appreciative when watching a movie.

Now, click on the URL, sit back, and enjoy listening to/watching Jack reciting the poem, contemplating on the universal experience of decision-making.

The Road Not Taken--Recited by Jack Chuang

Thank you, Jack.  You did a wonderful job!

About the N1H1 Flu

My friend Annie (麗馨) found this web page and posted it on her plurk. After reading the article, I got a clear idea about the N1H1 flu. It's in simple English. An informative article!

http://www2.aia.pref.aichi.jp/sodan/e/newinfuluenza2e.html

Thanks, Annie, for sharing this information.

Food for Thought--讓我為自己讀書

The following is an article in the UDN I read last week. It reflects junior high school life in Taiwan, except that now corporal punishment is prohibited.

I like the title: Let Me Study for Myself. I remember well that at the beginning of a book on English teaching which I read several years ago, the author insisted that teachers should remind their students in the very first class that the students should take learning as their own responsibility. Indeed, it is!

http://udn.com/NEWS/READING/X4/5087999.shtml

記憶儲存盒／讓我為自己讀書

【聯合報╱陳凱倫】

314 Class Reunion

On Friday noon, August 14, my former 314, who graduated last year, had a class reunion at 嗆燒, organized by the then class leader Helen (歐馥嘉). 17 people were present, including me.

If I Were a Freshman Again--6

The sixth articles on "If I Were a Freshman Again":

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/5095097.shtml

再當新鮮人／多學課外知識 培養國際觀

【聯合報╱花旗（台灣）銀行董事長／利明獻】

If I Were a Freshman Again--5

One more article on "If I Were a Freshman Again":

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/5093751.shtml

再當新鮮人／劉維公：樂當書呆子 扎學術根基

聯合報╱劉維公／口述、記者何定照／整理】

New Suzhou Museum

Last Wednesday, Diego (邱元亨) came to share with me some photos he took during his trip to Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou.  Beautiful geometry!  The following are four photos of the new Suzhou Museum.  The New Suzhou Museum, completed in 2006,  is the last work of I. M. Pei (貝聿銘). 

Love Sent from a Tough Place: 酋長的男子漢眼淚-情義無價

Read these and you'll cry for the chief's beautiful heart.

http://www.wretch.cc/blog/okida/6764168

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT2/5090507.shtml

I finished reading them with teary eyes.

「數目不多  情義無價」

If I Were a Freshman Again-4 如果再做新鮮人/學會自己做決定、負責

This is one of the articles in the "If I Were a Freshman again" series. It was posted in the July 17 UDN. However, I couldn't find the article in the UDN web site; instead, I found it on the "Pray for All" blog. Failing to copy it from the blog, I can only provide the URL.

http://lousmanda.pixnet.net/blog/post/25695442

如果再做新鮮人/學會自己做決定、負責

If I Were a Freshman Again-3

If I were a freshman again...

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=208375

A Good Website: 打開聯合報 看見紐約時報

While cleaning out the old newspapers, I found some good articles in the New York Times, supplementary of the Tuesday UDN. Eager to keep those articles for future reference, I surfed the Net, hoping that I could find them online so that I could download them. Then I came across this web site. There is traslation of some NYT articles. Great!

http://city.udn.com/593

It Takes So Much Time!

I'm still cleaning my study.  For the past few days, I spent much more time doing the cleaning than reading books.  Though feeling a little empty in my mind, I believe it is worth it.  In a tidier room, I'll work more efficiently.

Moving Was Easier This Summer

Reading Novels & a List of 100 Best Novels

An article about the importance of reading.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=208369

熟讀長篇英文 陳超明：大考拿高分

Sweet Potatoes

While I was flipping through the old newspapers in my study to decide which to keep and which to throw away, I found a lot of good articles on a variety of topics.  Even if some articles were worth keeping, if I could find it on the Internet, I still threw the paper(s) away.

Lunch with Annie

Yesterday I had lunch with Annie.   The last time we chatted over a meal together was last year.    I could't believe it!  I had thought it was only six months ago until Annie reminded me that we wore short-sleeve clothes then.

We really enjoyed a relaxed and pleasant lunch.  Two and a half hours.  No rush.  The joy of slow.

Insomnia-buster

A student wrote about his sleep problem in the plurk. Coincidentally, while cleaning my study just now, I opened a Studio Classroom (March, 2009) and found a one-page article on this topic: "Get a Good Night's Sleep: The secret to better health might be in sleep." The following are some tips it provides:

Sayonara, Pigeon

The pigeon we saved from the street on Sunday morning bid adieu this noon. 

Last Sunday; that is, August 9, while driving,  we saw a pigeon in the street.  After avoiding hitting it, we got out of the car and took a look at it.  It seemed to us that the pigeon could not fly.   Thinking it might have got hurt, we made a box and took it into the car for fear that it might be hit by other cars.   Then we started to look for a bird doctor.   We finally found a vet in Shilin.  The doctor said the pigeon had no wound in its legs or wings or bodies.  He assumed that the pigeon might be too hungry or too tired to fly.   The doctor gave us some medicine and suggested we feed it with boiled cereal.  Then we took it home.

This photo shows the pigeon sitting in the box, looking tired.

Typhoon Morakot

Typhoon Morakot has caused devastating damage to Taiwan and mainland China. The following are some photos from THE BIG PICTURE, posted by 資通電腦小版主 on my plurk.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/08/typhoon_morakot.html

Let's lend a helping hand and heal the affected areas.

A Visit Paid by Guang-ren

This afternoon, my former student Guang-ren Peng (彭光仁) paid me a visit. He stopped me from turning on the air-conditioner though he was sweating all over from walking in the scorching sun, saying air-conditioning is bad for both our bodies and the environment.

If I Were a Freshman Again

Here is another article on "If I Were A Freshman Again" in the UDN:

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/5067970.shtml

再當新鮮人／黃榮村：找出真興趣 勇敢轉彎吧

If I Were a Freshman Again

Starting from today, the UDN runs a series of articles dedicated to freshmen-to-be. Some celebrities will talk about their freshman experience. Of course, we still need to think critically about what they say. Please click on the URL or read on. I add some comments after certain paragraphs.

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/5066599.shtml

Computer Games: A Blessing Or a Curse?

Here is a commentary in today's UDN. It's about the disastrous effect of computer games.

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/5065135.shtml

Plurk

This morning, Annie taught me on the phone how to plurk. "Plurk" is like a bulletin board announcing briefly what one is doing. You might like to take a look at what my plurk page is like:

http://www.plurk.com/June0626

Wherever You Go

This morning at 10 the college admission list came out. Since yesterday I'd been very curious about where my students would go. Of course, I hoped all of them could enter the university of their first choice. However, I know it is their attitude toward their own learning, not the school they will attend, that really matters.

Chung-cheng Pavilion at Wuling

Annie (詹麗馨老師) told me that the three pictures taken at Wuling and posted on my blog yesterday were beautiful.  Well, I am easily attracted and touched by beautiful things and always like to capture them with my camera, however ordinary they may seem to other people.  

A Fairyland

If in the morning when you wake up, this is what you see outside from the living room:

I'm at Wu-ling

This is an entry I actually put on Aug. 3 for fear that on the second day of the trip I can't get access to the Internet or even a computer.  An entry from my imagination. 

Today I'm at Wu-ling, staying away from the concrete jungle, embraced by cool fresh air and green trees.

A Trip to Yi-lan

Today I'm going to Yi-lan (宜蘭) with George, my mother-in-law, and niece.   Tomorrow we'll be at Wu-ling (武陵農場).   On such a hot day, the best place for me is in the mountains.  The green there will cancel some golden heat from the sun out.  How I wish I were in Wu-ling the whole summer!  Losan told me last week that the temperature was only 24 Celcius degrees there.

A Happy Reunion

This evening, I had dinner with four students from the advanced English class I taught six years ago (Sep. 2003~June 2004):  Carol (林琪亞), Cloe (戴文琪), Jessie (黃詩桀), and Ken (王慶剛).  It was a small-scale but great reunion.  

Lunch Money

I'm reading Lunch Money, a New York Times Bestseller. It's about an elementary school boy named Greg, who sets his mind on making money. Besides being a conscientious student, Greg comes up with a bunch of money-making ideas and puts these ideas into practice. Quite aggressive!