Well, that is interesting Blog

Whaat to do?

christinebumgardner — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:45:27 +0000

I’m trying to get back into the whole blog thing again. I really like writing, and I have a ton of ideas, but it seems like every night I think, I really should write my blog, and then I do something else. I think I’ve kind of burned out a bit.

I am trying to find the passion again, I do have an opinion on the whole brouhaha over the SMOE decision to let us all go by 2014, and I have some strong opinions on some of the articles I’ve read on education reform. I am also excited to start my winter camp.

As my taekwondo teacher used to say, step by step.

That went surprisingly well.

christinebumgardner — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:26:36 +0000

My students have to take a speaking test. This usually drives even the most confident of students to tears. I don’t like driving my students to tears, so I try to make it as painless as possible. I tell them to breathe, and set my face in the most sympathetic and encouraging expression I can muster.

Most of my students do pretty well, and I can tell they studied the questions, but like all teachers, I have The One Class. The class that sometimes drives me to tears. So I had already told the class that if the majority did well, I would have music and games, but if the majority say “pass” to all the questions, we would study instead.

Well, I almost didn’t bring the music clip because like I said, this is The One Class. I was most pleasantly surprised today. One student who is normally very shy and doesn’t speak much tried, and although it wasn’t an A, she did make more of an effort than I expected. I told her I was proud of her, and she looked at me like I was crazy. But I was proud, because she went out on a limb, and did something that was very difficult for her. Her spine straightened a bit. These are the moments I love.

The rest of the class did well, and I had a few more surprises, so we listened to some music and I gave them some free time and talked to them and tried to encourage them. Even though it was a Monday, it was a pretty good day.

I didn’t realize…

christinebumgardner — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:30:07 +0000

I had been gone so long. So far grad school is going well, and my students are still pretty awesome. I am going to try to work a bit more on this blog, and try to get more of my teaching philosophy in.

A friend is doing an online teaching portfolio and all the cool teachers have a teaching philosophy, so being a semi-cool teacher, I want one too.

I can tell you what I love about teaching- it is creative, no class or day is the same, I work with people who want to make the world a bit better, my work is something of value. I believe that education is a key to happy life. It can help bring people out of material poverty and mental poverty. I love that ah ha moment when one of my students finally get something I’m teaching. I love working with my students, I love planning a lesson and tying to make sure that the higher level students are challenged and the lower level students can build on their language.

But I don’t have a philosophy of teaching. That is going to be my new project – after the final project for grad school.

Where I try to explain why I haven’t written in a while

christinebumgardner — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:41:56 +0000

And make even more excuses why I probably won’t write for a while.

Today it rained. Again. It has been bringing me down, and I usually love rain. Today I finished my dental stuff, so yay, and I went to get my health check (surprisingly painless).

The past couple of weeks I have signed my new contract, gotten things ready for summer camp, did a post-card swap with 4 other schools and I’m patiently waiting for their cards (although I did get two from England so far) , finished 1/2 a sweater, balled up a ton of yarn a friend gave me when she left, finished dog sitting for another friend, and met a friend of a friend and showed her around a bit of Seoul. I have also registered for classes at University of North Dakota’s ELL program, ran into a glitch on ordering the books, and didn’t do much of the homework for the online speed reading course.

Next week I will have to order my books, finish my sweater, re-pot some plants, write the speech for Toast-masters.

It could be worse, but I had hoped July would be a mellow month before school starts, but I don’t think that is going to happen

I’m in

christinebumgardner — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:05:17 +0000

Yes yes yes yes yes yes

omg– I’m so happy

University of North Dakota has accepted me to their ELL program. I will start in August

OMG!!! YES!!!!

can you see me jumping up and down?

christinebumgardner — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 01:05:53 +0000

I am not a Christian, despite my name. I like the message Jesus gave, but then it is a very similar message Buddha, Mohammad, Krishna, and other peaceable sorts have been giving for, well, forever. I am also not anti- Christian, as many people in my family are quite devout and although most just try to live their lives the best they can, and take comfort in their church and community.

One of the reasons I am not a Christian is the concept of hell as preached and written by most churches. I found it horrifyingly un-just, and the result of a fevered imagination from an evil entity. That a loving God would condemn people to an eternity of punishment and torture for finding the argument provided by preachers unconvincing, or being born in the wrong place, just a monstrous proposition. I remember asking one of the mega-church leaders in my community about this, I asked, if I convert to Christianity, become a Christian, and I go to heaven, but my friends, family and loved ones don’t, and they go to hell, how is heaven, heaven if I know my friends and loved ones are suffering? The answer: God will make you forget them. I was appalled. I turned my back on the church at that time, and so far I haven’t found a new one that has made me feel comfortable.

According to the theology I am most familiar with, Gandhi is in hell, because he wasn’t a Christian, but the spewers of hate and vile misogyny and homophobia are in heaven. I would choose to spend eternity with Gandhi.

I read Fred Clark at Slacktivist and I find his theology quite compelling. That is where I heard about Rob Bell’s “Love Wins.” It is a very easy read. The words are simple, the paragraphs small, and even though I am not a speed reader, I found it quite a quick read. That isn’t to say that I found the thesis simple or uncompelling

Rob Bell believes God loves everyone. The saints and the sinners alike. He makes a case similar to C.S. Lewis, that hell is the absence of God. That the earth can be heaven or hell depending on how we treat each other and how close we follow the words of Jesus. His Christianity is very inclusive, and he makes a case that since God is love, we humans will always have a way to heaven. An all roads lead to Rome view of spirituality that I agree with.

Rob Bell’s God is not Jonathan Edward’s Angry God, quick to condemn, and quick to pass judgement. I read somewhere that the final battle between good and evil will be won, not by force of arms but by the forgiveness of Satan and his being embraced by God. I don’t remember where I read it or I would attribute it, but I like it a lot better than the usual sermons on the end of times.

Although Bell makes sure to be clear that rebellion and rejection of God’s love has consequences, the end result is that God wants us to be with him, but he does give us freedom and infinite chances to embrace his redemption. He would have Gandhi in Heaven, and the vile spewers of hate no matter how they identify themselves, given another opportunity to find love.

Although I don’t necessarily believe everything Bell has written, I find his theology of redemption, love and forgiveness quite comforting.

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Wins-About-Heaven-Person/dp/006204964X

readin’ writin’ and ‘rithmatic

christinebumgardner — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:18:34 +0000

The three Rs that everyone says we have to get back to in education. And I agree that we need to teach reading. No matter what the platform, whether a book, a magazine or a blog, you are probably going to need to read. And writing really helps not only to communicate your thoughts, but to organize them as well. And despite the trauma of middle school math, I think being able to do even advanced mathematics is important. One of the reasons it is so hard to understand economics and policy is that we really don’t understand numbers, especially big numbers.

That said, I think that the basics are just the start. Now, all of these skills must be integrated with even more skills, like co-operation, verbal communication, and how to work with very diverse and international groups. These are soft skills and difficult to assess. Yet I would say they are just as important as the hard skills. I would also add critical thinking, and the ability to navigate the new technology that right now we can’t even imagine. We need to teach our students how to learn, not just how to study.

I think that is something I’m thinking about right now, because my students just finished a practice SAT test, still have more on the speaking test, and then will take their final tests. All in the next three weeks. I can see the strain. And that is why I want to change things a bit.

On the good news side, I”m grading papers that my students have been writing. We started a writing program as an experiment at the beginning of the school year, and I’m really happy with the improvements I’m seeing. Yes a few still use Google translate, and although I think it is a good tool, in the end, for this program, I want them to use their own language. They have a lot more creativity and imagination than they are being encouraged to use.

We think that education should prepare students for the jobs of the future, but how can we do that when we don’t even know what those will be? Why don’t we instead prepare students to think for themselves, to learn from others, and to develop all their talents? (even the talents that won’t turn into their career)

Why don’t we teach our children how to be good human beings with the skills they need to learn the skills they will need for the future.

Sir Ken Robinson has laid out the problem and the solution quite well.

Myeondong ho

christinebumgardner — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:06:29 +0000

Korea is crowded. Seoul is very crowded. Myeongdong is super very crowded. It is also where you can get just about anything, including the very famous Myeongdong noodles. Since the line is always winding around the block, we decided not to go there. However we did walk around seeing the sights. Myeongdong is noisy, crowded and has more sparkle stuff than you can shake a stick at. There is everything here and everyone is there, the crowds close in but on some streets they thin out a bit. We were even able to find a nice street with outdoor cafes and small restaurants and a fountain, though the street was a bit off Myeongdong proper. I must admit, I’m not a big fan of Myeongdong. Yes it is something you have to experience, but I find it a little too crowded. But this Saturday I found a nice fountain and a quiet street with a cool street cafe, so I”m pretty happy.

You can always meet interesting characters:

Eat interesting food:

and of course sparkles:

If it doesn’t sparkle, it has to be cute or colorful:

And when it all gets overwhelming, go get some coffee:

I like the idea of Myeongdong much more than I like the reality. The crowds, smells, and noise gets to me sometimes. But it is a great place to pick up scarves, belts, sparkly things, dresses, socks (although I didn’t find the ones with Obama on them - I think you have to got to Ewha or Hongdae to get people on your feet) food, singing rooms, and with the street vendors and high-end shops it is a bit of old and new Korea.

Raymond – I promise more food soon.

The Adventures of Benjamin Skyhammer A review

christinebumgardner — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:22:27 +0000

The Adventures of Benjamin Skyhammer is a delightful little YA adventure, science fiction story. I had the pleasure and honor of being one of the first readers. One of the things I loved about this book was Nicole Sheldrake’s ability to build a believable world. As you read along, each country and each place is real, even if quite fantastic. The story opens with an Indiana Jones-ish relic hunter, but quickly evolves to a magical realm where the world is not safe and nothing is what it seems.

Many science fiction and adventure stories have plausible worlds, but the world here is one I would want to visit again, and again. World building is not easy, and making a magical place is even more difficult. Yet I felt that this world was a real place.

It is an easy read, but not a simple story. There is mystery, and the plot does thicken quite often, and lots and lots of adventure. I also liked the characters. Higgins is of course my favorite, but there were quite a few, some that only showed up briefly, that were memorable and compelling and much more complex than the average young adult novel characters.

I want to go into detail, but then I would probably spoil it for you.

Go to Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+adventures+of+benjamin+skyhammer&x=0&y=0 or smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=benjamin+skyhammer or go to the author’s website and read some of her great short stories as well.

http://www.nicolesheldrake.com/

Congratulations Nicole, it was a great story.

More on testing

christinebumgardner — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:58:55 +0000

Well, the trauma and drama continue in during the speaking test. I feel like a monster. So many of the students are shaking so hard they can barely speak. I had tried to make it easier by having students give presentations in class, and usually the kids don’t act frightened when they see me in the hall, or even in the E-mart. They often see me first at the store and come up to me to try to talk. But this week I turned into a major ogre.

I am on some internet discussion boards and of course whenever teachers get together they talk about teaching, and one of the topics is the emphasis on testing. Not just here in Korea, but in America as well. I will concede that presentation skills are good to have. To be able to communicate in front of people is useful. But taking multiple choice tests? Not so much. We are teaching our students how to succeed in taking tests, not how to succeed in life. As a foreign teacher, I have a lot more freedom in my class, but twice a semester, I have to teach my students something I don’t agree with. I still am not sure the best way to assess so many people in a way that is fair and showcases the students abilities, but I’m working on it.

Meanwhile, even most Koreans agree that the Su-neung, or University Entrance Exam is not the most optimal system.

And they have some very good suggestions from making entrance exams and school less competitive to making university easier to enter but harder to graduate. I also agree with the guy who said high school should focus more on helping students find what they really want to do.

Education and learning should be fun, not something that makes you cry.