Saturday, February 12, 2011
Review on the article - "Tiger Moms"
The article can be found here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html Amy Chua is a professor at Yale Law School, and she tells us about the differences and her opinions on the Chinese and Western education methods. I would like to recount my own personal experience with my parents. When I was young, about a month before examinations, I had to completely stop ANY leisure activites, from watching the television to playing computer games. Everyday after school, it would be studying, studying and studying. I even had to study while eating`. I already had the facts memorised totally, yet I still was told to revise again. This resulted in severe stress and there was once I decided not to study anymore. I simply stared at the textbook to pretend that I was studying when my mother was in, secretly playing when my mother was out. I had piano lessons as well, and the teacher was fierce. She would take a ruler and smack my fingers if I played anything wrongly. My mother even supported her actions, providing her with a ruler each week. When I scored well for tests, I wasn't rewarded, and I was just told to "do well the next time". For anything, from math formulas to chinese phrases, I was just told to write it down xx (usually 10, sometimes 100) number of times to remember it. Although this helped but it was really stressful. Now I would liked to review the chinese education system and the western education system. Despite me already stating how "horrible" the chinese education system is, I still think it has its good points. For example, although I said I didn't like writing somehting xx times, but even now (my parents already loosened their grip on me) I still voluntarily write down stuff many times to remember it, most notably chinese phrases that will be tested in examinations. Also, by giving a good amount of punishment for things done wrongly, it can teach the child what is right and wrong (although being excessive can lead to the child rebelling, and too much stress). Chinese parents love their children as well, as the chinese saying goes “骂是爱，打是疼”(scolding is loving, beating is loving even more), they just want their children to do well in future. I will also explain the western education system. The western education system believes in respecting the child's choices and the freedom to do things themselves. When a child gets bad results for their tests, the western parent will comfort them, telling them not to be discouraged, and they can do better the next time. I personally feel that this is not good as it will not motivate the child to do better. Perhaps this time round they were lazy and did not study for the test. When the parent comforts them, they think that they can get away with being lazy, and thus will not study for the next test as well. The western education system is way too idealistic, thinking that the child will make the right choices themselves, thinking that without scolding the child will do better. In conclusion, I think that the chinese education system is better in the sense it's more practical and realistic. However, I think it is best that there is a good combination of the western and chinese education system to ensure a good relationship ties between parent and child and the child can also learn effectively.
To Kill a Mockingbird (Personal Response 4)
Harper Lee's novel is full of interesting and richly painted characters. Which character was your favourite and why?
My favourite character is Ms Maudie Atkinson. She is a motherly figure to Scout and is a sensible person. I like the fact that she feels like a "normal" person, unlike Atticus Finch, who is too perfect (he supports black people even when he is so despised by others - too good to be true, completely flawless, he doesn't even drink whiskey, when Ms Maudie mentioned "what other people does at home and not in public", Atticus "does nothing at home that he would not do in public", he does not boast to others about him being very good at shooting, etc.). She has hobbies like anybody does (Atticus is shown only to work and work and work in the story, then comes back to play with the children. He does nothing for himself - or at least it is not shown in the story - which is too perfect). I like Ms Maudie as she is friendly, level-headed and optimistic. Each time Scout has troubles, she always confided in Ms Maudie. When Ms Maudie's house was burnt down, she did not panic or become miserable. I would really like to know Ms Maudie if she was a real person.
My favourite character is Ms Maudie Atkinson. She is a motherly figure to Scout and is a sensible person. I like the fact that she feels like a "normal" person, unlike Atticus Finch, who is too perfect (he supports black people even when he is so despised by others - too good to be true, completely flawless, he doesn't even drink whiskey, when Ms Maudie mentioned "what other people does at home and not in public", Atticus "does nothing at home that he would not do in public", he does not boast to others about him being very good at shooting, etc.). She has hobbies like anybody does (Atticus is shown only to work and work and work in the story, then comes back to play with the children. He does nothing for himself - or at least it is not shown in the story - which is too perfect). I like Ms Maudie as she is friendly, level-headed and optimistic. Each time Scout has troubles, she always confided in Ms Maudie. When Ms Maudie's house was burnt down, she did not panic or become miserable. I would really like to know Ms Maudie if she was a real person.
To Kill a Mockingbird (Personal Response 3)
Did the ending of the novel surprise you? If you were to author explain would you have ended the novel differently? Explain.
Personally speaking, the ending of the novel did not really surprise me (the part about Boo Radley helping the children). Although Boo Radley is depicted as being a bad person in the novel by most characters, it is clear that he is actually kind-hearted. In fact, when a man helping the children was mentioned, the first person that came to my mind was Boo Radley.
If I was the author I would not have ended the novel differently. I really like the ending of the novel. It clearly shows how people are actually good when you look at them carefully. When Atticus says "Most people are (good), when you finally see them", it kind of highlights the main point of the story. It made me feel like "justice" has been done when they finally revealed that Boo Radley was indeed a good person (despite me already knowing that). It made the story feel complete, about how the good finally truimphs the evil (Boo Radley and Bob Ewell).
Personally speaking, the ending of the novel did not really surprise me (the part about Boo Radley helping the children). Although Boo Radley is depicted as being a bad person in the novel by most characters, it is clear that he is actually kind-hearted. In fact, when a man helping the children was mentioned, the first person that came to my mind was Boo Radley.
If I was the author I would not have ended the novel differently. I really like the ending of the novel. It clearly shows how people are actually good when you look at them carefully. When Atticus says "Most people are (good), when you finally see them", it kind of highlights the main point of the story. It made me feel like "justice" has been done when they finally revealed that Boo Radley was indeed a good person (despite me already knowing that). It made the story feel complete, about how the good finally truimphs the evil (Boo Radley and Bob Ewell).
To Kill a Mockingbird (Personal Response 2)
As you followed the action in the courtroom, which character did you empathize with the most? least? Explain.
I empathize with Tom Robinson the most. Throughout the whole incident at the courtroom, Tom Robinson was desperately trying to prove himself innocent, yet in the end he found guilty of sexually assaulting Mayella Ewell (when he was innocent). Despite all evidence pointing in Tom Robinson's favour, he was found guilty and placed in prison. At this point I could feel the anger of Tom Robinson and the feeling of injustice, when he had tried to be helpful and yet he was framed by the same person he had helped. When everything was clear that he was not the culprit and yet he was found guilty. Even before the court case, everyone had already found him guilty of the crime, simply because he was a black. In the end when he died because he was trying to escape, I really felt sad for him.
I empathize least with Bob Ewell. In the first place he was the culprit, and yet tried to cover up his crime by framing Tom Robinson, using the fact that Tom Robinson was a black to his advantage. Despite Bob Ewell already being very unpopular with the people of Maycomb County already, people still supported his side when he was against Tom Robinson, because Tom Robinson was a black. He even assaulted his own daughter, and made her accuse Tom Robinson of it. I feel that he is really evil and does not deserve sympathy.
HOWEVER, as stated the the previous blog post, we must look at the reason why a person is as such. Perhaps Bob Ewell had a traumatic experience before, or something happened to him that made him so. It is not stated in the book, so we cannot judge Bob Ewell fairly.
I empathize with Tom Robinson the most. Throughout the whole incident at the courtroom, Tom Robinson was desperately trying to prove himself innocent, yet in the end he found guilty of sexually assaulting Mayella Ewell (when he was innocent). Despite all evidence pointing in Tom Robinson's favour, he was found guilty and placed in prison. At this point I could feel the anger of Tom Robinson and the feeling of injustice, when he had tried to be helpful and yet he was framed by the same person he had helped. When everything was clear that he was not the culprit and yet he was found guilty. Even before the court case, everyone had already found him guilty of the crime, simply because he was a black. In the end when he died because he was trying to escape, I really felt sad for him.
I empathize least with Bob Ewell. In the first place he was the culprit, and yet tried to cover up his crime by framing Tom Robinson, using the fact that Tom Robinson was a black to his advantage. Despite Bob Ewell already being very unpopular with the people of Maycomb County already, people still supported his side when he was against Tom Robinson, because Tom Robinson was a black. He even assaulted his own daughter, and made her accuse Tom Robinson of it. I feel that he is really evil and does not deserve sympathy.
HOWEVER, as stated the the previous blog post, we must look at the reason why a person is as such. Perhaps Bob Ewell had a traumatic experience before, or something happened to him that made him so. It is not stated in the book, so we cannot judge Bob Ewell fairly.
To Kill a Mockingbird (Personal Response)
What do you think is involved in making a fair judgement about a person or situation? Explain.
I believe that to make a fair judgement about a person or situation, we have to first look at each side equally without biasness (without looking at appearance, race, religion, culture, etc.).
An good example is Tom Robinson's case in To Kill a Mockingbird. He was accused of assaulting Mayella Ewell and the case was brought to court. Despite all evidence pointing to Tom Robinson's favour (it was hinted that Bob Ewell was the culprit), the judge eventually found Tom Robinson guilty and placed him in prison. This shows unfair judgement (prejudice against the blacks).
Another example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, when there was a series of morbid nocturnal events, where chickens and household pets were found mutilated, people suspected the Radleys. Even after the truth was revealed that Crazy Addie was the culprit, people were unwilling to discard their initial suspicions. The people were obviously biased against the Radleys. As stated "Any small stealthy crimes commited in Maycomb were his work", "his" referring to the Boo Radley. This also shows unfair judgement.
To make a fair judgement, other than casting away prejudice and biasness, we also have to understand the situation well. To do that, we have to look in different perspectives.
When judging a person, we have to look at the good points and the bad points. It may be a fact that this person has a bad temper, but underneath he actually is kind-hearted. This person may look refined, but is actually rude and insensitive. We must look at every detail, not just looking at the bad points and not at the good points and vice versa. Also, we must look at the REASON the person is as such. For example, this person is very violent, but it was because his parents had abused him when he was young.
When we look at situations, we have to know that for everything that is done there is a reason, and we must look into this reason. This person may have been wrong to hit the other person, but it was because the person insulted him. Similarly, when we view the other side of the situation, this person is wrong to insult the other person, but the other person did not have to hit him back. By looking at situations in different perspectives, we can understand and judge the situation effectively.
Now we can look at a situation in To Kill a Mockingbird. When the judge passed the verdict that Tom Robinson was guilty, the reader would naturally feel that the judge is a bad judge. However, if we look in the perspective of the judge, it was actually quite difficult for him to pass the verdict that Tom Robinson was innocent. If we look at Atticus, who was Tom Robinson's lawyer and supported Tom Robinson, he was despised by many of the characters in the story because of him supporting a black. (Many people called him a nigger-lover as an insult) If the judge had passed the verdict that Tom Robinson was innocent, people would have despised the judge just as they had despised Atticus. From here we can actually see the the judge had little choice in this matter. If he stood up for what was right, people would think he was a bad judge (at least in the story). Looking in Tom Robinson's perspective (as most of the readers of TkaM would have done), Tom Robinson was actually quite pitiful. He had done nothing wrong, only helping others, and despite that he was found guilty of sexually assaulting Mayella Ewell, which he had not. Looking at the different perspectives of the situation, we can now understand everything and judge the situation.
I believe that to make a fair judgement about a person or situation, we have to first look at each side equally without biasness (without looking at appearance, race, religion, culture, etc.).
An good example is Tom Robinson's case in To Kill a Mockingbird. He was accused of assaulting Mayella Ewell and the case was brought to court. Despite all evidence pointing to Tom Robinson's favour (it was hinted that Bob Ewell was the culprit), the judge eventually found Tom Robinson guilty and placed him in prison. This shows unfair judgement (prejudice against the blacks).
Another example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, when there was a series of morbid nocturnal events, where chickens and household pets were found mutilated, people suspected the Radleys. Even after the truth was revealed that Crazy Addie was the culprit, people were unwilling to discard their initial suspicions. The people were obviously biased against the Radleys. As stated "Any small stealthy crimes commited in Maycomb were his work", "his" referring to the Boo Radley. This also shows unfair judgement.
To make a fair judgement, other than casting away prejudice and biasness, we also have to understand the situation well. To do that, we have to look in different perspectives.
When judging a person, we have to look at the good points and the bad points. It may be a fact that this person has a bad temper, but underneath he actually is kind-hearted. This person may look refined, but is actually rude and insensitive. We must look at every detail, not just looking at the bad points and not at the good points and vice versa. Also, we must look at the REASON the person is as such. For example, this person is very violent, but it was because his parents had abused him when he was young.
When we look at situations, we have to know that for everything that is done there is a reason, and we must look into this reason. This person may have been wrong to hit the other person, but it was because the person insulted him. Similarly, when we view the other side of the situation, this person is wrong to insult the other person, but the other person did not have to hit him back. By looking at situations in different perspectives, we can understand and judge the situation effectively.
Now we can look at a situation in To Kill a Mockingbird. When the judge passed the verdict that Tom Robinson was guilty, the reader would naturally feel that the judge is a bad judge. However, if we look in the perspective of the judge, it was actually quite difficult for him to pass the verdict that Tom Robinson was innocent. If we look at Atticus, who was Tom Robinson's lawyer and supported Tom Robinson, he was despised by many of the characters in the story because of him supporting a black. (Many people called him a nigger-lover as an insult) If the judge had passed the verdict that Tom Robinson was innocent, people would have despised the judge just as they had despised Atticus. From here we can actually see the the judge had little choice in this matter. If he stood up for what was right, people would think he was a bad judge (at least in the story). Looking in Tom Robinson's perspective (as most of the readers of TkaM would have done), Tom Robinson was actually quite pitiful. He had done nothing wrong, only helping others, and despite that he was found guilty of sexually assaulting Mayella Ewell, which he had not. Looking at the different perspectives of the situation, we can now understand everything and judge the situation.
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