Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Dear deicide,

Happiness, like any other emotion, is a choice one makes - admittedly not always an easy choice, as was mentioned thousands of years ago:

�Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times�
Aeschylus


Personally, I think that a large part of choosing happiness consists of being less self-absorbed and more involved with others. I believe that a conscious realization of how fortunate one actually is also contributes to the choice.

Regards,
John

[Deicide]

[johnslat]

Dear Deicide,

Those with a genetic predisposition towards depression can choose to counteract that by taking prescription drugs.

If you are constantly by yourself, well, unless you are being held in solitary confinement at some sort of correctional facility, I can't see why you couldn't choose not to be constantly by yourself.

Regards,
John

[Deicide]

[johnslat]

Dear Deicide,

My goodness - you do seem to be somewhat lacking in social skills. There are so many venues in which you can meet people (heck, we're virtually doing it right now): places of worship, recreational facilities (including, but not limited to, bars), educational facilities, any sort of volunteer organization, etc.
Use your imagination.

Regards,
John

[Deicide]

[johnslat]

Dear Deicide,

"And when you are in a state of contant transition? Always moving?"

I assume that this is a condition you choose, having weighed the upsides and downsides.

One thing that I'd say is a general truth is this:

People will always do/believe whatever it is that they THINK will make them happy/happier.

Regards,
John

[Englishish]

For anyone interested in teaching conversation lessons regarding taboo subjects, here's a link to download a book for discussing taboo issues in the classroom. 'Taboos and Issues'.
http://englishtips.org/index.php?newsid=1150790117

The topics listed are:
1. Death
2. Nudity
3. Politically incorrect jokes
4. Taboo conversation topics
5. lt should be banned!
6. Not my type
7. Sex for sale
8. Swearing
9. Torture
10. Sexual harassment
11. Bribery and corruption
12. Designer babies
13. Children who k i l l
14. Gays and jobs
15. Animal rights
16. Marriage - for better or for worse
17. Nobody needs a gun
18. The sale of human organs
19. AIDS
20. Telling lies
21. Abortion
22. National stereotypes
23. Cheating on your partner
24. Are you happy with your body?
25. lmmigration and racism
26. Changing sex
27. ls this news?
28. The right to die
29. Old enough to be her grandfather!
30. Big Brother is watching!
31. Anxiety and depression
32. Gay families
33. Begging
34. Compensation culture
35. Sport and money
36. Vanity
37. Legalising drugs
38. Turning the other cheek
39. The death penalty
40. Addictions

Haven't used any of them myself and I'm not going to be using them in Saudi! Some topics have come up when teaching in the past though - it depends on the class (and country) as to whether I'd be willing to talk about some of these topics or not.

[gaijinalways]

Ones I've brought up from the list below;

1 death - we covered the suicide manual made famous in Japan in a global issues class I taught

2. Nudity - covered streaking Keio University students in the news with my academic English class

3. Politically incorrect jokes

4. Taboo conversation topics - a few times, not an easy sell, but some students enjoy talking about Koreans living here, and WWII

5. lt should be banned!
6. Not my type -

7. Sex for sale -- talked about the mizu-shobai business in Japan in a few classes

8. Swearing - I have a text 'English as a F***ing language', used it briefly with my academic English class (but outside of class at a party )

9. Torture - talked about in a module on terrorism

10. Sexual harassment - several students presented on this topic at an all female college, have talked about it in discussion, debate, academic English

11. Bribery and corruption
12. Designer babies
13. Children who k i l l
14. Gays and jobs

15. Animal rights - just covered this one last semster in discussion and in 'debate -theory and practice' in a lead up to terrorism discussions, talked about whaling, dolphin hunting in Taiji, beef slaughterhouses

16. Marriage - for better or for worse
another module in academic English, sometimes in discussion, also a debate question

17. Nobody needs a gun -
we discussed gun control laws in various countries and why there are still shooting deaths in Japan

18. The sale of human organs
19. AIDS

20. Telling lies - every week when I ask why students are late

21. Abortion

22. National stereotypes - any time the '4 seasons' or 'safety country' comment comes up

23. Cheating on your partner - this came up when some female students mentioned a reason to dump a husband or boyfriend

24. Are you happy with your body? - yes in a beauty segment for academic English

25. lmmigration and racism - a few times in various classes

26. Changing sex
27. ls this news? -??

28. The right to die - in discussion, academic English, how old is too old or when should people think about dying

29. Old enough to be her grandfather!
30. Big Brother is watching!

31. Anxiety and depression - when we've discussed what makes you happy. Students bring up some stories of moping siblings who can't leave the house

32. Gay families
33. Begging
34. Compensation culture

35. Sport and money - briefly in discussion and in business English

36. Vanity - I bring it up (when students are making up at the desk or checking their hair), but not sure all my students get 'it'

37. Legalising drugs
38. Turning the other cheek

39. The death penalty - academic English, discussion, debate

40. Addictions - several classes, some of my students are addicted to Japanese stereotypes "Yes, I am living here, not still visiting for 13 years!"


Yeah, I can imagine living in Saudia Arabia might put a damper on things that are 'suitable' to be brought up in class.

[Englishish]

Yeah, it's funny that I can have a lesson with teenagers in England on a man who had a sex change operation or some pretty crucial differences between American and British English (re rubber, fanny etc) which I'd avoid mentioning in other places - even though it's to the learner's advantage to know. (I'm talking about the American/British English here, not the sex change op!) I mean, I wouldn't want to be a 14 year old going into a summer school in America and innocently asking to borrow a rubber! I'd argue that it's even more vital for people in more conservative places to know these differences so that they wouldn't embarrass themselves but these are exactly the people who I'd avoid discussing it with!

Talking of cultural sensitivity, that reminds me of another situation in England where I was teaching a food lesson with a group of Pakistani women and the worksheet mentioned pork. When I was looking at it the day before, I thought about changing it but then I thought that would be not only unnecessary (because it's an English food word and they were living in England) but also counter-productive because surely if there's something you shouldn't eat, it's a good idea to know the word for it! Unfortunately, they didn't share my opinion - the reaction was 'NO! NO! NO! NO!' For crying out loud! I was only asking them to understand the word for it; it's not like I was asking them to EAT it!' They came round to my way of thinking eventually!

[Chris_Crossley]

[gaijinalways]

I hear you. Strangely enough (or not ), my Japanese wife has similar sentiments, even though I think Japan is an okay place to live, people like Ichihashi not withstanding. It's all relative. Some Chinese people I met got homesick on a one week vacation in Europe! Some how I think they are not the types to live overseas in the future, but you never know.