… but sometimes you luck out and a couple of things that can be made work work show up. One of my students works at the library here, and she helped me by explaining that, no, visitors to the library can’t browse what’s on the shelves directly. The shelving is too narrow, and people just can’t fit in there. Now, if the computer system could output catalog lists that were easily human readable — database output that could be scanned in a single “page” instead of short titles (mostly the Korean titles) hyperlinked to summaries (and that’s where the original …

Is this too harsh to email to this guy? I was forced to pass him today, and he had the gall to send a thank-you email to me. Not that the twit would read it, but maybe I could get it translated. He deserves some kind of harsh response, considering the crap he pulled to get a pass in the class — rather disgusting as I’m sure you’ll agree — but I’m not sure whether what I’ve written below crosses the line. NAME, Don’t thank me. As far as I’m concerned, you don’t deserve the grade you got. NOBODY thinks …

… and some are, well, not. I remember, when I was about to begin high school, how one of my teachers explained to us which courses we ought to select if we wanted to go to University. I was singularly annoyed to discover that even to get into a program like Music, it was advised that I study algebra and trigonometry. When I complained of this, Mr. Miner (or was it Minor? I’m not sure) looked at me and tilted his head to the side and asked, “What, haven’t you ever seen Donald Duck in Mathemagic Land?” He went on …

Award-winning author Philip Pullman used to be a teacher, I discovered in this interview. And he said something very interesting about classroom dynamics: It took him a while to work out how to tame a class. ‘You mustn’t try to be the most popular. That’s not your role. The way to control a class is to get the chief girl, or chief boy, interested in what you’ve got to say. Everyone else will follow them.’ After a few years he begin to notice something. Though every child was different, each class was more or less the same, with roles to …

NOTE: Apologies to those who read this incomplete. I posted it by accident when I meant to save it as a draft, and didn’t notice until some time later. Please have another look at the end, where most of the additions can be found. Lately in my more mid-level or advanced classes I’ve been experimenting with something I consider important, which is getting students to learn how to use the English they know to “approach” vocabulary they don’t know. Now, for me, this seems like a really natural thing to do. When I’m talking to a Korean ajeoshi in a …