I hadn't intended to go so long without writing a blog post, but I guess all I can say is that I haven't felt like I've had the time, energy or desire. I have a number of responsibilities at school besides teaching, and two of those responsibilities in particular – creating material for discussion classes and writing progress checks – are computer-intensive and time-consuming. Because of my hands (for those of you who don't know, I have bilateral wrist tendinitis, a form of repetitive strain injury,) I've elected to do these things at home in my free time so that I can use my special equipment, which minimizes my typing and mousing time. That, combined with keeping up on my correspondence and my creative writing drive, means that I spend a lot of time writing already. I always put 'write a blog post' on my weekend to do list, but it's one of the easiest things to dismiss when I want a breather. There are a number of topics I'm interested in talking about, including my trip to Aquamarine Fukushima, driving quirks, ramen, some of the funny things my students have said, and my trip to the doctor today. Today, however, I'll stick to why I haven't been writing ;)
Discussion classes are based on articles chosen by myself and my fellow foreign colleague. They have to be short (ideally 2-3 pages,) not too difficult (but with some challenging vocabulary we can talk about,) interesting to the students, and open enough to support a 50-minute discussion. After we find a good article, we have to choose four words/phrases for a vocabulary check and six others as extra vocabulary to talk about. We also have to come up with four comprehension questions and 6-8 discussion topics, which usually have 2-3 questions each. The whole process takes about two hours, and we take turns creating materials each week. I've taken to doing an article almost every weekend so that if I feel lazy or make other plans, I don't have to worry about my deadline. The discussion classes easily one of my favorite, and I enjoy finding articles that I think will appeal to my students, but there's no denying that it's a lot of work.
We also have to write progress checks for the students in our classes every few months, usually around the time they end one class and/or start another one. Each progress check needs an opening statement, the student's strengths and weaknesses, our recommendation for their next class, and some encouragement/motivation. Ideally, the student should also be able to read what we wrote, though the staff can translate it if need be. At least at my school, a progress check comes to about 200 words, enough to fill a small box about 1/3 the size of the page in size 12 font. I'm not the fastest writer in the world, so depending on how well I know the student, this can take 15-30 minutes. I've also recently learned that I'm more intuitive and less analytical than I used to think, so even with students I know well, it's often hard for me to pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. I'm much better at assessing overall performance and personality than specific skill levels, though hopefully that will change as I get more experience. With students I barely know, a progress check can be an almost painful process of trying to find something, anything, to say without sounding insincere. Again, hopefully this will get easier.
As for my creative writing, I've actually been quite prolific by my standards since coming here. I think some of it has to do with my working with English so closely every day, as well as my (relative) isolation as a foreigner. I may be immensely more outgoing than I was 10 years ago, but I'm still an introvert, and it's easy to stay in my apartment and get lost in my own thoughts and ideas if there's nothing more pressing to do. I'm even doing a discussion class on introverts and extroverts this week! ;) In any case, I'm enjoying this wealth of creative energy, and I've written at a pace of about one short (2-5 pages) story a month, with a significant backlog of ideas I'm eager to explore when I have more time. I knowledge that my work isn't for everyone – my favorite topic is fantasy/gaming tropes and quirks – but if you're interested, you can check out my stories at the following sites:
http://mattperrett.com/ (My online portfolio, though badly out of date. I have a site redesign in mind that I also haven't gotten around to...)
http://www.scribd.com/matthew_perrett
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1261067/Matt_Perrett
http://www.fictionpress.com/u/783615/Matt_Perrett
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