Rights to Write: Task Two

Oct. 06-12

[Description]

1.
Many times, we are mad at people for the things they have done. However, we also hear people say: “I am doing this for YOU!” or “I meant well. You will understand when you grow up”.

When hearing responses like this,
have you ever tried to calm down and rethink the whole thing?
rethink about things from a new angel?
or rethink about things with a different logic?
Why or why not?
Give a real example and elaborate on it.

2.
My parents just don't get it: Depression

[My Own Comments]

1.
The questions ask us how we react when people claim that they are doing things for us or for our own good, and we’ll understand it when we grow up. The example about the depression, however, seems about someone who feels misunderstood. These two aspects look like quite different issues, but both related to the matter of communication. The former is the case in which we don’t understand people; the latter is the case in which we feel people don’t understand us. Then, obviously, why don’t we try to understand each other?

My answer directly to the questions is: It depends, especially on what relation between the one concerned and me: I’ll take the following into consideration: Are we remote or close? Is the situation social or personal? Are we of the same gender or two genders?

IF I know we’re different or there’s conventional ethics between us, I would try to calm down, rethink about the whole thing from a new “angle” (note: there’s a typo in the description) or with a different logic. In this case, since we’re supposed to have such different views and speech, we particularly need to communicate. As what I mentioned in Task One, it’s crucial to understand each other in spite of our different stances, for everyone has self-esteem and needs to be noticed and respected. If people are doing things for me or for a good purpose, I’ll calmly ask for their explanations to me instead of omitting this little kind effort. Nevertheless, this liberal attitude may happen only when I feel open-minded and willing to communicate.

IF the one concerned is close to me or is whom I care about very much, but he or she fails to understand me as I have expected, however, I might feel so hurt that I couldn’t calm down and rethink the situation objectively. In this case, to deal with emotions first might be better than to deal with merely the things. It sounds unreasonable and unfair to treat those who are close to us worse than those who are not, but we, including me, often make such a mistake. What we or “I” should do is that don’t take it too personally. If we can practice our virtues to those who are not close us, we should remember hold the same thoughtful attitude toward those who are close us. Thus, loving family and close friends may understand each other better.

The two conditions above are based on my own position. What if the one concerned doesn’t feel the same? It’ true that people have bias and often feel reluctant to communicate. Perhaps other strategies are suitable. There must be some other ways to solve the problem in addition to direct communication. And sometimes we should let it be without doing anything but only temporarily. It’s Okay that problems are not solved immediately, but the problem would exist and even become deep and complicated if we never untie the “knots” in our hearts, which would damage our relationships.

2.
As for the depression in the story, to the parents, I suggest that the parents should listen to their child first, so that the child would feel understood. And then the parents should offer help and support, such as positive encouragement and serious advice. Blaming their child, in their opinion, is a type of help, but it is too negative and would cause a vicious circle. Instead, it might be better to give serious yet calm advice. To the child, I propose “learning” to be optimistic. No matter what kind of personalities and problems that people have, optimistic and pessimistic people all tend to welcome only optimistic people. In the cruel reality, most people would be mean to the miserable that stay sentimental, whereas people would more easily to accept and take compassion on the miserable that always look everything on the bright side. Depression is a curable illness. Keeping hopeful will defeat it, and the experience would be a good lesson; otherwise, no one would save us if we don’t want to help ourselves.

[My Keypal's Comments and My Response]
Click "Week Two" to read them.

Rights to Write: Task One

Sep. 28-Oct. 5

[Description] with a video clip

Basic abilities for a successful study in college should include:

1. Being able to think

2. Being able to learn

3. Keeping up with the world

龍應台教授：面對全球化大學生需要的基本配備 (Click on it to browse the video page or watch the clip below)

1. 獨立思考 (critical thinking)

2. 知識力

3. 行動力

4. 品格

Now let's see how successful you are:

1. Do you hear yourself telling people: "I have my own values and principles. They should be respected under all kinds of circumstances." or something similar?

If so, what would you say when someone laughs at you for never skipping classes?

If not, why could be the reasons?

2. Do you believe everything people tell you? Why or why not?

For instance, when your friend tells you that working as a part-time waiter in a fancy restaurant will get you a lot of money, how would you respond?

Make comments and reflect on your thoughts.

[My Own Comments]

Being able to think, to learn, and to keep up with the world, first of all, require being willing to do so. People do have abilities and potentials, but everyone often don't develop them because he or she doesn't have a strong will and doesn't take any action. Another problem is that people often judge each other without enough information.

1.

I do not directly tell people "I have my own values and principles. They should be respected under all kinds of circumstances." However, I think so. Furthermore, everyone has his or her own values and principles, so everyone should respect each other's differences. That is, I should respect other values and principles, too.

One has rights to peacefully persuade the other party, but one cannot force them to change, for they also have rights not to change. People should not only respect but also try to understand each other's views. After understanding each other, if one cannot accept the other's view, let it be. That's true liberty: trying to understand the other party even if you don't stand on the same side.

Never skipping classes is nothing wrong and shouldn't be laughed at. If students have to be absent, they should provide reasonable excuses. I always inform the teacher of the reasons and ask for the approval of leave beforehand. However, as a late riser, I regret to say that I'm often late for class. Sometimes, if I cannot attend the class before it ends, I may skip the class. Being late may cause unexpected absences.

2.

I do not believe everything that people tell me; however, I would try to understand what people have said and collect enough information to decide whether what they say is reliable or not. A college student should have the ability to judge true or false. If people are right, of course I will believe them.

In addition, action speaks louder than words. Therefore, I would observe what people say and what people do to see if one coincides with the other.

[My Keypal's Comments and My Response]

Click "Week One" to read them.

Self-Introduction

OK, I'm really lazy. The following article was my autobiography written before. After reading it, why not take a quiz about me? Have fun.

“Extensively interested in many fields. Music is my lifetime companion; language is my natural aptitude. The purpose of life is to improve the lives of humanity. ”

These short lines borrowed from my profiles on the Internet can faithfully indicate three traits about my personality: I am open to a wide range of things, especially sensitive to sounds, and my philosophy of life is to help people. All of the above, in my opinion, are essentials of a career in language teaching.

Born in Taipei, I once lived in Sanchong and grew up mainly in Banqiao. The liberal upbringing from my parents and my elder brother has molded me into an independent woman with a balanced combination of reason, intelligence, feelings, and enthusiasm. Since my childhood, I have appreciated and enjoyed the beauty of sounds, particularly those sounds in music and language. In addition, some experiences expanded my horizons of the world and extended my understanding of foreigners, such as studying as a transient second grader in Okalahoma for a few months as well as spending summer and winter vacations from 1989 to 1992.

Regarding my academic performance, I excelled at not only English but also Chinese, of which my score in the university entrance examination was even higher than those scores of my classmates who entered departments of Chinese. But it was not until I read the cover story about the Chinese fever from issue No. 1057 of Business Weekly did I think of a potential career for me, teaching Chinese as a second/foreign language, which can perfectly combine both of my strengths. Being good at both subjects, I am confident enough to possess the predisposition of teaching Chinese as second/foreign language. To strengthen the professional knowledge of this field, I achieved two certificates of programs in Teaching Chinese as Second/Foreign Language in 2008 and 2009.

Furthermore, another experience also reminds me of the pleasure in teaching Chinese to foreigners. A multilingual family once traveled in Taiwan and stayed at my home as guests. The couple was interested in learning Chinese and asked me how to pronounce certain sounds by showing me Pinyin and International Phonetic Alphabet (which I did not know then until I entered senior high school afterwards). Knowing only what native speakers in Taiwan possess, I did my best to teach them the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols (注音符號), demonstrating the place and manner of articulation of those pronunciations that foreigners often found difficult. My effort was rewarded with pleasant results. They did improve. This experience might inspire my future interest in teaching Chinese. What’s more, the intern-like 10-hour service tutorials with two international students for FJU Language Center deepen my interest in this field.

Concerning my extracurricular activities, I was a member of a wind band in elementary school years, playing the flute, a member of another wind band in high school years, starting to learn the euphonium and the baritone, and then I joined wind bands in college years and a performing group of marching arts (Taipei Yuehfu Drum and Bugle Corps) outside the campus, playing the euphonium and the baritone. Through these groups and activities, I learned responsibility, perseverance, and devotion, which will definitely support me to survive in the competitive society.

As an English major and Chinese lover, I hope in the near future my abilities will help more and more people learn Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture around the world.

Orientation

Hi, nice to meet you online!

I have several blogs for different purposes. As the title above, this one is exclusive for the course of English Composition and Conversation III (Section B) instructed by Ms. Shih at FJU and the project of The Rights to Write by CCU.

Ms. Doris Shih's expertise is computer-assisted instruction, so her teaching style is closely related to CAI. For example, our classroom is a language lab with personal computers, and the students are required to write articles in their blogs.

Sometimes I spend time on my Wretch blog and other cyberspace; however, I seldom write articles in English unless I have particular inspiration and impulse. To write in English seems not that difficult but to express personal thoughts in a non-native language on the Web is really a challenge. I'll do my best.

Recently I often "waste" time on Facebook. Bad Apple! (in a tone of meta-fiction) I think I should finish all the pending tasks and catch up with my classmates and keypals AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

P.S.

It's a good start, yeah! At least now I've written something.