Journal 39: Lucky You

If I won ten million US dollars, I would build a utopian city or island of my dreams. Since I do not need to work anymore, I figure I could just relax in a place filled with things I enjoy the most. The utopian city will generally be like a vocational resort where I spend my free time. If I ever get bored by my time on the island, I would devote myself to some charity work at the library reading stories to children or at an orphanage. I have always wanted to help these children but do not really have the time or money to help them due to heavy school work and money saving. I would also want to learn how to cook, bake, or do house chores. At home, my family does these kinds of tasks for me so I never had a chance to learn it or do it by myself. I think the abilities to cook and do house chores are important because these skills help you develop your future life. The thing I may not still do is wake up early and go to school since I do not have the pressure of trying to find a job in the future. I could still gain knowledge by studying at home without struggling to get out of bed every day. I could also then choose the subjects I want to study. I think we could sill appreciate the environment we have today.

Journal 38: Opportunity Cost

I think most of my time spent on studying and learning knowledge is to manage tests or quizzes. In my opinion, students’ studies are motivated by tests. They only study for tests. However, without the pressure of the test date getting close, students can study more willingly. If we can also choose the subjects we want to study, we will be happier to learn. I think I spent more time preparing for school work and tests then learning practical knowledge. I basically learn long-lasting knowledge when I have free time, so I do not think I spent enough time on extracurricular knowledge. I memorize things, but only basic points that I think will appear on the test. But I do think extracurricular is very important, too. To improve my time on this kind of learning, I can arrange 30 minutes of reading time of educational magazine on the weekend. Maybe I could also start playing flute again, which is a hobby I quit due to the business of school work. This kind of knowledge is one that can help me later in my life. So I will definitely consider taking classes that teach me how to live a good life in the future.

Journal 37: Test Prep Effect on Writing

I think a highly-structured way of teaching students how to write an essay is a major issue. I do not think there is any school that tells students just to write however, whatever they want and not go with a formulated way of writing. I think the findings of the professors are true. Students are told by writing teachers what examples to put and what not to put on essays in order to get a good grade. Students then are afraid to write in a creative and natural way. They will try to apply some specific examples into different topics. I was also told what good examples to put on an essay are. I was told not to put my personal experiences on an essay because those do not persuade people. However, I think students can write more naturally if they can truly connect themselves with the essay’s topic.  In my opinion, writing is not just trying to plug in one or two miscellaneous vocabularies that you have learned. It is about how well you can articulate your own ideas. So I think the best way to improve writing skills is to read books. Books often express the author’s thoughts clearly and smoothly. In the future, I would like to join creative writing classes hat help me develop my own writing style in addition to the ones that encourage me to apply examples that were mentioned in world-famous literature. 

Journal 36: Cheating

I think what most Asian parents have in common is that they have high academic expectations of their children. Taiwanese parents are not expectations. They get their pride from the success level of their children academic achievements and career mark. Therefore, parents tend to help their children by “cheating” to get into good schools. Students accept this help because of pressures their parents give them and faced in school. Sometimes, methods are unscrupulous or even illegal. The most common cheating method I will say is giving bribes, gifts, or some kind of benefit. They do not view it as bribing, but instead just a strategy. I think cheating means competing in an unfair way or with a different standard. Students should be evaluated equally based on their true ability and no one should have any privilege when applying. Cheating methods consisted of hiring an agent to help students write essays or even someone to take the SAT for them. Cheating in the business world may be less hateful. People may cheat a little on their commercials to get more customers or cheat to draw more high-ability employees. However, most people do not think cheating is acceptable. It is not fair and against morality. The best way to succeed is to prepare ourselves for any tests in the future.

Journal 34: Race to College

I personally do not think ethnicity or race should be considered when choosing applicants. Your abilities or intelligence when dealing on different issues and objects are not based on what race you are but the environment you are raised in and what influenced you the most. So is gender. Why should gender be considered? Gender does not matter at all. Both sexes are human being so there is no question to which sex is smarter. Like I have mentioned before, the environment that has influenced you the most and the one you grew up in can lead you to develop different abilities. In Asian countries, parents and adults have a higher expectation and stricter education system. On the other hand, western countries may have a more diversified education in which students can have a more balanced daily schedule. They do not have to spend the majority of their time studying what are considered to be important subjects. So colleges may want to admit Asian students first. However, the best way to choose students is to test them in different fields of abilities and try to identify what they are really good at or interested in. Everyone has a particular subject that they are specifically good at.

Journal 33: My Activity

                One of my most valuable extracurricular activities is being teacher assistance at Fremont Chinese School. I help the teacher check the children’s homework and class work and ensure that they all understand today’s lesson concepts. This task requires many important qualities: patience, kindness, and clarity. You could not lose your patience while dealing with children. What they really need is the patience, kindness, and time to educate them until they understand. If you suddenly lose your temper, they may feel discouraged and may soon give up in frustration. Other indispensable qualities are maturity and discipline. Maturity is needed to set the defined goal of assisting the diligently. Discipline is a characteristic that keeps someone going and boosts him or her. I learned many methods of how to lead people and how to make good, influential commands. After this experience, I learned to be a more persuasive and more natural and poise speaker in front of people.