Falling off the wagon

After 127 days sober Dan and I fell off the wagon. Hard. I actually think the wagon ran us over at some point in the night. Why did this happen? Was there a death in family or some other catastrophic event that drove us back to the bottle? Nope. It was a going away party/ concert and sheer boredom. Last Wednesday was children’s day here in Korea, so we had the day off. Cool. Then my school magically closed on Thursday and Friday. With Dan and everyone I know at work, I was left at home bored out of my mind. I don’t do unemployment well. There are tons of things I could have done, but without anyone to do them with and no time frame to get them done, I achieved absolutely nothing. Then it hit me. I should just get drunk. Yep, this was the solution to all my problems! I called Dan and told him. Guess what he said? That’s sounds like a fantastic idea, let do it. So we drank three drinks at home (BTW Cafri tastes like shit if you haven’t had beer in 127 days) and went out to the bar. Crazy Horse was super fun, catching up with all my old drinking buddies and watching a local foreigner band. I was happy I got to say goodbye to Katie; I probably wouldn’t have seen her if I hadn’t gone out.

Leaving Crazy Horse is when things started to go downhill. I honestly couldn’t tell you what happened after that. I heard a rumor we went to Bubble Bar, this was confirmed later by the appearance of my purse still located there. The next thing I remember is coming to in a taxi, alone, and having no idea where I live. It took me a long time to remember, much to the taxi driver’s fear and amazement. I finally did, and he drove me home, then I guess I just ran out of the cab being that I didn’t have any money or my purse with me.

Next thing I know I’m waking up in my bed with Dan next to me. With the worst hangover EVER. Like I got hit by a baseball bat 50 times in the head. Dan was equally a wreck.

I guess when I got home, at 5am, we got into a huge fight. I think I was mad at him for leaving me at the bar? We always joke about how I have some kind of split personality when I’m drunk. We call her Amber. She’s crazy. Getting into fights and making poor decisions is her specialty. When Amber is around I don’t remember ANYTHING. Amber does a fantastic job of fucking up my life, which is why I don’t like to let her out of the closet. Therefore I can’t drink.

Getting trashed just reminded me of why I really shouldn’t drink. Having big spaces of time I can’t remember is not cool. Fighting with Dan is really not cool. Feeling like shit for not one, but TWO days is ridiculous. So now I’m back on the wagon. For good, hopefully. Dan has decided that abstaining completely is actually not a good idea for him. He’s going to start drinking in moderation again. He knows now that if he completely cuts himself off he won’t be able to say no as easily when I suggest drinking. It is really difficult being sober here especially with no one to really support you. So now I’m back to day one again, just taking it one day at a time.

Illegal immigrants can't receive welfare benefits

I take no position in the immigration debate. I understand how people are drawn to the United States risking life and limb to be exploited for a couple cents more than they would make in their own country. It’s all a part of the American lie that has brought cheap labor to our shores to be taken advantage of for the entirety of our history. I also understand how the problem drives wages down for everyone and engenders a large indigent population in affected areas. Too many illegal Mexicans willing to work for peanuts in Arizona (and there aren’t, Arizona is just overreacting) will turn Arizona into Mexico economically as well as culturally. Too many illegal immigrants will simply create what they are attempting to escape, a labor market flooded with unskilled laborers competing for a dwindling number of jobs, driving down wages. Hopefully, this will simply find its equilibrium and the wages, becoming poorer; will cease to draw as many people. This labor market being illegal and thus separate from the legal labor market shouldn’t affect wages for legal workers who have a much greater variety of employment opportunities afforded them.

But this isn’t my point. The thing that bothered me about that unbelievably stupid facebook post isn’t the implicit racism and the amazingly stupid comparison of the American border to North Korea and Afghanistan (is that what you want, really? Really?). What bothered me and continues to bother me is that people have no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to welfare benefits. They use the welfare argument as an excuse to classify people who they might have a pre-existing prejudice against as leeching off the benefits our government provides. Having worked at the welfare office for a year, distributing benefits through federal programs governed by federal code, I feel I’m in a good position to explain how one qualifies for and receives any government benefit. And I can assure you all of three things:

Illegal immigrants can’t get welfare benefits.

Illegal immigrants can’t get welfare benefits.

Illegal immigrants can’t get welfare benefits.

Ok, before you go to the comments section and tell me about how your brother worked with people who he assumed to be illegal and told you about how they received welfare benefits, remember: illegal immigrants can’t get welfare benefits. Before you tell me about how I’m full of shit because I’m contradicting your preconceived notions of how the welfare system works, remember I spent 40 hours a week for a calendar year less than a year ago using welfare policy to administer benefits to those who qualified; I am a reliable source of information on this topic.

In order to receive welfare benefits (SSI, Food Stamps, TANF cash welfare, or Medicaid), an applicant must provide the office which administers these federal programs (the office which handles these programs varies state to state, sometimes multiple offices handle them, sometimes they’re consolidated) with identity, residency and enumeration verification. If your ID looks nothing like you then you’re not getting benefits. There are provisions to allow for third party contact as verification of a person’s identity, but that is only used in extreme cases and under the direction of a supervisor. Ok, so the illegal immigrant gets a fake ID, not the most insurmountable task in the world (I had one in college). He’s free and clear, and the benefits are his? Not by a long shot. An applicant for any of these programs is required to provide a SSN. That social security number is sent to the SSA for verification (verification against the name and DOB also inputted into the welfare office’s system). If the social security number is invalid, or does not match the DOB or name of the applicant an alert will pop up on the caseworker’s screen and the case will be closed summarily (that kind of alert is called a critical alert and is usually dealt with quite quickly). Ok, so the illegal immigrant finds out my SSN, steals my ID, happens to look just like me, now he can get benefits. No. He’d also have to steal my mail. An applicant for any of these programs is also required to establish residency, most commonly with a piece of mail addressed to them at the address given on the application. There wouldn’t be any mail addressed to me at the illegal immigrants address so he’d have to think up something really clever, like setting up cable service at his house in my name, or he’d have to steal my mail consistently, supply the welfare office with my address and steal my mail to receive any caseworker communication/ renewal forms/ semi-annual reporting forms. If he ignores those his case will be closed due to non-response or to returned mail. It would take severe identity theft for an illegal immigrant to receive welfare benefits.

And that’s just for the programs that allow a signature on the application’s affidavit of citizenship to count as verification of citizenship. TANF (the only federal welfare program that actually provides people with cash) or state GA, (cash for people who are verified unable to work for a period of time due to disability) for those states that have it, require a birth certificate as proof of citizenship or, in the case of a qualified non-citizen, immigration papers.

So the next time you’re working your minimum wage job and looking at your suspicious co-workers with mistrust and envy (really?) at the welfare benefits you think they’re receiving. Remember. You don’t know their immigration status. You don’t know what benefits they receive and for whom. Hell you probably can’t talk to them. And above all, remember:

Illegal immigrants can’t get welfare benefits.

Illegal immigrants can’t get welfare benefits.

Illegal immigrants can’t get welfare benefits.

Thoughts on immigration

These days I don’t pay as much attention to what’s going on in my homeland (the USA). I don’t live there, so I’m not bombarded with the media every five minutes and that keeps me safely out of the loop as far as politics are concerned. In college (during the the G.W. Bush years) I was very active politically, I went to protest rallies and sent letters to my senators and congressmen. Now that Obama is in the Whitehouse I’ve laid off a bit. I do still occasionally watch CNN international, so I am aware of the new Arizona law allowing police to detain anyone they “reasonably suspect” of being in the USA illegally. It also makes it a crime not to carry immigration papers. I think this new law is absolutely ridiculous. First off, immigration is a federal issue, not a state issue. Secondly, this is just giving law enforcement the power to arrest anyone. I’m so glad I don’t live in Arizona. Anyway, for the last five years I’ve thought the USA is becoming a police state, and that one of the main reasons why I don’t want to live there, but it wasn’t until today that I got really pissed. Interestingly enough, it was a Facebook profile update that did it. Not one, but two of my friends on Facebook added this as their update:

JUST SO I UNDERSTAND THIS...YOU PASS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YRS HARD LABOR, YOU PASS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET SHOT. YOU PASS THE AMERICAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET A JOB, DRIVER'S LICENSE, ALLOWANCE FOR A PLACE TO LIVE, HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION, BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT SO YOU CAN READ A ...DOCUMENT. WE CARRY PASSPORTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES OR FACE JAIL TIME. REPOST IF YOU AGREE

Ummm I’m sorry, are you retarded? Are you really saying the USA should be more like North Korea and Afghanistan? This is just about the dumbest thing I have ever read. I almost just deleted my FB account right then and there, just so I don’t have to read this stupid ignorant shit anymore.

Illegal immigrants come to the USA TO WORK. They cannot get a driver’s license without proof of legal immigration status. They cannot get welfare, even foodstamps, without a driver’s license. Yes, they can get emergency health care, but what is the alternative? Ask for their papers and if they don’t have them, let them die? I really hope I don’t forget my papers the next time I’m rushed to the hospital.

The United States was founded by immigrants. The people who lived here originally (the MEXICANS and Native Americans) have either assimilated or live on tiny, shitty reservations. I think that people forget that borders are imaginary lines drawn by the people in power. These are people lives we are talking about. All immigrants want is to provide for their families. I think we can all relate to that. They deserve that right. They deserve the right to be legal in the USA. I know, personally, how difficult it is to leave everything and everyone you know behind and try to start a new life in a new country. This should be rewarded! You shouldn’t be thrown in jail for this! Our country was built on the backs of slaves and the hard work of immigrants. Learn the history and don’t be a ignorant asshole.

So for this “immigration problem” I have two solutions:

1.) Make the companies pay. Who should go to jail? The business owners who hire illegal immigrants. Fuck you for hiring people below minimum wage with no workers comp or health insurance and not giving a fuck when they are arrested and thrown in jail. You make me sick.

2.) Legalize the illegals with a guest worker visa. Do a background check (just like I had to do to come to Korea) and give them at least 90 days. After that they have leave. Then they can come back with a new visa. Simple. Many other countries do this. Also, make the immigration process easier and more expedient. It should not take 20 years to become an American citizen. Everyone working in the USA should be paying taxes and have access to workers compensation in case they are hurt.

I really think Americans need to take a long look in the mirror and start treating everyone with respect and dignity. These ridiculous immigration laws make us look absolutely horrible in the eyes of the world, not to mention they are just simply wrong. They make me ashamed to be an American.

Take down that scaffolding!

I don’t like scaffolding!

Okay, that might seem a bit strange. What’s wrong with scaffolding? Well, I’m actually referring to a term used in teaching ESL (although, I’m sure it could be used in other subjects as well). Scaffolding is basically giving the students all the tools they need to complete an assignment. Examples include vocabulary lists, gap fill exercises with the words to fill in the blanks included, dialogues and examples, examples, examples. In Korea, my co-teacher is my biggest form of scaffolding. Obviously, in low level and beginner classes these tools are very important. Students must build up their vocabulary and be able to form basic sentences. The Korean teachers help me out a lot with explaining directions and grammar. But as the students progress in their English learning, I believe scaffolding becomes more and more of a hindrance.

When teaching English in Korea it is easy to see how the culture comes into play in the classroom. Koreans always work together (in America we would probably call this cheating). This can be great in the ESL classroom because the students who understand what’s going on can explain to the others. But the big draw back with this is that the lower level students simply look to their friend or teacher for the answer, and then just repeat it. No critical thinking involved at all. The next time I ask that same student that same question, he has no idea what the answer is. This is the ultimate form of scaffolding. All the answers are just sitting right there, in the form of a student who has memorized the words.

Also, Koreans (like most people) do not like looking like a fool in front of their classmates. They have great difficulty taking risks with their English speaking. Losing face (being embarrassed) is a huge deal in this culture, so if they think their answer is not perfect, they simply won’t say it. In order for me to get some of my students to say anything I must give them a dialogue to read. Obviously this does not allow for the flexibility that the real world demands.

One of my biggest complaints is the dependency on my co-teachers. Many of my students know English quite well. If I speak slowly and possibly repeat myself a couple of times, they can understand. But what happens is I say something one time, and the students automatically look to my co-teacher for translation. Even if I ask them not to translate, the saving face situation comes into play and they feel obligated. Sometimes I wish they weren’t there at all! Speaking English takes practice and a willingness to attempt to understand. It’s not easy, and many of my students are under the impression that if they memorize a few phrases they will be able to communicate in the real world. It doesn’t exactly work like that!

Every once in awhile I like to give an assignment without scaffolding. For example, last week I taught a lesson on music genres. With about 10 minutes left in the class, I asked the students to talk with each other about what music they like and dislike. I didn’t write “I like ______________ and I dislike ________________.” on the board. I didn’t write a dialogue. I just told them to talk about what we had just learned on their worksheet. They were completely stumped. I gave a short example with my co-teacher. Still, nothing. Finally, I said they could talk with each other in front of the class for a sticker (I have a sticker system). One group volunteered. The rest looked at me like I had two heads. The group that did it was great! I gave them a sticker and a couple more students volunteered. They realized I didn’t care what they said, just that they used the English they know to discuss music. They know how to do this. They just don’t have the confidence to do it without scaffolding.

My main goal in teaching English is to give my students the confidence to talk to anyone in the world who also knows English. To use their (often extensive) vocabulary to communicate EVERYTHING on their minds. I want them to understand they won’t have a simple dialogue or a vocabulary list in real life. And that’s okay.

Check out this video blog for a more in depth look at scaffolding by someone with a lot more experience in ESL than I have.

Also, check out this TEDxTalk by an amazing public school math teacher. He also talks about scaffolding in the classroom and how important it is to allow the students to develop ideas independently. I love seeing smart, young teachers making school interesting and fun for their students!