Gosh, those first-year economics majors are sure funny! Last Wednesday, I was having them do this conversation practice activity where they get with new partners and talk for 25 mins to get as much information about the other person as possible, then return them to their usual partners to tell them everything they remember learning about the new partner, and then having their usual partner tell the class something about their usual partner's new partner. ANYWAY, usually they just say something like, "Hiroshi's hometown is Fukuoka," or "Hiromi's hobby is singing songs." But this time, one of the class clowns said, "Haruka plays judo!" Haruka is the least likely looking judo person you can imagine, so we all burst out laughing, while Haruka was turning read and shaking her head no... So then the class clown said, "It's Miyzaki [his home prefecture] joke!" and we laughed some more. Then the next guy got up and said, "Marin has five babies!" and then as we were laughing in disbelief, "Saga [his home prefecture] joke!" so we laughed more...
I have to watch them a bit so they don't get too out of hand or possibly harm another student's confidence or expression. The girls in question took the joking quite well, and it felt good-natured, because both pieces of information about them were so obviously false, but later when another boy was giving a report about another student, the class clown guy imitated his voice with uncanny accuracy, so that the class was laughing at that poor lad (who does have a distinctive manner and voice...), so I had to look stern and Ssshhh Yuki so his humor target could finish his report... The other memorable thing from this week was covering Anne Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband" (the first poem in our American poetry anthology textbook) with the first year students in the Introduction to American Culture and Literature (America Bunka Bungaku Gairon) class. After introducing Puritan literature and Anne Bradstreet's life and that of her husband, I went over thee (intimate you), thy (intimate your), and ye (plural you), explained the different ideas and emotions in the poem, covered the pun in dear (which means both beloved and expensive and works interestingly with all the words in the poem with money meanings, prize, riches, recompense, reward, repay...), explained how the poem is an unusual Puritan poem (compared to Jonathan Edwards "The Joys of Church Fellowship Rightly Attended," for example), and THEN read it out loud with them, using gestures for "If ever two were one" and pointing to my chest for "I, wife, my, etc." and away to the students for "thee, thy, you, man" etc.... And then had them repeat the poem after me, phrase by phrase, with gestures. And then had them say the poem with me with gestures. And by that last activity I was full of joy and love and pride, because 90 some people saying her poem together made it so powerful to hear, and at the same time made it more intimate than when I say it by myself alone in my office or wherever. It is a wonderful poem. I think they enjoyed it!
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The last school week was difficult for two reasons. First, we had a graduate school welcome party for first year MA students on Tuesday night, so I didn't get to sleep till around 11:30, and had to wake up around 5:30 the next morning, so that through off my sleep for the week from the start. Second, we had a LONG humanities meeting on Wednesday, lasting from 16:30 till 20:00, followed by a short fifteen minute English department full professor meeting...
Those two events made each new day increasingly challenging. HOWEVER. I really enjoy the first year Introduction to American Culture and Literature class--they give me lots of energy... We finished the Native American unit and started the Puritan one. So I covered (too fast) the Protestant Reformation and introduced some of the more juicily severe sides of Puritan culture: Christmas banned, women hanged, Quakers banished, Indians exterminated... and contrasted Puritan monochrome simplicity with Catholic colorful luxury (stereotypes, but still...). I think they got a kick out of seeing images of Catholic church crucifixions (showing Jesus' body on the cross) and paintings and statues etc. compared to images of Puritan church crucifixions (showing empty crosses) and gravestones and so on. And i finished by having my TA show them two youtube videos of American high school (I think) English class projects where students matched selected scenes from the silent 1926 film of The Scarlet Letter (with Lillian Gish) to contemporary pop songs (Shot and Secrets). Because, as usual, I didn't manage time well, I only had about six minutes to show about nine minutes of video at the end, so I had to keep the poor kids two minutes late (I'll let them go early next time, I promise!)... And I wasn't able to explain well enough why I was showing the images or why The Scarlet Letter is important or what about Puritan culture and human nature the videos and story show... BUT, I think some of the students enjoyed the music and images... As for me, I regularly listen to and watch the two videos, plus a couple others that set some scenes from the movie to music. There is something quite moving about Lillian Gish' strange figure and face (ethereal, beautiful, somewhat emaciated...) and overly-dramatic (in a silent movie way) gestures and expressions, and the American students who made the videos did a pretty good job of finding songs whose lyrics match the situation of The Scarlet Letter ("I'll take the shot for you, I'll be the shield for you" and "Giving all my secrets away..."). My other classes were fine, too, really! My university seminar kids are all job hunting, so about half of them are missing doing interviews and such for any class, or leave early or come late, wearing their interview business suits, and so they all root for each other warmly... And I think, now that we're about to finish Lois Lowry's The Giver, they are getting a handle on it. The third-year culture class is always fun but a little overwhelming, because somehow 70 some kids for that class is a bit too many. ANYWAY, this last week was very challenging... and it will only get more so from here as the season turns hot and humid and as my entrance examination committee work gets going and as my proofreading of the University Book gets going, etc. etc. I'll do my best! Last Wednesday we had the Welcome Party for our first year English majors. Two of my colleagues (Stephen and Larry) helped forty (40!) student volunteers plan and put on the party. About sixty first year students and 27 English department teachers attended the event, which lasted from 18:00 to 20:00 and featured lots of food and drink (non-alcohol!) and games (using English) and chatting and laughing and generally feeling good to all be in our English department together.
Last Friday I really enjoyed the first year Introduction to American Culture and Literature class! We were doing Native American songs: a power song, love song, dream song, sun dance song, warrior song, homesick song, and beauty song by various tribes (all translated into English...). The students were enthusiastic and energetic in saying the songs in big voices with me, and the warm wall of sound resulting was invigorating. At the very end of class I played a few parts of a few songs on youtube that I think gave the students more energy (I sure liked hearing them loud in the classroom... especially an Ojibwa Wolf Song and a Navajo Beauty Song...). After the class was over, it made me think, "I like my job!" More quietly, I felt good that way also after the Friday graduate school seminar (we started talking about Le Guin's The Farthest Shore) and after the Friday university seminar (we're in the middle of The Giver).... Getting close to a third of the way through Spring Semester already-- We've finished the third week of classes in the new school year. (And, whew, Golden Week is about to begin, so, due to my schedule, I'm going to have about eight delicious days off now :-)
Something I've noticed, not for the first time... My poor fourth year seminar students! They are in the midst of job hunting and so are stressed and busy, often having to miss class to go to an interview or a "setsumei kai" (explanation meeting) and so on, often coming to class wearing their interview business suits (male and female), having to get their hair back to their natural black color (most of them like to dye their hair different shades of brown), and so on. Still more. Unlike the usual case in America (I'm pretty sure), they don't just have one interview for a given company. Instead, they usually have about three, so that even if they pass the first one, they still have to do a second, and even if they pass that, a third, and so on. That means they're often interviewing. I realized that in my life I only had two interviews: once for a part time job working in a hospital cafeteria during summer vacation and once for the Henry Ford Community College job that I applied for (and received an offer for, though I finally decided to accept Kagoshima University's offer instead). Preparing for and performing in the latter interview was such an intense experience that I never wanted to go through anything like it again (even though it ended successfully), so I feel very sorry for my students who are now in the midst of umpteen such events... It also makes me wish (not for the first time) that the Japanese system was not such that students must begin job hunting in the start of their last year of college rather than near the end of it (or after it). It does make it difficult for them to focus on classwork... ANYWAY, I wish them well! |
Jefferson Peters (JP)
Can you find me in the picture above? Archives
December 2023
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