Owner: Chris's English Conversation School URL:http://www.waikiki2yanai.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2007 20:24:25 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Hawaii boy now teaching English Conversation in the Japanese countryside. Site statistics:Click here
Japanese style (Humble) 2007-12-05 06:03:00 Anyone who knows me knows, that I'm a poor sport. If I beat you at anything I can't just be happy with the win. I have to rub it into you like sandpaper scraping an open wound. I will remind you of the time I beat you at______ till you f__king die!!Thin skinned people last maybe...2 seconds around me. So it's always a stunner when Japanese
people shy away from boasting about their achievements?Case in point:3 of my first year J.H. students just passed the Eiken pre-2. I have not had any student fail an Eiken in 2 years. So when I say lets take a pic they get all gun shy? WTF?On any other day a pic is cool but if it resembles showing off it's a "no-go"Some of my better points have not rubbed off on them? Give it time....give it time!So Congrats to Asuka, Kei, Yuko, and Ayaka for steppin' ahead of their peers. Read more:Humble
Top 10 2007-12-02 00:56:00 The last top 10 before the end of the year and Chinami is "on-fire". Her focus and quality of work is thru the roof compared with just a few months ago. Chikako has been getting serious with English too so she moves up as well.About 8 months deep with the "top 10" and it's lookin' like a good thing all around.
Saturday pwns again! 2007-12-01 03:58:00 The diary's are working great (the ones pictured are from the 10yr olds) and we made some Christmas cards to kiss-up to mommy a bit and get some stuff Read more:Saturday
Droppin' Christmas bombs...AGAIN!! 2007-11-30 06:26:00 Sorry bout' the quality of the pics. Anyway the Christmas
Party is lookin' like a sellout, with standing room only! Su-weeeet!!
Still snowing!! 2007-12-15 03:11:00 After Checking diaries, conversation questions, and Eiken prep it was back to cutting. They are great in everything but their Eiken prep is not cutting it! I won't take "half stepping". I'm not a teacher who believes the experience itself is a lesson. No no no! Passing is the lesson that shows the value of commitment and good hard studying.They said "we will do our best" I said "no....you will PASS"The life lesson that is "You get back, what you put in" is in full effect and they are learning it now!
Saturday morning snowflakes. 2007-12-14 22:20:00 After finishing the core lesson it's back to the "snowflakeization" of the party room.Christmas in Japan ( here googlebot...here you go boy!)**cough**This has probably been the best week ever for my School. "Knocks on wood" The kids are moving along at a fast pace as the best party of the year approaches.....life is good!! Read more:Saturday
Paper Snowflakes 2007-12-13 05:53:00 I only coast 2 classes a year, one is making Jack O' Lanterns and the other is Snowflakes that will be part of the Christmas party decorations. As of today, this class has cleared phonics. The girl in red just turned 5 and she is WAY ahead of the game! Having a good "student leader" (Moe) for the class is invaluable and that can't be overstated! They are like a "proof of concept" that the other class members can strive for. Anyway.....am TOTALLY pleased with this group!
Reading? Check! 2007-12-12 02:46:00 After today's class, I realizethey could read anything I give them. Next is building up their personal vocabulary and then moving onto diaries by February. Read more:Reading
, Check
Christmas Party prep. 2007-12-12 00:09:00 That is a 21 pound U.S. ham and a 13 pound Hokkaido ham.I will get a turkey to balance it out. The Big one is getting smoked while the e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e Hokkaido one is going another route.These plus one "Homemade" cake, pie, etc, from everyone attending and this party will have more sweets than your corner cake shop.The party room needs LOTS of work, but that's nothing 2 days off can't fix!! Read more:Christmas
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The rich get richer!! 2007-12-11 04:40:00 This class was already my best. Could it get any better? Sure it could, If a 10 year old girl who just returned from a 3 year stint in America (she is fluent) decided to join the class. Thank you Mari Sensei for the recommendation!!!This is MY Christmas present!!P.S.No! we are not cutting pumpkins in December!!The pic is 2 months old. Read more:richer
Saturday (Morning Edition) 2007-12-07 22:51:00 My favorite day is back again! 4 of these students are doing excellent while 2 are doing just O.K. Those 2 have to step it up or they will be moved to another class or washed out completely. I hope that's not the case but the focus has to stay on the ones who are excelling. Read more:Saturday
, Morning
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Party Day!!! 2007-12-22 21:30:00 Unlike the 28lb Thanksgiving Turkey, I don't have to wake up at 3-4am (thank god) So this ham is getting warmed-up for the next 5 hours. I will post other pics during the day including party pics. I expect between 85-100 people to attend. Read more:Party
Dear Diary (J.H. Edition) 2007-12-19 23:46:00 A post break from the Christmas in Japan theme.These kids are 2nd Year J.H. and they have come a long way in 2 months. Our conversation class is built around their writings. Ensuring 100% value to them. Read more:Edition
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Christmas lights in Japan 2007-12-19 02:57:00 A few pics of the most recent "state of the lights". I decided to put the new Santa's indoors because my neighbor has them (and had them first) so I will avoid the appearance of "one-ups'manship". I will leave the School door open though so he can see them as he drives by. I think he or his daughter read the blog? If so...Your move!!I'm playin' I'm playin!!! Read more:Japan
, Christmas
Christmas in Japan 2007-12-18 18:20:00 I can buy anything and easily rationalize it by saying, "this will be great for the School!, the kids will love it!!" So, I bought another thing for the....kids....**cough**It was on sale!! It's Christmas
time!! Meanwhile..The party room is coming along right on schedule!? Read more:Japan
Enter....Spring!! 2008-03-10 01:45:26 Spring has arrived!!!! Bob Marley and BBQ's have arrived!! Spring is of course a warm-up for Summer. Gotta have time to get the grillin' skillz back up to snuff!! I'm spinnin' Bob as I type, unfortunately I probably wont start grilling till next week. The pic is of my Japanese hood. I probably have more Yakz on my street than most but they are good neighbors in reality. O.G.'s and the Popo don't like any dramas in their own hoods for obvious reasons. Where you live and where you make cash are best seperated. This is true no matter where you go...?Anyway...The School rulez, the kids pwn, and I just keep it all together.Did I mention Spring has arrived??Wooooooooo Hooooooooo!!!!
Read more:Spring
The Dynamics of a class 2008-03-07 06:46:31 High speed and low drag, This group just got a new member from another class
(Tomoe) and it's looking like a perfect fit! This is one of the best things about Japan's changing season. I get to wave a magic white board marker and make all kinds of requests and blame it on the season. This is when I can fix any problems with schedules or classes that are not maxing-out.There is NOTHING more important than the dynamics of a class. A student in the wrong class does great damage and sometimes one student can save a class. (a.k.a "the class leader"). In trial news;4 trials so far and I have said no 3x. The days of chasing students is looooong gone!Now it's all about protecting my schedule and happiness.
Read more:Dynamics
Good Notebooks = English pwnage 2008-03-06 03:38:00 Hello!Allow me to introduce myself.My name is Chris, and I am the best English
conversation teacher in Japan.I like hip-hop music, BBQ's, and just hanging out at a beach or even better..listening to hip-hop while BBQ'ng on a beach......with beer.....need beer!!(I can't wait for summer)oh yeah,I also like notebooksI like clean organized notebooks!I like clean, organized notebooks that help my students to learn faster and more efficiently.Here is some math for that a__!!Good student + good notebook = GREAT student!All my good students keep good notebooks.....O.K. almost all of them!!
Read more:Notebooks
The 10 best in Japan...IMO! 2008-03-04 05:01:42 These students are second to none. I am totally satisfied with this group!!Poor segue attempt... (No connection really) I have learned that you get one or the other. You can have quantity or quality but you cannot have both. If I accepted every trial student I would have the biggest school in my area....bottom line and it would be just as crappy as the other ones. Fortunately I'm not a sellout. Arrogant, Narcissistic, overly competitive maybe...but NEVER a sellout. Focused and motivated students excel in this school while others end up washing out. There is an old saying that goes...."Your either on the train,... or your getting run over by it". Well, my train has about 90 people on it and about 15 have fallen' off and been run over, and about 40 were not even allowed on the train.By now s Read more:Japan
New Diaries Page 1 2008-03-02 03:42:44 My Saturday 8 and 9 year olds just did their first page in their Diaries
. Minami, Minami, Kazuki and Natsumi all did a great job!!!These are 2 vets of the Diary system :) (2 were absent) and they are only in the 4th and 5th grades. I think the public School lessons must be mind-numbingly boring for them.This class (1 absent) will start studying "current events" as a vocabulary study tool which is an adult style lesson. All of my kids classes are going great and some students are moving into different classes more suited to their level so the School is getting much stronger as a result. In other news...The weather absolutely pwned today!!! Spring is coming baby!! Woooo Hooooo!!!!
What's the 411? 2008-02-28 03:12:40 The 411 is my schedule is about to get tossed like salad! In Japan this is when plans for the coming year are made. Almost ALL of my Elementary and J.H. classes are going to be switched-up and some students will not be able to adjust so they will be gonzos! This is the sad reality of being the only teacher in a School. You can only teach one class at a time, and sometimes that's not enough. I will get new students and new classes so when the smoke clears I will be on the + side of things.P.S.The girls are looking at a new toy I got from japanet!!
Saved by Saturday!! 2008-02-23 03:05:13 I told them to read with more passion and emotion and well....they got a kick out of that and laughed up a storm!! Great kids! I was having a VERY bad day but this class made me feel SO MUCH better!!These 3rd and 4th grade girls just did their template for their new diaries!! I think they were very excited to get started on this. After doing the first one in class, they are now on their own!!
Read more:Saturday
Mama's Boys 2008-02-20 06:32:08 After teaching kids for 4 years ( I have about 60 in my school right now), I have come to some conclusions/solid observations. Boys are more sensitive than girls of the same age and it is because of their mothers for the most part. I would not have wanted to study Japanese when I was young. I wanted to ride my dirt bike in the woods or play baseball or just hang out. As a boy I can relate to that, but I'm talking about the effects of an overprotective mother.I have students with brothers and sisters in other classes, and the mothers always want to talk about their sons while practically ignoring the daughter.I have had students cry in my classroom after getting told to get with it, or go home, and the girls always come back the next week better than before while the boys tend to start slip
Valentine Booty 2008-02-16 04:28:20 The total haul was around 50 items with names like Tommy Hilfiger (my favorite) and BVLGARI leading the list. Lots of kids made their own chocolate and I appreciate everyones kindness :) I will be returning the favor next month on the 14th!!!The prize for "coolest gift" goes to Natsumi for her very realistic chocolate tool kit. It is made by a very famous sweets company in Kobe. Thanks Natsumi 143!
Read more:Valentine
Blown Away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2008-02-14 06:19:12 Today I got totally blown away by my 4pm little girls class!! They left me speechless? The youngest girl (Yu) who just turned 6 is the best of them all. They really want to do diaries so I said "You can't do that till you can read". Well.....BAM!!! They can read? Not just read.....I mean READ!!One of them is 8 and she has an 11 year old brother. (Siblings are VERY competitive....apparently?) because last week I said, "your brother is doing this already , so c'mon...let's go already! Well, a week later and she is reading about as good as him. I guess I found her "button". I will only push when necessary ...**cough**.This is the second class in 2 days that has jumped a level like it wasn't there. I had a couple kids come in yesterday and start chatting it up with me like they have been speak
Valentines = Happy!! 2008-02-13 03:02:56 I get a lot of chocolate from students but I will show this one! One of my Elementary students named Chiharu tries harder than anyone in my school. She has 2 classes with me at 2 different levels which means, she keeps 2 different diaries!! Chiharu is great!!! She is fun to teach and I'm lucky to have students like her!!Thanks for the chocolate!!!!!
Read more:Valentines
, Happy
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