Today's weather: High = 15 Low = 12
Cloudy
After having stayed put in Shanghai for two months now and really getting into the swing of things at work, I'm happy to say now I actually look forward to the next trip --- wherever that may be. It probably won't happen for ahwhile yet, but the fact that I actually want to travel again and hit the airports is a good sign. Earlier this year, in 2010 that is, I was going through some rather intense travel exhaustion, burnout, and the ongoing nightmare of a lost passport. It easily got to where I was actually *dreading* the next airplane, train, or bus ride. Thankfully, the excitement of travel has now come back.
There were two periods of relative stability this year. First was after the lunar new year where I hunkered down in Wuhan for about this same amount of time getting lesson plans together and taking another stab at attempting a social life. Sad to say, both those earlier attempts failed. I then went on a frantic travel spree starting around April and May, hitting the airports nearly every 2nd weekend, most of it to head down here (to Shanghai) and get set up for future jobs and social life situations which I am enjoying very much now. And so, this latest period of stability is quite good.
Ironically, I'm penciling in another trip to Wuhan sometime before Christmas. This is to retrieve 9000 RMB in old bank account funds. This was a fallout from the lost passport episode where I also lost the Wuhan bank card that had all my RMB cash from my previous job. I put in the request for a replacement card way back in August while there on a short trip -- they needed to see my new passport of course.
Unfortunately, they said back then it would take 2 weeks to process the card and I would still need to come back to pick it up with my passport. They couldn't mail it out to my new address in Shanghai. Of course, life got super busy so I haven't made any trips back to Wuhan yet. For all I know, the whole card application may need to re-processed. What I'll end up doing is proving that the account is in my name with the passport and just withdrawing all the cash on the spot.
The only question is when to take a day off work and do this. Friday is out of the question, because I'm then tied up with social activities and committments all day Saturday here in Shanghai and it's a waste of a trip to visit Wuhan in jsut a day. Sunday-Monday is a better option. If all goes well, I'll head in there, grab the cash, and leave a little richer.
The train system has now improved big time. The whole Shanghai-Nanjing section was replaced with a new high-speed track line so that particular section only takes 90 minutes. The Nanjing-Hefei-Wuhan section was already fast, so now they estimate it takes a mere 4 hours to reach Wuhan. But realistically, the total door-to-door travel time is still going to be 6-7 hours, compared to the 8 hours total it used to take. By comparision, the airplane total time is about 6 hours, or 5 hours if everything goes super well.
As mentioned in previous blogs, the first part of the problem is that all the flights to Wuhan leave from Pudong airport which is way out in the boonies. The new Hongqiao airport doesn't resolve things very much, as the Wuhan flights don't make use of it now, just like they avoided it in the past. The second part of the problem is that the airport in Wuhan is also way in the boonies, and the horrendous traffic (10 times worse than Shanghai) makes for long and tortuous journeys to the final destination.
So that's basically why I haven't been going to Wuhan much these days, and I shake my head at how many times I did this journey back and forth earlier in the year.
On a more exciting trip coming up, it's looking like India, India, and India again for the new year break! Really stoked about this one folks.
Monday 29 November 2010
Saturday 27 November 2010
Driest November on Record!
Today's weather: High = 17 Low = 10
Cloudy
This is rather unbelievable ... the month of November in Shanghai has only seen 0.8 mm of precipitation, and if the next 5-day forecast is correct, that's all that we're gonna get.
The low temperature has rarely gone below 10 degrees, and it has surpassed 20 on a few occasions. So in short, we've been spoiled rotten by balmy temperatures unheard of for this time of year.
The long range forecast expects similar things to happen in December, but they are calling for a substantial cold front in a week's time. We'll just have to see about that.
Last year at this time, it was freezing rain and howling winds, almost zero degrees. Not so pleasant then, but it sure is now.
Cloudy
This is rather unbelievable ... the month of November in Shanghai has only seen 0.8 mm of precipitation, and if the next 5-day forecast is correct, that's all that we're gonna get.
The low temperature has rarely gone below 10 degrees, and it has surpassed 20 on a few occasions. So in short, we've been spoiled rotten by balmy temperatures unheard of for this time of year.
The long range forecast expects similar things to happen in December, but they are calling for a substantial cold front in a week's time. We'll just have to see about that.
Last year at this time, it was freezing rain and howling winds, almost zero degrees. Not so pleasant then, but it sure is now.
Tuesday 23 November 2010
Anomalies in the Weather
With global weather gone wild nowadays, there really aren't that many 'anomalies' in the weather anymore. In fact, the new normal is for the weather not to be normal.
The latest thing is a variation on the El-Nino and La-Nina cycle which causes the jetstream to deviate from the 'normal' pattern. The Arctic Oscillation also plays a role in this. The consensus now is that it is a La-Nina year with a strong Arctic Oscillation.
Basically it means that the western parts of North America are getting hit with record cold temperatures as the jestream has shifted to the right. Conversely, much of the SE part of the continent, for example is enjoying record warmth for this time of year and balmy breezes from the tropics.
This would certainly apply to us in Shanghai, as the jetstream patterns on side of the world mirror the patterns on the other. This time of year normally sees freezing cold arctic fronts and temperatures down to almost zero. But now we have consistently stayed about 10 degrees and it has not been windy at all. It is a total change to last year.
Other parts of the world, not like this. Friends back in Western Canada, for example, are suffering with extreme cold and snowstorms unheard of for this time of year. Sure makes me glad to be over here ---- at least for this year.
The latest thing is a variation on the El-Nino and La-Nina cycle which causes the jetstream to deviate from the 'normal' pattern. The Arctic Oscillation also plays a role in this. The consensus now is that it is a La-Nina year with a strong Arctic Oscillation.
Basically it means that the western parts of North America are getting hit with record cold temperatures as the jestream has shifted to the right. Conversely, much of the SE part of the continent, for example is enjoying record warmth for this time of year and balmy breezes from the tropics.
This would certainly apply to us in Shanghai, as the jetstream patterns on side of the world mirror the patterns on the other. This time of year normally sees freezing cold arctic fronts and temperatures down to almost zero. But now we have consistently stayed about 10 degrees and it has not been windy at all. It is a total change to last year.
Other parts of the world, not like this. Friends back in Western Canada, for example, are suffering with extreme cold and snowstorms unheard of for this time of year. Sure makes me glad to be over here ---- at least for this year.
2010 Looking to End on a More Relaxed Note
Today's weather: High = 18 Low = 8
Partly Cloudy
Well this is just for me personally ... better hold my breath before applying this to current events!
Fittingly enough, just after I started typing this blog post, I got wind of breaking news that said North Korea launched artillery fire across the border onto a South Korean island, and then SK fired back. Yikes! NK has always been in the news for doing this or that thing, and the most previous dispute was the submarine attack. But this latest one is pretty hard to dispute blame, and it looks like the entire SK military is on high alert now and preparing for more attacks.
And in more local news, there was a fire that broke out in Shanghai last week and destroyed an entire apartment complex. Now the whole city is on fire alert and the mayor is launching a series of building code crackdowns. The fire was caused by poor construction work in a neighboring building, where the work was sub-contracted out to unlicensed welders who were hired off the street. The managers soon fled after this, although some 15 were detained. Most of the migrant workers fled back to their hometowns, or were left in Shanghai without any compensation after the fire. Needless to say, unsafe work practices and lack of fire prevention are rampant like this all over the country. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The hyper response and all this typical "after-the-fact" planning come from the loss of face that the mayor would experience after such a tragedy happened in a city that just hosted the EXPO. After all, this wouldn't make major news headlines if a fire happened in, say, an interior city like Chongqing (which did happen there about 6 months ago)
Moving over to Taiwan, my friends from that area say that an earthquake happened there recently and this has some effect on upcoming local elections. Apparently they are afraid of the next guy being elected who won't be as friendly with the mainland as the current leader is. Positive ties between Taiwan and the mainland are rather key, especially with all the recent developments. Especially the direct flights now between Shanghai and Taipei that only take an hour.
Despite these sorts of things, life for myself has been going very well in the last few months. I'm happy to say that I haven't left the city at all for two months strong, and have been fitting in very well. It's gotten to the point where I actually *want* to travel again now, and look forward to wherever the next trip is.
Most of this year was a total whirlwind of traveling, and I basically hit the airport an average of once every 3 weeks! Friends who do business travel would tell me this is easy, compared to flying once a week like they do, sometimes more. But the fact of the matter is that frequent flying is exhausting. I was getting mighty sick of airplanes already this year, and pulling off a schedule like my business friends do would drive me insane.
Air travel is so exhausting because of the total time you're traveling, not just the time in the air. All the stuff about getting to/from the airport, flight delays, security checks, etc. just adds stress, not the mention the fact that waiting around in airports, transfer halls, or on the tarmac is mind-numbingly boring.
Basically I didn't really start flying until I was 22 years old. So it was a neat experience and a lot of joy at first to do this. Things would be seriously wrong if it got to the point where I didn't want to set foot in an airplane again. I guess the point is that air travel first became a special thing for me, not an exhausting ordeal --- and I'd like to keep it that way.
So feeling like I can stay put in one place for awhile is quite refreshing at this point, especially with the recent positive successes that have happened.
Recently the school where I work got a very positive review and some great feedback related to that, and things are really moving forward.
The gameplan at this point is to continue staying in Shanghai until the New Year Break, and several visitors are coming here to see me for a change.
Partly Cloudy
Well this is just for me personally ... better hold my breath before applying this to current events!
Fittingly enough, just after I started typing this blog post, I got wind of breaking news that said North Korea launched artillery fire across the border onto a South Korean island, and then SK fired back. Yikes! NK has always been in the news for doing this or that thing, and the most previous dispute was the submarine attack. But this latest one is pretty hard to dispute blame, and it looks like the entire SK military is on high alert now and preparing for more attacks.
And in more local news, there was a fire that broke out in Shanghai last week and destroyed an entire apartment complex. Now the whole city is on fire alert and the mayor is launching a series of building code crackdowns. The fire was caused by poor construction work in a neighboring building, where the work was sub-contracted out to unlicensed welders who were hired off the street. The managers soon fled after this, although some 15 were detained. Most of the migrant workers fled back to their hometowns, or were left in Shanghai without any compensation after the fire. Needless to say, unsafe work practices and lack of fire prevention are rampant like this all over the country. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The hyper response and all this typical "after-the-fact" planning come from the loss of face that the mayor would experience after such a tragedy happened in a city that just hosted the EXPO. After all, this wouldn't make major news headlines if a fire happened in, say, an interior city like Chongqing (which did happen there about 6 months ago)
Moving over to Taiwan, my friends from that area say that an earthquake happened there recently and this has some effect on upcoming local elections. Apparently they are afraid of the next guy being elected who won't be as friendly with the mainland as the current leader is. Positive ties between Taiwan and the mainland are rather key, especially with all the recent developments. Especially the direct flights now between Shanghai and Taipei that only take an hour.
Despite these sorts of things, life for myself has been going very well in the last few months. I'm happy to say that I haven't left the city at all for two months strong, and have been fitting in very well. It's gotten to the point where I actually *want* to travel again now, and look forward to wherever the next trip is.
Most of this year was a total whirlwind of traveling, and I basically hit the airport an average of once every 3 weeks! Friends who do business travel would tell me this is easy, compared to flying once a week like they do, sometimes more. But the fact of the matter is that frequent flying is exhausting. I was getting mighty sick of airplanes already this year, and pulling off a schedule like my business friends do would drive me insane.
Air travel is so exhausting because of the total time you're traveling, not just the time in the air. All the stuff about getting to/from the airport, flight delays, security checks, etc. just adds stress, not the mention the fact that waiting around in airports, transfer halls, or on the tarmac is mind-numbingly boring.
Basically I didn't really start flying until I was 22 years old. So it was a neat experience and a lot of joy at first to do this. Things would be seriously wrong if it got to the point where I didn't want to set foot in an airplane again. I guess the point is that air travel first became a special thing for me, not an exhausting ordeal --- and I'd like to keep it that way.
So feeling like I can stay put in one place for awhile is quite refreshing at this point, especially with the recent positive successes that have happened.
Recently the school where I work got a very positive review and some great feedback related to that, and things are really moving forward.
The gameplan at this point is to continue staying in Shanghai until the New Year Break, and several visitors are coming here to see me for a change.
Monday 22 November 2010
Countin' Till Christmas
As usual, during the middle of the long stretch without a holiday, we look forward to Christmas. It's not that Christmas signifies any long holidays, in fact, we only get 4 days off total.
But when Christmas comes, New Years follows shortly after, then does final exams, and then the Chinese New Year break.
There are other neat little surprises along the way, including 3 friends who have already booked plane tickets to see me here in Shanghai before the break.
When I lived in Wuhan last year, nobody wanted to see me. Sniff Sniff. But now that I live here they do, so that works out.
As for the New Year break .... what to do? It's looking more and more like INDIA!
Can't get enough of that Indian thang.
But when Christmas comes, New Years follows shortly after, then does final exams, and then the Chinese New Year break.
There are other neat little surprises along the way, including 3 friends who have already booked plane tickets to see me here in Shanghai before the break.
When I lived in Wuhan last year, nobody wanted to see me. Sniff Sniff. But now that I live here they do, so that works out.
As for the New Year break .... what to do? It's looking more and more like INDIA!
Can't get enough of that Indian thang.
Friday 19 November 2010
Results: Cumulative Marks are Lower
After entering some past marks data and seeing whether cumulative marks really do give lower final marks than running term-by-term marks, as in the last post, the results were quite surprising.
If we run marks the lazy way by just making a gigantic spreadsheet without any regards to weights, i.e. all assignments, tests, etc. are equally weighted, then it turns out that cumulative marks give higher final averages.
But once we start assigning weights to categories and also running cumulative marks, then the shit hits the fan.
So far I have analyzed about 5 sample sets of data, and I would like to run more, but the results are all saying the same thing. A cumulative marks-based system with weighted categories and weighted terms lowers the overall school mark by around 2 - 3% which is statistically significant.
Let's say that the school wants the terms to be weighted as follows:
Term 1 -- 15%
Term 2 -- 20%
Term 3 -- 15%
Term 4 -- 15%
Final Exam -- 30%
Let's say that there are the following categories
Tests -- 60%
Labs -- 20%
Homework -- 20%
A term-by-term spreadsheet would apply those categories to each term, calculate a mark for each term, average the marks according to the weights above, and then calculate the final grade.
A cumulative spreadsheet with weighted terms built in would do something similar, but it would calculate everything based on a percentage of the *final* mark as follows
T1 and T4 Tests -- 9% (60% x 15%)
T1 and T4 Labs -- 3%
T1 and T4 HW -- 3%
T2 and T3 Tests -- 12% (60% x 20%)
T2 and T3 Labs - 4%
T2 and T3 HW - 4%
Final Exam - 30%
A quick check shows this all adds up to 100%
No wonder the administrators always frown on this particular kind of cumulative spreadsheet. Or, in former schools I taught at, they outrightly banned this way of doing marks.
As for why the marks are lowered this way, I have some idea, but it would be too complicated to get into here.
If we run marks the lazy way by just making a gigantic spreadsheet without any regards to weights, i.e. all assignments, tests, etc. are equally weighted, then it turns out that cumulative marks give higher final averages.
But once we start assigning weights to categories and also running cumulative marks, then the shit hits the fan.
So far I have analyzed about 5 sample sets of data, and I would like to run more, but the results are all saying the same thing. A cumulative marks-based system with weighted categories and weighted terms lowers the overall school mark by around 2 - 3% which is statistically significant.
Let's say that the school wants the terms to be weighted as follows:
Term 1 -- 15%
Term 2 -- 20%
Term 3 -- 15%
Term 4 -- 15%
Final Exam -- 30%
Let's say that there are the following categories
Tests -- 60%
Labs -- 20%
Homework -- 20%
A term-by-term spreadsheet would apply those categories to each term, calculate a mark for each term, average the marks according to the weights above, and then calculate the final grade.
A cumulative spreadsheet with weighted terms built in would do something similar, but it would calculate everything based on a percentage of the *final* mark as follows
T1 and T4 Tests -- 9% (60% x 15%)
T1 and T4 Labs -- 3%
T1 and T4 HW -- 3%
T2 and T3 Tests -- 12% (60% x 20%)
T2 and T3 Labs - 4%
T2 and T3 HW - 4%
Final Exam - 30%
A quick check shows this all adds up to 100%
No wonder the administrators always frown on this particular kind of cumulative spreadsheet. Or, in former schools I taught at, they outrightly banned this way of doing marks.
As for why the marks are lowered this way, I have some idea, but it would be too complicated to get into here.
Thursday 18 November 2010
Statistical Project
In keeping with that last post about cumulative vs. term marks and all the controversy involved, I've got my hands on all my past marks from the old schools I taught at in Wuhan and Dalian.
Since my marks were all term-by-term reported and then averaged to get the final, I can easily combine all those marks into a retroactive cumulative spreadsheet system and see if there are any differences.
If there are, I will be mighty curious to see what's going on.
The prevailing controversy basically says that cumulative marks give a lower 'school mark' or final mark, compared to doing separate term-by-term marks.
Since my marks were all term-by-term reported and then averaged to get the final, I can easily combine all those marks into a retroactive cumulative spreadsheet system and see if there are any differences.
If there are, I will be mighty curious to see what's going on.
The prevailing controversy basically says that cumulative marks give a lower 'school mark' or final mark, compared to doing separate term-by-term marks.
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Cumulative Marks vs. Term Marks
Today's weather: High - 15 Low - 10
Cloudy
Another education-related post to inform or bore you, whichever that may be.
An ongoing debate in schools is whether for teachers to do cumulative marks, or run separate marks every term. Cumulative marks mean that the student's mark carries through from the beginning of assessments right up until the end. Separate marks mean that each term is assessed in part, and the terms are averaged at the end of the year.
For semester schools that run an entire course in half a year, the cumulative marks are the preferred option. For "linear" schools than run for an entire year, term marks are a better option. Since we're a linear school that's basically what I do -- marks up until the Jaunary break, then run a new cycle of marks up until June, and then put the two together.
The general rule of thumb is that the longer the course lasts for, the more advantageous it is to do term marks. That breaks it down into a series of shorter terms, and gives more motivation to the students. This allows them to see improvement if, for example, they bombed Term 1 and then start getting better marks in Term 2.
That being said, the "mark" that students always want to track is their running total. Statistically, this changes less and less as more and more assessments are added in. So if teachers are doing cumulative marks for an entire year, it can be demotivating because the student essentially gets "stuck" with their mark, which is based on whatever influenced it from before.
On the other hand, doing term-by-term marks can be deceptive, especially if there are multiple terms added together at the very end. Suppose a student bombs Term 1, he then forgets about it as his Term 2 mark becomes really good. He's thinking he made some good improvement, and he did, but only for that snapshot. Once the marks are then averaged together, that crappy mark in Term 1 then comes back to haunt him.
The difference here is that he knew it all along with cumulative marks, even though he felt stuck with it. With term-by-term marks, the lousy first term then comes back to bite him at the end by "surprise".
Some teachers would say to drop the first term if it was the lowest one, or weight the first term less. I think both of those responses are a load of BS because you're changing the goalposts on students after the fact. What about those who busted their ass off in Term 1? Totally not fair if one studnet gets his term weighted less or dropped, and also not fair if the whole term gets weighted less for someone who worked really hard at the beginning.
Because if term 1 gets weighted less, then it only means that the other terms get weighted more.
In this sense, I'd lean more towards cumulative marks and would prefer to run them myself because cumulative marks focus on the end result -- not a particular snapshot. However, cumulative mars are controversial in most schools so I've opted for a two-term compromise which I'm happy with.
Perhaps a third alternative here would be to keep running cumulative marks in the background but only show or report marks that are based on a snapshot in time. How to actually do that would need more research on my part.
Cloudy
Another education-related post to inform or bore you, whichever that may be.
An ongoing debate in schools is whether for teachers to do cumulative marks, or run separate marks every term. Cumulative marks mean that the student's mark carries through from the beginning of assessments right up until the end. Separate marks mean that each term is assessed in part, and the terms are averaged at the end of the year.
For semester schools that run an entire course in half a year, the cumulative marks are the preferred option. For "linear" schools than run for an entire year, term marks are a better option. Since we're a linear school that's basically what I do -- marks up until the Jaunary break, then run a new cycle of marks up until June, and then put the two together.
The general rule of thumb is that the longer the course lasts for, the more advantageous it is to do term marks. That breaks it down into a series of shorter terms, and gives more motivation to the students. This allows them to see improvement if, for example, they bombed Term 1 and then start getting better marks in Term 2.
That being said, the "mark" that students always want to track is their running total. Statistically, this changes less and less as more and more assessments are added in. So if teachers are doing cumulative marks for an entire year, it can be demotivating because the student essentially gets "stuck" with their mark, which is based on whatever influenced it from before.
On the other hand, doing term-by-term marks can be deceptive, especially if there are multiple terms added together at the very end. Suppose a student bombs Term 1, he then forgets about it as his Term 2 mark becomes really good. He's thinking he made some good improvement, and he did, but only for that snapshot. Once the marks are then averaged together, that crappy mark in Term 1 then comes back to haunt him.
The difference here is that he knew it all along with cumulative marks, even though he felt stuck with it. With term-by-term marks, the lousy first term then comes back to bite him at the end by "surprise".
Some teachers would say to drop the first term if it was the lowest one, or weight the first term less. I think both of those responses are a load of BS because you're changing the goalposts on students after the fact. What about those who busted their ass off in Term 1? Totally not fair if one studnet gets his term weighted less or dropped, and also not fair if the whole term gets weighted less for someone who worked really hard at the beginning.
Because if term 1 gets weighted less, then it only means that the other terms get weighted more.
In this sense, I'd lean more towards cumulative marks and would prefer to run them myself because cumulative marks focus on the end result -- not a particular snapshot. However, cumulative mars are controversial in most schools so I've opted for a two-term compromise which I'm happy with.
Perhaps a third alternative here would be to keep running cumulative marks in the background but only show or report marks that are based on a snapshot in time. How to actually do that would need more research on my part.
Sunday 14 November 2010
Backing Up The Hard Drive
Today's weather: High = 17 Low = 11
Cloudy
Having finally learned my lesson from the previous two hard drive crashes and the loss of two former laptops, I went out to Best Buy today and got myself a 500 GB portable hard drive. I'm now in the process of backing up every single file. Eventually I'll be making backups of those backups, I kid you not.
It was actually last week when I realized how much of a teacher's life depends on the computer. I was chatting with my students about marks and trying to calculate their term 1 report card mark. On that particular day my computer wasn't with me. Trying to explain the calculation by hand was really complex for both myself and the students.
So I said, "OK we'll do it this way then. I'll just go home on the motorcycle during lunch, get the computer, and we can discuss the marks then." Problem solved.
Aside from the all-precious marks, the computer is also used for storing lesson plans, resource files, tests, worksheets, electronic books, teaching videos, and a whole host of other resources. In fact, I'm still trying to get the resources back from the first two hard drive crashes and the loss of the computers that happened while teaching in Dalian, Suzhou, and Wuhan. Some of it will never be recovered.
I was using an ad-hoc USB system for storing data files at first, but since gave it up as it wasn't very efficient. The whole exercise of plugging in U-disks, unplugging them, and transfering them was rather frustrating, not to mention there was a risk of getting a virus. So I figure a portable hard drive is well worth the cash and it could very well save my butt in the future if my computer should crash again.
On the subject of backing up hard drives, I have recently downloaded a whole arsenal of math resources from an FTP site that my former school had put online. Combine this with a trip to Wuhan in August to get files from other colleagues, and it's now a major re-organizing task to put the folders in a way that's easy to use.
When a bunch of teaching resources come together from all over the place, it can get rather messy, so the challenge is to sift through it all and streamling the resources into more usable packages.
During teaching practicum, one of the math education leaders went against the crowd with a statement, but she was basically right on the money. She said that the way lesson and unit planning really works is that you start with the resources you have, and base the planning around that. In other words, you gather resources first, and plan the curriculum later. When it comes right down to it, a well-designed multiple choice test, a review package, and a pre-made answer key are far more valuable than a lengthy document about how you're going to teach the material.
And if you want such documents, for example the boss or the inspector wants to see it, you can always download them from an FTP site where somebody else has already produced them.
Cloudy
Having finally learned my lesson from the previous two hard drive crashes and the loss of two former laptops, I went out to Best Buy today and got myself a 500 GB portable hard drive. I'm now in the process of backing up every single file. Eventually I'll be making backups of those backups, I kid you not.
It was actually last week when I realized how much of a teacher's life depends on the computer. I was chatting with my students about marks and trying to calculate their term 1 report card mark. On that particular day my computer wasn't with me. Trying to explain the calculation by hand was really complex for both myself and the students.
So I said, "OK we'll do it this way then. I'll just go home on the motorcycle during lunch, get the computer, and we can discuss the marks then." Problem solved.
Aside from the all-precious marks, the computer is also used for storing lesson plans, resource files, tests, worksheets, electronic books, teaching videos, and a whole host of other resources. In fact, I'm still trying to get the resources back from the first two hard drive crashes and the loss of the computers that happened while teaching in Dalian, Suzhou, and Wuhan. Some of it will never be recovered.
I was using an ad-hoc USB system for storing data files at first, but since gave it up as it wasn't very efficient. The whole exercise of plugging in U-disks, unplugging them, and transfering them was rather frustrating, not to mention there was a risk of getting a virus. So I figure a portable hard drive is well worth the cash and it could very well save my butt in the future if my computer should crash again.
On the subject of backing up hard drives, I have recently downloaded a whole arsenal of math resources from an FTP site that my former school had put online. Combine this with a trip to Wuhan in August to get files from other colleagues, and it's now a major re-organizing task to put the folders in a way that's easy to use.
When a bunch of teaching resources come together from all over the place, it can get rather messy, so the challenge is to sift through it all and streamling the resources into more usable packages.
During teaching practicum, one of the math education leaders went against the crowd with a statement, but she was basically right on the money. She said that the way lesson and unit planning really works is that you start with the resources you have, and base the planning around that. In other words, you gather resources first, and plan the curriculum later. When it comes right down to it, a well-designed multiple choice test, a review package, and a pre-made answer key are far more valuable than a lengthy document about how you're going to teach the material.
And if you want such documents, for example the boss or the inspector wants to see it, you can always download them from an FTP site where somebody else has already produced them.
Saturday 13 November 2010
Life Quality is Good
Today's weather: High = 23 Low = 13
Sunny
Unbelievably, the gorgeous weather keeps up for yet another week and the cold fronts have not hit this far south yet. That is going to change abruptly this weekend when the temperature will drop in Shanghai and it will feel like winter, but for now I am grateful for the good timing.
It may seem like I'm a wimp for the weather, as I'm from Canada after all where it is supposedly cold all the time. But the problem here is that the houses are not designed for it, and the *indoor* temperature becomes uncomfortable. At least in Canada you can walk into an insulated house, turn on the heat, and take off the jacket. In a Shanghai winter, you never feel like you're warming up and the jackets always stay on. Including when you sleep. And yes, that's with the hot air conditioner going full blast too.
So any break in the winter weather is a good thing.
I just got back from a global leadership training conference that was very inspirational. We heard talks from the former CEO of General Electric and some of his business models can be applied to what I do -- teaching work. Certainly a lot of useful take-aways and it was well worth the money.
Being based in Shanghai makes it possible to attend these kind of events, in addition to Toastmasters clubs and a whole host of other activities. I have been enjoying a very active life over the last month and making lots of new friends. Combined with a more relaxed work schedule, I would say the quality of my life here is far better than the last two years combined ---- as I expected that would be the case.
Frankly, you really can't beat this city in China for the quality of life it offers. What amazes me about living here is that every weekend you can visit a different corner of Shanghai and it is all brand new. For example, the conference was held in a part called 'Xin Tian Di'. I don't often go out there, it is near the People's Square area and rather crowded. I live in the Xu Hui area which is about 15-20 minutes away by motorcycle, or 30 minutes by subway.
'Xin Tian Di' is a very attractive area in that most of the older houses have been preserved and it has that unique Shanghai charm that I remember over 8 years ago from first coming here. There are new developments of course, but they blend in well with the old houses and they haven't been bulldozed down like so many other districts. There is this new pedestrtian street where you can lounge around, eat at restaurants, chill out in the Starbucks, and so forth. If friends and family come visit me here, this is definitely the place to hang out in.
I'm really grateful for how this year is going because I remember all too well what it was like in the previous two years. The feel of dread quickly set in by November during the long stretch before the big holiday. It was basically a case of survival. Just get up, go to work, go home, and crash on the couch. When you combine varying degrees of isolation and extreme workload, that can't be healthy.
It is interesting that most of my colleagues here go to other places in China during the weekend, for example, a trip to Beijing, another one to Dalian, and weekly trips to Nanjing that one of my colleagues does. I used to do this stuff all the time while living in Wuhan last year. This year I'm going to stay put until the holiday as it has been one incredibly hectic travel year for 2010 already.
For the sake of health, I better stick in one place for awhile and give those airplanes a rest. It wasn't until I was 22 years old when I took the first major airplane ride. Because of that, I've always regarded air travel as something special and want to experience that same kind of joy. Since it got to the point where I was sick of air travel and dreaded going to the airport, then something had to be seriously, seriously wrong. So that's why I'm staying put for awhile.
Sunny
Unbelievably, the gorgeous weather keeps up for yet another week and the cold fronts have not hit this far south yet. That is going to change abruptly this weekend when the temperature will drop in Shanghai and it will feel like winter, but for now I am grateful for the good timing.
It may seem like I'm a wimp for the weather, as I'm from Canada after all where it is supposedly cold all the time. But the problem here is that the houses are not designed for it, and the *indoor* temperature becomes uncomfortable. At least in Canada you can walk into an insulated house, turn on the heat, and take off the jacket. In a Shanghai winter, you never feel like you're warming up and the jackets always stay on. Including when you sleep. And yes, that's with the hot air conditioner going full blast too.
So any break in the winter weather is a good thing.
I just got back from a global leadership training conference that was very inspirational. We heard talks from the former CEO of General Electric and some of his business models can be applied to what I do -- teaching work. Certainly a lot of useful take-aways and it was well worth the money.
Being based in Shanghai makes it possible to attend these kind of events, in addition to Toastmasters clubs and a whole host of other activities. I have been enjoying a very active life over the last month and making lots of new friends. Combined with a more relaxed work schedule, I would say the quality of my life here is far better than the last two years combined ---- as I expected that would be the case.
Frankly, you really can't beat this city in China for the quality of life it offers. What amazes me about living here is that every weekend you can visit a different corner of Shanghai and it is all brand new. For example, the conference was held in a part called 'Xin Tian Di'. I don't often go out there, it is near the People's Square area and rather crowded. I live in the Xu Hui area which is about 15-20 minutes away by motorcycle, or 30 minutes by subway.
'Xin Tian Di' is a very attractive area in that most of the older houses have been preserved and it has that unique Shanghai charm that I remember over 8 years ago from first coming here. There are new developments of course, but they blend in well with the old houses and they haven't been bulldozed down like so many other districts. There is this new pedestrtian street where you can lounge around, eat at restaurants, chill out in the Starbucks, and so forth. If friends and family come visit me here, this is definitely the place to hang out in.
I'm really grateful for how this year is going because I remember all too well what it was like in the previous two years. The feel of dread quickly set in by November during the long stretch before the big holiday. It was basically a case of survival. Just get up, go to work, go home, and crash on the couch. When you combine varying degrees of isolation and extreme workload, that can't be healthy.
It is interesting that most of my colleagues here go to other places in China during the weekend, for example, a trip to Beijing, another one to Dalian, and weekly trips to Nanjing that one of my colleagues does. I used to do this stuff all the time while living in Wuhan last year. This year I'm going to stay put until the holiday as it has been one incredibly hectic travel year for 2010 already.
For the sake of health, I better stick in one place for awhile and give those airplanes a rest. It wasn't until I was 22 years old when I took the first major airplane ride. Because of that, I've always regarded air travel as something special and want to experience that same kind of joy. Since it got to the point where I was sick of air travel and dreaded going to the airport, then something had to be seriously, seriously wrong. So that's why I'm staying put for awhile.
Thursday 11 November 2010
How To Count 1.3 Billion People?
Today's weather: High = 23 Low = 13
Keep up this run of gorgeous sunny days!!!!!!
Every 10 years, the People's Republic does a census. This is actually my first experience with a population census, as I arrived to China in 2001 and the last one was done before I got here.
The newspaper articles are rather clear about the difficulties faced by the census workers this time round. The majority of residents don't trust strangers knocking at their door, and are suspicious. This goes hand in hand with a faced-paced lifestyle in Shanghai when it's also hard to find people at home. So the workers try to show up between 5pm to 9pm and catch as many people as possible. But they figure that 2 out of 10 people reached is a good thing. That's how hard it is to do the survey.
Somehow or other they'll be able to do their census. My guess is they would use pre-existing data from police registrations to get the numbers. By law, every resident must register their address with the local police station, otherwise known as 'pai suo chu'.
So if the numbers can be found from the police station, then the purpose of doing the census must be to ask questions and get survey forms filled by those residents who can be reached. In fact, it's a lot like what they do from my home country Canada. Some of the forms are standard, but a randomized 1 out of 10 has an extended form.
They mainly want to know migration patterns and how many people are really living in the cities. Shanghai has a huge floating population, and it's anyone's guess as to what it actually is. The official population figure is around 20 million, but a 4-5 million floating population is quite likely.
The problem, however, is this. The floating population is not registered with the police, because most of them are migrant workers who come into Shanghai from the countryside. So if they're not going to register with the police, then why would they be available to answer questions from a census worker? Despite the so-called reforms, there is a 'hukou system' that is rather entrenched. Basically it means they need to have a Shanghai 'hukou' or residents permit, in order to get social benefits, and of course, to register with the police. No hukou, no registration, so how can they track this?
The census undertaking is a laudable goal, but I seriously doubt we'll ever know the true population figures for the cities. There is safety in numbers. When there are too many people to track, it makes registration a very difficult thing. This of course would also apply to me tootling around the city on an unregistered bike.
Keep up this run of gorgeous sunny days!!!!!!
Every 10 years, the People's Republic does a census. This is actually my first experience with a population census, as I arrived to China in 2001 and the last one was done before I got here.
The newspaper articles are rather clear about the difficulties faced by the census workers this time round. The majority of residents don't trust strangers knocking at their door, and are suspicious. This goes hand in hand with a faced-paced lifestyle in Shanghai when it's also hard to find people at home. So the workers try to show up between 5pm to 9pm and catch as many people as possible. But they figure that 2 out of 10 people reached is a good thing. That's how hard it is to do the survey.
Somehow or other they'll be able to do their census. My guess is they would use pre-existing data from police registrations to get the numbers. By law, every resident must register their address with the local police station, otherwise known as 'pai suo chu'.
So if the numbers can be found from the police station, then the purpose of doing the census must be to ask questions and get survey forms filled by those residents who can be reached. In fact, it's a lot like what they do from my home country Canada. Some of the forms are standard, but a randomized 1 out of 10 has an extended form.
They mainly want to know migration patterns and how many people are really living in the cities. Shanghai has a huge floating population, and it's anyone's guess as to what it actually is. The official population figure is around 20 million, but a 4-5 million floating population is quite likely.
The problem, however, is this. The floating population is not registered with the police, because most of them are migrant workers who come into Shanghai from the countryside. So if they're not going to register with the police, then why would they be available to answer questions from a census worker? Despite the so-called reforms, there is a 'hukou system' that is rather entrenched. Basically it means they need to have a Shanghai 'hukou' or residents permit, in order to get social benefits, and of course, to register with the police. No hukou, no registration, so how can they track this?
The census undertaking is a laudable goal, but I seriously doubt we'll ever know the true population figures for the cities. There is safety in numbers. When there are too many people to track, it makes registration a very difficult thing. This of course would also apply to me tootling around the city on an unregistered bike.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Retro Commute
Today's Weather: High = 23 Low = 11
Sunny
With such a nice day today, why not another motorcycle ride. This time I did the retro commute of two years ago from Shanghai to the boonies where I used to work at Sino Canada. The trip seemed to take an extremely long time, and I kept wondering: How on earth did I use to do this so often two years ago? This was freakin grueling!
In actual fact I did that commute 2-3 times a week, sometimes every day when I used to live out of the Gubei apartment. I still can't figure out how I managed to survive all that.
Mind you, there are some advantages of living out there. Today was a matter of necessity to head out and get gas for the motorcycle. Inside the city they are cracking down as I feared they would .... they don't fill up gas to unregistered bikes anymore. So that means trips far out to the boonies to get gas.
With a tank full of gas now, that should last more than another month. Here's to a bet I can last until Christmas with that tank of gas.
Sunny
With such a nice day today, why not another motorcycle ride. This time I did the retro commute of two years ago from Shanghai to the boonies where I used to work at Sino Canada. The trip seemed to take an extremely long time, and I kept wondering: How on earth did I use to do this so often two years ago? This was freakin grueling!
In actual fact I did that commute 2-3 times a week, sometimes every day when I used to live out of the Gubei apartment. I still can't figure out how I managed to survive all that.
Mind you, there are some advantages of living out there. Today was a matter of necessity to head out and get gas for the motorcycle. Inside the city they are cracking down as I feared they would .... they don't fill up gas to unregistered bikes anymore. So that means trips far out to the boonies to get gas.
With a tank full of gas now, that should last more than another month. Here's to a bet I can last until Christmas with that tank of gas.
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Feeling Good in the Long Stretch
Today's weather: High = 19 Low = 7
Sunny
For those familiar with the Chinese holiday schedule and the school semester schedule, the longest stretch between holidays occurs right now. Last holiday was October break, or National Day. The next one isn't until Lunar New Year, about mid-January. Unfortunately, I considered the National Holiday a write-off for me anyway, and was really worried that it would set me back for this long stretch for the next 3-4 months.
Thankfully, this long stretch is turning out to be OK. It is remarkably different from the depression of previous years. I'm actually enjoying life and finding it going quite well, instead of preparing for the usual dread of going through this 3-4 month slog every year.
The weather plays a big role in this. It's the first time in years I remember the gorgeous weather continuing right into November. Last year and the year before, an early and long winter set in with freezing cold fronts, rain, and biting winds. With the exception of a cold front a couple weeks ago, it has remained relatively mild up until this point. That makes a huge difference with bearable motorcycle rides to work, and then finishing work in the afternoon without needing to wear a jacket.
The lack of commuting is also helping me feel a lot better. It is a simple 5-10 minute motorcycle zip on downtown streets to get to work. That can be exilerating, as the roads are super crowded and it's a constant game of dodgeball the whole way through. Nothing like a cold blast of wind and a real-life video game to wake me up. Since it's so short, I don't get to feel the nasty effects of cold hands or leg burn like in the commuting hell while I was working at Sino Canada a couple years back.
The only downside to this method of transport is that it's more or less required, ironically, just like it was required at Sino. The bike is unregistered, which is a major pain in downtown Shanghai as there are constant police to dodge. Of course, I could do without the motorcycle and use the subway but that would turn the trip into 30+ minutes and then it *would* be a commute! Walking to the subway takes up to 15 minutes. Once in the station, all the rush hour controls and security checks make for convoluted paths and waiting which adds time to the commute. It's not worth it for only going 2 stops. The other alternative is a taxi, but they are impossible to find in rush hour and even if I get one, I'd just end up sitting in really bad traffic jams.
The motorcycle is really the most convenient choice. It takes me door-to-door, bypasses all the traffic jams, and allows me to enjoy more sleep and still get to work on time.
Another positive are the relaxing work hours. Most of my classes are taught in the morning, 40 minute each, and then there are the long lunch hours. Most of the tutorial times with my students are during lunch, unlike at the other schools where the only available time was after school. So that means I can usually walk out the door around 3pm, go home for a much-needed afternoon nap, do lesson planning, and still have time for other stuff in the evenings.
Speaking of which, I've really gotten involved in exactly that. Two nights of the week are for church-related activities and there is another thing I've got going on the weekends.
So all in all it's working out pretty good. There isn't much of a need to travel, although one of these days I need to make a trip to Wuhan and withdraw all the cash from my old bank account.
Sunny
For those familiar with the Chinese holiday schedule and the school semester schedule, the longest stretch between holidays occurs right now. Last holiday was October break, or National Day. The next one isn't until Lunar New Year, about mid-January. Unfortunately, I considered the National Holiday a write-off for me anyway, and was really worried that it would set me back for this long stretch for the next 3-4 months.
Thankfully, this long stretch is turning out to be OK. It is remarkably different from the depression of previous years. I'm actually enjoying life and finding it going quite well, instead of preparing for the usual dread of going through this 3-4 month slog every year.
The weather plays a big role in this. It's the first time in years I remember the gorgeous weather continuing right into November. Last year and the year before, an early and long winter set in with freezing cold fronts, rain, and biting winds. With the exception of a cold front a couple weeks ago, it has remained relatively mild up until this point. That makes a huge difference with bearable motorcycle rides to work, and then finishing work in the afternoon without needing to wear a jacket.
The lack of commuting is also helping me feel a lot better. It is a simple 5-10 minute motorcycle zip on downtown streets to get to work. That can be exilerating, as the roads are super crowded and it's a constant game of dodgeball the whole way through. Nothing like a cold blast of wind and a real-life video game to wake me up. Since it's so short, I don't get to feel the nasty effects of cold hands or leg burn like in the commuting hell while I was working at Sino Canada a couple years back.
The only downside to this method of transport is that it's more or less required, ironically, just like it was required at Sino. The bike is unregistered, which is a major pain in downtown Shanghai as there are constant police to dodge. Of course, I could do without the motorcycle and use the subway but that would turn the trip into 30+ minutes and then it *would* be a commute! Walking to the subway takes up to 15 minutes. Once in the station, all the rush hour controls and security checks make for convoluted paths and waiting which adds time to the commute. It's not worth it for only going 2 stops. The other alternative is a taxi, but they are impossible to find in rush hour and even if I get one, I'd just end up sitting in really bad traffic jams.
The motorcycle is really the most convenient choice. It takes me door-to-door, bypasses all the traffic jams, and allows me to enjoy more sleep and still get to work on time.
Another positive are the relaxing work hours. Most of my classes are taught in the morning, 40 minute each, and then there are the long lunch hours. Most of the tutorial times with my students are during lunch, unlike at the other schools where the only available time was after school. So that means I can usually walk out the door around 3pm, go home for a much-needed afternoon nap, do lesson planning, and still have time for other stuff in the evenings.
Speaking of which, I've really gotten involved in exactly that. Two nights of the week are for church-related activities and there is another thing I've got going on the weekends.
So all in all it's working out pretty good. There isn't much of a need to travel, although one of these days I need to make a trip to Wuhan and withdraw all the cash from my old bank account.
Sunday 7 November 2010
Commuting less than 100 km / week
Weather today: High = 20 Low = 5
Hazy
The motorcycle odometer tells me I'm putting less than 100 km every week for getting around. Actually I haven't left the city of Shanghai at all since August except for two occasions. One was a family wedding in Vietnam earlier last month, and the other was was a church retreat in Songjiang just last weekend. Technically, Songjiang is part of Shanghai (province) so that may not necessarily count!
At any rate, most of what I need is right downtown in a particular district: Xu Hui. Even trips to Pudong or People's Square are a rarity as the majority of time I am happily enjoying life in this district.
Two years ago while living out in the boonies, I would be commuting almost 100km *every day* on the motorcycle, actually the scooter at the time. Last year while working in Wuhan, that dropped to about 250 km every week, or just about enough to fill a tank of gas every week.
Now I only fill up the gas tank every month.
Hazy
The motorcycle odometer tells me I'm putting less than 100 km every week for getting around. Actually I haven't left the city of Shanghai at all since August except for two occasions. One was a family wedding in Vietnam earlier last month, and the other was was a church retreat in Songjiang just last weekend. Technically, Songjiang is part of Shanghai (province) so that may not necessarily count!
At any rate, most of what I need is right downtown in a particular district: Xu Hui. Even trips to Pudong or People's Square are a rarity as the majority of time I am happily enjoying life in this district.
Two years ago while living out in the boonies, I would be commuting almost 100km *every day* on the motorcycle, actually the scooter at the time. Last year while working in Wuhan, that dropped to about 250 km every week, or just about enough to fill a tank of gas every week.
Now I only fill up the gas tank every month.
Life After EXPO
As the 2010 EXPO has wrapped up here in Shanghai, the life is slowly returning back to pre-expo days. That means, among other things, subway schedules finishing at 10:30pm to 11pm instead of after midnight. Construction projects are back up and running at full speed, along with all the unlicensed night trucks nicknamed 'street killers'. Construction was more or less banned during the event, but since it has resumed, so have the trucks come back on the road. Related to the resumption of construction, the skies aren't so blue anymore as they were during the event.
With the influx of visitors now back to the provinces, the hotels aren't so busy anymore and it's easier to get around. Security, however, still remains tight ... and likely will remain for quite some time.
Most of the pavilions themselves are being dismantled and shipped back to the respective countries. The China Pavilion, along with the EXPO Cultural Center, the Saudi Pavilion, and a few others will remain. The EXPO site will be re-developed into housing, parks, and other benefits.
I actually enjoyed the event --- went at least 4 times. Although getting around was a pain, to be sure, the benefits of a cleaner city and less noise / air pollution were charming.
With the influx of visitors now back to the provinces, the hotels aren't so busy anymore and it's easier to get around. Security, however, still remains tight ... and likely will remain for quite some time.
Most of the pavilions themselves are being dismantled and shipped back to the respective countries. The China Pavilion, along with the EXPO Cultural Center, the Saudi Pavilion, and a few others will remain. The EXPO site will be re-developed into housing, parks, and other benefits.
I actually enjoyed the event --- went at least 4 times. Although getting around was a pain, to be sure, the benefits of a cleaner city and less noise / air pollution were charming.
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