Stuck between a rock and a hard place

My contract with some cram school is going to be due at the turn of next month. Considering that I have been teaching at the the same place for 2 years already, I decide not to renew it. Hence, starting next month, I will have all the time in the world and more like a houseman with my family except for the Tuesday and Thursday classes at Global Village. Meanwhile I must start to think of the next move I am going about. Should I stick to the teaching field or switch to a different one? Recently I have got lots of advices from my friends who gave me different suggestions.

One of my students said I should run a English cram school to teach kids English because it is kind of like an easy money to make. Another friend of mine wants me to stay put until he is ready to run his business and he will ask me to cooperate with him. I even heard from one student that I should think of myself the luckiest guy in the world for the reason that I spend more time with my kid from now on, which is most parents' desire in Taipei. Well, what else should I ask for? I also met Amber yesterday who suggested me get more classes at Global Village because doing business in Taiwan is rather risky. I don't seem to be a good businessman-to-be.

I am thankful to all their comments and at this point I just want to take a short rest and start to prepare myself for the upcoming English test which I will partake next month. I will see what I can do then.

Poem Reading #4

Dear all,

I found that you can gradually read those poems smoothly. Remember, knowing how to pronounce those sounds is not enough; you must do. Please see the following:


- Hui Ping

With good basics, sweet and clear voice, Hui Ping sounds like a pleasing teacher. Good interpretation.

- Yao Hwan

A bit nervous; voice quality good. A few mispronounced words that can be easily improved.

- Michelle

Knows how to take her time to get into the reading. Assertive. There are highs and lows, and there is life.

- Nancy

Voice shaking. Admirable courage nevertheless. Emotional poem reading.


Many people are nervous when standing on stage reading poems. It’s plain to me that they will do a much better job if given a second chance. The first time is often the most difficult. It will be easier to do the same thing in the future.


Weijen

Con arts in Taiwan

Here I would like to tell you Julie's story. She used to be one of my students and has a wonderful family and life. Just months ago before she emigrated to the U.S., she received a phone call from someone who pretended to be from a credit card company. She was told by the swindler on the phone that her credit card account has been stolen and someone had used it to made several purchases. She needed to call the number provided by the "bank" to the police authority in order not to get in more trouble. She felt so scared and immediately dialed the number....

I guess most of you must have known the outcome of this true story. Julie eventually lost a big fortune because she was totally taken in by the swindler's old hat. She was talked into transferring her money in the bank to a so-called "saver account" which actually belonged to that confidence man.

In recent years, there have been cases of fraud and deception happening over and over again on this island. There are always people taking the bait prepared by the criminal syndicates. In any case, we should be more on guard ourselves and suspicious about these telephone scams. Once you got swindled sum of money out of your bank account, you will be a goner.

Don't get suckered in, please.

Website update notification

I have updated my personal Web page at http://gept.xxking.com. Please take a look at it and learn new phrases and sentences from there.

Voluntary worker

My wife joined in the first parents' day at our son's school this weekend. I was unable to take part in that event because of my weekend job. When I went home, she told me that we must afford sometime in the morning to act as a voluntary worker for helping the schools kids safely cross the road on their way to school. I think this is a fine idea for parents who can do something about giving the school a hand.

Moreover, I was given another duty which is to teach English in my son's class. Starting this week, I have to do this non-paid job on every Wednesday, 8 through 8:30 in the morning, because the teacher has to go to the meeting on a weekly basis during then. Taking this job seems no challenge to me at all since I used to teach kids English at some after-school centers. I sure have the confidence completing the task well, but there is only one thing that makes me concern about--what will my son think about it? Will he feel bashful? We'll see.