The Ups and Downs of Teaching

This week I was feeling kind of down about myself.

I had parent-teacher conferences last Friday and they went well, the parents were friendly, and we had good conversations....but then after Friday I had brief moments to talk with some of the parents in passing after school, and they kept asking me about textbooks. I tried to explain to them that we don't do everything from the textbook because sometimes the stories don't match with what we're doing, but they really were insistent about using it and said that the spelling words that I was giving the kids were too easy because they did it in 3rd grade already. (The words from the textbook and the ones I were using were actually very similar. High frequency 4th grade words)

Sigh...I tried to explain that I was using a 4th grade curriculum that I liked using because it didn't tie me to specific stories in the textbook but they seem to think the textbook is GOLD. Not only that they played the "some of us parents have been talking" card so I felt like there were many parents who were not pleased with my teaching. I was very discouraged. I was tired from working late every day (including weekends), and putting so much effort into the teaching and still not meeting up to people's expectations.

But it was good. I think I needed the humbling. I prayed a lot, and tried to be super respectful and excited about their questions when e-mailing them back. And after a week of feeling down about myself, I ended off with several encouraging comments by parents that they were thankful that they could approach me with their questions and that I was willing to listen. It was very humbling to realize that they weren't really criticizing me, but just that they were willing to do extra with their kids outside of class because they cared. It was probably because I wasn't used to parents being so involved in their child's learning. It was a good lesson for me.

So now I'm feeling more up...but I'm still very tired of planning. Looking forward to the holidays. Yay!

Student Living Paradise

Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.
~ Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC)

So after living 10 months in Taipei Ray and I have cooked considerably less and less. On average we cook maybe 1-2 times a week and it's usually something very simple.

Life in Taipei like any other big city is quite hectic and we spend a lot of time at work. Ray and I typically leave the house in the morning around 6:30 a.m. and return home around 7:30 p.m. Part of it is our workaholic problem but we really enjoy the work that we do so we always end up hanging around until late.

Anyways, all this to say that by the time we get home we really are not in the mood to cook for another 1/2 hour to 1 hour before eating. We're hungry and don't really want to go through the hassle of cooking and cleaning. Plus with all the delicious food at our fingertips, it makes it so much easier to just drop our bags and walk out the door for dinner.

So what have we eaten lately?

• Last night we tried out a dumpling place near our house that we've been meaning to try for a long time. It's close, clean, and not too expensive. We finally got to try it out. We had their tasty original dumpling and a curry dumpling too! Hot and sour soup, a plate of vegetables and we were stuffed. Next time we'll have to try the onion pancakes and noodles. Price = $230NT = $7 Cdn. I give it a 7/10 for taste, service and price.
• While Ray was in Shanghai I tried this great student dive near our school. It served pasta (a huge variety in white, red and pesto sauce with smoked chicken, bacon, seafood or ground beef), soup, drinks and garlic bread for the phenomenal price of $110NT/person = $3 Cdn. Again we were stuffed! If I were a student I would say it was a 9/10.
  
• All you can eat hotpots are very common in Taipei. Especially in the winter time where it gets chillier. We usually bring our friends to the hotpot - Korean BBQ combos where you have both of these in front of you. Again all you can eat, and the dessert can be Haagen dazs or Movenpick ice cream! Quite yummy, but the price is $399/person = $13 Cdn. We don't go all the time as it's pricier and a lot of food.
• We tried a Korean hotpot for the first time on a date night and it was $299/person. It was interesting. Almost like a regular hotpot but you put the meat on this shield while it's surrounded by a moat-like pool of water and vegetables. It's hard to explain but here's a picture. Not too bad. I even liked the lamb! They gave you all you could eat Korean pancakes and Bibimbop too. We were stuffed though. Should have went with the $199 meal. 6/10.

Wish you were all here to enjoy the good ea