teaching plan for next week class

Jason’s teaching activity

Activity: Find Someone Who

Level: English Majors, Freshmen

Time: 15-25 minutes

Materials: forms for the interview

Procedure:

1. Prepare questionnaire forms for the whole class, which should like the following one but maybe with more specific questions:

Find someone who	name	details
has won medals or special prizes
has a girl friend or boy friend in high school
came to the university and enrolled all by himself/herself
(ten such questions)

2. Ask the whole class to talk to each other, following the lead in the above form, and taking notes.

3. This can help the students to practice their speaking abilities, and to know each other better, since they are in a new class.

4. After class, a written assignment will be given, which is a description about one of the classmates you have known better.

informal summary

After 5-week study in Yale, I have improved myself in organizing teaching activities, deepen my understanding of American culture, collected up-to-date articles and books for my research project, and successfully lost some weight.

Thanks to Siggy and Carrie’s hard work and meticulous planning, we have various teaching activities here, including pedagogy classes, peer observation, and the opportunity to put the theories and methods into practice. Meanwhile, I always tried to connect what I saw and learned to the coming semester’s teaching for the freshmen, and had some brilliant ideas which will not be discussed in details.

I also have the chance to get in touch with local people and places frequently, and enlarge my horizon during the cultural exposure. I visited museums, gave lectures in the public library, exchanged ideas about teaching with our peers in America, attended churches and had a taste of various difference here. I have to admit that what I experienced in Yale enhance my knowledge of the country, which is only got from books.

My best memory of Yale definitely is the time spent in libraries, Sterling and Bass. I felt comfortable and fulfilled there, and enjoyed great convenience of borrowing, scanning and downloading books, articles and other academic studies. I am also happen to share with my colleagues the tips about how to use the libraries services and online resources, and excited to see them have great fun in libraries.

Last but not least, my beer-belly is less obvious, and my wife will be very happy to find out. In those days, I eat less, seldom drink, keep a healthy diet and walk all the way to class. The improvement in my physical shape will, in turn, make me more confident in teaching performance.

words without pictures

This summer, my wife has to babysit alone, again. 

Once she told me, after an exhausting day, not in a complaining way, that I had been busy every summer vacation and left her alone to take care of our son since he was born. That is true and I felt guilty.  After that, I tried to decline and put off appointments and affairs during the summer vacation and accompany them, but there would always be several weeks I was away from them.

This summer, I had the opportunity to study in Yale and my wife encouraged me to apply for it. So I did, here am I, and leave them again. My wife is a college teacher, having over 16 classes each week, and also a mother and wife, taking care of us and doing family chores almost singlehandedly. She is a gifted dancer, has a good taste of life, but for the family sacrifices herself. 

My wife also told me that I should spare more time with our son while he is still a child. Time flies; once he grows up and has his own family, the time spent with him as a little boy will be one of our best memory. That is true.

I am blessed to have a happy family, and must cherish what I have.

I've got a haircut

Having been here for over 4 weeks, I desperately need a haircut. To have a hair salon adventure is also on my to-do list, so I went to the Yelp, and found one with excellent comments, which happens to be on my way from the classroom to the apartment.

I first called Nancy, the hairdresser, and made an appointment of 1:00 pm. After the morning class, I swallowed down my lunch and hurried to the Hair Niche. To my disappointment, I made a mistake about my appointment, which should be two days later, that is, on Friday. But Nancy said okay, and made an exception for me. Great!

outside of the Hair Niche

The next problem to solve is to explain to her how I would like my hair be done. fortunately, my wife has sent several pictures to my phone beforehand, and I downloaded the picture to show her, and explained that I wanted to cut the sides and back very short and left the top long.(I have learned from Siggy about how to say such words.)  

models to explain my wanted hairstyle

The communication is good, and Nancy is very patient and stopped several times to ask my opinion. We also had a very pleasant little chat over my stay here.  After all was done, she swiped my credit card, and charged me just 20 dollars. I realized that I didn't tip her, and I was very satisfied with her job, so I pay her extra 3 dollars as gratuity.

the lady after me is supposed to have today's 1:00 appointment, THS

It is a great experience to have such a nice haircut in America, and I look forward to the other adventures on my list.

selfie again!

Saturday morning

After traveling around almost whole week, I decide to spend this Saturday in the libraries. 

Since I became a teacher, I just occasionally visited libraries to grab several have-to-read books and teaching references. this summer, I have the opportunity  and plenty of time to lavish in the world's best libraries, which definitely will be my most precious memory of Yale.

Sterling, 9:35 am

before Sterling

panoramic picture of Sterling and Bass, my favorite

the met

Yesterday, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city. I have heard about it for a long time,  and it is one of my must-visit spots in NY. I did some research the night before, planning to spend 6 hours in the Met and focus my time and energy in three galleries, namely Egyptian, Asian, and European paintings.

After a 2-hour ride, we finally stood at the gate of the Met. Selfie first. 

going through the security exam, I did not wait in the line to rent a audio guide but use my phone to visit Met's website, which provides a convenient and free guide service. 

that is me before the Egyptian Temple which I don't know how to spell its exact name. It is unbelievable to visit an authentic temple outside Egypt. 

then upstairs, I went into the Chinese section of the Asian gallery, where a special exhibition is attracting hundreds of native Americans. to tell the truth, I does not like the way they exhibiting ancient Chinese artifacts, just as I did not like Zhang Yimou's movies, but I also realize that the curator does succeed in finding how to display and narrate in the American way.  I have to admit that this exhibition is very successful, though I am little disappointed by the lack of Chinese paintings there.

European paintings gallery is the essence of the trip. I am lost in the maze of masterpieces from different ages and countries. very little i knew about oil paintings, and before the visit i read something from the blog about how to appreciate them. this time, the audio guide played a vital role. sitting on the bench, gazing at the painting, and listening to the art experts' comments, that is the way to visiting an art gallery. 

in order to prove I have been in the Met, I took another selfie under the Diana, which, I just knew, use to be on the top of the madison garden. 

at last, I have to say that it is amazing for the Americans to move the statures and even stairs, like those of Chicago Exchanges, into the museum and combines them harmoniously. 

the Beach, Carrie's House and others

blue sky and clouds

July 21, Tuesday, New Haven is getting warm and the weather is perfect for a beach trip. We had a great time along the Hammonasett, taking pictures, walking and swimming. It is my first time to swim in the Atlantic. 

arnald and me

then, we went to Carrie's home at Clinton. It is a decent community and Carrie put a lot of love into her lovely house. what I love most is the yard attached to the house, with lofty trees, scented flowers and even fossils. 

hammock

Next day, we went to the Clinton premium outlets and made our contribution to the American economy. That's me trying on a Ralph Lauren which, unfortunately, is bought by Ana and not mine. 

Friday evening, I went to the New Haven green to attend a lawn concert.  Accustomed to the American way of listening to the concert, I took a seat on the lawn and occasionally stood up to swing my body with the music. 

we did so many things together and never realized the passage of time. It's only two weeks left in New Haven, and it's meaningful to keep a record of what has happened.  

food trucks along the New Haven Green