Lions, tigers, and bears...oh my!

Life has been busy lately...really busy. There have been birthday parties, last minute performances, examinations, and daily necessities like tackling the stack of dishes in the kitchen. I just put a bunch of pictures from recent activities on my Flickr site today. Hop on over there if you want to see the Superhero side of our team (who all made an appearance for Josiah's birthday). I, of course, was a pig bear. What else could I be? At least I got some use out of all those things I've accumulated this year...from shower caps to flip flops.

The main occupation of the remaining week and a half will be finishing grading my junior five paragraph essays. Grading these papers is proving to be a frustrating process, as I've had to deal with a lot of plagiarism. I always find it difficult to balance grace with enforcing my standards as a teacher. Plagiarism is something that is culturally acceptable, however, I've also made it clear that it is not acceptable in my class. But do you expect students to change their ways of thinking, researching, and writing that they've been learning for twenty years in one semester? Oh the challenges of being an American teacher in China...

Anyways, the reason I hopped on here was to share a bright spot from my grading travails. When I first started reading this essay on gun control for America I was almost certain I was going to be reading a bunch of plagiarized quotes pieced together. However, after reading this second paragraph I was assured that no, the student had written it herself. I hope it brings a little laughter, or at least a smile to your day!

Citizens who bear arms can keep themselves from danger. Firstly, owning guns make people keep themselves from dangerous animals. Many people like adventure travels. When these people travel in the forest, they will come across some dangerous animals, such as tigers, bears and lions. These animals are very strong. If they attack people, these people will be eaten by them. But citizens who have guns can keep themselves safe.

Mom, please prepare my rifle for me...I'm going to need protection from all those tigers in Indiana.