Cute cute cute!

[spacealien_vamp]

I got the sweetest letter today from one of my third-year students--the one who gave the awesome performance as her final speech. (Today was the seniors' last day.)

I received your advice card last Thursday [I gave a card with feedback to each of the students who gave speeches], and I'm proud of having been highly praised for the speech. Thank you very much! But it was a sheer imitation of you, 安晴先生! I tried hard speaking loudly and smiling.

It was long but short for me that you and 山田先生 taught us English. I really like your lessons, because I can relax to study, for you're always smiling and enthusiastic! Thank you for everything: checking my English compositions, talking with me in English, telling me about the Star Trek and so on.

I miss you, 安晴先生. Please take care of yourself and make great progress with your Japanese! You passed the exam, didn't you? I know you're really smart :)! I'm looking forward to reading your book published. May you be very happy! and I will! XD

Most of the rest of the time I spent grading the seniors' exams for a couple classes. I was really impressed by the thoughtfulness of some of the answers to the fairytale class essay questions. One of them asked the students to explain their thoughts about the moral of "Rapunzel," and that turned up a number of different opinions. Some said "You must always keep a promise" and some said "Love will always win in the end," but the one that caught my attention most was "In order to get something, you have to give up something."

Another essay question asked, "If you were a prince, which girl would you rather marry: Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, or Sleeping Beauty? Why?" Almost everyone chose Cinderella, though the reasons varied. Several mentioned that it was because she's good at housework, but a couple said it was because they wanted to help her get away from the mean stepsisters. One person chose Snow White..."because she's stupid" and needs to be cared for. <giggle>

Comments

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

Did she really address it to 安晴先生殿? That's SO cute.

*dead from cuteness of post*

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

Did she really address it to 安晴先生殿?

Yes, she did. Plus, she carefully cut out the picture of Spock she had drawn in her journal and pasted it on the front of the envelope.

Okay, okay, so let us illiterate ones in on it, too.

[megory.livejournal.com]

So, what did she call you?

The rest of the message is very touching, so I can only imagine how sweet it must be. To me, such a note from a student belongs in the portfolio, almost more than the other letters of recommendation.

Re: Okay, okay, so let us illiterate ones in on it, too.

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

So, what did she call you?

"安晴" is the kanji for my name, "先生" (sensei) means "teacher" and "殿" (-dono) is a title of respect (kind of like "-san") except that it's a bit on the archaic side.

This is an unusual combination because, ordinarily, "teacher" is already a term of high respect (also used, by the way, for medical doctors, respected authors, and Important People in general). Adding more after it is overkill...kind of like addressing someone as "Mr. Dr. Smith."

On top of that, using -dono at all, because of its historic nature, is like giving the whole thing a tinge of fantasy. It's not typically used in everyday Japanese. It's kind of like suddenly saying "m'lady" when addressing someone. That's what's so cute about it. (Imagine if one of your students one day called you "M'lady Mrs. Bertram Ma'am." Wouldn't that just be darling?)

P.S. I love you, Cinderella

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

I graded one more fairytale exam today. This student answered that she would pick Cinderella...because she's "easiest to get." ^_^ None of that hacking through briar and climbing a tall tower nonsense.