Well, the semester has started, the students are back on campus, and things are hopping here at the university. I hope those of you in school, regardless of your level, are also off to a good start. I have met all my students once, and I figure Shiraishi-kun must be out there somewhere, though he… Read More Ask Sensei: They’re Back Edition
It is indeed an odd relic of history that September, October, November, and December are our ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months rather than our seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months respectively. So with Octogust just around the corner, we should all probably consider making the most of our time as the school year approaches… Read More Ask Sensei: Octogust edition
Well, the school year is progressing nicely, and I’ll be darned if I don’t see everyone hard at work. Sensei is impressed! Even Shiraishi-kun is opening his textbook and handing in homework on occasion. Do you think he might actually pass? I certainly hope so. Not that it matters. After all, every class has a… Read More Ask Sensei: Shiraishi-kun Edition
Spring break is coming, and you know what that means for students of all ages: Time to forget everything you managed to learn the previous seven weeks. No, of course I’m just kidding. It’s time to kick back for a week and not get into more trouble than you can live down during the next… Read More Ask Sensei: Spring Break Edition
It’s about halfway through winter, which means life here in east Texas is chilly and rainy. And yet I’ll take it gladly over the Minnesota snow and ice that I braved for 16 years. Moving closer to the equator: I recommend it highly. This time, three readers have asked questions via Instagram. First, @gablumpot wonders: How… Read More Ask Sensei: Midwinter Edition
2018 is waning and 2019 is coming near as I type. It is also a few days before Christmas as I type, though you will no doubt be reading these words after Christmas. I am planning on travelling with friends over Christmas, and hope you enjoyed your time over Christmas as well. Meanwhile, I have… Read More Ask Sensei: Happy 2019 Edition
What kind of teacher never asks his students questions? A very strange one, to say the least. (That’s enough giggling, Shiraishi-kun.) So just to change things up, today we’ll pretend we’re in Soviet Russia. Because in Soviet Russia, you do not ask Sensei. Sensei ask you! One question I’ve always wanted to ask about anime is… Read More Sensei Ask You: Soviet Russia Edition
The start of a new term seems to bring a fresh start for teachers as well as students. It’s an opportunity for all of us to be honest about what hasn’t worked so well in the past, while still retaining habits of mind and lifestyle that we have found helpful. For us teachers, it’s always… Read More Ask Sensei! School Life Edition
For academics, the end of the term is pretty much the storm before the calm before the storm. Once we’re done grading final exams and establishing grades, our lives are suddenly quiet until the beginning of the next term. (glances at Shiraishi-kun’s empty chair) We might almost say “too quiet,” until we remember that everyone needs… Read More Ask Sensei (Happy 2018 Edition)
My voice on this blog is different from those of my colleagues here at Beneath The Tangles, though then again we are all of us very different from one another. I discovered anime as an adult well into my 30s, only because my students kept talking about this anime thing and I wondered what it… Read More Hakase ni kikimashou! (Let’s ask the professor!)