Thursday, May 20, 2010
Combating the 'Great Firewall'
Over the last few weeks, I have lost the ability to freely search the Internet. Because of the Chinese government's censorship, I must use a proxy server in order to access most preferred websites, including Blogger. Brendan had to post my last entry - Thanks Bren! For unknown reasons, my server has shut down and I have failed to reboot it. In my ongoing fight with China's Great Firewall, I am currently losing the battle. But I am working on new strategies. Hopefully I will be blogging more consistently soon!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Deadlock Debate
In order to get my students in the necessary mind frame for crafting an argumentative paper (their final), I had them debate last week. The debates also allowed me to keep from moving forward since Monday classes were canceled due to it being Chinese Labor Day. I had both classes address the same topics, the death penalty and the effectiveness of college entrance examinations.
Overall, the debates went well. Everyone had the opportunity to speak, remained respectful and presented his or her opinions clearly. For capital punishment, all the classic arguments were debated, including the value of life, governmental costs and whether criminals can be rehabilitated. Once the discussion was exhausted, we moved on to the second topic, which, unfortunately, hit the same wall in both classes.
The group opposing the use of college entrance exams would perform well at first, offering strong claims about how the exams are an inadequate tool for selecting which students will attend universities. Eventually, however, the group defending the exams would ask, “If we get rid of the exams, how will we determine who should go to college?”
Without hesitation, the opposing side replied, “The government will figure it out. That is their job, not ours”
The dispute essentially ended after that exchange. After the assertion that the government should establish a solution, the defenders of the exam would reply that the current system cannot be extinguished until another method is available to determine eligibility. The debate was stalemated.
The second time around, I warned the anti-exam group that their opponents will inevitably inquire about what other options are available to qualify students for higher education. I advised that they use some of the prep time to brainstorm other possibilities.
To my dismay, when asked about alternative college acceptance criteria, the group simply gave the same reply, asserting it as the government’s responsibility, implying that there is no need for their group to inquire about other options. I have to admit, I was rather disappointed. The debates provided another example of how Chinese aren’t educated to ‘think outside the box.’
I tried to be thorough and careful when lecturing on how to establish a strong argument and write a well-researched paper. I taught the basics of how to apply deductive and inductive reasoning to situations in general and to their research specifically. I also introduced Aristotle’s proofs (logos/logic, pathos/emotion, ethos/ethics) as the basic components of any means of persuasion. We then discussed how to research and what constitutes quality, reliable information.
Furthermore, I informed that if their thesis involves any need for a solution or policy proposal, they mustn’t assert that someone else needs to decide the answer. I understand that political debate is not completely tolerated in China but, in order to craft a sound argument, they must “pretend to be a government official whose responsibility is to present the argument to the court.” Without alternative possibilities, the argument will be weakened. If they don’t feel comfortable putting themselves in those shoes, I advised that they need to pick another topic.
I’ve got five weeks to guide them through the writing process, which will hopefully produce great argumentative, research papers!
Overall, the debates went well. Everyone had the opportunity to speak, remained respectful and presented his or her opinions clearly. For capital punishment, all the classic arguments were debated, including the value of life, governmental costs and whether criminals can be rehabilitated. Once the discussion was exhausted, we moved on to the second topic, which, unfortunately, hit the same wall in both classes.
The group opposing the use of college entrance exams would perform well at first, offering strong claims about how the exams are an inadequate tool for selecting which students will attend universities. Eventually, however, the group defending the exams would ask, “If we get rid of the exams, how will we determine who should go to college?”
Without hesitation, the opposing side replied, “The government will figure it out. That is their job, not ours”
The dispute essentially ended after that exchange. After the assertion that the government should establish a solution, the defenders of the exam would reply that the current system cannot be extinguished until another method is available to determine eligibility. The debate was stalemated.
The second time around, I warned the anti-exam group that their opponents will inevitably inquire about what other options are available to qualify students for higher education. I advised that they use some of the prep time to brainstorm other possibilities.
To my dismay, when asked about alternative college acceptance criteria, the group simply gave the same reply, asserting it as the government’s responsibility, implying that there is no need for their group to inquire about other options. I have to admit, I was rather disappointed. The debates provided another example of how Chinese aren’t educated to ‘think outside the box.’
I tried to be thorough and careful when lecturing on how to establish a strong argument and write a well-researched paper. I taught the basics of how to apply deductive and inductive reasoning to situations in general and to their research specifically. I also introduced Aristotle’s proofs (logos/logic, pathos/emotion, ethos/ethics) as the basic components of any means of persuasion. We then discussed how to research and what constitutes quality, reliable information.
Furthermore, I informed that if their thesis involves any need for a solution or policy proposal, they mustn’t assert that someone else needs to decide the answer. I understand that political debate is not completely tolerated in China but, in order to craft a sound argument, they must “pretend to be a government official whose responsibility is to present the argument to the court.” Without alternative possibilities, the argument will be weakened. If they don’t feel comfortable putting themselves in those shoes, I advised that they need to pick another topic.
I’ve got five weeks to guide them through the writing process, which will hopefully produce great argumentative, research papers!
Monday, May 3, 2010
What is Love?
Since the poetry went so well, I did one more lesson that involved introspective writing and another medium for self expression.
For the first half of class, we discussed the lyrics of three English love songs and then listened to them. We reviewed U2 "With or Without You", Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You", and Norah Jones "Come Away With Me". I chose these three songs because they are sung clearly and each offers a different message about love that helped stimulate discussion. I printed out the lyrics and we discussed the songs line by line. Everyone thought it was cool to listen to some of my favorite musicians.
During the second half of class, the students did a free-writing exercise in which they answered the prompt "What is love?" These were also enjoyable papers to read. Again, my students shared both personal and profound thoughts.
"Love to us is what water is to fish. We can't live without it."
"Love is amazing. It makes us show mercy to the poor, it brings peace to everyone's heart and it brings people together despite difficulties."
"I've learned that love can be romantic, but romance alone doesn't mean love. Sometimes I think I don't really how to love my boyfriend. I can feel that he also has the same problem. But neither of us give up. We just keep going and try to find more about each other."
"Love transcends material properties and social status."
"Love is mutual understanding and support. Love is forgiveness and sacrifice."
"Love is a weird thing. When you desire it, it won't come to you. When you despise it, it asks you to accept it."
"Love means to respect each other even if we have different opinions. Love means to sacrifice something. Love needs to be patient. Love is simple."
While not the majority, several students did write about patriotism. It was surprisingly less students than I had anticipated given the indoctrination that plays a large role in their earlier education and the vague praises I've heard about current and past political leaders. Here's one example:
"There is a kind of love that is country love. It is a great love that everybody should have. You will not have any love if you don't have country love."
In sum, it was another great week that the students really enjoyed. They certainly appreciate any opportunity to share their ideas and opinions.
For the first half of class, we discussed the lyrics of three English love songs and then listened to them. We reviewed U2 "With or Without You", Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You", and Norah Jones "Come Away With Me". I chose these three songs because they are sung clearly and each offers a different message about love that helped stimulate discussion. I printed out the lyrics and we discussed the songs line by line. Everyone thought it was cool to listen to some of my favorite musicians.
During the second half of class, the students did a free-writing exercise in which they answered the prompt "What is love?" These were also enjoyable papers to read. Again, my students shared both personal and profound thoughts.
"Love to us is what water is to fish. We can't live without it."
"Love is amazing. It makes us show mercy to the poor, it brings peace to everyone's heart and it brings people together despite difficulties."
"I've learned that love can be romantic, but romance alone doesn't mean love. Sometimes I think I don't really how to love my boyfriend. I can feel that he also has the same problem. But neither of us give up. We just keep going and try to find more about each other."
"Love transcends material properties and social status."
"Love is mutual understanding and support. Love is forgiveness and sacrifice."
"Love is a weird thing. When you desire it, it won't come to you. When you despise it, it asks you to accept it."
"Love means to respect each other even if we have different opinions. Love means to sacrifice something. Love needs to be patient. Love is simple."
While not the majority, several students did write about patriotism. It was surprisingly less students than I had anticipated given the indoctrination that plays a large role in their earlier education and the vague praises I've heard about current and past political leaders. Here's one example:
"There is a kind of love that is country love. It is a great love that everybody should have. You will not have any love if you don't have country love."
In sum, it was another great week that the students really enjoyed. They certainly appreciate any opportunity to share their ideas and opinions.
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