Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PeterDragon]

Yesterday I introduced ten kids in one of my school's advanced grammar special classes to the book "Green Eggs and Ham". They LOVED it, and had apparently never seen Seuss before. A number of my co-workers, also apparently unfamiliar with Seuss have flipped through the Seuss treasury I bought (ten stories), seemingly almost hypnotized by it. My co-teacher just asked me for What the Book's website so she can order Seuss books for the English curriculum.

I'd been reluctant to use Seuss in ESL thus far because of all the made-up words and colloquialisms.

But apparently it's a giant hit. I had no idea Korean kids never got to read Seuss, the poor li'l bastards....

[nuthatch]

Yes, Dr. Seuss is a great hit with younger set. I have used his works in Myanmar and in China. They catch the rhyming, chants, and use their listening skills...expression...besides just being fascinated by the pictures.

[mateomiguel]

Dr. Seuss always creeped me out. Every time I got done reading one of his books as I kid I felt uneasy and mildly disgusted. I think it was the artwork. What the hell is wrong with that stuff man?

[PeterDragon]

Well, he was racist (one of the most vocal advocates for putting the Japanese in concentration camps, and you should see the depiction of the "Japs" in the government propaganda animated shorts he did with Chuck Jones), sexist (wrote numerous editorials for his college paper about the inherent inferiority of women), and he had a very ironic phobia of/dislike of children.

Maybe you're perceptive enough to somehow pick that up from his work.

I love the guy's books, but he might not have made a great next-door neighbor.

[nuthatch]

I never picked that up from his books...but he was writing in a very sexist era....did not know about racism either.

Yes, I googled the racism...cartoons. I see.

Here is an obituary from the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0302.html

[mrsquirrel]

www.jamaicans.com

Green Eggs and Ham

Peoples House

Read in Jamaican

[nuthatch]

The Lorax is a good one for environmental reading in the early years.

[ED209]

[RACETRAITOR]

You can't judge stuff from the past the same as stuff from these days. Just don't read the objectionable stories.

About using made-up words in kids' stories, I'm for it, although I don't have the skill to read it right. I've never used Doctor Seuss here but encountered it in other stories. I guess it exposes kids to sounds they need to speak English.

[nuthatch]

I've never found any stories objectionable...I think the material he did that was objectionable was before the children's books.

Yes, they pick up sounds, cadence.

[VanIslander]

I've done green Eggs and Ham with my students to great success

I haven't done it in nearly six months. Time to dig it out of the book shelf and do it again as an end of class exercise, as half a year later is eternity for kids, and review is always a good thing. Practice, practice, practice.

For the youngest beginners the youtube video might be fun too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdR0LXOiEB8

[SHANE02]

Where can I find these book in Seoul or online?

[PeterDragon]

[ursus_rex]

Yertle the Turtle is anti-fascist... so he wasn't a total nut-case... and the Lorax is proenvironment.

[schwa]

Good stuff. I learned to read with Dr Seuss & also caught from him the sense that language can be playful, which Korean kids can pick up on too.

Maurice Sendak also goes over well.