hree people tonight! We are on a roll. Takumi came tonight and Miho is going to join the class. We continued talking about role models and heroes. We listened to the essay by Frank Deford. I think everyone was surprised by the speed. Don't worry it wasn't natural speed. He had a lot to say with very little time, so that is why she spoke so quickly. In the essay he mentioned JFK as an example of someone who was held up as hero, but later turned out to many flaws. Recently in The AtlanticMagazine there was an article (not available online) about JFK's medical problems and how he was able to keep them secret. This interview with the author is interesting also.
Read over the essay and the next reading and we will compare the two opinions next week.
1C
Katsuhsi decided to joining this class, but will only be coming to the end of February. Kaoru was back tonight. Last week she was sick and had a very high fever. She did a little shopping over the weekend and bought a new TV. Yukari started her New Year's cleaning, but had a stomachache on Sunday, so she didn't get everything done. Yoko joined us from Curtis' class and will be coming again next week, too.
We did the Talking Marathon activity today and people did a really good job. The first time everyone thought talking non stop for two minutes would be difficult, but on the second try people did really well. Remember the homework for next is to write out what you told your partner. You can add more information if you like.
A lot of people from this class are planning to come to the Christmas party. You can still get tickets, so think about it. The party is always a lot of fun.
1L
Today we only had two people, but had fun doing the activity on page 69. Both Makiko and Hiroko have had some interesting experiences. In doing the exercise Makiko used a very good conversation technique. Even when she answered no to the questions she used and told about a similar experience. For example:
Hiroko: Have you ever been lost while hiking?
Makiko: No, I haven't, but I was lost in Athens once.
Remember in conversation always try to give as much information as you can.
No homework next week. We will start the expansion unit.
4K
Some interesting news items this week. Naoko reported on the special midnight bus service for people who have been drinking at an end of year party. The article said that ridership is up this year. I am sure that people don't want to take the chance of getting stopped by the police because of the severity of the fine. Atsuko also mentioned the new winter dress code for girls at Kitako High School. To protect their legs they are going to be allowed to wear pants, but there will be some restrictions. Maybe we will see fewer mini-shirts with ragged cut-offs and loose socks this winter.
We discussed what people thought would be the most effective means of lowering youth crime rates from the three suggestions in the book. Most people thought reducing the number of guns was most important and the least important was stiffer penalties. As I mentioned in class, the third option is the one America has chosen. The incarceration rates in the US are the highest in the world. In California they have the three strikes your out rule which means if you get a third felony conviction you will be in prison for a long time.
The homework for next week is to list the possible solutions to school violence in order of effectiveness using the list on pages 118-120. Please add a comment 10:11:43 AM
