Thursday, March 29, 2007
A True Story
Just a reminder of how easily the world of academia can surprise you.
In the few brief minutes before class today, another student asked me what I got on one of the homework questions (the answer was 承和12年). I was curious to see if their other answers resembled mine (how many Han emperors were there, exactly?) so I took a glance at their paper. I was immediately struck by this question-and-answer:
I'll be fair here and mention that English was obviously not this student's first language, but whichever nation s/he comes from they surely must recognize that human mortality is a global constant. Ask me this question in Russian and I'm still going to know the answer is more than one! True, there has only been one imperial family in Japan but that doesn't change the fact that hundreds of men and women have sat on the throne over the last 2000+ years because they all die after a while.
Can you tell I'm ready to put this phase of my life behind me? I need a break from college students more than I need one from college.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
In the few brief minutes before class today, another student asked me what I got on one of the homework questions (the answer was 承和12年). I was curious to see if their other answers resembled mine (how many Han emperors were there, exactly?) so I took a glance at their paper. I was immediately struck by this question-and-answer:
Between 986 and 1085, how many Japanese emperors occupied the throne? How many reign titles were there?My gentle readers, even if you know nothing of Japanese history, surely you must recognize that is would be nearly impossible for a single Emperor to reign over any nation for an entire century, if for no other reason than the simple, universal realization that most people don't live that long (FYI, the record length for a single reign is 64 years. You probably remember him). When I pointed out this obvious error to the student, s/he raised the Clueless bar one notch higher: "I thought Japan only had one emperor."
Emperors: 1
I'll be fair here and mention that English was obviously not this student's first language, but whichever nation s/he comes from they surely must recognize that human mortality is a global constant. Ask me this question in Russian and I'm still going to know the answer is more than one! True, there has only been one imperial family in Japan but that doesn't change the fact that hundreds of men and women have sat on the throne over the last 2000+ years because they all die after a while.
Can you tell I'm ready to put this phase of my life behind me? I need a break from college students more than I need one from college.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Cautionary Tragedy
A bit of bad news from my future home.
It hasn't made much press here in the States, but a recent death in Japan is growing in scope. Police found the body of a 22 year old British woman whom they believe was murdered. She was working as an English teacher for possibly the largest private chain of schools in Japan, NOVA. The prime suspect, a Japanese man who may have been one of her students, is on the run. Her father has arrived and has appeared on TV in tears appealing for help in catching him.
This fate isn't one that frightens me per se, in that a single man simply doesn't face the same risks that a single woman does in Japan (or most other industrialized nations). I am also well aware that the likelihood of being killed in Japan is infinitesimal compared to the homicide rates of a major American city like New York, which I frequently visit without a second thought. However, the apparent murder of anyone in the English teaching profession which I have been so focused on entering produces a gut reaction of anxiety regardless of logic. So I felt compelled to share the story with all of you.
Speaking of New York, I'm on Spring Break as of Friday and I've already got my bus tickets.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
It hasn't made much press here in the States, but a recent death in Japan is growing in scope. Police found the body of a 22 year old British woman whom they believe was murdered. She was working as an English teacher for possibly the largest private chain of schools in Japan, NOVA. The prime suspect, a Japanese man who may have been one of her students, is on the run. Her father has arrived and has appeared on TV in tears appealing for help in catching him.
This fate isn't one that frightens me per se, in that a single man simply doesn't face the same risks that a single woman does in Japan (or most other industrialized nations). I am also well aware that the likelihood of being killed in Japan is infinitesimal compared to the homicide rates of a major American city like New York, which I frequently visit without a second thought. However, the apparent murder of anyone in the English teaching profession which I have been so focused on entering produces a gut reaction of anxiety regardless of logic. So I felt compelled to share the story with all of you.
Speaking of New York, I'm on Spring Break as of Friday and I've already got my bus tickets.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Emerging from Winter
unpaid advertising...I'm no sell out!
