Entries this day: Nova Work

Nova

12:11pm JST Thursday 26 June 2003

I noticed a similarity which tends to explain why I don't like teaching using the Nova system.

Organized religions seem to me like masses of people emulating the actions of one person, attempting to connect with their spiritual nature. The way one person connects with (insert your favorite name for that which cannot be named) won't necessarily work for another. Our personalities are different. Our histories are different. I won't blather into a big blathering; here's the point:

The Nova way of teaching suits certain personalities of teachers and certain personalities of students.

A moment ago I read the following from the suggested Kinder (4-5 year olds) lesson for the week:

G, Coursebook Activity (Practice it!) 

Open one copy of the coursebook to pages 4 and 5.  Say, He's
reading.  What's he doing? and encourage the students to respond,
He's reading. Say, Go! and have the students point
to Dad reading on the page.  Ask, What's he doing? and
encourage them to respond He's reading. Have the students put
their hands on their heads and repeat the activity for the picture of
Lisa eating.  Repeat the activity for brushing teeth on pages 6 and 7,
watching TV on pages 10 and 11, and sleeping on pages 20 and 21.

Tip: Between each page, have the students do a different action,
putting their hands on their heads, or wiggling their fingers in the
air.

When I read the part about them putting their hands on their heads I'm like, "wtf?" and then the Tip at the bottom is just fluff. I mean, of course, the author may have developed a perfect method by which s/he can teach this stuff, but something is lost in the explanation to me.

For me, teaching well requires a connection with the students. (*) I like to get in their heads; what is going on in there? what do I have to work with? Ah. Now I know how to teach this material.

I can't read this paragraph and use it to teach. The idea of simply doing that feels so.. wrong. Like I'm cheating or patronizing the students... or worse, ignoring the students needs.

Teaching is not just actions without feeling. The teaching occurs on a different level than just physical action. There's gotta be a connection.

So the Nova way seems a lot like a religion to me. Just some lessons for people to read and try to emulate without necessarily feeling/connecting/teaching/learning.

(*) There are times when I don't make this connection. For example, when there are four students in the room. Or three. Or two. Further, my ability to teach certainly has to do with my mood at the time. If I'm feeling like poo, I won't likely be/appear as genki as, say, Carla, the best kids' teacher ever.

Work

9:16pm JST Thursday 26 June 2003

Work was pretty rockin' today. I had a best lesson ever, with two women, one of whom recently quit her job to become an assistant cartoonist (she creates the background of the scene for the cartoonist who then draws the characters in it), the other of whom doesn't like her job all that much (magazine editor) and wants to be a swimming instructor. So I was like, "shit dawg, go volunteer at the local pool one hour per week this summer!"

I sensed her fear at that prospect, but hopefully she will do it for herself even so.

The very last lesson of the day was with a level 4 in a lucky man to man (man to man, but the student only paid for a normal lesson - but no one else signed up (or showed up) to the lesson). Soon as he found out he was >M< he inquired about leveling up. I told him what I'm supposed to say is go to the voice room, but the best way is to save his money and go overseas to an English speaking company.

((According to his emails, Frank seems to give this advice all the time. I've been quite hesitant to so boldly tell students not to go to Nova, but in some cases, shit - Nova just ain't helping. And it can't be said that I had ulterior motives; I didn't tell him to pay me to teach him (I even poopooed my (Nova) teaching skillz) and he isn't a finely contoured female.))

In the course of our conversation, he told me that he's sick of his job so I was like, "are you married?" (no) "then go to the US" and I gave him Philip Gayle's email address as someone in the US who knows Japanese and might be able to help. I should look up the email address of the place in Houston that taught me Japanese. (I hope that was okay to give it out; I just wrote to Philip to let him know, but the irony is that this cat will probably contact him before my email is sent)

And he told me where I could get my CDRW/DVD player fixed. And it's quite near KQ Kawasaki. Rock!

Quote of the day:

It's good and awful.