YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

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Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Kooper »

Dear YOYO-ISGers,

Our lovely Kat introduced us an controversial article(viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3054)the other day. Let's use it as our next topic. If time permits, besides the article itself, please also visit interviews, comments made by readers, and other articles recommended by Kat.

I believe you'll have a lot to say after going them over. Please write an essay sharing your thoughts.
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Just JJ
YOYO member
文章: 220
註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Just JJ »

Dear all,
I'm back.
I miss you guys :cccry:
Looking forward to see you guys.
JJ


Where to draw a line between Western style and Chinese style?

The stereotype of a Chinese mother is relatively bossy and dominant over their children, and a Chinese kid will learn principles of being living in groups. Contrast that, Western parenting is always portrayed as more liberal and less stressful. Here comes a question: can one or a society exits with purely liberation?

The norm for Chinese community might have less individual preference. A wedding banquet, for example, is a tradition in Chinese culture, whereas the attendances might not be necessarily a group of people that the bride and groom want to invite in their own favor. In Western culture, a person will feel so honored to receive a wedding invitation card, whereas a person might not feel the same in Chinese culture. In Taiwan, wedding invitation card is called red bomb for the reason of it coming in a red envelop, and traditionally people who received it need to pay certain amount of money at the wedding scene which depends on how close you are to the family to show politeness.

A people living with group identity, such as Chinese, have many codes to follow. A people spend most of time in groups. In the day time, a student spends more than six hours with classmates, while an ordinary people might work in an organization partaking a team work, or even requiring leadership. In the night time, it might be a general case that a communication between a school age child and his/her sibling or parents is a routine, and a parent role requires mothering skill or fathering skill to share the chores, and organize activities. As long as people live in groups, certain norm and moral code needs to be well defined for the purpose of “getting things done” more efficiently, and one respecting another to stay cohesive. Therefore, if individualism by which basically Western culture is characterized overplays, the society can not function.

It seems like liberation as norm that can set human free, but it can not be exploited without limitation. A wedding banquet is a great instance demonstrating how group identity work in Chinese culture. If personal thoughts and feelings have fondly been adopted without working cohesively as norm to operate our society, organization, or family, task accomplishing will not to be a possibility.
最後由 Just JJ 於 週日 1月 23, 2011 7:30 am 編輯,總共編輯了 1 次。
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Kooper »

Hi JJ,

It's great to have you back. To tell you a good piece of news, we have got some new blood now - Dylan, Kat, Sean and Timothy. You'll probably see them all tomorrow. See you tomorrow! :lol:
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Kooper »

Here is my essay. :sun:
My Childhood: Carefree on the Whole, Except Few Dark Moments

Thankfully, I wasn’t brought up in the ways like Amy Chua’s two daughters were. Both being elementary school teachers, my parents showed extraordinary tolerance for my brother’s and my school grades in our childhoods. While I never managed to earn myself a top ten position at the class, my brother constantly stayed among the last ten. Our mediocre performance embarrassed my parents a great deal; in Taiwan, teachers’ children were generally expected to behave outstandingly and ace all the tests because their parents are past masters at education. Another reason was decades ago when most Taiwanese still lived in straitened circumstances, Teachers College only accepted the cream of the crop. Inheriting the brilliant genes, the kids were supposed to perform as well as their previous generation. If not, the blame lay with the parents! Facing peer pressure and gossip, my parents didn’t turn to draconian measures. Instead they accepted the fact that both of us – my brother and I - were anything but intelligent.

Though my parents quite put up with our not-so-good performance in studies, they were strict in other aspects. I was first sweet-talked into attending a violin and an English courses at my fifth grade but was never allowed to quit until entering junior high school. My parents also put me in a specially arranged school class, where all the students learned and practiced a type of instruments and constituted the school’s orchestra. None of the arrangement, however, turned out to work on me; I ended up failing to write down all the English letters from A to Z after two years’ study; no sooner had I graduated from primary school than I stopped practicing violin. The idea of resuming playing the violin has never come to my mind since then. Neither did I become a classical music lover until few years ago.

Overall, I still consider my childhood happy and carefree, thanks to my parents’ pro-liberal attitudes. During summer and winter breaks, my parents allowed me to goof around all day long at a nearby park with other kids, day after day. I didn’t need to do school assignments until the last few days of the breaks.
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Kooper »

Questions for discussion:

1. How were you brought up? Were your parents very domineering or liberal in terms of parenting? What extracurricular activities did you do in your childhood? Were they done against your will or of your own free will?

2. Did you father and mother hold the same attitude toward parenting? If not, did it trouble you or you make a good use of it?

3. In your mind, does Amy Chua represent a typical Taiwanese mother? Do you agree with her way of parenting?

4. What do you think are the pros and cons of Chinese parenting?

5. Are you for or against physical punishments?

6. How would you like to bring up your kids in the future? Or how are you raising your kids now?
最後由 Kooper 於 週日 1月 23, 2011 7:40 am 編輯,總共編輯了 1 次。
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Just JJ
YOYO member
文章: 220
註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Just JJ »

[quote="Kooper"]Here is my essay. :sun:
Thankfully, I wasn’t brought up in the ways like Amy Chua’s two daughters were. Both being elementary school teachers, my parents showed extraordinary tolerance for my brother’s and my school grades in our childhoods. While I never managed to earn myself a top ten position at the class, my brother constantly stayed among the last ten. Our mediocre performance embarrassed my parents a great deal; in Taiwan, teachers’ children were generally expected to behave outstandingly and ace all the tests because their parents are past masters at education. [quote]

Dear Kooper,
I think the "Both" there. Is not clear enough to essay readers about who the "Both" is refering to.
Reader might think it could be your parents, or your parents as school teachers.

I think It can write like "Both of my parents......" or "Both my parents......".
Do you agree?
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Kooper »

Just JJ 寫:
Kooper 寫:Here is my essay. :sun:
Thankfully, I wasn’t brought up in the ways like Amy Chua’s two daughters were. Both being elementary school teachers, my parents showed extraordinary tolerance for my brother’s and my school grades in our childhoods. While I never managed to earn myself a top ten position at the class, my brother constantly stayed among the last ten. Our mediocre performance embarrassed my parents a great deal; in Taiwan, teachers’ children were generally expected to behave outstandingly and ace all the tests because their parents are past masters at education.

Dear Kooper,
I think the "Both" there. Is not clear enough to essay readers about who the "Both" is refering to.
Reader might think it could be your parents, or your parents as school teachers.

I think It can write like "Both of my parents......" or "Both my parents......".
Do you agree?
How about "Both as elementary school teachers,..."?
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Kat C
Member
文章: 377
註冊時間: 週三 9月 08, 2010 10:31 am

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Kat C »

Dear ISG YOYOers, if you'd like me to take a look at your piece, just let me know. Kooper has requested it before so I took the liberty of doing so. :wink:

The best writing is always a personal one, so share your stories wherever you can!


---------------
Proofread version of Kooper's piece:

My Childhood: Carefree on the Whole, A Few Dark Moments

Thankfully, I wasn’t brought up in the ways Amy Chua’s two daughters were. Both being elementary school teachers, my parents showed extraordinary tolerance for my brother’s and my poor grades in school. I never managed to earn myself a top ten spot in class, and my brother consistently lagged among the bottom ten. Our mediocre to below-par performance embarrassed my parents a great deal; in Taiwan, teachers’ children are generally expected to behave outstandingly and ace all the tests, because their parents are proven masters of the same education system. Another reason for the high expectations is that, decades ago, when most Taiwanese still lived in straitened circumstances and teaching was one of the best professions to be in, Teachers College only accepted the cream of the crop. Inheriting the brilliant genes, the kids were supposed to perform as well as their previous generation. If not, the blame would lay with the parents! Facing peer pressure and gossip, my parents didn’t turn to draconian measures. Instead they accepted the fact that both of us – my brother and I - were anything but geniuses.

Though my parents quite put up with our not-so-good performance in studying, they were strict in other aspects. I was first sweet-talked into attending a violin and an English course in fifth grade but was never allowed to quit until I started junior high. My parents also put me in a specially arranged band class, where all the students had to pick up an instrument for the school orchestra. None of theses efforts, however, turned out to work for me: After two years of English lessons I still couldn't write all the alphabets. No sooner had I left elementary school than I stopped practicing the violin, and the idea of resuming the learning has never crossed my mind since then. Neither had I become a classical music lover until a few years ago.

Overall, I still consider my childhood happy and carefree, thanks to my parents’ relatively liberal attitudes. During the summer and winter breaks, my parents let me goof around all day at a nearby park with other kids. I didn’t need to do school assignments until the last few days of the breaks.

------

Kooper, you need a couple more sentences to "finish" the piece. But other than that, very refreshing and full of great wordings!

Kat
最後由 Kat C 於 週一 1月 24, 2011 3:14 pm 編輯,總共編輯了 1 次。
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Just JJ
YOYO member
文章: 220
註冊時間: 週二 4月 29, 2008 7:34 pm

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Just JJ »

Dear Kat,
Please check up my essay. I'll be very happy to correct any error I made. :sun:

Dear All,
There is a classic novel, Bone, talking about Chinese immigants life in US, and Chinatown in California.

http://www.amazon.com/Bone-Fae-Myenne-N ... 251&sr=1-1
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Kat C
Member
文章: 377
註冊時間: 週三 9月 08, 2010 10:31 am

Re: YOYO-ISG 110123 Kat's Tips 4

文章 Kat C »

Hi JJ,

You make strong points and use great words, such as "cohesive", "group identity", and "overplay". :wink:

I don't quite get the "leadership" and "routine" reference in the third paragraph. Perhaps you can explain them in another way?

Here's the proofread version:


--------------------------------------------
Where to draw the line on parenting?*

The stereotype of a Chinese mother is relatively bossy and domineering towards their children, ensuring that Chinese children will learn the principles needed to live in groups. Contrasting that, Western-style parenting is always portrayed as more liberal and less forceful. Here comes a question: can one or a society exist with absolute liberty?

The norm for a Chinese community might allow less flexibility for individual preferences. A wedding banquet, for example, is a tradition in the Chinese culture, where the attendants might not necessarily be a group of people that the bride and groom truly want to invite. In the Western culture, a person generally feels honored to receive a wedding invitation, whereas in the Chinese culture a person might not feel the same. In Taiwan, a wedding invitation is called a red bomb for the reason that it comes in a red envelop, and traditionally people who receive it have to pay a certain amount of money at the wedding, depending on how close they are to the family, as a way to show respect.

A people living with a group identity, such as Chinese, have many codes to follow. A person spends most of the time in a group setting. During the day, a student spends more than six hours with the classmates, and an adult works in an organization partaking team work. In the evening, it's generally the case that communication between a school-aged child and his/her siblings or parents is a routine, and a parent role requires mothering or fathering skills to assign chores and organize activities. As long as people live socially, a certain norm and moral code need to be well defined for the purpose of “getting things done” more efficiently, and of having respect to stay cohesive. Therefore, if individualism by which the Western culture is basically characterized is overplayed, the society can not function.

It seems that liberty as a norm can set humans free, but it should not be exploited without limitation. A wedding banquet is a great instance demonstrating how group identity works in the Chinese culture. If personal thoughts and feelings are freely expressed without working cohesively as a structure to operate our society, organization, or family, task accomplishing will not be a possibility.

*“Draw the line” is used for trying to distinguish between two easily confused things. Here the two parenting styles are worlds apart so the general wording of “parenting” makes more sense.
-----------------------------

Very concise and with good logic!

Kat
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