Yay! The first (of many, I hope) interesting tidbit of information I've learned. I'm hoping to be surprised by all the amazing things I learn, and soon forget. My goal is to better remember the small stuff by passing it along to any curious, innocent bystanders. (Byreaders??)
Soju, a popular and potent Korean alcohol, is necessary in the making of traditional, fermented foods such as kimchi, gochujang (red pepper paste), and doenjang (soybean paste). Of course, the alcohol evaporates or otherwise disappears, but that delicious -ha!- flavor (some of you know what I'm talking about) is bound to left in a small measure. I quite enjoy doenjang jjigae (tofu stew with a soybean paste broth) and was a bit alarmed to learn how much soju goes into the process.
As a bonus tidbit, soju can also be, and absolutely is, used to clean tables at restaurants between patrons. Yum.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Vacation
Yay!! My first vacation days are quickly approaching. Long ago, back in April, I requested June 19th and 20th off in hopes of spending an early summer 4-day weekend at the beach. Now it seems it may rain on Saturday and Sunday. Well, here's hoping it's at least nice on Friday. *Fingers crossed*
I'm taking the train early Friday morning to Busan in order to make a lunch date with my old manager. She still works for our company but moved from Chilgok (where I lived last year) to our new branch in Busan, near Haewoondae Beach. After I have lunch with her, I'm hoping to lay around, read, drink beer, and eat popsicles (Corona + Lemon Ice Bar) on the beach. Then I'm going to sleep in the jjimjilbang again to save money.
There are lots of exciting events scheduled for this summer, too. I can't wait to write about them, but here's an impromptu list:
Amazing Race Daegu II* (I did last year's also!)
Prom Night* - A chance to re-live it, but better this time! CANCELED due to "scheduling conflicts" with the venue... or some excuse. :(
Art Daegu 2008 - Exhibition at the EXCO Daegu Convention Center
TreX-Games Busan 2008
13th Busan International Art Festival
Boryeong Mud Festival (Also my second go-around)
* Organized by the small community of foreigners in Daegu for ourselves.
All the other items are legitimate, sponsored, backed-by-councils-and-ministries-type events.
I'm taking the train early Friday morning to Busan in order to make a lunch date with my old manager. She still works for our company but moved from Chilgok (where I lived last year) to our new branch in Busan, near Haewoondae Beach. After I have lunch with her, I'm hoping to lay around, read, drink beer, and eat popsicles (Corona + Lemon Ice Bar) on the beach. Then I'm going to sleep in the jjimjilbang again to save money.
There are lots of exciting events scheduled for this summer, too. I can't wait to write about them, but here's an impromptu list:
Amazing Race Daegu II* (I did last year's also!)
Art Daegu 2008 - Exhibition at the EXCO Daegu Convention Center
TreX-Games Busan 2008
13th Busan International Art Festival
Boryeong Mud Festival (Also my second go-around)
* Organized by the small community of foreigners in Daegu for ourselves.
All the other items are legitimate, sponsored, backed-by-councils-and-ministries-type events.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
School
I've recently come across some disturbing information. Since becoming a teacher, I've also become curious about the differences in education in other countries. My friend, who graduated from a Korean high school here in Daegu in 2000, has shared his experience. I will in turn share it with you (plus bits I know about elementary/middle schools now) to compare with your own.
Presently, memorization is stressed as the major learning tool in every level of schooling. In private academies, elementary schools, and middle schools students are taught to memorize data, sentences, articles, and even full presentations. They are tested in a way that reinforces this style. My classes in particular are based around repetition of vocabulary, sentences, or full conversations and recalling sentences from articles by rote memory. In this way, the students are supposed to be learning grammar, sentence structure, and conversation skills, along with building a wide vocabulary. Unfortunately, my experience has been that as quickly as the material is committed to memory, it is forgotten or replaced. Unless a word or sentence structure is continually used over a longer period of time, I have little hope of the students utilizing it properly, or remembering it at all. In my friend's experience, his learning style was shaped by similar teaching techniques. Even into college, there is a lot of emphasis placed on memorization.
This got me thinking... What about subjects which typically don't rely on data, information, or reading articles? What about where you must learn processes or plans, like in woodworking or photography? You'd think this would be a great way to continue implementing the memorization rule while keeping school fun and interesting.
Again, I start thinking. When was the last time my question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" was answered by anything less standard than "Doctor," "Lawyer," "Teacher," or "Dentist"?
So I asked my friend, what kind of fun classes did you get to take in high school? He told me that high school was about 10% fun - the time he got to have a short break or lunch with his friends.
===== A little background:
Korean elementary = American elementary + 2 Saturdays/month + after-school academies (English, math, Korean, dance, TaeKwonDo...)
Korean middle school = American middle school + 2 Sat/month + academies or private lessons (English, Korean, math, history...)
Korean high school is much different.
M-F: Start time ~ 7:30 AM, short lunch in the school, dinner break, finish time ~10:30 PM. No academies.
Sat: Start time ~ 7:30 AM, short lunch, finish time ~2 PM. After this, maybe academy, probably private lessons in English, Korean, other various academic fields.
=====
It seems by the 3rd year of middle school, all fun has been prohibited. I asked about art classes: Only a cursory, still-life drawing/sketching class. Photography? Pottery? No. Drafting? Wood shop? Auto shop? Definitely not. Welding? No! Isn't that dangerous, he asks. Drama class? A school play*? Nope. Band? Orchestra? Choir? Yes, he did get to sing with a chorus group which would practice outside of school time for 2 concerts a year. At least gym is kind of like fun - if you're sporty. As far as I know, high schools here have no developed sports teams or system for promoting tournaments or intramural activities. There are some clubs in elementary or middle school for sports or interests like soccer, movies, book reporting, or drawing. The only competitions my students ever mention are math competitions or field day races.
(I know these few details about students nowadays due to the discussion questions we often have in conjunction with the reading class articles.)
My main concern is that high school students spend over 14 hours per day in a building learning purely academic subjects and have almost no artistic, technical, or remotely unique way to express themselves. Also, how do they learn what interests them if they're not exposed to skills like mechanical, automotive, artistic, dramatic, or specialized sports? Kids certainly don't decide to go to tech school before they ever use a wrench, or art school having never painted a canvas. How could a student possibly make an informed decision about his or her future without having experienced these different fields of study? I hope they're not relying on the Career and Vocational Assessment that I took in high school. That thing told me to be a waitress...
Please comment on this entry - I'd love to know what you think about education. Also, what questions you have that I can answer to make this more complete.
* I now know at least my elementary kids have an annual school play.
Presently, memorization is stressed as the major learning tool in every level of schooling. In private academies, elementary schools, and middle schools students are taught to memorize data, sentences, articles, and even full presentations. They are tested in a way that reinforces this style. My classes in particular are based around repetition of vocabulary, sentences, or full conversations and recalling sentences from articles by rote memory. In this way, the students are supposed to be learning grammar, sentence structure, and conversation skills, along with building a wide vocabulary. Unfortunately, my experience has been that as quickly as the material is committed to memory, it is forgotten or replaced. Unless a word or sentence structure is continually used over a longer period of time, I have little hope of the students utilizing it properly, or remembering it at all. In my friend's experience, his learning style was shaped by similar teaching techniques. Even into college, there is a lot of emphasis placed on memorization.
This got me thinking... What about subjects which typically don't rely on data, information, or reading articles? What about where you must learn processes or plans, like in woodworking or photography? You'd think this would be a great way to continue implementing the memorization rule while keeping school fun and interesting.
Again, I start thinking. When was the last time my question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" was answered by anything less standard than "Doctor," "Lawyer," "Teacher," or "Dentist"?
So I asked my friend, what kind of fun classes did you get to take in high school? He told me that high school was about 10% fun - the time he got to have a short break or lunch with his friends.
===== A little background:
Korean elementary = American elementary + 2 Saturdays/month + after-school academies (English, math, Korean, dance, TaeKwonDo...)
Korean middle school = American middle school + 2 Sat/month + academies or private lessons (English, Korean, math, history...)
Korean high school is much different.
M-F: Start time ~ 7:30 AM, short lunch in the school, dinner break, finish time ~10:30 PM. No academies.
Sat: Start time ~ 7:30 AM, short lunch, finish time ~2 PM. After this, maybe academy, probably private lessons in English, Korean, other various academic fields.
=====
It seems by the 3rd year of middle school, all fun has been prohibited. I asked about art classes: Only a cursory, still-life drawing/sketching class. Photography? Pottery? No. Drafting? Wood shop? Auto shop? Definitely not. Welding? No! Isn't that dangerous, he asks. Drama class? A school play*? Nope. Band? Orchestra? Choir? Yes, he did get to sing with a chorus group which would practice outside of school time for 2 concerts a year. At least gym is kind of like fun - if you're sporty. As far as I know, high schools here have no developed sports teams or system for promoting tournaments or intramural activities. There are some clubs in elementary or middle school for sports or interests like soccer, movies, book reporting, or drawing. The only competitions my students ever mention are math competitions or field day races.
(I know these few details about students nowadays due to the discussion questions we often have in conjunction with the reading class articles.)
My main concern is that high school students spend over 14 hours per day in a building learning purely academic subjects and have almost no artistic, technical, or remotely unique way to express themselves. Also, how do they learn what interests them if they're not exposed to skills like mechanical, automotive, artistic, dramatic, or specialized sports? Kids certainly don't decide to go to tech school before they ever use a wrench, or art school having never painted a canvas. How could a student possibly make an informed decision about his or her future without having experienced these different fields of study? I hope they're not relying on the Career and Vocational Assessment that I took in high school. That thing told me to be a waitress...
Please comment on this entry - I'd love to know what you think about education. Also, what questions you have that I can answer to make this more complete.
* I now know at least my elementary kids have an annual school play.
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