Tag: Teaching in Vietnam

What’s in a name ?

5th April 2023

The Shins have a ‘Name for you’ … and I have some rules for students choosing English names for our English classes.

First, the name has to be ENGLISH, so no ‘Sans’ (a French preposition), no ‘Lavie’ (French for ‘life’, also the name of a bottled-water company).

No totally made-up names (Valhana is one example that comes to mind).

No titles (‘King’, ‘Christ’ … yes, I’m serious, one parent expects us to call his kid ‘Christ’)

and, in the name of all that’s gracious, no more:

Kelvin

Ken

Kenny

Nick

Nicky

The above names are DENIED

English is such a rich language, there is no need for every Tom, Dick & Harry to be called Ken (English humour).

Instead, choose from this list of short names:

Andy // Don // Fred // Guy // Ian // Jay // Jim // Len // Mark // Mick // Ray // Roy // Seb // Sid // Tim // Vic // Wes // Will// Zack

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

Parables from the Land of the Scorpion.

9th November 2022

The All-Knowing Parent

The House of Gesundheit opened its doors. Before long, a parent charged in, dragging a sickly child. The Doctor of Gesundheit examined the child, increasingly concerned with the findings.

“I must conduct further tests,” the professional explained.

“Ah, no problem, my child always passes tests,” the self-assured reply, with a pat on the money bag.

As the doctor suspected, the poor child had cancer, but it was at an early stage. Help was available, a full recovery was expected.

“Ah, no, no, no, no, no, no,” the parent countered, “the hair will fall out, children at school will laugh. I will not have my child laughed at, I will not have my child looking like an egg ! No, no, no, just give the child some pills, some medicine and all will be well. I know my child. I know my child much better than you do.”

The Doctor of Gesundheit protested, remonstrated, pleaded. The words fell on stony ground. So many pearls, such a large swine.

Eventually the doctor had to acquiesce. Parent and child walked away, victoriously.

Some months later the parent returned, bursting into the House of Gesundheit, screaming, ranting, pointing an accusing, accursing finger at the doctor.

“You killed my child. I brought my child to you for help. Instead … I bury my child. You killed my child. You are a terrible doctor, you are a murderer !”

The other patients heard this and got angry, they sided with the grieved parent and shouted abuse at the disgraced doctor.

The House of Gesundheit closed down.

The doctor abandoned medicine and looked for work from village to village.

In a small grave in a small graveyard lies a small child. Over the coming years, the graveyard grew bigger and bigger.

‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ by Lennon & McCartney. August 1966

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

Thank you my little princesses

30th July 2022

We just finished an extra, four-week summer school, which meant working from 8.30 – 10.30, then coming back for two evening classes, 17.10 – 21.00. This schedule, for all of us, was exhausting.

However on my last day, three girls gave me some presents: two notebooks and some chewy sweets. The sweets soon went the way of all flesh, but I will use the notebooks for ideas, songs and lyrics.

Thank you so much. A teacher NEVER forgets any gift from a student.

“Because it’s my nature.”

2nd June 2022

The fable of the frog and the scorpion

One day a scorpion was out walking when it came to a river. The scorpion, who couldn’t swim, wanted to cross the river, and saw a frog resting on a stone.

“Hello, frog, can you carry me to the other side ? I can ride on your back.”

The frog refused.

“You are a scorpion. You will sting me.”

“Why would I do that ? We would both die,” asked the scorpion.

The frog thought, then agreed. The scorpion climbed onto the frog’s back.

However, half way across the river, the scorpion stung the frog. The frog, in pain, asked the scorpion,

“Why did you do that ? Now we will both die.”

“I know,” replied the scorpion, “I couldn’t help it because it’s my nature.”

A modern day tale

Classes of students who are undisciplined, disrespectful and physically or verbally abusive.

The centre makes rules. The students start each lesson reciting them.

Rules such as not saying, “No,” to a teacher when asked to do something, not calling a teacher by a disrespectful name, no running, no eating in class.

Yet, forty minutes later, masks are off and half the class are eating, running in the halls, shouting. Students say, “No,” to polite requests, and call teachers disrespectful names.

They have been told if they break these new rules, they will be sent home, and if the offense is repeated, they will be expelled. Still they continue.

Why … because it’s in their nature.

Mr Orson Welles in ‘Mr Arkadin’ 1955

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

Education is everything

23rd September 2021

Post image
The fictional Sam Seaborn, played by Rob Lowe

Written by Aaron Sorkin, creator of ‘The West Wing’.

Teaching is exhausting; it requires Herculean feats of strength, mental and physical, and the compassion of the Buddha.

Teaching can be soul-destroying; it requires the wisdom of Solomon and the tolerance of Job.

Teachers can be disrespected, ignored and insulted.

Teacher reviews may be gauged on how popular they are, how many games they play, not on how much they teach or how many students actually pass.

But teachers can also change lives.

That is what makes it worthwhile.

We need to change more lives.

“We need gigantic monumental changes.”