Yesterday was a very painful, difficult day. I learned a lot yesterday about myself, and about life. I learned that sometimes the things you believe really matter, simply don’t change anything. That the truth is good, but it can hurt like hell. I learned that maybe the things I thought were essential and fundamental, aren’t. I learned that the most powerful thing maybe isn’t the most important thing, just as my friend Charlie told me so many times, and even told me yesterday. (And what other people have told me, in their way.)
Month: July 2003
Asimov Surprise
It’s odd, the things you find out. Isaac Asimov died from complications related to AIDS, which he got from tainted blood. And it was kept secret until both he and the doctors who treated him died. See Locus for more about the controversy that ensued.
Let’s Go 4A Unit 3 Interview Sheet
Here’s an interview sheet for my Let’s Go 4A kids, where they can practice using the past perfect (was going, was doing).
Be Verb Handout, Unit 3 of Intro A
This handout is for a somewhat advanced Intro A class. We won’t work all of the structures in the first class, just say the first 3 or 4. But the interview will be the fun bit of class. The secondary bit will be assigning people to write, using either questions or in declarative form, a personal ad for the newspaper. It’s the same as what’s included as a handout in the teacher training files uploaded on the same day, and I think it’ll be a fun exercise.
Teacher Training Lesson Plans
This is a lesson plan for this summer’s teacher training session, for use with Unit 6 of the TELL ME MORE! ESL textbook. Some of it is highly cryptic, and might not be much use to anyone but me. But I’m putting it here anyway. If nothing else, they illustrate one principle of my teaching (and also of my learning strategy when it comes to a foreign language), which is, hammering away at a given structure until it comes somewhat naturally.