Tag: teaching

China! China! China! – 26th September 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

The Bomb-happy boys enjoy
Another day of telling me who to hate
A dollar for each member of the population
To turn them against their state

Every accusation a clear admission
Of practices tested, tried and true
Never let the facts stand in the way
If you understand what’s good for you

The collapse is soon arriving
As it has been for decades already
A stopped clock is right twice a day
So let’s keep the message steady

Achievements must be suppressed
With the suffix ‘but at what cost?’
Assistance labelled as a debt-trap
Is just an advantage that was lost

When a people claim they are happy
It must said that they have no choice
But if one chooses not to listen
What purpose is your own voice?

As red lines keep being crossed
And its no longer seen just as a game
The pretense must be maintained
So that it’s understood who to blame

So the plan is to keep those people poor
A useless tactic, pitiful and sad
And to push them towards a war
To remind you all that China is bad

A 1.6 billion US dollar budget for anti-China propaganda – is that a dollar for every Chinese person? The Western world seems to be the most propagandised people on Earth. Don’t believe anything you read. Believe what you have seen – and then only trust half of that too. China is not the enemy.
4th Dec 2024 – Shared with Ragtag Daily Prompt – collapse

Today I’m feeling:

Well slept this morning as I got a good, solid eight-hour sleep in which I hardly moved throughout the night. I don’t know why I was so energy-deprived yesterday.

I had set my alarm a little earlier to do a little exercise this morning, which I duly did, without pushing myself too hard. I have put on a couple of kilos since getting sick and skipping exercise for the past couple of months. On the upside of that, my shoulders have stopped aching, though. Still looking for balance.

(Later) I’m feeling a bit weird again. A little dizzy and unsteady, as if I’m really hungry. I snacked on some cookies and another coffee, noticing that my hand was trembling a little bit. I seem to be going through all the feelings from good to bad in just a single day!

Health:

Physical: 6
Mental: 7

Today I’m grateful for:

Nong Praew, who told me again that she will move schools after this semester finishes next week.

As part of our class today, I got the kids to do a gratitude exercise. I called up a few students to ask them to tell me something that they are grateful for today.

It was interesting to watch them thinking of answers and that they could probably answer in Thai easily enough but I pushed each of them to try their best.

Praew can’t express herself much at all in English, though, so I let her use her phone to translate and she wrote me a nice message thanking me for loving her and taking care of her in class when she struggled so much.

I wished her the best of luck in her new school and hope that she can overcome her difficulties.

The best thing about today was:

Chatting with Poppy and Noah about all sorts of things, getting a little deeper than usual. I think that they appreciated the help that I gave them with their play earlier this semester.

It has been nice to watch them (and the others in their class) mature over the past three years.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I just discovered by chance this morning that we are supposed to be teaching our classes as normal again. I guess I missed a message somewhere.

However, it is only for the juniors, whom I teach in the afternoons. So I have to wait around all day just for them.

Never mind, though, the semester will be over at the end of next week.

(Later) As it turned out, even my seniors wanted me to come to class, so I dashed back to see them but when I got there, they weren’t interested in study (and I wasn’t motivated to teach anything either).

I sat with them for a while before going off around school to chat with whoever I came across.

Metronome – 25th September 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 6 Comments

Nature
Encompasses
Earth, wind, water and fire
A natural concert of peace
For life

Balance
In harmony
A symphony rises
Interconnecting timelessness
Steady

A double cinquain submitted to Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Nature’s Symphony

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good on waking again and all was good at school until I was just about to head off in search of coffee. A huge downpour soon flooded all the paths and the roads, already chockers with cars dropping off kids.

The rain didn’t stop for a good 40 minutes or so and I wondered whether to just head to 22 Grams or bother looking for another cafe.

I opted to keep looking and thankfully, at Couple Cups (recommended by Art at Utopia) there was a parking spot right outside. Even so, I got saturated just getting to the front door!

I’ve been here for almost 4 hours, mostly reading and my eyes are getting blurry and dusty. I’m not feeling too bad, though.

Off home to pick up Tigger and take him to the vet for his follow-up check from last week, He seems all well and good now.

I talked to the kids in my one class that I have this afternoon and they said that they would prefer not to have any work set! Uh-huh!?

Health:

Physical: 7
Mental: 6

Today I’m grateful for:

My first interactions on Instagram after putting up some poetry there, even though I’m sure that they are just promotional accounts looking for business.

I was also grateful to get an unexpected refund from Shopee for some trousers I had paid for and forgotten all about. I ordered a shirt and some multivitamins and still had a little left to spare.

I’m feeling a little more secure financially this month so that when Amy just came and showed me a picture of two ginger kittens, I immediately said yes, let’s get them!

The best thing about today was:

Doing something different for food today. Even though it wasn’t wow, it was nice to have a change of routine.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I’m running out of energy again after getting home at lunchtime and coming back to the city with Tigger. I feel like I need to eat.

Amy suggested dropping Tigger off at home and going off for pizza as soon as we can. Sounds like a plan.

(Later) We did that and I ate a lot! When we got back home, I closed my eyes whilst listening to videos of talk about the grand final this weekend.

But no rest as we were soon off to visit Khaotang to help her with her school assignment.

Whilst we were there, though, a Grab rider got knocked off his motorcycle by a truck that sped off and the guy didn’t look in good shape.

I stayed inside, trying to concentrate and told KT that she shouldn’t go to look either.

By the time all the ambulances and other vehicles had cleaned up, I’d finished putting together the text for her to read and understand.

She has some problem with this Thai teacher because he gave her grade 1 when their foreign English teacher gave her grade 4. My guess is that her English is actually better than the Thai teacher’s!

Something I learned today?

Chiang Mai is starting to flood now! Nong May has just arrived and Amy’s old flatmate will be coming next month and we were planning to go and meet everyone.

Maybe plans will change.

The Least Worst – 13th September 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

Wouldn’t it be great to be the least worst
And given pontificated names
Promoted due to the complete lack of options
The last man standing remains

Qualified without merit or skills
Is it possible to win the hearts and minds
Of those who pay your bills
When the sun from your backside blinds?

Today I’m feeling:

Tired. Apparently, I slept before 10 pm last night and then woke up again this morning just before 9 am.

If being so tired is connected with kratom then it’s an easy fix but if it is related to exercise that will be a bit annoying as I need to keep up my energy levels and keep off the fat.

Health:

Physical: 7
Mental: 7

Today I’m grateful for:

It not raining this morning, even though I had tempted fate by riding the bike to Utopia.

The best thing about today was:

Getting into a flow state again, like yesterday. I did a fair bit of catching up with reading poetry but only managed to write one fairly average one myself.

After that, though, I got stuck back into writing more lessons and found that time really enjoyable. I imagine myself in the classroom and how some students will react and be inspired or provoked into doing some work.

It doesn’t often end up that way and I realise that I have to tweak things as I go but it all helps fill me with confidence. I think that is half the trick of being a teacher. Faking confidence!

Something I learned today?

I found that I can listen to the AFL games live on my phone. I was checking in on the Port/Hawks game this evening and though it’s not as good as watching, it is a little better than only getting the 15-minute mini-match highlights.

Port got through by the skin of their teeth and were running tired by the end, which is good news as we will play them next week in Sydney.

Despite getting slaughtered by them 6 or 7 weeks ago, I think we have a good chance of making it through to the grand final again this year. Playing the Hawks would’ve been a tougher prospect.

Another Aysenur – 9th September 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Shot in the head, stabbed in the back
On the wrong side of the borders
Death comes swiftly to the citizens
No longer following orders

Broken moral compasses
All are lost and left stumbling
Blind to the colour of others’ blood
Our humanity is crumbling

Two wrongs have no right
To dictate the future states
Endless repetition is all
A corrupt morality creates

Counting down the days….

Today I’m feeling:

Ok but the grey rainy skies are very dull and uninspiring, tricking me into feeling a little down.

I got back to a little exercise this morning and though I still have phlegm stuck in my throat, causing me some breathing difficulty, I don’t have any other symptoms at the moment.

Health:

Physical: 8
Mental: 8

Today I’m grateful for:

After what I wrote on Saturday about more new releases, I decided to get involved with working with the label Flaxxist and I’m grateful that they agreed and were appreciative of my help, too.

Now, I’d better find out their actual name!

The best thing about today was:

Being a little bit unsure about my lessons today, I was happy that the grade 12 kids knuckled down to what I had set them to do and came up with good results.

In my first grade 8 class, I was still putting together a word search task as the kids came in and after they completed that, I was happily surprised that they mostly all did well in a spelling test with words they have learned throughout this semester.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

Randomly talking with Kru Mai, he just happened to mention that the last week of this month is Scout Week again! So that means that we are done teaching at the end of next week!

I can’t imagine the kids being too crazy about doing Scout Week for the last week of their semester! Lots will skip it, I’m sure!

Something I learned today?

For some reason, a student whom I taught for a semester a couple of years ago popped into my head as I hadn’t seen her in our high school. But I couldn’t remember her name.

I asked Piano when I saw her but she wasn’t sure who I meant. Then I found Pat and August and they told me it was Yok and that now she is at Damrong, studying computer software.

I hope she’s doing well.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

After my last class, I left the room pretty quickly and ended up chatting with many students whom I came across. A little later, a message came through to the teacher’s group with a photo of the room, with the chairs all messed up and posters fallen from the walls. The posters keep falling off, no matter how many times they get put up, but I should’ve had the students help straighten up the chairs at least. My bad.

Momo took this picture because she needed a picture of me as part of her interviewing me for some task in her Thai class. Then she took a few more for fun. Pan, me, Namsai and Momo.

The Infection – 6th September 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Let’s get serious
This is no time to sleep
Now we’re in business
Gulp the air in deep
Let’s get serious
This is no drum circle of friends
Roar out your heart
As if your life depends
Laugh until it hurts
And all that’s broken mends
Let’s get serious

A fold poem variation inspired by the folks I used to see in the park every Saturday morning when I took my son to swimming class. I forget their group’s name but they were essentially a Laughter Club and would stand in a circle and force themselves to laugh loudly. Submitted to dVerse’s Poetics: Just for Laughs prompt.

Today I’m feeling:

A little blurry but a little better again. I still have phlegm stuck in my throat but it’s not as intense as before. I’m starting to get back to normal.

It was also good to get back to school today and get me off my lazy ass and into the maelstrom of kid craziness.

(Later) By the end of the day, I’m feeling almost back to normal and motivated again. Hooray!

Health:

Physical: 7
Mental: 7

Today I’m grateful for:

Still being motivated enough when I got home to get out into my room and get some stuff sorted, though I ran out of energy before I could play any guitar.

The best thing about today was:

Enjoying all my classes today, made more entertaining by there being fewer students and being able to spend more time interacting.

It probably helped that everyone was in a good mood, as we all only had one day of school this week.

I also think that I will try to copy the format of today’s lessons, as they were relatively simple compared with some that I try to teach.

Something I learned today?

Hawthorn smashed the Bulldogs tonight, so both Geelong and Hawthorn are looking good right now. The Swans game is tomorrow and I am nervous and excited. It’s going to be a tough task to win the Premiership this year.

The New Normal – 30th August 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 22 Comments

The dream is dead, since the sixties
Turned to the seventies, nice and sleazy
Endless wars processed the hippies and pixies
Economic vandals left a peace uneasy

Was it in our name, the forever fight for peace?
Did we ever question what’s going on here?
The grabs for land then returned for lease
The struggle for survival, a punishment severe

Can the decks be cleared with genocide?
The algorithms are running the numbers
There’s no longer a place to hide
And we’re left holding only clunkers

Sign away our lives with disappearing ink
Fingers crossed and handshakes informal
Accustomed to shit we no longer smell the stink
This is the new normal – abnormal

Submitted to Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge – Uneasy, Weekend Writing Prompt #378 – Severe (though not 18 words – I always forget that there’s a word limit in Sammi’s prompts!), Monday Poetry Prompt: Abnormal and Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Clunkers. This could also be submitted to dVerse – stormy weather but I already submitted another poem to that.

Today I’m feeling:

Uncertain yet. I slept for about ten hours and could’ve slept more, too. I’m still coughing but it doesn’t feel so much like there’s a hole in my chest.

I’m looking forward to the end of the day already.

(Later) I was a little ill-prepared for my first class, grade 11s doing presentations, as the lesson I had could be completed quickly. 

As this class is fairly lazy, though they didn’t care and spent the rest of the time playing games or sleeping. I did go around engaging them in brief conversations, though. 

The next class were grade 11 too and we did my Scams lesson and it went well and I was particularly happy with Sugus who seems to have been trying harder over the last few weeks. She has improved her English and I made sure to tell her and encourage her.

I dashed off for coffee and caught up with reading at lunchtime before heading back to help the students with the play, cancelling my afternoon grade 8 class.

Health:

Physical: 7
Mental: 7

Today I’m grateful for:

Having the freedom to cancel a class and accept the invitation from the students to help them with their play. 

I’m not sure what the teacher in charge really thought about it but she was only there briefly anyway.

The best thing about today was:

Watching my second grade 11 class set to the task that I set them for the final hour of the lesson. They all got to it quickly and would ask me for help and advice when they needed it. 

I guess these kids have matured to the point where they just need pointing in the right direction now.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I ended up leaving school later than normal and sent a message to Amy that I’d be running late and she then reminded me that she was going out for dinner, so that I would have to find my own food. 

This meant spending some of what little money I had left this month. What could I do? I have to eat!

Something I learned today?

The last day the students will come to school is the 27th of September. That’s just four more weeks! Time to wind down!

Whilst helping with the play, I discovered that my old student Achang potentially has OCD. There was a part in the play where he should grab another student’s arm but he was really reluctant to do it. 

I thought that it was a cultural thing or just shyness but the other students told me that he will always go and wash his hands and that he has a problem.

He is also supposed to be acting like a smooth-talking player but is lacking confidence in being able to pull it off.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

I spent an extra hour helping with the play and gave them as much as I could, considering that they have to perform it in the next few days. 

They were all very appreciative at the end of the afternoon, though and that made me feel good.

I took this picture of Guitar, Lin and Poppy as they perform this cheerleader routine at the beginning of their play.

Living With A Stranger – 27th August 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 9 Comments

*Sometimes I feel like I’m living with a stranger
I’m talking to myself
The branches hang down to the stream
A tilt to somewhere else
That I don’t know

Words are gathered and turned to stone
Scratch and blow to see old bones
I don’t know why

We keep it tethered, our world unfeathered
We’re out of step, so don’t forget
To keep your ear to the ground

Returning home to meet the stranger
She’s talking to herself
From scratch, she bakes such lovely cakes
But words are somewhere else
That I don’t know

We tilt until the room is feathered
Or blow until the stone is gathered
I don’t know why

I can see her avalanches turn into sharpened branches
To break her bones, so don’t forget
To keep your head to the ground

*Lifted from Three’s Swann Street as are the rhymes and rhythms. Submitted to No Theme Thursday (the two pictures) and The Sunday Whirl Wordle #669. This poem partially reflects on the time with my second wife, Kyoko and how, eventually, our cultural backgrounds couldn’t be overcome.

Today I’m feeling:

Not quite right. Slept early again and woke up a little later, skipping exercise. 

I want to go to the hospital to get checked out and contemplating whether to do it this afternoon or in the morning.

Health:

Physical: 5
Mental: 7

Today I’m grateful for:

Being able to leave at lunchtime and come home for a nap and a restful evening.

I decided that I would go to the hospital tomorrow and take a day off but then Amy said I should use the health insurance coverage that I get through work, which means going to the hospital in the city. Then Jet messaged me for help with her accent for her play. 

So I guess I’ll clock in in the morning and then see what they say at the hospital and decide then whether to go to school. I’d like to help Jet and I only have an afternoon class, so I could do it if I don’t feel too bad.

The best thing about today was:

Getting to my first class and finding that only half would be there as the others had to attend a meeting. It made for a much more intimate class with only twelve students and was very enjoyable.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

That half my class was missing today made me wonder how to proceed but I figured the best way was to teach the same lesson to the other half next week and let today’s students have free time, which they weren’t going to complain about.

As I was walking to my second class Iphone told me that their morning meeting was about events next week and that the school was closed! Huh!? Another student, Jee,  confirmed it too.

When Kru Tang went by my class a little later, I asked her and she said that she had only just heard about it from another student as well!

I’m used to this by now. Anyway, Monday to Thursday, we are supposed to be teaching online but we all know that that isn’t going to happen!

Something I learned today?

See above.

Ordinary Days – 24th August 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

Recalling times without that hand
Holding me, wild and untamed
Seeking excitement and following
An uncontrollable urge

When you came I began to understand
Big ups are followed quickly
By downs, so far down
You smoothed out my graph

Of course, it wasn’t the way I planned
All these years later, still popping
But I’m grateful for the comfort
Of ordinary days

Submitted to AllPoetry.com – antidepressants

Today I’m feeling:

Slow and lazy. Slept until 8.30 and felt lethargic even after morning coffee. 

The sun made it out in the morning and the rain looked distant in the mountains, but by 2p,m it was back and after our car service, we drove over the river into the city and it is already flooded over the side roads. 

Health:

Physical: 6
Mental: 7

Today I’m grateful for:

The folks at Nissan for not fucking around and servicing our car in under two hours. Hopefully, they did more than just clean it. I didn’t recognise it at first because it was so shiny and new-looking again.

They said everything was good, though. I don’t care much about cars so long as they work and little Almy has been doing a good job.

The best thing about today was:

Finding some decent words to describe my current feeling of my second post-covid experience.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I didn’t make it out to my room today, as I was tired and our plans changed throughout the morning. I haven’t played guitar for almost two weeks now. 

I just run out of energy and motivation at home these days and end up watching videos. 

I haven’t read many books this year either, though I have read a fuck-ton more poetry.

Feeling a little under the weather for the last few weeks hasn’t helped but I hope I can wean myself off the videos and back to books and guitar again.

Something I learned today?

I was finally able to access the EDSY online trial that some of my students have been trying and was surprised to find Milk, who struggles a lot with English, was #1 of all the students, even beating Momo by a couple of points.

It looks like a reasonable tool to use but I feel that there are some components missing that don’t motivate the students to improve.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

As I checked Milk and Momo’s work in EDSY, I messaged them both to give them encouragement and advise on little things that they could do to improve.

I took these pictures because it was haircut day today. HoiTod reminds me so much of Kim, same size, colour and affection.

Side Of History – 23rd August 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Standing amongst the uncertain
As history falls around my inventions
Reverberating into the ground
A violent collision of good intentions

The aches and joys of this moment
Fall down, messy and infallible
No clear line may be drawn
History is an idea rendered irrational

Submitted to Weekend Writing Prompt #377 – Reverberate and inspired (and paraphrased) by the Red Hand Files #296

Today I’m feeling:

A little bit of everything. I could not force myself up with my alarm this morning. I felt a dark ache around my nose, like having a cold but with no other symptoms. Maybe it’s just a covid hangover. I’m still coughing up mucus from my chest but it’s not clearing at all.

I slept for an extra 30 minutes before getting up and slowly started to wind up for the day. And once I was going, I was fine. 

My first two classes with grade 11s were both easy and enjoyable. A quick dash out for another coffee and back for cat-herding my grade 8s, who still managed to make me laugh.

Health:

Physical: 6
Mental: 8

Today I’m grateful for:

Yoghurt being in stock at Makro and when I arrived there, I was directed to a parking space that was undercover from the rain. Perfect.

The best thing about today was:

…there’s not one thing that stands out in particular. My time at school was very enjoyable all around.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

 Amy told me that it had been raining at home all day and it came to school in the afternoon with torrential downpours. 

When I got home, Amy wanted to go down to the bridge at the end of our Soi where she could see people gathering. It was already flooding on the other side of the bridge and runoff water spilt into the rice field. If the rice field fills, then our houses are next.

It’s stopped raining here but still falling up in the mountains and all that water will be heading down here at some point.

Amy is panicking a little as she sees pictures and stories online of animals and pets being drowned in floods in various parts of the country. I’m not too worried just yet.

Something I learned today?

As Nomsen was lying on the floor to do her work, she accidentally showed off a tattoo across her chest. I asked her about it, and she said that she has six tattoos already! She’s only 13 years old. 

She’s not the best student, but she doesn’t seem to be a stereotypically ‘bad’ girl either.

I told her that in Western countries, you must be 18 to get a tattoo (not that that stops everyone, of course).

Review your acts, Good and bad.

At the halfway point of the year, and halfway point of the three years of junior high for my grade 8s, I’m starting to see who will soon give up and not be able to go further. 

Somehow, these kids are the most fun to interact with and I will still try to keep pushing them, even just to try and fail but never give up.

I took this picture because it is unusual for Tigger to lie down here and he quickly made himself comfortable.

The First Time – 15th August 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cloth cut and gathered
Then stitched and sown
I rented the suit and tie
She made the dress her own

A true story, my first wedding. Submitted to Weekend Writing Prompt #376 – Handmade

Today I’m feeling:

A little down with a headache behind the eyes.

I didn’t sleep particularly well and woke up at one point with a disconcerting dream where I was trying to find my friends in an AFL stadium but ended up outside, around a car parking area and went through a fire exit door that led into a dank dark wide stairwell and off to the side, a cavernous tunnel dug through the concrete, dirt and rock, the pathway littered with old beer bottles.  Obviously, a place for nefarious folks to gather. 

As I stepped through, a dodgy youngster stepped out of the shadow, saying, ‘Well, well, what have we here?  Welcome to The Pricks.’  I replied with a ‘What?’ And attempted to get back to the fire door to exit, somehow knowing and submitting to the fact that I wasn’t going to make it and my legs were as if stuck in treacle.

Unable to face my fate, I woke myself up, wondering who won the football and scared to go back to sleep.

Health:

Physical: 6
Mental: 8

Today I’m grateful for:

My old student Cake, who is in grade 10 now, is in the Science Program and aiming to be a doctor.  She took me to the stand where she was demonstrating what worms are made up of and how they work.

She looks and behaves so grown up now that last Thursday, when students don’t need to wear a uniform, I mistook her for a teacher!

Also, Jet, who showed me a little about how Instagram works and Tonaor, who showed me how to follow everyone in their class.

The best thing about today was:

Watching some of my students perform a dance routine that I had seen them practising for the last few weeks. I thought that they were just doing it for fun but I was amazed at how professional they were when they were on stage today.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I arrived back at school at 10:20 to discover that today is Science Day and many of my 10:30 grade 12 class were taking part in it and those that weren’t wanted to go and watch them.  Well, ok, I guess. 

I didn’t know anything about this (though I do know that tomorrow is another event that disrupts my classes) but I rolled with it and went to check it out for a little while too. It was pretty fun, though I’m not sure how the sexy dancing competition fit into the theme of the event but everyone seemed to be having a good time. 

After an hour, I headed back for more coffee and reading and writing ( and my final grade 8) class, asking to skip today to go to the event, but we all knew that it would be finished by then and they were just trying it on. 

I took it easy with them, though and we had a fun class practising what we did yesterday, introductions and asking conversational questions and I came up with an interesting idea for them to try next week. Basically, getting each of my grade 8 classes to go and record themselves interacting with each other, having the same type of conversations. It will push them a little and will show me who is motivated.

Something I learned today?

In the Middle Ages, what we now call a hedgehog was called an urchin. That’s a fairly useless piece of information.

I also heard about a Palestinian man who went to register the birth of his three-day-old twins and came home to find that Israel had bombed the apartment where they were staying (as they had been displaced) killing the babies, their mother (who was a well-liked doctor) and grandmother. 

Sickeningly, some Israeli online commenters said that they were happy to have taken away everything from this man.

This is how terrorists are made.

I took this picture because we had a visitor again when I got home. Uncle cowman had already chased him out one time today but there must be something good with our grass. I didn’t chase him out, hoping to get some free lawn mowing. Our cats looked on, slightly bemused.