The New Culture of Emoticons

Roughly about the same time my husband forwarded me the article Emoticons Move to the Business World, featured in the New York Times, I asked a Korean high school student to teach me some emoticons, Korean style.

Since my husband and his colleagues (one of them had forwarded the article to him) are members of the English department, it is somewhat obvious they’d approve of real words to show emotion.

At the same time, maybe by coincidence, none of them are on facebook or twitter. My husband’s argument against social media is that he does not have time for it. He might, if he only wrote some emoticons along with his words. Darn, I almost used one now.

The article itself was very good to read. And yes, I do refrain from using emoticons in business e-mails. In business, using them is stepping too close to the subject, more like slapping your business partner on his back.

But when on social media, it becomes a necessary tool. At times, I might only have a minute to comment on somebody’s post and the emoticon saves me a lot of time from trying to explain I was only (trying to be) witty. See, these three words could have been substituted by one simple sign.

In real life, we can use our facial features to transcend the mood of the speaker. In social media, with so many non-native speakers around in the global network, we want to make doubly sure we are understood. And what better way than to accentuate it with a smiley face.

I had fun learning these Korean emoticons today and want to share them with you. Frankly, I can’t wait to add one of them to a post on facebook this evening.

^^ = happy

T.T = sad

-_- = annoyed

-_-;; = embarrassed

>< = totally excited

:S = confused

 

 

An Ode to Teachers

The New York Times, carrying the article In Honor of Teachers by Charles M. Blow, made me remember my favorite teacher at the German Gymnasium – Frau Feinbier, our native French teacher. She was married to a German, hence the very German name.

It was her teaching in my very first year of French, which helped me develop a life-long passion for the language. She made the language and the subject come alive and even today in business, I still benefit from it.

On the other hand,  Mr. Blow writes about the drawbacks of being a teacher. Among those is the fairly low pay for this  academic position. About 20 years ago, I saw an  unforgettable advertisement at a local department store in  the U.S.A., which read:      Help wanted! Ideal for students, housewives and teachers.

In contrast to teachers in the German system, taking on any paid employment outside their teaching job is strictly forbidden ( allowances are made in special cases). Many  public school teachers are government employees and fairly well reimbursed for their work.

In addition, add on a general public resentment of teachers based on a preconception of short working hours, good pay, long breaks, etc. Just the other day, I was at a German get-together, where one of the women complained about the laziness of her daughter’s German teachers. All eyes were on my when one of the friends pointed out I was a teacher. I was excused from this tribunal when I said I was a private teacher.

I don’t know when this all started. In the 60s, attending Volksschule (elementary school), teachers still carried a high status and earned a lot of respect. In the early 70s,  starting Gymnasium (prep college school), I heard the first complaints about German teachers.

German teachers generally do not have a work desk at school. They do their outside-of- the- classroom work at home. So walking your dog in broad daylight lets Germans assume you are done working for the day, when the teacher might just be taking a break.

It might be a good idea to give teachers in the German system a regular desk at school to work after-hours. It would also be good to make teachers more accessible to parents, when contact between parents and teachers is strictly limited to parent-teacher conferences (in general).

I would not want to be a teacher in the German school system – there is very little appreciation, the teachers can or have to be as rigid as the system, and both sides – parents and teachers alike – are often on the defensive side.

There is no ode for German teachers.

Reading Books in Print or Screen

As a private teacher, I have a little library full of Dr. Seuss, Sesame Street, and Mister and Miss Books, among hundreds of others. I still read the old-fashioned way, because I am happy holding a paper book in my hand. My Landsmann Johannes Gutenberg would be pleased with me.

On the other hand, I need to be informed of what other means of reading devices are available today.

Fortunately, I found a very useful article, comparing all possible reading devices, such as the Amazon Kindle, the first – and second generation iPads, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, an iPhone, a Windows Phone, a phone using Google’s Android system, an Android tablet and a laptop computer, in last week’s edition of the New York Times.

Last, but not least, the author also used a regular paperback book to compare.

I am not ready yet to change my reading habits, but reading screens for everyone are on the visible horizon.

If you need any advice on what to purchase for your reading, then read Nick Bilton’s evaluation Deciding on a Book, and How to Read It.

Germany’s Latest Plagiarism Case

I actually wondered what took them so long… as soon as a few Germans learn of some new ways to take some old opponents down, there sure will be more to follow.

Today’s article, The Whiff of Plagiarim Again Hits German Elite in the New York Times, tells of three new plagiarism cases under investigation.

At the international school we belong to, plagiarism has always been cause for expulsion. At most German schools and colleges though, it is seen as a trivial offense.

It is amazing how such a rigid society can have such loose regulations in regards to academic work. This is all about to change right now.

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