Yesterday was our last class of the semester! Can't believe summer vacation is around the corner already...! Where did April and May AND June go? :O:O:O
:O
↑That is a pretty accurate depiction of the facial expression I was wearing yesterday as we watched the documentary. Those students totally changed my definition of "project." It was amazing to see people as young as fifteen making big plans and putting them into action. Those weapons were horrific... The Iranian guy explaining how the gun-throwing machine could also throw sweets was funny though, lol. Anyway, I'm not sure if I can make as large a difference as those students did in the documentary, but aiming to make some kind of positive and influential change would definitely raise my motivation for the next project. I would be able to incorporate what I'm learning at uni into my daily life - skills ranging from critical thinking to digital technology - and it would be a waste not to do so. I guess once we get out of uni, what will matter most is how much we make use of the things we learn here. And therefore, this would be good practice. The thing is, I still have NO idea what I want to do... other than the fact that I'm interested in culture & ethnicity. But that's about it for now.
Making a website was much easier than I'd thought! I hope I don't forget the various skills Rab has taught us this semester >< I still have some difficulty with recording a video on a PowerPoint so please help me out if you see me panicking. lol
Thank you Rab and everybody in CB for a great semester :)
I'm really not looking forward to the exams next week, but ganbaroo!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
6/14 class record
Yesterday was the last PWT of the semester! Otsukareeeee :)
At first I had a brain freeze and didn't know which question to choose but I think I started to get the hang of things as I began writing. I hope I did okay!
Today we split into groups and talked about THE essential 12 items we'd take if we were to be in a LOST situation on an island. Reading the descriptions of the island, I thought to myself, "Well hey, this island doesn't sound too bad" lol. My group, being the only all-girls group, chose some girly items like sunscreen and swimming suits, haha. I didn't realize what was weird about those two items until I went to my new group and received some "HUH?!" reactions. Hmm... maybe they shouldn't be at the top of the list. But my argument for keeping those are the following: We need sunscreen to protect skin from skin cancer, especially since the island seems to have nice weather all year round. It's not to keep it white-looking and if some people are going to take make-up with them too, then why not sunscreen? And swimming suits because... if you go swimming or get immersed in some kind of Santiago vs. Big fish kind of desperate fight with a creature, you could get hurt if you're in your birthday suit. lol OK, but I admit there are more important things we should have prioritized.
I can't believe tomorrow is our last class already :( Booooooooooo.
I know it's good experience to have different teachers, but I wish I had Rab next term too! Everybody in CB, that I've talked to about next semester, is saying so too. ね！lol
Oh and I don't know what to read for summer, haha. What are you guys going to read?
I'm relieved that the essay is due tomorrow! I just checked my essay on Sentence Works and Criterion. Criterion kind of screwed up on scoring my essay but I got good advice from both. Since I'm half dead right now from sleep deprivation, I will wake up early tomorrow morning, re-check it, and submit it. Yup.
Gooooood Night and see you all tomorrow :)
At first I had a brain freeze and didn't know which question to choose but I think I started to get the hang of things as I began writing. I hope I did okay!
Today we split into groups and talked about THE essential 12 items we'd take if we were to be in a LOST situation on an island. Reading the descriptions of the island, I thought to myself, "Well hey, this island doesn't sound too bad" lol. My group, being the only all-girls group, chose some girly items like sunscreen and swimming suits, haha. I didn't realize what was weird about those two items until I went to my new group and received some "HUH?!" reactions. Hmm... maybe they shouldn't be at the top of the list. But my argument for keeping those are the following: We need sunscreen to protect skin from skin cancer, especially since the island seems to have nice weather all year round. It's not to keep it white-looking and if some people are going to take make-up with them too, then why not sunscreen? And swimming suits because... if you go swimming or get immersed in some kind of Santiago vs. Big fish kind of desperate fight with a creature, you could get hurt if you're in your birthday suit. lol OK, but I admit there are more important things we should have prioritized.
I can't believe tomorrow is our last class already :( Booooooooooo.
I know it's good experience to have different teachers, but I wish I had Rab next term too! Everybody in CB, that I've talked to about next semester, is saying so too. ね！lol
Oh and I don't know what to read for summer, haha. What are you guys going to read?
I'm relieved that the essay is due tomorrow! I just checked my essay on Sentence Works and Criterion. Criterion kind of screwed up on scoring my essay but I got good advice from both. Since I'm half dead right now from sleep deprivation, I will wake up early tomorrow morning, re-check it, and submit it. Yup.
Gooooood Night and see you all tomorrow :)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
6/11 class record
I really enjoyed watching the various videos during class on Friday. Ken Tanka (「すぅぅー」「へ～！」), the chin people, and Cuc Skywalker and his veggie buddies were hilarious! LOL Couldn't stop laughing. It's amazing to see just how creative people can get! But it's hard to determine what kind of mood or catch will pursuade the audience to take action the most. It goes without saying that it depends on the age and cultural background of the audience. For me, the more amusing and light-hearted an advertisement is, the more likely I will get hooked and pay more attention to it. But there is a chance that I may undermine the seriousness of the situation because of the way that it is portrayed. Then again, something that sounds risky like breaking the law may not appeal to me either, not to sound like a goodie two shoes. If it were for my family or close friend, I'd definitely pitch in... but I honestly don't know if it was for someone I had no connection with, other than being from the same country. The people who all put their own lives at stake to save the life of that monk are all so courageous!
Erm, my essay is not finished yet. I started writing the essay a few times in different orders, focusing on different points... and I finally found a good focus for my essay yesterday! and so, I am still working on my body paragraphs... And we have our PWT tomorrow. Oh dear. So many things to do. Note to self: DON'T PANIC. lol
Erm, my essay is not finished yet. I started writing the essay a few times in different orders, focusing on different points... and I finally found a good focus for my essay yesterday! and so, I am still working on my body paragraphs... And we have our PWT tomorrow. Oh dear. So many things to do. Note to self: DON'T PANIC. lol
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
6/9 class record
We had yet another round of debating today :O
I can see that trying to defend my position is an obvious weakness of mine.
However, I have been in several debates before... like Model United Nations. I felt much more confident then. But back then I had a thick binder filled with overflowing handouts and papers and what not to help me. I think I still only have 1 piece of paper worth of organized information. Yup, I'm a bit doomed. lol I seriously seriously seeriously need to gather the information (cause there is an abundance of info on Disney) that's lying around and make a coherent essay. I'm waiting on two good books that are being borrowed by somebody else at the moment... I hope they return it soon :( Anyways, though I did not look forward to getting attacked, everybody's comment helped me notice things that I'd overlooked and needed to cover, in order to make a strong argument in my essay. Thanks Yuji, Kaori, Kana, and Yumi! :)
I can see that trying to defend my position is an obvious weakness of mine.
However, I have been in several debates before... like Model United Nations. I felt much more confident then. But back then I had a thick binder filled with overflowing handouts and papers and what not to help me. I think I still only have 1 piece of paper worth of organized information. Yup, I'm a bit doomed. lol I seriously seriously seeriously need to gather the information (cause there is an abundance of info on Disney) that's lying around and make a coherent essay. I'm waiting on two good books that are being borrowed by somebody else at the moment... I hope they return it soon :( Anyways, though I did not look forward to getting attacked, everybody's comment helped me notice things that I'd overlooked and needed to cover, in order to make a strong argument in my essay. Thanks Yuji, Kaori, Kana, and Yumi! :)
Some questions about OMS
I'm reading OMS right now - I'm around page 80 - but there were a few questions that popped up in my mind, concerning the literary devices in this book:
p. 75 - "There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity." Is there a reason why he writes that in British English? 'Cause I thought he was American... Is it intentional?
p. 83 "He was ceding line but more slowly all he time." I don't understand this sentence, lol. Can someone explain it to me?
p. 89 "I'm tireder than I have ever been, he thought..." Is "tireder" a real word? Is this another example of how Hemingway is adding unrealistic elements to his novel or is it an example of dialect? Or, does it support the fact that Santiago was poor and did not receive adequate education?
So yeah. Those were some questions that went through my mind this morning.
See you all later :)
p. 75 - "There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity." Is there a reason why he writes that in British English? 'Cause I thought he was American... Is it intentional?
p. 83 "He was ceding line but more slowly all he time." I don't understand this sentence, lol. Can someone explain it to me?
p. 89 "I'm tireder than I have ever been, he thought..." Is "tireder" a real word? Is this another example of how Hemingway is adding unrealistic elements to his novel or is it an example of dialect? Or, does it support the fact that Santiago was poor and did not receive adequate education?
So yeah. Those were some questions that went through my mind this morning.
See you all later :)
6/8 class record
Man... I totally suck at debating! The thing is, I always end up getting persuaded really easily... it kinda feels similar to losing in an arm wrestling match and not being able to recover, lol. I think I see the "Middle Way" as Nisbett puts it. But let me tell you, this really does me no good.
Do you want to know what happened to me the other day?
I got off at my bus stop on my way back from university, as usual.
I was walking down the road, past the traffic lights, as usual.
And then, I hear a "suimasen" from behind me, which doesn't happen usually.
These two friendly girls who seemed to be around the same age as me asked me if I had any interest in education and volunteering.... which I do!
I was convinced just in the 5 minutes or so that I spent talking with these girls that this was a safe, student-friendly intercollege circle.
They kept on commenting how friendly I was, and how they would love to work with somebody like me. (And because I'm stupid, these comments always make me happy... I never consider how they might be mere social conventions)
So, though I felt a tad uncomfortable, I exchanged my contacts with one of them.
One mail.
One phone call.
I answered neither of them.
And then a phone call from a totally different organization saying they got my phone # from a "Nozaki-san" at ICU.
My friends looked up the name of the organization.
We found out that both organizations were a part of a infamous religious society.
Crap.
Crap.
Crap!
... which is why we need to think on our feet and make quick judgements! And to continuously question, question, and question, no matter how something appears on the surface.
I'm kind of scared that if I write the actual organization names they might track me down or something, lol. But please ask me about it and I will tell you so that no one else gets caught in their trap!!!
Do you want to know what happened to me the other day?
I got off at my bus stop on my way back from university, as usual.
I was walking down the road, past the traffic lights, as usual.
And then, I hear a "suimasen" from behind me, which doesn't happen usually.
These two friendly girls who seemed to be around the same age as me asked me if I had any interest in education and volunteering.... which I do!
I was convinced just in the 5 minutes or so that I spent talking with these girls that this was a safe, student-friendly intercollege circle.
They kept on commenting how friendly I was, and how they would love to work with somebody like me. (And because I'm stupid, these comments always make me happy... I never consider how they might be mere social conventions)
So, though I felt a tad uncomfortable, I exchanged my contacts with one of them.
One mail.
One phone call.
I answered neither of them.
And then a phone call from a totally different organization saying they got my phone # from a "Nozaki-san" at ICU.
My friends looked up the name of the organization.
We found out that both organizations were a part of a infamous religious society.
Crap.
Crap.
Crap!
... which is why we need to think on our feet and make quick judgements! And to continuously question, question, and question, no matter how something appears on the surface.
I'm kind of scared that if I write the actual organization names they might track me down or something, lol. But please ask me about it and I will tell you so that no one else gets caught in their trap!!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
6/7 class record
Whew. I just got back from my part-time job interview an hour ago... Super tiring! Please keep your fingers crossed for me. lol
I found today's NP to be really interesting. I've always liked analyzing literature and so, the various interpretations that Paul introduced to us today fascinated me a lot. I particularly liked the Christian approach because I could see the deep connections, especially after learning about his Christian background via the 3B's check.
In class, we had discussions on Hemingway being a hunter and conservationist at the same time. I think this is possible because first, if we look at Hemingway as being a god-like figure from his Christian background, he probably wouldn't mind sacrificing something for the greater good. In this case, this would mean sacrificing an animal to maintain the food chain... though deciding how many lives is worth sacrificing may not be something that is for him, or let alone anyone, to decide. Our ideas developed as we continued discussing, and we realized that Hemingway treats nature as a person (for example, the ocean is described as a person in The Old Man and The Sea). I've also read this book by Hemingway called In Our Time which is a bunch of short stories focusing on the same main character, Nick. Nick goes off to war and comes back to revisit his hometown which has changed in many ways, as has he. From this, I gathered that Hemingway treats humans and nature as one whole entity and conflict as another. Instead of making humans or nature superior to one another, he places them in equal positions. That might explain why he can be a hunter and a conservationsist at the same time.
Malthusian economics sounded really absurd to me. But there must be a lot of people who believe in this. I think people could create a horrific movie out of this. Learning about externalities was really surprising too. I'd never really thought twice about the cheap 100 yen products being sold everywhere. Fishy fishy.
OK, I need to go read more Old Man. lol
Good Night!
I found today's NP to be really interesting. I've always liked analyzing literature and so, the various interpretations that Paul introduced to us today fascinated me a lot. I particularly liked the Christian approach because I could see the deep connections, especially after learning about his Christian background via the 3B's check.
In class, we had discussions on Hemingway being a hunter and conservationist at the same time. I think this is possible because first, if we look at Hemingway as being a god-like figure from his Christian background, he probably wouldn't mind sacrificing something for the greater good. In this case, this would mean sacrificing an animal to maintain the food chain... though deciding how many lives is worth sacrificing may not be something that is for him, or let alone anyone, to decide. Our ideas developed as we continued discussing, and we realized that Hemingway treats nature as a person (for example, the ocean is described as a person in The Old Man and The Sea). I've also read this book by Hemingway called In Our Time which is a bunch of short stories focusing on the same main character, Nick. Nick goes off to war and comes back to revisit his hometown which has changed in many ways, as has he. From this, I gathered that Hemingway treats humans and nature as one whole entity and conflict as another. Instead of making humans or nature superior to one another, he places them in equal positions. That might explain why he can be a hunter and a conservationsist at the same time.
Malthusian economics sounded really absurd to me. But there must be a lot of people who believe in this. I think people could create a horrific movie out of this. Learning about externalities was really surprising too. I'd never really thought twice about the cheap 100 yen products being sold everywhere. Fishy fishy.
OK, I need to go read more Old Man. lol
Good Night!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
6/4 class record
On Friday, we had our second PWT. Otsukaresama!
I found it easier than our last one but got stuck on the fallacy questions. To be honest, I think figuring out whether a statement contains a logical fallacy or not is enough. Remembering the names can come second. For some reason though, "Red Herring" won't leave my mind. Red Herring. Red Herring. Red Herring. lol
We had class at the ILC where Rab reminded us to make use of the Databases. Right! I'd totally forgotten about its existence...! I found several news clips from the past about Disney and its problems with ethnicity. I also realized that I could talk about gender issues in Disney - like how the roles of women and men are portrayed. OR I could make my topic more general and cover different aspects of Disney, including racisim and gender issues as two examples. I really need to get started on my essay!
Oh and yesterday... I was soooooooo drowsy and my eyes were going out of focus so I took this chance to look at the grassy stereogram. And then, Voila! I SAW IT! I saw the birds and the sun and I was amazed! haha. After my epiphany, I kinda woke up because I was happy and then I couldn't see anymore stereograms :( lol But I FINALLY got to see one! yay!
I found it easier than our last one but got stuck on the fallacy questions. To be honest, I think figuring out whether a statement contains a logical fallacy or not is enough. Remembering the names can come second. For some reason though, "Red Herring" won't leave my mind. Red Herring. Red Herring. Red Herring. lol
We had class at the ILC where Rab reminded us to make use of the Databases. Right! I'd totally forgotten about its existence...! I found several news clips from the past about Disney and its problems with ethnicity. I also realized that I could talk about gender issues in Disney - like how the roles of women and men are portrayed. OR I could make my topic more general and cover different aspects of Disney, including racisim and gender issues as two examples. I really need to get started on my essay!
Oh and yesterday... I was soooooooo drowsy and my eyes were going out of focus so I took this chance to look at the grassy stereogram. And then, Voila! I SAW IT! I saw the birds and the sun and I was amazed! haha. After my epiphany, I kinda woke up because I was happy and then I couldn't see anymore stereograms :( lol But I FINALLY got to see one! yay!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
6/2 class record
!!!!!!!!! You know how the lockers of the Honkan are actually inside a classroom? Well, I thought I had the right door until I opened it to face a whole class with a stern looking teacher and a bewildered student who was in the middle of a speech...
shoooooooooooot.
I quickly said, "Sorry!" and closed the door but it was so embarrassing!
On a brighter note, today we had class OUTSIDE :)
It was really nice, except these freakishly huge ants kept on climbing onto my feet and I STILL have allergies! I'm not even sure what I'm allergic to anymore, haha. But I love having class outside. Oh, and taking a photo during lunch was fun too! I'm glad Rab could make it. Can't wait to see our awesome photo on the yearbook! I hope we can all get together to take a CB Soph pic!
Soo, I thought I'd done an okay job on the 3B's check for The Old Man and the Sea, but I realized I totally forgot to do a background check of the context, cultural background, and time setting. I also found it a bit difficult to make connections with reality and the content of the book since I've only read about ten pages so far. But it was interesting connecting his women issues with the absence of women in the book, his humiliation of not being able to sell any books with Santiago not being able to retrieve any fish, Hemingway's strong Christian background with Santiago being depicted as Jesus, and Hemingway and the big fish representing countries. I wonder what significance the number eighty-five has in the book, other than the obvious fact that it took him that long to find the big fish. I read that in Hemingway's unique style of writing, he uses lots of repetition so I'll try to pay more attention to the things he repeats in this book.
shoooooooooooot.
I quickly said, "Sorry!" and closed the door but it was so embarrassing!
On a brighter note, today we had class OUTSIDE :)
It was really nice, except these freakishly huge ants kept on climbing onto my feet and I STILL have allergies! I'm not even sure what I'm allergic to anymore, haha. But I love having class outside. Oh, and taking a photo during lunch was fun too! I'm glad Rab could make it. Can't wait to see our awesome photo on the yearbook! I hope we can all get together to take a CB Soph pic!
Soo, I thought I'd done an okay job on the 3B's check for The Old Man and the Sea, but I realized I totally forgot to do a background check of the context, cultural background, and time setting. I also found it a bit difficult to make connections with reality and the content of the book since I've only read about ten pages so far. But it was interesting connecting his women issues with the absence of women in the book, his humiliation of not being able to sell any books with Santiago not being able to retrieve any fish, Hemingway's strong Christian background with Santiago being depicted as Jesus, and Hemingway and the big fish representing countries. I wonder what significance the number eighty-five has in the book, other than the obvious fact that it took him that long to find the big fish. I read that in Hemingway's unique style of writing, he uses lots of repetition so I'll try to pay more attention to the things he repeats in this book.
Hatoyama...
I just bumped into Naoko at the library and she told me that Prime Minister Hatoyama has quit his position as PM... :O
I guess I saw it coming but not this sudden. Are we ever going to get a stable Prime Minister?
I guess I saw it coming but not this sudden. Are we ever going to get a stable Prime Minister?
6/1 class record
Drrr... I didn't do so well on my PWT :( I see what I could have done better though, after talking to Rab - like giving more attention to Meiland's ideas and explaining them before going into my own examples and summarizing the WHOLE paragraph and not just part of it. I'll try to do a better job on the next PWT! Tomoaki, thanks for sharing your document! I've only seen a glimpse of it but there's already a whoole lot about fallacy and stuff on it. :O wow!
I've been doing a 3B check on Hemingway after eating dinner... I found a site that seemed to have a lot of information from many sources so I printed it out, slightly agonizing at the fact that there were 7 pages to read. But once I started to read, I was pulled in. I had no idea he led such a rocky life! I mean, he had three divorces, had alcoholic and hallucinatory problems, and committed suicide in the very end...?! I thought it was really interesting how he wrote The Old Man and the Sea in the midst of his troubling days. Maybe there are a lot of catharses expressed in the symbols that he uses in that book. Oh, that reminds me...! One of my best friends, who is half American and Japanese, is related to Hemingway. Her grandma on her father's side is closely related to Ernest Hemingway and she claims to have Hemingway's distinctive eyebrows, haha.
We're getting our photo taken for the yearbook tomorrow, right? :)
Thanks Yumi, for organizing everything!
See you all tomorrow!
I've been doing a 3B check on Hemingway after eating dinner... I found a site that seemed to have a lot of information from many sources so I printed it out, slightly agonizing at the fact that there were 7 pages to read. But once I started to read, I was pulled in. I had no idea he led such a rocky life! I mean, he had three divorces, had alcoholic and hallucinatory problems, and committed suicide in the very end...?! I thought it was really interesting how he wrote The Old Man and the Sea in the midst of his troubling days. Maybe there are a lot of catharses expressed in the symbols that he uses in that book. Oh, that reminds me...! One of my best friends, who is half American and Japanese, is related to Hemingway. Her grandma on her father's side is closely related to Ernest Hemingway and she claims to have Hemingway's distinctive eyebrows, haha.
We're getting our photo taken for the yearbook tomorrow, right? :)
Thanks Yumi, for organizing everything!
See you all tomorrow!
Monday, May 31, 2010
5/31 class record
Yesterday our discussions were mainly about politics. In response to why only 50% of Japanese citizens vote, my group talked about loss of trust in the government and lack of political advertisements directed towards different age groups. I know the whole voting process should not be about how attractive or entertaining it should be, but I definitely think election ads like the ones we saw in Sylvan's class would make it more interesting.
Our second topic was about what qualities make a person belong to a certain country. I was reminded of my Indian teacher who taught Japanese History at my school who could speak Japanese more fluently than any Japanese person. Or a young American couple I randomly sat accross in a train, who got up faster than anyone to give a seat to an elderly woman. OK, so maybe providing a seat to somebody doesn't make anyone Japanese but... there are many instances where "foreigners" are more in line with another country's culture. And yet, they are not seen as being native to that country no matter what proof they have. In the context of Japan, I thought the underlying issue here is sakoku. Because they had isolated themselves and were finally awakened to the shock of the modernized outside world when they finally opened up, maybe they still have this xenophobic perception that foreigners are just really different or even superior than they are. This reminded me of how Barna said that Japanese have this feeling that they are totally different to the world; they think that they understand others but don't feel understood. Could something that happened so long ago still have an effect on the way Japan sees the world?
Our second topic was about what qualities make a person belong to a certain country. I was reminded of my Indian teacher who taught Japanese History at my school who could speak Japanese more fluently than any Japanese person. Or a young American couple I randomly sat accross in a train, who got up faster than anyone to give a seat to an elderly woman. OK, so maybe providing a seat to somebody doesn't make anyone Japanese but... there are many instances where "foreigners" are more in line with another country's culture. And yet, they are not seen as being native to that country no matter what proof they have. In the context of Japan, I thought the underlying issue here is sakoku. Because they had isolated themselves and were finally awakened to the shock of the modernized outside world when they finally opened up, maybe they still have this xenophobic perception that foreigners are just really different or even superior than they are. This reminded me of how Barna said that Japanese have this feeling that they are totally different to the world; they think that they understand others but don't feel understood. Could something that happened so long ago still have an effect on the way Japan sees the world?
Friday, May 28, 2010
5/28 class record
TGIF :)
Today as I was about to step onto the bus back to Mushashi-Sakai, I met up with Asami and Kaori. Getting off the bus, we walked past the ticket area and were heading towards our platform when I realized that there was someone really tall behind us. It was Rab! We all stepped onto the crowded train together and got off at our destinations. Nice coincidence :)
In class, we marked our own PWTs and then our first essay via sentenceworks. It was hard to give myself a grade on the PWTs because I was unsure whether or not I had accurately answered the content part of the questions. Trying to determine how many points my incompleted answer was worth was challening too. It was a good experience though and I'm sure practicing how to objectively examine writing will help with editing our own essay as well as those of other students.
Moving onto sentenceworks, I thought it was handy because it pointed out all possibe spots for more improvement and because it let me edit in a different color so I could see the changes I was making in the paper. I got a bit confused with the usage of passive voice, but learned that it is not always necessarily wrong to include it in a paper. It depends on the preference of the teacher. Luckily, Rab does not mind much about passive voice.
Uh oh... I'm half sleeping as I write this ><
Sorry for the simple entry... will try to do a better job next week.
Good Night.
Today as I was about to step onto the bus back to Mushashi-Sakai, I met up with Asami and Kaori. Getting off the bus, we walked past the ticket area and were heading towards our platform when I realized that there was someone really tall behind us. It was Rab! We all stepped onto the crowded train together and got off at our destinations. Nice coincidence :)
In class, we marked our own PWTs and then our first essay via sentenceworks. It was hard to give myself a grade on the PWTs because I was unsure whether or not I had accurately answered the content part of the questions. Trying to determine how many points my incompleted answer was worth was challening too. It was a good experience though and I'm sure practicing how to objectively examine writing will help with editing our own essay as well as those of other students.
Moving onto sentenceworks, I thought it was handy because it pointed out all possibe spots for more improvement and because it let me edit in a different color so I could see the changes I was making in the paper. I got a bit confused with the usage of passive voice, but learned that it is not always necessarily wrong to include it in a paper. It depends on the preference of the teacher. Luckily, Rab does not mind much about passive voice.
Uh oh... I'm half sleeping as I write this ><
Sorry for the simple entry... will try to do a better job next week.
Good Night.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
5/26 class record
Today I was shocked to find out about what had happened to Rab's mother in law and his son :(
But Rab's video reassured me that things will be okay. His son is sooo cute!!!!!!! x)
I hope they get better soon!
Before class started, we had a little CB meeting about what we wanted to do for the ICU Festival. As a class, we will be selling cupcakes (Cupcake Bakers... get it?! ;] ) most likely and we decided on a place near Bakayama, I think? and for both days of the festival. Thanks to Tomoya for organizing everything! We're planning on making a class t-shirt which will most likely be designed by our artist Sayaka, but she needs ideas! So give her an idea of what you would like to see on our potential t-shirt :)
Class itself was conducted by an ELP teacher named Sylvan. Not many of us were familiar with him, but his class was really interesting. Building on our knowledge of selection, slanting, and charged language from the Birk & Birk reading, he focused today's class on American political attack advertisements and how these qualities applied to them. We watched four commercials; two of which had the intention of persuading the audience NOT to vote for John McCain and two which suggested the opposite: to NOT vote for Barack Obama. We watched the commercials and were given handouts that showed each major scene and quotes from the commercials. Then, working in pairs, we analyzed the reasons the advertisements gave audiences to not vote for the selected individual, the evidence behind these reasons, any assumptions and examples of selection, slanting, and charged language via emphasis on words, voice of the narrator, images and colors used, mood of the BGM, etc. After discussing each commercial as a class, Sylvan also introduced the backstories of these commercials. I was especially shocked after learning about how McCain "does not know how to use the computer" because he was physically tortured in North Vietnam during the war and hence, cannot use his arms very well to this day. The fact that this is widely known and yet this commercial was still O.K. to be used on television is unfair and I felt sympathetic towards John McCain :( Nevertheless, these campaign videos are really worth analyzing, especially once we learn about the stories behind the scene. I'm really interested in the ways a single word or color from some type of media can affect the way people feel, so this may be a topic I should learn more about in the future. I wonder what would happen if they had these kinds of commercials in Japan.
Well that's about it for today.
:)
But Rab's video reassured me that things will be okay. His son is sooo cute!!!!!!! x)
I hope they get better soon!
Before class started, we had a little CB meeting about what we wanted to do for the ICU Festival. As a class, we will be selling cupcakes (Cupcake Bakers... get it?! ;] ) most likely and we decided on a place near Bakayama, I think? and for both days of the festival. Thanks to Tomoya for organizing everything! We're planning on making a class t-shirt which will most likely be designed by our artist Sayaka, but she needs ideas! So give her an idea of what you would like to see on our potential t-shirt :)
Class itself was conducted by an ELP teacher named Sylvan. Not many of us were familiar with him, but his class was really interesting. Building on our knowledge of selection, slanting, and charged language from the Birk & Birk reading, he focused today's class on American political attack advertisements and how these qualities applied to them. We watched four commercials; two of which had the intention of persuading the audience NOT to vote for John McCain and two which suggested the opposite: to NOT vote for Barack Obama. We watched the commercials and were given handouts that showed each major scene and quotes from the commercials. Then, working in pairs, we analyzed the reasons the advertisements gave audiences to not vote for the selected individual, the evidence behind these reasons, any assumptions and examples of selection, slanting, and charged language via emphasis on words, voice of the narrator, images and colors used, mood of the BGM, etc. After discussing each commercial as a class, Sylvan also introduced the backstories of these commercials. I was especially shocked after learning about how McCain "does not know how to use the computer" because he was physically tortured in North Vietnam during the war and hence, cannot use his arms very well to this day. The fact that this is widely known and yet this commercial was still O.K. to be used on television is unfair and I felt sympathetic towards John McCain :( Nevertheless, these campaign videos are really worth analyzing, especially once we learn about the stories behind the scene. I'm really interested in the ways a single word or color from some type of media can affect the way people feel, so this may be a topic I should learn more about in the future. I wonder what would happen if they had these kinds of commercials in Japan.
Well that's about it for today.
:)
5/25 class record
hmm... today's assignment to write "why you are the best student in class" is a toughie.
well... here goes. lol
I feel that I have many flaws. Among them, there are two that I am constantly aware of but cannot do anything about: first, I am way too sensitive and second, I fail when it comes to multi-tasking. Usually, these two flaws get the better of me when I feel hurt by the most trivial things or when I panic when there are too many things on my plate. However, I benefit from these flaws in class. I can focus on the assignment at hand, whether it is listening to Rab and my peers explain something, trying to come up with my own opinion, or reading an assigned work at home. When it comes to sensitivity, I think I do a pretty good job of noticing if one of my friends looks hesitant to say something, if they look sad, and try to comfort/support them in discussions by asking for their opinions or trying to relate to what they have said. In conclusion, taking advantage of my flaws, I put a lot of effort into assignments while participating actively in discussions with careful attention to my classmates' needs, which makes me... the best student.
well... here goes. lol
I feel that I have many flaws. Among them, there are two that I am constantly aware of but cannot do anything about: first, I am way too sensitive and second, I fail when it comes to multi-tasking. Usually, these two flaws get the better of me when I feel hurt by the most trivial things or when I panic when there are too many things on my plate. However, I benefit from these flaws in class. I can focus on the assignment at hand, whether it is listening to Rab and my peers explain something, trying to come up with my own opinion, or reading an assigned work at home. When it comes to sensitivity, I think I do a pretty good job of noticing if one of my friends looks hesitant to say something, if they look sad, and try to comfort/support them in discussions by asking for their opinions or trying to relate to what they have said. In conclusion, taking advantage of my flaws, I put a lot of effort into assignments while participating actively in discussions with careful attention to my classmates' needs, which makes me... the best student.
lol
edit/
There was something that went through my mind today during class.
We talked about how we are already biased the moment we take a position on any matter. And to pursuade the audience about that position, we should reasonably follow that bias in our writing. I thought it was really ironic how the act of pursuading someone that writing is biased is itself biased. Wait... did I just state something that's normal? I thought it was ironic somehow. Wait, I'm confusing myself now lol Does anyone kinda sorta see what I'm drawing at? lol
Monday, May 24, 2010
5/24 class record
Rainy Mondays make me feel blue :S
But tomorrow's supposed to be sunny again, yay!
Today we discussed our essay topics and practiced doing P&D. My group - Ayaka, Tomoaki, Saori, Yuji, and I - talked about how it was difficult to make an argument on topics such as culture. Often they came out sounding like obvious statements or thesis statements for explanatory essays, as did mine. But after discussing, doing a mini presentation, and receving feedback and constructive questions, I was able to find a direction for my essay and points to consider. Talking to Rab afterwards in Tutorial helped me even more. Thank you everyone :) To the people who were in the other group, my topic is probably going to be about racisim in Disney movies. There seems to be a lot more sources on this topic than I'd imagined so I need to get started on reading and stuff... I feel so busy lately!
And darn... I just remembered that I left my schedule book in the NP room -_- I hope it's still there. If anyone sees a light blue schedule book that says 2010 on the front with lots of animals around it, please tell me! Thanks.
I was going to say something else, but I forgot while writing about my schedule book. !!!
OH yeah, I was really surprised to hear about how the show "24" had been made as a sort of tool to support the U.S. government's actions. I used to watch it all the time while I was in the states, but gradually lost interest in it as I stopped watching it in Japan. I'm pretty sure I saw Kiefer Sutherland saying, "nuclear" like "nuclar"! That really rang a bell when Rab mentioned it during class. The gory scenes were really... gory. It scares me to think what other shows I may have watched/am still watching that are unconsciously pursuading me to agree with/disagree with various things in life. :O
But tomorrow's supposed to be sunny again, yay!
Today we discussed our essay topics and practiced doing P&D. My group - Ayaka, Tomoaki, Saori, Yuji, and I - talked about how it was difficult to make an argument on topics such as culture. Often they came out sounding like obvious statements or thesis statements for explanatory essays, as did mine. But after discussing, doing a mini presentation, and receving feedback and constructive questions, I was able to find a direction for my essay and points to consider. Talking to Rab afterwards in Tutorial helped me even more. Thank you everyone :) To the people who were in the other group, my topic is probably going to be about racisim in Disney movies. There seems to be a lot more sources on this topic than I'd imagined so I need to get started on reading and stuff... I feel so busy lately!
And darn... I just remembered that I left my schedule book in the NP room -_- I hope it's still there. If anyone sees a light blue schedule book that says 2010 on the front with lots of animals around it, please tell me! Thanks.
I was going to say something else, but I forgot while writing about my schedule book. !!!
OH yeah, I was really surprised to hear about how the show "24" had been made as a sort of tool to support the U.S. government's actions. I used to watch it all the time while I was in the states, but gradually lost interest in it as I stopped watching it in Japan. I'm pretty sure I saw Kiefer Sutherland saying, "nuclear" like "nuclar"! That really rang a bell when Rab mentioned it during class. The gory scenes were really... gory. It scares me to think what other shows I may have watched/am still watching that are unconsciously pursuading me to agree with/disagree with various things in life. :O
Friday, May 21, 2010
5/21 class record
Hey everybody, PWT otsukaresamaa! :)
Thanks to Yuji for his awesome idea to share our ideas on google docs!
How did you guys do? Unfortunately i didn't finish my 3rd question because i totally lost track of the time even though I had a watch. :/ Drr. But I'm glad that I actually got there on time.
I tried reaaaaaaaaally hard to see the hidden images in the stereograms today but I just couldn't see a thing! It's so frustrating. I really wanted to see what everybody else was marvelling at. Thank you everybody who tried to help me! I'm sorry I wasted your efforts :( Maybe I'll stare at a random stereogram when I'm half sleeping and my eyes are half open lol
Today something really funny happened. I went to the special C-Week class on love and relationships along with some other CB mates. The presenter and presentation were both really interesting and we were getting some good laughs. Then towards the middle of the presentation, this sun-tanned super macho guy with sun-bleached blonde hair in a black tank top walks in through the front door. He reminded me of Hulk Hogan. We were like, whoa!!! LOL
Sorry I sound biased, I know... but it was just really funny how someone who looked as tough as he did would come listen to stories about looove and why we fall in love and stuff like that. But of course, love is not based on appearance and is much much deeper than that, as we learned today ;)
Have a good weekend :) Oh and I'm really excited for our hiking/jumping-in-river/BBQ-ing day at Rab's house! :) :)
Thanks to Yuji for his awesome idea to share our ideas on google docs!
How did you guys do? Unfortunately i didn't finish my 3rd question because i totally lost track of the time even though I had a watch. :/ Drr. But I'm glad that I actually got there on time.
I tried reaaaaaaaaally hard to see the hidden images in the stereograms today but I just couldn't see a thing! It's so frustrating. I really wanted to see what everybody else was marvelling at. Thank you everybody who tried to help me! I'm sorry I wasted your efforts :( Maybe I'll stare at a random stereogram when I'm half sleeping and my eyes are half open lol
Today something really funny happened. I went to the special C-Week class on love and relationships along with some other CB mates. The presenter and presentation were both really interesting and we were getting some good laughs. Then towards the middle of the presentation, this sun-tanned super macho guy with sun-bleached blonde hair in a black tank top walks in through the front door. He reminded me of Hulk Hogan. We were like, whoa!!! LOL
Sorry I sound biased, I know... but it was just really funny how someone who looked as tough as he did would come listen to stories about looove and why we fall in love and stuff like that. But of course, love is not based on appearance and is much much deeper than that, as we learned today ;)
Have a good weekend :) Oh and I'm really excited for our hiking/jumping-in-river/BBQ-ing day at Rab's house! :) :)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
5/19 class record
Yesterday we practiced our presentation skills. I realized that I was unconsciously checking the board as a spoke! Woops, that's a no-no. I thought I wouldn't get nervous in front of a small group, especially since I'm friends with everybody in the group... but alas, I did. I need to remember that the presentation starts when my name gets called. When the number 10's were asked to go first on our second try, I didn't see it coming and so I was like, "What? Me? Oh no," all the way from my chair to the front lol NOT a good example. It was fun seeing everybody's presentations - some people are really good at putting humor into their presentations! I wish I could do that too. Hope I'll do a better job today.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
5/18 class record
Today I had lots of !!!!!!! exclamation marks popping up in my head when Rab "got mad" at us. Somehow I totally missed all of his winking signals...! I loved how Miki thought he just had something in his eye, hahaha.
I also like how we seem to learn things through experience in class. Instead of receiving an explanation first and then going through examples, many a time we're put on the spot, having to think on our feet, and then after some panic or confusion, we receive an explanation... and it sinks in. Even though I felt alarmed when Rab seemed to be angry today, his point about perceptions and the mind switching off its attention span as soon as it senses a certain direction in someone's story came across very clearly.
... and I need to be careful about getting to class on time and not procrastinating.
Talking about miscommunications/ misunderstandings between people of different cultures was very interesting too. Did you know a kind of snapping/waving fingers gesture is seen as a nonverbal way of suggesting, "What the f***?!" in Venezuela? (Yumi) Or that it's rude to sleep in a car in New Zealand? (Asami) Those were just two of the things I learned from my group discussion. I'd better go read the rest now and get enough sleep today!
Good Night!
edit/
I forgot to mention our second personality test. I thought today's test was less accurate than yesterday's in the sense that depending on our culture, we may have stronger/weaker connotations of one symbol representing something. The water signifying one's father, for example, may be a more familiar image in areas where people often go outside with their father to do outdoor activities. Oh and maybe depending on that person's mood, the drawings may turn out to be very different as well.
However, I've heard that a depiction of a tree is very accurate when trying to figure out a person's personality. When I entered my junior high in Osaka, my school counselor had asked us all to draw a single tree. Though I never learned about what my tree showed about me, today's lesson reminded me of that experience... Despite it seeming less accurate, drawing may actually be a very reliable source since counselors seem to use it too.
I also like how we seem to learn things through experience in class. Instead of receiving an explanation first and then going through examples, many a time we're put on the spot, having to think on our feet, and then after some panic or confusion, we receive an explanation... and it sinks in. Even though I felt alarmed when Rab seemed to be angry today, his point about perceptions and the mind switching off its attention span as soon as it senses a certain direction in someone's story came across very clearly.
... and I need to be careful about getting to class on time and not procrastinating.
Talking about miscommunications/ misunderstandings between people of different cultures was very interesting too. Did you know a kind of snapping/waving fingers gesture is seen as a nonverbal way of suggesting, "What the f***?!" in Venezuela? (Yumi) Or that it's rude to sleep in a car in New Zealand? (Asami) Those were just two of the things I learned from my group discussion. I'd better go read the rest now and get enough sleep today!
Good Night!
edit/
I forgot to mention our second personality test. I thought today's test was less accurate than yesterday's in the sense that depending on our culture, we may have stronger/weaker connotations of one symbol representing something. The water signifying one's father, for example, may be a more familiar image in areas where people often go outside with their father to do outdoor activities. Oh and maybe depending on that person's mood, the drawings may turn out to be very different as well.
However, I've heard that a depiction of a tree is very accurate when trying to figure out a person's personality. When I entered my junior high in Osaka, my school counselor had asked us all to draw a single tree. Though I never learned about what my tree showed about me, today's lesson reminded me of that experience... Despite it seeming less accurate, drawing may actually be a very reliable source since counselors seem to use it too.
Monday, May 17, 2010
5/17 class record
Sorry I'm posting this a day late... yesterday I had dinner with the froshies in basketball after practice and got home at 1 am lol I'm probably going to be dead today during class...
Yesterday I had a lot of fun with the personality test. I'm really gullible when it comes to these kind of things and had no idea it was a personality test until the very end. I thought everybody's results were hilarious and thought mine were very true as well. I was left wondering why one's favorite color would be describing the qualities one wants to become... Yesterday I realized that I was wearing a lot of orange, which is my favorite color, and maybe that goes to show that I'm smothering myself in an energetic color because I want to be cheerful. Maybe that's why I feel worse on crappy days when I'm wearing clothes that I like and somehow feel that I'm not living up to the expectations? of the colors... I don't know how to explain this very well. I'll edit this entry when I think of a better way to say this and when my head's a bit more clearer! Right now my mind is foggy... and sleepy....
Yesterday I had a lot of fun with the personality test. I'm really gullible when it comes to these kind of things and had no idea it was a personality test until the very end. I thought everybody's results were hilarious and thought mine were very true as well. I was left wondering why one's favorite color would be describing the qualities one wants to become... Yesterday I realized that I was wearing a lot of orange, which is my favorite color, and maybe that goes to show that I'm smothering myself in an energetic color because I want to be cheerful. Maybe that's why I feel worse on crappy days when I'm wearing clothes that I like and somehow feel that I'm not living up to the expectations? of the colors... I don't know how to explain this very well. I'll edit this entry when I think of a better way to say this and when my head's a bit more clearer! Right now my mind is foggy... and sleepy....
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Chapter 8: And If the Nature of Thought is Not Everywhere the Same?
Until I got to the very end of the chapter where Nisbett talks about the advantages of people from integrated cultures in problem solving, many of his statements sounded very biased to me. I don't mean to ignore all the evidences that he has introduced in these past chapters to support his claims. However, in this chapter, his statements keep on going back and forth between which culture is better at what. Like Barna, he bases his arguments about how peer review and criticism never happen in Japan on only one Japanese scientist's statement (195) and makes straightforward statements like, "Their [U.S.-based Japanese businessmen]inability to perform causal analysis... leads to the belief that they are cognitively impaired" (210), "deficient" (I'm sure he used this word but I can't find the actual quote... sorry!), "... it is the Americans who are wrong and the Asians who are right in these cases" (207). Maybe it has to do with the fact that my own race is being mentioned, but even so, I don't like how he makes it sound like one culture is superior to another in each categorized topic. It's as if he's made Easterners vs. Westerners fight in a bunch of boxing games and he's finding a winner for each round...
But that's when I realized that he's an "either/or" thinker and I'm a "both/and" thinker. Though he begins with "The Syllogism AND the Tao", his later titles and subjects include: "Is the World Made Up of Nouns OR Verbs" "'The Bad Seed' OR 'The Other Boys Made Him Do It'" "Living Together VS. Going It All Alone" "'Ce N'est Pas Logique' OR 'You've Got a Point There'? " which supports how in the end, he is trying to get to the truth by a linear line instead of "welcoming onboard every conceivably relevant factor" and finding the Middle Way as I do (209). I found myself thinking, "Both these ideas sound reasonable. He shouldn't just say ONE is..." whenever he tries to find the more advantageous way of thinking for a particular theme.
In addition, his idea of cooperation between integrated people sprouts from the basis that different people hold different qualities. I can accept this but I also think that there are no qualities which some people may have/not have at all; instead, the difference between people occurs due to the strength of each quality in that person. Here again though, I realize that I am supporting his idea of the Law of Identity and the "both/and" thought.
Hmm... maybe my diasgreeing (and how I'm disagreeing) with his thinking is, ironically, living proof that his arguments on the differences between Easterners and Westerners is true.
But that's when I realized that he's an "either/or" thinker and I'm a "both/and" thinker. Though he begins with "The Syllogism AND the Tao", his later titles and subjects include: "Is the World Made Up of Nouns OR Verbs" "'The Bad Seed' OR 'The Other Boys Made Him Do It'" "Living Together VS. Going It All Alone" "'Ce N'est Pas Logique' OR 'You've Got a Point There'? " which supports how in the end, he is trying to get to the truth by a linear line instead of "welcoming onboard every conceivably relevant factor" and finding the Middle Way as I do (209). I found myself thinking, "Both these ideas sound reasonable. He shouldn't just say ONE is..." whenever he tries to find the more advantageous way of thinking for a particular theme.
In addition, his idea of cooperation between integrated people sprouts from the basis that different people hold different qualities. I can accept this but I also think that there are no qualities which some people may have/not have at all; instead, the difference between people occurs due to the strength of each quality in that person. Here again though, I realize that I am supporting his idea of the Law of Identity and the "both/and" thought.
Hmm... maybe my diasgreeing (and how I'm disagreeing) with his thinking is, ironically, living proof that his arguments on the differences between Easterners and Westerners is true.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Chapter 7: "Ce N'est Pas Logique" or "You've Got a Point There" ?
I agree with Nisbett that Asians take a "both/and" stance rather than an "either/or". When reading that part, I was reminded of the way Japanese culture seems to absorb many religions. I myself don't have one single religion that I follow, but I realized that there are bits and pieces of different religions weaved in my daily life. For example, I visit both shrines and temples during New Year's (Shinto & Buddhism), I attend a memorial service done by a monk (houji, right?) for my grandpa (Buddism), I celebrate Christmas, and will learn about Christianity at my university. I guess none of this makes me an actual follower of those religions, and that there are of course exceptions where some Asians solely believe ONE religion or Westerners who act in a similar way as me. However, I personally feel that the wall that seperates each religion is set at a low place in Japan, making it easier for people to be a part of more than one religion.
Another example is blood types and personalities. This might sound unconvincing since blood types and their connections with personalities are most likely to be complete bogus, nevertheless, there was this personality test on a Japanese fashion magazine which reminded me of contradictions coexisting together. The test was about finding one's "inner" blood-type. The catch was that the result would not necessarily match the actual blood-type one was born with, giving interesting insight into one's personality. Thus, the results would show how the sterotypical characteristics of each blood type would contradict with each other within one person. This shows how the "law of identity" which Nisbett says is strong in Westerners and thus makes them committed to their identities, takes on a more "both/and" position among many Japanese people... or maybe specifically, Japanese young women, in this case.
Sorry, I think I just wrote like a zillion assumptions lol
Gotta read the next chapter nowwwwww.
Otsukare-sama to everybody :) Hope everybody's getting some good rest today!
Another example is blood types and personalities. This might sound unconvincing since blood types and their connections with personalities are most likely to be complete bogus, nevertheless, there was this personality test on a Japanese fashion magazine which reminded me of contradictions coexisting together. The test was about finding one's "inner" blood-type. The catch was that the result would not necessarily match the actual blood-type one was born with, giving interesting insight into one's personality. Thus, the results would show how the sterotypical characteristics of each blood type would contradict with each other within one person. This shows how the "law of identity" which Nisbett says is strong in Westerners and thus makes them committed to their identities, takes on a more "both/and" position among many Japanese people... or maybe specifically, Japanese young women, in this case.
Sorry, I think I just wrote like a zillion assumptions lol
Gotta read the next chapter nowwwwww.
Otsukare-sama to everybody :) Hope everybody's getting some good rest today!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
5/12 class record
After talking about crazy bikers in Japan, we split into groups to discuss the article "Deletion of English from Entrance Exams Urged" and the Barna reading. Once again, I fell into the trap of the article; not noticing that the article was trying to avoid larger issues such as the necessity of uni entrance exams by only focusing on the purpose of English education in schools. But getting back to the actual argument presented in the paper... though I really don't like the mechanical style of university exam English that must be learned via robotic memorization, I also feel that this process creates a motive for people to actually study English. It may not always be the case but, sometimes this forced study of English may gradually turn into studying done on one's initiative. My claim is just as weak or probably even weaker than the journalist's, but that being said, I don't think the journalist can just automatically assert that students hate English and that it never comes in handy in daily life just with the limited evidence that s/he has.
And darn... I need to get into the habit of doing the 3B's! It didn't occur to me that I should do a 3B's check on the sources I've been using for my essay. I'd just found the evidences that made me go "Bingo!" and weaved them in my essay. And with Barna, I didn't even know that Barna is a woman until today, lol. I'd better check out what kind of person she is.
Oh and to those lucky ducks who are going to eat some yakiniku today, have fun!
Really wanted to go :( Please invite me to another outing :)
And darn... I need to get into the habit of doing the 3B's! It didn't occur to me that I should do a 3B's check on the sources I've been using for my essay. I'd just found the evidences that made me go "Bingo!" and weaved them in my essay. And with Barna, I didn't even know that Barna is a woman until today, lol. I'd better check out what kind of person she is.
Oh and to those lucky ducks who are going to eat some yakiniku today, have fun!
Really wanted to go :( Please invite me to another outing :)
5/11 class record
Discussing the worksheet "What Went Wrong?" was a major eye-opener! We had a good laugh out of some of the examples like calling an airplane Emu or the ladies' electric shaver not selling well in Italy, lol! Among these examples though, the one about the Saudi Arabian women and the attractive hostess really made me go "Ohhhhhhhhhhh" after learning about the historical background which support the do's and don't's of Islamic culture. I had mixed feelings when we talked about beliefs which no longer have valid reasons but are kept alive by their tradition... especially when they concern one's personal health. It's easy to point out what seems to be invalid in another culture, but not as easy to go against it; to have a say in a culture that one is not native to and thus is not an expert on.
Monday, May 10, 2010
5/10 class record
Today I could not concentrate well because my allergies were giving me a hard time - Sorry Yuji and Sayako who had to sit next to me and endure my blowing my nose every 5 minutes >< lol
When asked to find the assumption in the argument about how if the U.S. attack North Korea more than a million Koreans would die, I kept on missing the big picture and instead, focused on the secondary details. This goes to show just how easily I accept large assumptions and get swayed by emotions.
We talked about the readings that Rab assigned us. They were pretty hard but I found this one part to be so unbelieveable that it was funny. I'm talking about the newscaster Charlie Rose who actually ignored a guest speaker for the whole show when he failed to give him the response he had been anticipating. I can't believe things like that just happen and nobody talks about them afterwards. I wonder if these newscasters realize what they're doing? Is it in their intentions to say these things, like, do they actually hire people like this OR are they forced to report/act this way like the FOX news casters who had to give false information about milk?
When asked to find the assumption in the argument about how if the U.S. attack North Korea more than a million Koreans would die, I kept on missing the big picture and instead, focused on the secondary details. This goes to show just how easily I accept large assumptions and get swayed by emotions.
We talked about the readings that Rab assigned us. They were pretty hard but I found this one part to be so unbelieveable that it was funny. I'm talking about the newscaster Charlie Rose who actually ignored a guest speaker for the whole show when he failed to give him the response he had been anticipating. I can't believe things like that just happen and nobody talks about them afterwards. I wonder if these newscasters realize what they're doing? Is it in their intentions to say these things, like, do they actually hire people like this OR are they forced to report/act this way like the FOX news casters who had to give false information about milk?
Friday, May 7, 2010
Chapter 6: Is the World Made Up of Nouns or Verbs?
Sooo... reading the section about categorizing objects, I was reminded of tests I had taken when I was around elementary school age and still living in the U.K. There was almost always a section on these tests that asked me to circle the odd one out, whether it was from a group of words or pictures like the cow, grass, and chicken illustration on page 141. But I have no memory of having taken such tests at my Japanese weekend school, so I guess Nisbett's suggestion that Westerners place a stronger emphasis on categorization is true. However, I also see this as contradictory of Western characteristics when I think back to the saying, "the peg that stands out is pounded down." Wouldn't it be easier for Asians to categorize objects since they are more sensitive to those that break the harmony and stick out as individuals?
I thought it was interesting how depending on the culture, speakers will exclude a different word from the same sentence, based on what they think is obvious. In Nisbett's example of drinking more tea, he described how Chinese speakers will take out "tea" while English speakers will take out "drink" when they ask somebody if they would like more tea to drink. But to me, "Would you like to drink more?" sounds all right in English too. Does that sound weird? Or maybe that's an example of fused thinking that Nisbett talks about towards the end.
I thought it was interesting how depending on the culture, speakers will exclude a different word from the same sentence, based on what they think is obvious. In Nisbett's example of drinking more tea, he described how Chinese speakers will take out "tea" while English speakers will take out "drink" when they ask somebody if they would like more tea to drink. But to me, "Would you like to drink more?" sounds all right in English too. Does that sound weird? Or maybe that's an example of fused thinking that Nisbett talks about towards the end.
Chapter 5: "The Bad Seed" or "The Other Boys Made Me Do It?"
NOOOOOOOOOO
I JUST POSTED MY JOURNAL... AND THEN AN ERROR OCCURRED :'''''''''''''''''(
AND NOW IT'S GONE........... :''''''''''''''''''''(
GRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trying to remember........
I thought this chapter was really interesting and easier to follow than other chapters. I could see Nisbett's point about the attributional differences between Easterners and Westerners stated clearly and coherently throughout the chapter, with interesting evidences to back up his ideas such as the murder cases and the hypothetical questions asked towards the Korean and American students. Reading how Asians tend to view the contents of the world in complex relations with each other, I was reminded of Nisbett's comment on the way Asian mothers nurture the children. He mentioned how mothers personify objects, for example, saying, "The table says 'ow!'" if a child hits the table. Focusing on surrounding objects from a young age may encourage this way of thinking.
I was surprised in a good way when Nisbett mentioned his study on the Hong Kong citizens. It did not surprise me that they were likely to think in either Western or Eastern cultural ways when encouraged, but including Hong Kong reassured me that Nisbett has these exceptional cultures in mind as well.
I personally think that I view matters mainly based on their context rather than the personality of the subject. But when I'm analyzing myself, I almost always do the opposite: I blame my personality first, and then take into other possible external factors into consideration. Is it possible that I judge myself in a Western manner and others in an Eastern manner? Or when it comes to oneself, is it a whole different matter, possible involving gender differences too?
I JUST POSTED MY JOURNAL... AND THEN AN ERROR OCCURRED :'''''''''''''''''(
AND NOW IT'S GONE........... :''''''''''''''''''''(
GRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trying to remember........
I thought this chapter was really interesting and easier to follow than other chapters. I could see Nisbett's point about the attributional differences between Easterners and Westerners stated clearly and coherently throughout the chapter, with interesting evidences to back up his ideas such as the murder cases and the hypothetical questions asked towards the Korean and American students. Reading how Asians tend to view the contents of the world in complex relations with each other, I was reminded of Nisbett's comment on the way Asian mothers nurture the children. He mentioned how mothers personify objects, for example, saying, "The table says 'ow!'" if a child hits the table. Focusing on surrounding objects from a young age may encourage this way of thinking.
I was surprised in a good way when Nisbett mentioned his study on the Hong Kong citizens. It did not surprise me that they were likely to think in either Western or Eastern cultural ways when encouraged, but including Hong Kong reassured me that Nisbett has these exceptional cultures in mind as well.
I personally think that I view matters mainly based on their context rather than the personality of the subject. But when I'm analyzing myself, I almost always do the opposite: I blame my personality first, and then take into other possible external factors into consideration. Is it possible that I judge myself in a Western manner and others in an Eastern manner? Or when it comes to oneself, is it a whole different matter, possible involving gender differences too?
5/7 class record
Today we did our practice PWTs, dun dun dun... Writing my responses, I felt that I could have provided more evidence on the question that asked for specific reasonS to back up my answer. I need to read over Morgan too... So much to do!
The documentary video we watched today really shocked me. To be honest, I was feeling a tad sleepy after writing my responses, but as soon as I saw the police officer - who had been smiling just moments before - threatening innocent civilians with rifles and hazardous gas, my eyes literally flew open. I mean, of all countries, I couldn't believe that sort of action would be taken against expressing a free opinion in the United States. It was especially painful to watch young people and children getting victimized by the police's harsh treatment and discovering how this CS gas (was that the name?) could cause miscarriages, heart failure, and other negative influences.
I also couldn't believe that these people did not even show an ounce of hesitation to take such audacious measures. It made me feel a bit ashamed that I don't even have a belief that comes any closer in strength. I am a very indecisive person to begin with, but somehow I seem to take refuge in not having to make decisions. I know this makes me sound like a very naive person who is not critically thinking at all, but that is how I've felt quite often until I entered high school. From reading Meiland and watching those determined people today, it made me realize that taking a side is not being ignorant to the other side as long as I have good reasons. I'm not trying to start a strike or anything just for the heck of it lol but today's class made me see how uninvolved I am with issues around me... and how that seems to pass... and how that's really wrong :(
The documentary video we watched today really shocked me. To be honest, I was feeling a tad sleepy after writing my responses, but as soon as I saw the police officer - who had been smiling just moments before - threatening innocent civilians with rifles and hazardous gas, my eyes literally flew open. I mean, of all countries, I couldn't believe that sort of action would be taken against expressing a free opinion in the United States. It was especially painful to watch young people and children getting victimized by the police's harsh treatment and discovering how this CS gas (was that the name?) could cause miscarriages, heart failure, and other negative influences.
I also couldn't believe that these people did not even show an ounce of hesitation to take such audacious measures. It made me feel a bit ashamed that I don't even have a belief that comes any closer in strength. I am a very indecisive person to begin with, but somehow I seem to take refuge in not having to make decisions. I know this makes me sound like a very naive person who is not critically thinking at all, but that is how I've felt quite often until I entered high school. From reading Meiland and watching those determined people today, it made me realize that taking a side is not being ignorant to the other side as long as I have good reasons. I'm not trying to start a strike or anything just for the heck of it lol but today's class made me see how uninvolved I am with issues around me... and how that seems to pass... and how that's really wrong :(
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Chapter 4: "Eyes in Back of Your Head" or "Keep Your Eye On the Ball" ?
There were some concepts that caught my attention in this chapter:
1.) Nisbett mentions the method of "back-translation" on page 88. This makes Nisbett's arguments stronger as it shows that he is being careful of translating not only the words from another language, but the nuances and connotations behind them as well.
2.) The illustrations and graphs inbetween pages made it easier for me to comprehend the experiments. It put me in the shoes of those who took the experiments and made me wonder if I would fall under the common characteristics of the East Asians or Westerners. I was able to relate with both the Chinese and the Americans on how they viewed the positively accelerated growth trends. Nisbett concludes that the Chinese usually predict that a positively accelerated growth trend will probably fall at some point rather than it continuing to rise. In regard to this view, I don't know why but whenever something is going really good, I feel a bit apprehensive that it's going to end soon. Maybe it's because sometime when I was young, someone in my family - maybe my grandma or dad or somebody - told me that everybody has the same amount of luck in life. On the other hand, taking the American view into consideration, I also believe that whether you're content or not depends on how you look at things (which is something I learned through reading The Series of Unfortunate Events lol) Therefore, no matter the situation, if one thinks everything is all right, the trend might still show that it's rising. Maybe I have a layer of Western ideas covering the layer of Asian ideas within my mind. Or maybe it's all mixed up. Hmm.
Oh by the way, essay otsukaresama! :) (how do you translate "otsukaresama"? I've always tried to translate it but I end up mixing a bunch of phrases together... I need to try Nisbett's "back-translation" lol)
1.) Nisbett mentions the method of "back-translation" on page 88. This makes Nisbett's arguments stronger as it shows that he is being careful of translating not only the words from another language, but the nuances and connotations behind them as well.
2.) The illustrations and graphs inbetween pages made it easier for me to comprehend the experiments. It put me in the shoes of those who took the experiments and made me wonder if I would fall under the common characteristics of the East Asians or Westerners. I was able to relate with both the Chinese and the Americans on how they viewed the positively accelerated growth trends. Nisbett concludes that the Chinese usually predict that a positively accelerated growth trend will probably fall at some point rather than it continuing to rise. In regard to this view, I don't know why but whenever something is going really good, I feel a bit apprehensive that it's going to end soon. Maybe it's because sometime when I was young, someone in my family - maybe my grandma or dad or somebody - told me that everybody has the same amount of luck in life. On the other hand, taking the American view into consideration, I also believe that whether you're content or not depends on how you look at things (which is something I learned through reading The Series of Unfortunate Events lol) Therefore, no matter the situation, if one thinks everything is all right, the trend might still show that it's rising. Maybe I have a layer of Western ideas covering the layer of Asian ideas within my mind. Or maybe it's all mixed up. Hmm.
Oh by the way, essay otsukaresama! :) (how do you translate "otsukaresama"? I've always tried to translate it but I end up mixing a bunch of phrases together... I need to try Nisbett's "back-translation" lol)
Friday, April 30, 2010
4/30 class record (OMG it's the end of April already!)
Today I went into a small panic when I found out that the Google Docs keep records of our revision history, being the procrastinator I am (hope to change that to was). Hopefully, I'll get out of the habit of finishing things at the last minute with this device in mind!
Peer editing was a bit hard to do, especially since our group had five people. Unfortunately I couldn't comment equally on each person's essay but I appreciated the editing and feedback that I received from my friends. I'd gotten so used to reading my essay the way it was and thus needed a fresh perspectives to point out some parts that sounded a bit confusing. Thanks guys :)
Thank you, Rab for your comment and Fumika and Izumi for explaining the expression to me! I feel a bit embarrassed that I didn't know about this expression :/ And I agree with Yuji, maybe I was being a bit narrowminded towards Nisbett's ideas... :O (Oh by the way, please don't jump off a cliff, if you're reading this haha.) It's so hard to stay objective, especially when one's own culture is being described and when we have these unconscious biases inplanted in our minds (like the surgeon/son quiz). I'll try to be more openminded with chapter 4!
Have a great Golden Week!
:D
Peer editing was a bit hard to do, especially since our group had five people. Unfortunately I couldn't comment equally on each person's essay but I appreciated the editing and feedback that I received from my friends. I'd gotten so used to reading my essay the way it was and thus needed a fresh perspectives to point out some parts that sounded a bit confusing. Thanks guys :)
Thank you, Rab for your comment and Fumika and Izumi for explaining the expression to me! I feel a bit embarrassed that I didn't know about this expression :/ And I agree with Yuji, maybe I was being a bit narrowminded towards Nisbett's ideas... :O (Oh by the way, please don't jump off a cliff, if you're reading this haha.) It's so hard to stay objective, especially when one's own culture is being described and when we have these unconscious biases inplanted in our minds (like the surgeon/son quiz). I'll try to be more openminded with chapter 4!
Have a great Golden Week!
:D
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Chapter 3: Living Together vs. Going It All Alone
I cannot accept many of Nisbett's arguments in this chapter because I feel that they are too fixed and do not take any exceptions into consideration. For example, statements such as, "In general, East Asians are supposed to be less concerned with personal goals..." sounds a bit too strong to me (48). I mean in Japan, it has always been a part of culture to come up with individual resolutions and wishes at the beginning of the year, during the Star Festival in July, and sometimes even at end-of-year parties. Although good health and fortune for the whole family or company is a common hope expressed at these events, children, for instance, are encouraged to write their own personal goals such as doing well at school or becoming a baseball star.
I personally did not like how Nisbett mentions only "sushi chefs and math teachers" when he is trying to make the point that self-criticism continues throughout peoples' careers (55). Maybe he uses that in the way that our ELP teachers changed the historical figure to George Washington in Meiland to make it easier for us to relate to. However, I feel like those examples are kind of stereotypical... don't you think? lol I guess I feel this way because when I lived in the States, my classmates assumed that I was good at math because I was Asian and asked me if I ate sushi everyday. Unfortunately math is one of my worst subjects and I don't have enough money to afford that much sushi! lol
The objectivity in Nisbett's arguments are growing weaker to me. I know that there must be many similarities between Asian countries such as Japan and China since they are close in geography, share some religions and writing systems, but what about those countries compared to India? Or Hong Kong? Hong Kong probably has many similarities with Britain, making it closer to the Westerners. Thus, he is not including all Asian countries when he says "Asians". In addition, I feel like Nisbett often compares modern Western cultures with traditional Asia (particularly China). For instance, the quote "the peg that stands out is pounded down" sounds like something that came from an ancient proverb and would not be encouraged in modern day schools (48). I tried looking up the origin of this expression on google, but the top results were sites that directly cited that expression from Nisbett. So I'm still unsure where this expression came from and now I'm a bit suspicious if Nisbett really translated this correctly. Do you guys know this expression?
I personally did not like how Nisbett mentions only "sushi chefs and math teachers" when he is trying to make the point that self-criticism continues throughout peoples' careers (55). Maybe he uses that in the way that our ELP teachers changed the historical figure to George Washington in Meiland to make it easier for us to relate to. However, I feel like those examples are kind of stereotypical... don't you think? lol I guess I feel this way because when I lived in the States, my classmates assumed that I was good at math because I was Asian and asked me if I ate sushi everyday. Unfortunately math is one of my worst subjects and I don't have enough money to afford that much sushi! lol
The objectivity in Nisbett's arguments are growing weaker to me. I know that there must be many similarities between Asian countries such as Japan and China since they are close in geography, share some religions and writing systems, but what about those countries compared to India? Or Hong Kong? Hong Kong probably has many similarities with Britain, making it closer to the Westerners. Thus, he is not including all Asian countries when he says "Asians". In addition, I feel like Nisbett often compares modern Western cultures with traditional Asia (particularly China). For instance, the quote "the peg that stands out is pounded down" sounds like something that came from an ancient proverb and would not be encouraged in modern day schools (48). I tried looking up the origin of this expression on google, but the top results were sites that directly cited that expression from Nisbett. So I'm still unsure where this expression came from and now I'm a bit suspicious if Nisbett really translated this correctly. Do you guys know this expression?
4/28 class record
I'm so so so tired... I just came home from basketball practice which went on until 9 and am pretty much dead... I don't know if I should join or not :/ LAMBS sounds really fun too.
Anyways, today during class we focused on basic parts of a paragraph such as topic sentences, concluding sentences, and the appropriate order/content of supporting sentences. I found the tasks to be harder than I had expected and noticed that I totally missed the pronouns and contractions in the paragraphs. I learned that questioning does not end with Meiland... contradictions and false information are lying around everywhere and I need to be careful to question these as well.
Okay well that's about it for today.... Good Night everybody... zzzz
Anyways, today during class we focused on basic parts of a paragraph such as topic sentences, concluding sentences, and the appropriate order/content of supporting sentences. I found the tasks to be harder than I had expected and noticed that I totally missed the pronouns and contractions in the paragraphs. I learned that questioning does not end with Meiland... contradictions and false information are lying around everywhere and I need to be careful to question these as well.
Okay well that's about it for today.... Good Night everybody... zzzz
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
4/27 class record
I always feel really rushed to get to class on time on Tuesdays. The gym/pool area is just too far from the honkan! It feels like P.E. class doesn't end until we finish running to our classroom. lol
In today's class we discussed the eleven test prep questions in groups. I was with Natsuko, Tomoya, Yuji, and Izumi. At first the Meiland content was a bit hazy in my mind but with the help of everybody, we were able to discuss the possible answers together. I'm glad I was able to talk with my group because I would have only been able to come up with very limited answers had I done the same task by myself. It was funny because for every question that asked us to give our own examples, the same keywords such as "Rab's NP" "Milk" and "Tomoaki" kept on popping up in our conversation, haha.
Anyways, today was a really good day :) Sayako is such a sweet girl! She prepared chocolates for everybody. Thanks Sayako <3 I hope you, Kaori, Ayaka, Asami, Yusuke, Saori, Izumi, Yuga and Rab can come to the next dinner!
Good Night :)
In today's class we discussed the eleven test prep questions in groups. I was with Natsuko, Tomoya, Yuji, and Izumi. At first the Meiland content was a bit hazy in my mind but with the help of everybody, we were able to discuss the possible answers together. I'm glad I was able to talk with my group because I would have only been able to come up with very limited answers had I done the same task by myself. It was funny because for every question that asked us to give our own examples, the same keywords such as "Rab's NP" "Milk" and "Tomoaki" kept on popping up in our conversation, haha.
Anyways, today was a really good day :) Sayako is such a sweet girl! She prepared chocolates for everybody. Thanks Sayako <3 I hope you, Kaori, Ayaka, Asami, Yusuke, Saori, Izumi, Yuga and Rab can come to the next dinner!
Good Night :)
Monday, April 26, 2010
4/26 class record
Hi guys. I'm writing this from the library... it's sooo quiet and peaceful here!
Though today's class began with lots of 「えー!」s and unhappy faces with the discovery of an upcoming PWT test, that soon changed to lots of "OooOOoOoo"s and "Aaaaaa"s when we were pulled into Rab's card tricks. I liked the first one that Rab performed because it contained a story about the four robbers and the bank, making it easy for me to follow. It was a nice surprise to find out how the card trick worked, but the matter left my mind almost at once since there was nothing more to wonder about. The second card trick, on the other hand, confused me so much that I was left staring at the cards with my mouth open - making me look like a complete idiot lol. Unfortunately I was still confused as my classmates tried to explain to me how the whole thing worked and was still in wonder when Yusuke managed to do it too! It was interesting to discuss the different possibilities behind the trick though. I think constructivist education is necessary and effective in almost all subjects. Come to think of it, we were introduced to Critical Thinking in P.E. the other day when our teacher asked us to question the purposes or the ways in which we did our stretches. The only time that direct education would be necessary is when we learn the basics of any subject such as the ABCs, counting, or how to play an instrument. Though we could spend our own time coming up with creative ways to play the flute, it would be more time consuming trying to fix a habit when we could have just learned the correct way to play it in the beginning.
Anyways, I'm excited for our dinner tomorrow and I hope Sayako had a great day :D
Happy Birthday, birthday girl! :)
See you all tomorrow!
Though today's class began with lots of 「えー!」s and unhappy faces with the discovery of an upcoming PWT test, that soon changed to lots of "OooOOoOoo"s and "Aaaaaa"s when we were pulled into Rab's card tricks. I liked the first one that Rab performed because it contained a story about the four robbers and the bank, making it easy for me to follow. It was a nice surprise to find out how the card trick worked, but the matter left my mind almost at once since there was nothing more to wonder about. The second card trick, on the other hand, confused me so much that I was left staring at the cards with my mouth open - making me look like a complete idiot lol. Unfortunately I was still confused as my classmates tried to explain to me how the whole thing worked and was still in wonder when Yusuke managed to do it too! It was interesting to discuss the different possibilities behind the trick though. I think constructivist education is necessary and effective in almost all subjects. Come to think of it, we were introduced to Critical Thinking in P.E. the other day when our teacher asked us to question the purposes or the ways in which we did our stretches. The only time that direct education would be necessary is when we learn the basics of any subject such as the ABCs, counting, or how to play an instrument. Though we could spend our own time coming up with creative ways to play the flute, it would be more time consuming trying to fix a habit when we could have just learned the correct way to play it in the beginning.
Anyways, I'm excited for our dinner tomorrow and I hope Sayako had a great day :D
Happy Birthday, birthday girl! :)
See you all tomorrow!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
ZOOTEROOO
In a
Zap
Our jumbled sources
Transformed
Efficiently into a
Refined list
Oh thank you dear Zotero!
My attempt at creativity, haha.
Zap
Our jumbled sources
Transformed
Efficiently into a
Refined list
Oh thank you dear Zotero!
My attempt at creativity, haha.
Chapter 2: The Social Origins of Mind
Because there are many references to Aristotle and Confucius in the first chapter, I think I had begun seeing them as the roots from where culturally different thought processes sprouted from. However, Nisbett mentions how they are more of a product of their cultures than their ancestors. With this in mind, I now see that social practices affect thinking, which affects social practices, which affect thinking and back again; that these factors affect each other in a cycle and therefore thinking processes are continuously evolving and changing.
But speaking of thinking processes, though I mentioned in my previous entry that I started to see the differences in the ways Easterns and Westerners think, I think I might have made that decision too early. So far, Nisbett has compared mainly the Ancient Chinese with the Ancient Greeks. Though he supports this by stating how more than a billion people origin from Ancient China or Ancient Greece, thinking processes are bound to vary among cultures which branch off from them.
As if to reassure me though, Nisbett uses phrases like: "... if the social differences between East and West today resemble those of ancient times..." (44) or "...if it really is the case that Easterners and Westerners have fundamentaly different ways of seeing themselves and the social world..." (45). His careful tone suggests that he is not a black or white thinker. He is bending down to our level, to make his claim as if he too is about to learn something new. It ensures me that he is not going to try to brainwash me, but instead is still leaving me the freedom to believe what I want to.
Chapter 1: The Syllogism and the Tao
Reading the first chapter, I was a bit overwhelmed by the various concepts and theories that were being introduced from the Ancient Greek and Ancient Chinese cultures. I had to go back many times to read over and understand each one, but now that I think about it, I might have tried too hard to understand them as individual concepts instead of reading them as a whole to see the big message. However, I found it interesting to see how completely opposite were the ideals of the Ancient Chinese and Ancient Greeks in topics such as the role of an individual and freedom of opinion. Furthermore, by showing how these attitudes affected other aspects of their cultures, such as language or academic fields in which they are skilled at, made it convincing to see that there is a difference in thought between Westerners and East Asians. Despite it being a difficult chapter, I do feel more curious about how Nisbett is going to support and develop his argument from this chapter on. There is one thing that makes me unsure if this book is totally objective though. I was reading the introduction and as Nisbett begins to explain how he launched his research on the difference of thought processes between Westerners and East Asians he mentions:
"I began a series of comparative studies, working with students at the University of Michigan and eventually with colleagues at Beijing University, Kyoto University, Seoul National University, and the Chinese Institute of Psychology" (xviii).
Maybe he is just abbreviating all the people he worked with in his research, but to me, it sounds as if he worked with only his colleagues, and no students, at these Asian universities. Since colleagues and students would fall into different age groups, I'm wondering if his result would have stayed the same had he compared Western students with (more) East Asian students. Especially since countries such as Japan have become more Westernized over the years, the difference in thought processes may be not that drastic, for example. However, he does include his inspirational experience with a brilliant Chinese student at the beginning and so, it may just be that he didn't mention his studies with Asian students in that particular sentence.
"I began a series of comparative studies, working with students at the University of Michigan and eventually with colleagues at Beijing University, Kyoto University, Seoul National University, and the Chinese Institute of Psychology" (xviii).
Maybe he is just abbreviating all the people he worked with in his research, but to me, it sounds as if he worked with only his colleagues, and no students, at these Asian universities. Since colleagues and students would fall into different age groups, I'm wondering if his result would have stayed the same had he compared Western students with (more) East Asian students. Especially since countries such as Japan have become more Westernized over the years, the difference in thought processes may be not that drastic, for example. However, he does include his inspirational experience with a brilliant Chinese student at the beginning and so, it may just be that he didn't mention his studies with Asian students in that particular sentence.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
4/21 class record
Since I'd written some essays before at my high school, I thought I had the basics down for essay writing. However, today's class showed me that there was a lot that I had forgotten or had not taken into consideration before. For example, I realized how a title of an essay can either pull someone into the essay or may have them pushing the essay back to its folder. I liked the examples we used such as "Bad Bananas" or "A$$h*** Aso"; they were very amusing! It also never occurred to me that one way to order our paragraphs could be to have it so that (if we use the Rule of Three) the second most important reason goes first, the least important reason goes second, and the most important reason goes last. At first, I wondered why it shouldn't be least important to most or vice versa. But then, I realized I hadn't really considered how the audience's attention span works and that this technique we learned today would accommodate that.
I hope I got everybody's topic down correctly... In case you didn't get mine down, it's: Is music education necessary in schools (wondering if I should specify this... i.e. limiting it to elementary), and if so, how? (I'm hoping it is, since I like music... lol)
Anyway, today was a really nice, sunny day :) Hope we get more days like these!
I hope I got everybody's topic down correctly... In case you didn't get mine down, it's: Is music education necessary in schools (wondering if I should specify this... i.e. limiting it to elementary), and if so, how? (I'm hoping it is, since I like music... lol)
Anyway, today was a really nice, sunny day :) Hope we get more days like these!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
4/20 class record
Today we tried to further develop our possible essay themes by asking our assigned groups whether or not they noticed any assumptions/dogmatic attitudes in the topics. I was glad Shantonu asked what the difference was between assumptions and domatic attitudes were because I couldn't tell either, until Rab explained it to us. After discovering what was wrong with the research question "What is the best way for the Japanese government to give more educational loans?", it scared me to see how some assumptions are so deeply inplanted in our minds that we forget to question them. Questioning the obvious is really not as easy as it sounds.
Uh oh, I haven't even gotten through the first chapter of The Geography of Thought yet. :O
Have you guys read the assigned chapters already? I'm going to go read it now... See you all tomorrow!
Uh oh, I haven't even gotten through the first chapter of The Geography of Thought yet. :O
Have you guys read the assigned chapters already? I'm going to go read it now... See you all tomorrow!
4/19 class record
So... I was busy trying to come up with a reasonable essay topic yesterday that I completely forgot to write my first class entry! Woops! Thanks Naoko and Sayako for reminding me...!
During yesterday's class I felt very unsure about what topic I should choose to write an essay on. I wanted to write about the sengan/heigan entrance exam systems in Japan but I realized that would not work since we need at least 80% of our sources to be in English and those systems I just mentioned are unique to Japan (I think?). I was a bit confused after hearing that we need to write something that includes educational values. Hmm...
Oh and I had no idea that there was a huge protest on Valentine's Day just 7 years ago. I wonder why almost none of us knew about it. Though I was shocked, I thought it was really interesting how the number of student protests had dropped so drastically from the 1960's to 2003. I personally thought this happened because we have grown so used to living without direct warfare in Japan that we take peace for granted. What did you guys think? :)
During yesterday's class I felt very unsure about what topic I should choose to write an essay on. I wanted to write about the sengan/heigan entrance exam systems in Japan but I realized that would not work since we need at least 80% of our sources to be in English and those systems I just mentioned are unique to Japan (I think?). I was a bit confused after hearing that we need to write something that includes educational values. Hmm...
Oh and I had no idea that there was a huge protest on Valentine's Day just 7 years ago. I wonder why almost none of us knew about it. Though I was shocked, I thought it was really interesting how the number of student protests had dropped so drastically from the 1960's to 2003. I personally thought this happened because we have grown so used to living without direct warfare in Japan that we take peace for granted. What did you guys think? :)
Friday, April 16, 2010
video recording
Taking a video was very embarrassing, knowing that my peers would be able to look at it later. I immediately deleted my video in relief when Rab said it was okay, but I did think it was a good idea to try to explain things with a video. It made me think on the spot and practice my English speaking skills, which I feel is my weakness. Also, it works as a good reflection when I go to watch it later on.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I really liked the music that was being played in both videos and was impressed by the creative ways in which they were created. I was surprised to see their connection with paragraph writing but having watched the videos it was clear to me that constructing a paragraph is very much the same as how these music videos are made. In order to write a good paragraph, one needs to collect different pieces of evidence from numerous sources to make it sound convincing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tprMEs-zfQA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tprMEs-zfQA
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
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