Voluntary service: English story telling

(photo taken as my first or second story went on)

Voluntary service : English story telling

        It is my very first time to do so. At first, It worried me that little children, perchance, like an amicable female story teller better. When I tell the first story, I sometime got speechless with my mind being blank, and then awkward silence struck.  From early morning to afternoon, my hands-on experiences mounted. The panic and doubt were washed away when I found the children delighted with the stories and grabbed another volume for me to read. 

        One of the parents attending my story telling said she would like to talk to me during the interval. To my surprise, she said she was impressed and appreciated my skills. We had a nice talk about English, children, and my current tutoring. It turned out an unforgettable experience through which I got a new tutor student! 

Bah Hum Bug

Alas, under the mistletoe stands no one aside me.
Never shall I picture so much, eh?
If only I could fight the wild dreams and best kill them all.
The more I fancy, the harder the reality strikes.
It cracked and crushed and crashed and crumbled.

Being a Teacher

     I found that I don't hate kids as I did before. Presumably, I've got used to the days spiced up with their laughter and screams and shout and whisper and chitchat.
It's inevitably true that I flipped when they pay no speck of pitiful attention to me, show no manners or respect, and give attitude. I may be carried away, yet I still like them, care much about them and don't want to lose my faith on them. In their eyes a strict teacher am I. A little girl even mimicked me... today.
      Tackling a pack of evil little devil isn't easy-peasy. However, I am comforted a bit today for there are still some attentive students and the students who know my expectation or kind intention. When I was ceremoniously talking to the one who refused to learn, put on air, and said something mean to her peers, a student of mine could not bear watching the constant misbehaviours which presumptuously took place even if I tried to dammed my rage and talked nicely. She remarked "it was you that showed your ill temper to our teacher first. You know what? He's here to help you and you aren't supposed to act this way" That might be the most impressive words student said I have heard so far.
       Four months have elapsed since I started teaching. Still green, though, I see a teacher-to-be instead of a teacher-would-be in near future.

Drugs

   

      Taking drugs not merely harms your health but destroys your relationship with family and friends. From the aspect of health, you may lose body functions such as the disorder of urinating or the high rate of infertility. As for relationship, you may dishearten your parents and be forced to leave your significant other.

       As long as you are addicted to drugs, you will spend more and more money buying it. As time elapses, you earn less owing to your deteriorating health and you spend more on drugs. Consequently, you will wind up penniless.

       It’s a malicious circle that once you get addicted, you would seek after every possible access to suffice the longing, which takes over sensibility. Yet, the longer you take drugs, the harder it is to restore the things you’ve lost, including family, money, self-esteem and health.

       Gradually, you’ll find your life ruined and you know very well that it cannot start over again no matter how much you regret. As a result, never touch drugs, not just for the sake of yourself, but also for the sake of the ones you love.

A Brief Comparative Article

      Jojo and I met at the corner labelled "Japan" when asked the preference to countries. Both of us like Japan due to the Japanese people's politeness. In addition, I like Japanese's strict and cautious attitude when they deal with their jobs and trivial things alike. The other reasons why Jojo likes Japan involve with its music and language. In conclusion, my fondness to the country mostly bases on Japanese peoples' overall dispositions while Jojo eyes on the other aspects.
      As the labels got changed, at the corner of "rock music" did we encountered again. We both consider rock music the best remedy or vent for bad moods and even if we are not in bad moods, we can feel our spirits up-lifted and cheered just by listening to it.
      In sum, of so many preferences, we share a few in common. However, the reasons that shape our similar preferences differs.   

Jack and Jill

    The following descriptive article is an collaboration unscrambled with many paragraphs from different groups which wrote their own thing based on the picture they got. To achieve fluency and coherence, the fragments were revised and the plots are adjusted a  little bit before they were emerged into one piece of literary. After my team work out the whole thing, I privately altered the dictions, added and lessen some details before I presented it right here on my blog.        

It all happened on a cold and rainy day last month. After work, Jill drove her car on her way home. Suddenly, the car had a flat tyre. She was all alone when she got off the car and managed to work it out. All of a sudden, a man named Jack approached her and caressed her on cheeks. He said,” I know a inn nearby and I can take you there.”

    They opened the door of the inn and Jill looked frightened. She told Jack that the vampire wants one of them to die. She was too shocked to utter another word and she fainted.

    When she woke up, Jack was very mad. Jack raged on, “I've have had enough of your bizarre action and insanity. There’s no vampire and you’re paranoid! I want to find another woman!“. Jack grasped Jill by her shoulder but she, with all the strength, shook her shoulder off Jack's muscular hands and snarled hysterically, “Dare you touch me! “. Then, Jill slapped across his face, which then turned burning red, and yelled, “Get the hell away from me! “. “Fine,” shrugged Jack. Secretly, Jill still loved Jack and begged Jack to sleep with her for one more night.

    They slept sweetly together in bed at night. All of a sudden, a dark shade looking like a mixture of  cat and octopus cast on the wall. When Jack noticed the spooky shadow, he screamed.

    He had bad breath which frightened the woman so much and she was dying to escape. They calmed down and found the horrible shadow belong to two kittens.

    The woman softly brushed the cat’s fur. At the same time, the man played with the other cat. They look at the cats affectionately. Thanks to the two cats, they got closer to one another again.  

The assignment for Reading and Writing class (week8)

Instruction:

Write a five line poem in the pattern below.
1st line = noun
2nd       = two adjectives
3rd       = verb + adverb
4th       = begins with "like" and presents a comparison
5th       = starts with "if only" and expresses a wish
e.g.
Politician
Phony and false
Lying desperately
Like a mocking bird
If only I had the key to the bird cage

My work:

Mom
Fair and fond
Caressing gently
Like sunshine
If only I could payback warmth of no bound

The assignment for Reading and Writing class (week8)

Instruction:
    You should have a piece of writing written in the third-person perspective. Rewrite it in the first-person perspective: how is the character feeling? Describe their thought and viewpoint. Put the rewritten paragraph on your blog. If you can find the original author, show them how you have reinterpreted the work.

The original article:
     One day, Felix walk to his school. He was very happy because he could meet his girlfriend on the day. They've planned the date for months, and the day finally came. At the time he thought and walked happily, a dog walked to him, and it wagged and smiled at him. Because it was so cute, Felix couldn't help but play with it. Therefore, he was late for school, and the teacher punished him to stay at the school after class. After the punishment, Felix rushed out to his girlfriend, but it was all too late. His girlfriend was really mad at him. That was exactly a bad day to Felix.

My adaption:
     On October 3rd, I walked to the dull and loathsome school as usual, yet I felt jocund. It was the day, on which I would have a romantic date schemed by my love and I for months. "The day finally come! Yeah, finally!" thought I when I smiled a long-lasting smile. A puppy came wagging its tail toward me, so I, who could hardly resist such a cutie, squat down and played with it. Far from school did I heard the bell rang. Reminded of my being late, I jumped to my feet and ran my best. When I stepped  across the threshold, the teacher, in anger, stared right into my eye in the classroom  echoed with awkward silence which was killing me. "Could you please tell me if I will ever witness your being on time?" scorched Miss Lin before I was detained after class as a punishment. As clock ticked the time away, anxiety grew and raged on and torture me. The very second the punishment announced to its end, I dashed all the way to the park at which I spotted my girl storming away. She gave me  no chance to excuse me self. I realized it was too late. Alone on the bench sat me, who couldn't have a worse day.

A Sunday Taken over by English Literature

How do I love English literature? Let me count the ways.
     I reviewed Sigh No More, To an Athlete Dying Young, Meditation XVII (No Man Is an Island), Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds and one poem narrating a woman's yearn for her beloved one who never returned form Vietnam War, after reading Charlotte's Web today. If only I could make up all the things I snoozed away in class ASAP.
     It came into my mind when I read To an Athlete Dying Young that quite a few singers or actors retire as reaching their peaks of careers for a long-reserved fame. In my point of view, even though the two cases are not exactly identical, there is a similarity.
What an intriguing paradox it is to state by crossing the threshold of mortality, one achieves immortality.
     As for Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds, as far as I am concerned, metaphors are cleverly used in the sonnet to expound the features of true love. The poem, written with a stern attitude, is not only penned but ended nicely and the notions of true love are thus made convincible. John Donne, however, advocates an opposite idea that love lasts not forever .


My recent life:

     I am preparing for my mid-term presentation which is a short play adapted from Othello. I shall take the role as Brabantio and I am now memorizing the play. It must be a hilarious scene that I take out the play and utter aloud things like "o thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter...." in British accent literally every day!

Charlotte's web

I am reading Charlotte's web and I try to write a short piece of characteristic analysis for Wilbur, the leading role.

Wilbur

 

Knowing little about the world, Wilbur is kind at heart, just like naïve youngsters, yet easily fooled or taunted by the other animals. In general, it tend to be optimistic, carefree, and gentle as the season spring in which it was born, yet it is inevitably dejected by loneliness sometimes.


Yeah...I do like Wilbur:") He is adorable, isn't he?

As an English major...

Today, my friend asked my if I could translate a paragraph in her textbook. I said yes at once. However, gosh, after I saw the article, I was so frightened!!! and indeed, it took me more than an hour. My translation teacher remark ", you should have charge her for such an challenging task."
More often than not, we students of English major are consider a translating tool, which are handy, complimentary, and far better than google translation (chuckling).

Here right below you may review the article

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study
is to achieve an understanding of the perceptions and experiences of Israeli parents of students with severe disabilities about their involvement in the Individual Education Program (IEP) process.
Data collection in this study involved interviewing 20 parents whose children study in special education schools in the Tel Aviv area in Israel.
Through analysis of parents' responses,
two main themes related to the involvement of parents in the IEP process become apparent:
 A child-centered focus and parents' self-efficacy.
Positive parent teacher collaboration enhanced the sense of parents' efficacy with respect to the IEP process
and resulted in plans that were individualized to students' needs.
The main conclusion of the research is
parental involvement and the collaboration of parents with teachers
is a process that teachers and parents must nourish daily.
Parental involvement and effective parent-teacher collaboration in the IEPs of students with severe disabilities is founded on relationships of trust and positive communication between families and schools.



此現象定性研究旨在了解以色列重障學生的父母參與個別教育計劃獲得的體認。
研究數據來自20對父母的訪談。其孩子皆就讀以色列特拉維夫地區的特教學校。
透過分析家長的反應,家長在計畫中兩大主題清楚可見：
分別為兒童中心焦點與雙親的自我效能
積極的親師合作提升了雙親效能並催生一些計畫以滿足個別化的教學需求。
研究的主要結論顯示
家長參與和親師合作建立於互信及積極交流的基礎之上且必須一天一天的培養。

The assignment for the Reading and Writing class (week 2)

      You need to create a character using the pieces of information that you have.

(I drew a lot and I got the following pieces: two-faced people, I hope I can travel around the world, go shopping, hip-hop music, noise, ill-tempered, making noise in the early morning.)

Give it a name and write a description of them making seem as alive as possible. Later put this piece of writing on your blog.

 

     “You are nothing more than a two-faced person.   Claiming a desire to travel around the world and make friends, you mask your social phobia and cowardice with faked outgoingness. You said, with great euphoria, you relish going shopping and spending times with your, so called, friends. Steve, I know you try to befriend everyone, your family, your peers, and even your neighbours.    But I know you define your classmate’s hip-hop music as junk while pretending you liked it to please him. You detest your neighbour’s making noise in early morning while faking brilliant smiles whenever you meet her.  Dare you unleash your ill temper?  Daren’t you show your true colours?” a voice rumbled in my mind and lingered in my head.