The second week of classes went mostly OK, I think.
I did have trouble remembering the names and faces of the students! I did re-remember them quickly at the start of each class, and I took pictures of the classes so I could practice their names and faces in between classes, which is going to help a lot. In one of my Interactive English classes, a girl gave a nice, interesting self-introduction speech in which she talked about her pet rabbit Chacha, saying he likes eating papaya and dandelion greens. Interestingly, the Architecture students as a group are more into volunteering to give speeches and ask questions than my English major students... The two Reading and Writing classes were OK, I suppose, but I HAVE to find a way to do the class that makes them more involved than I managed last year. My American culture class was OK, but the students seem to sit as far away as possible from the front of the room, so next week I WILL make them move forwards a bit. We covered Easter. One boy asked a neat question: why did it take Jesus three days to resurrect and not a longer time? (I could only say that western culture likes the number three, in fairy tales and in Christianity...) Another student asked why Easter isn't as popular as Christmas in Japan (I could say that it seems more strangely religious than Christmas--a birth being more relatable than a resurrection--and Santa is more recognized in a universal kind of image than the Easter Bunny, and many presents are more interesting than chocolate and candy) I fear that i took too much time introducing paintings of Jesus' life like the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. I must remember to stay on point and not digress. I do like the names and sets of names in that class, of mostly third-year English majors with a few fourth years: three students called Mizuki and three called Rina; Karin and Karen; Ayami, Ayuri, and Ayami; Tomoki and Motoki; Junpei and Junsuke; and my favorite names to say, Tsuguko and Kirara! Finally, my graduate school classes are fine, though I fear I'm not guiding my students well enough and worry about their MA theses or PhD work...
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Jefferson Peters (JP)
Can you find me in the picture above? Archives
December 2023
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