31 December 2008

Winter Discussion and Debate

Winter's installment of Discussion and Debate will be every day 2:00pm-4:00pm from 31 December to 14 January. No class 1 January. Topics include a mix of discussion, public speaking, debating. (First semester did not focus on public speaking).

12 December 2008

Recent photos of our students.

All images copyright Bundang High School, Bundang, 463-837, Korea. Corresponding author (gmail account): arthur.michalak@

09 December 2008

9 December minutes

Park Jong-youn "Alex" is awesome.

Alex Park suggested a debate be about himself. We happily agreed, though the class had a difficult time forming an affirmative to support him. ^_^ Hahahaha! A summary of the constructive statements are below. Rebuttals are currently unavailable.

Constructive statements
Affirmative

Alex is funny. His appearance, that is. That gladdens us; he has no girlfriend because he has no time; he is a model student; he is full of confidence

Negative
Does not mix well
with other English speakers. He speaks too fast; he is so proud of himself. We find it disgusting. He should know himself better; I hate Alex; he always makes fun of students. It makes for a bad atmosphere.

Result: positive persuasion

05 December 2008

5 December minutes

Salary is the most important reason in choosing a job.

The affirmative supports certain claims made in the article, "Choosing a career." The constructive statements and rebuttals are summarized below.

Constructive statements
Affirmative
We cannot live without money; it's too idealistic to not think about money. People have too many [financial] responsibilities; Almost one one likes to study--we all want to go to a well-known college to improve upon our future chances; Good things cost more--money gives those options.

Negative
When the job lacks interest , it causes stress. Often the highest paying jobs are as described; money are for necessities; after all, it has been shown not to give happiness; after twenty-years of working for money, people lose their talents, and their lives empty into an abyss; talent gives success, not money.

Rebuttals
Negative
It still causes people to work at jobs they do not like--still your argument does not solve the problem; money does not reduce responsibilities; money only helps to get into college, human labor is still needed to run that process to completion; anyway, happiness betters that.

Affirmative
You still cannot help but about thinking about money; necessities are basic to life; lack of money increases the number of regrets; success is not necessary for a happy life.

Result: negative persuasion

04 December 2008

Notice of Debate

Centered on the recently read article, "Foreigners in Korea", the affirmative maintained that "the Korean government should ban unskilled [and undocumented] foreigners from the country." The negative claimed that the resolution was unreasonable. The results are currently unavailable.

02 December 2008

Notice of Debate

The affirmative contends that "it is better for a Korean to study abroad during the elementary or middle school years," while the negative that "it is better for a Korean to study abroad during the high school or the college years."

The resolutions will be debated on Tuesday, 2 December. Material will largely be drawn from the article, "Studying abroad: Korean students overseas." The class will be divided into two groups of eight students. One teacher will moderate.