In the same line of thoughts, I went to a Speech class about debate.
Fine, I said to myself, a class where you can speak up and discuss today's topics with your classmates.
I was so wrong. Right on the first day, the teacher explained that debate was great because then you can apply to debate competition. No kidding. Learn how to debate to get a prize? What?
What about learning to debate to be a good and mindful citizen, exercising the right to vote in an intelligent and informed way?
I dropped the class that same day, I could not stand it. No wonder you cannot talk about politics in social networks. You can only talk about movies, and even then, don't say to bluntly if you liked the movie, just tell what the story is about.
Let me tell you a secret : without debate you cannot know the people you talk to. And the dinner is boring.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
I don't care for your opinion!
Amazing comment from a teacher, about what he expected in the mid-term exam paper...
So here is my opinion!
I was born and raised in a country where you learn how to affirm and to explain your opinion, where exam subjects look like:
<<"PR=PRopaganda" Do you agree? Explain and comment. You have one hour.>>
If you don't state whether you agree or not at least in the conclusion of your paper, you'd get only half of the mark.
So you learn how to criticize, and to speak up, and to never take a statement for granted. Any piece of news is the start of a discussion, that may turn heated and loud - so what? Isn't that what democracy and free speech is about?
Here in this American college, this is not how it works, despite the First Amendment. If you say what you think, you're in trouble, obviously. So you just read the news, repeat a few facts that seems interesting, most of the times about Britney, and that's it. You stop there.
Do not think, do not judge, do not analyze, just repeat what the TV says.
At another time, I had the same teacher, following another path, trying to extract some dynamics from the class. "And what do you think of this?" he asked.
Too late, the student froze in surprise, got out a "I don't know" then stayed painfully silent, eyes on the floor, until the teacher dropped and moved on.
Teaching you to stay silent. Is that the goal of the US education, after all?
So here is my opinion!
I was born and raised in a country where you learn how to affirm and to explain your opinion, where exam subjects look like:
<<"PR=PRopaganda" Do you agree? Explain and comment. You have one hour.>>
If you don't state whether you agree or not at least in the conclusion of your paper, you'd get only half of the mark.
So you learn how to criticize, and to speak up, and to never take a statement for granted. Any piece of news is the start of a discussion, that may turn heated and loud - so what? Isn't that what democracy and free speech is about?
Here in this American college, this is not how it works, despite the First Amendment. If you say what you think, you're in trouble, obviously. So you just read the news, repeat a few facts that seems interesting, most of the times about Britney, and that's it. You stop there.
Do not think, do not judge, do not analyze, just repeat what the TV says.
At another time, I had the same teacher, following another path, trying to extract some dynamics from the class. "And what do you think of this?" he asked.
Too late, the student froze in surprise, got out a "I don't know" then stayed painfully silent, eyes on the floor, until the teacher dropped and moved on.
Teaching you to stay silent. Is that the goal of the US education, after all?
Monday, October 22, 2007
Truth as the first media casualty
Sweet terrifying moments, when you explore the depths of your ignorance - and the ignorance of others...
On the theme "media are means of propaganda but do not inform us," the teacher asked us a series of questions to test our knowledge of Iran, today's "enemy", according to TV.
The question on the capital city is easy, anybody watching CNN more than 15 minutes knows that. But at the question, "which race the Iranians claim they are from?", I start sweating... I have no idea! Caucasian seems too banal, although Iran is close from the mountains named Caucase?
In despair I glance to the copy of my neighbor - it's not an exam, just a friendly test to teach us our ignorance.
I freeze at her answer in horror. She wrote that the race of the Iranians is.... Muslim!
Sweetheart, don't you know Muslim is a religion? And by assimilation, if you think "the enemy" is the entire muslim world, then you're in for a life of terror, indeed, because your enemy stretches from Asia to Africa and, honestly, to your neighbors. It's a bit like saying all Christians are white, and vice-versa. Maybe that's how you think about Christians after all? That "we" are "good" and "they" are "evil", to quote your president?
How bad is a lack of information, and yes, a lack of basic education, that assimilate to a single country more than 1,300 years of world history and the second largest religion in the world?
If I can imitate the author of this page about Muslims:
In mass media propaganda, "as in war, truth is often the first casualty."
On the theme "media are means of propaganda but do not inform us," the teacher asked us a series of questions to test our knowledge of Iran, today's "enemy", according to TV.
The question on the capital city is easy, anybody watching CNN more than 15 minutes knows that. But at the question, "which race the Iranians claim they are from?", I start sweating... I have no idea! Caucasian seems too banal, although Iran is close from the mountains named Caucase?
In despair I glance to the copy of my neighbor - it's not an exam, just a friendly test to teach us our ignorance.
I freeze at her answer in horror. She wrote that the race of the Iranians is.... Muslim!
Sweetheart, don't you know Muslim is a religion? And by assimilation, if you think "the enemy" is the entire muslim world, then you're in for a life of terror, indeed, because your enemy stretches from Asia to Africa and, honestly, to your neighbors. It's a bit like saying all Christians are white, and vice-versa. Maybe that's how you think about Christians after all? That "we" are "good" and "they" are "evil", to quote your president?
How bad is a lack of information, and yes, a lack of basic education, that assimilate to a single country more than 1,300 years of world history and the second largest religion in the world?
If I can imitate the author of this page about Muslims:
In mass media propaganda, "as in war, truth is often the first casualty."
Sunday, October 21, 2007
It's easy and comfy!
The thing I was worried about at first, is that I have a lot more gray hair and wrinkles that my classmates, but they are all always so nice not one has made any comments about it. Who said the youngsters do not know how to behave?
A few steps I recommend for a successful immersion deep into the college bathtub:
- I colored my hair in blond, it saves me 10 years. Yeah !
- I swapped my top drawer with black pants and black jackets to the lowest level, to replace it with the drawer with jeans, sweaters and flip-flap. And it feels so good!
- I put my profile on Facebook and MySpace, and now I've got my own blog, wow !
- I chose a college right in the heart of the Silicon Valley, where people think of changing careers like changing wardrobe - a healthy renewal that you've got to do every few years, preferably when the Nasdaq is coming at its peak.
That way, I am not the only old crow in class.
That was not so difficult after all!
A few steps I recommend for a successful immersion deep into the college bathtub:
- I colored my hair in blond, it saves me 10 years. Yeah !
- I swapped my top drawer with black pants and black jackets to the lowest level, to replace it with the drawer with jeans, sweaters and flip-flap. And it feels so good!
- I put my profile on Facebook and MySpace, and now I've got my own blog, wow !
- I chose a college right in the heart of the Silicon Valley, where people think of changing careers like changing wardrobe - a healthy renewal that you've got to do every few years, preferably when the Nasdaq is coming at its peak.
That way, I am not the only old crow in class.
That was not so difficult after all!
40 and student !
Finally I've got to do what I like to do. It was about time. And what I like to do is learn learn learn.
So tired of corporate life. Like many women I was so naively head down into my daily job and daily duties that when I reached the glass ceiling at full speed, I hurt my head really badly. Ouch, what a brutal wake-up!
When the glorious time of my liberation arrived in the form of a thick check, I did not know where my career was going, but I knew where it was not going: back. What's next?
Back to college. Picking and exploring dream subjects I neglected when I was a young unsecured chick listening to my parents and striving to become an engineer, so I can get a happy and wealthy job for life. Yeah right. Delocalisation, merge and acquisition and other corporate ego-politics did not hit the headlines at that time, o happy days!
So now I am bathing in a delight of creativity: creative writing, creative photography, theater, advertising, journalism... you get the picture. Creative creative creative. Anything away from a computer !
How does it work when you're 40 and surrounded by MySpace generation? Well that may be the most interesting part of my learning...
So tired of corporate life. Like many women I was so naively head down into my daily job and daily duties that when I reached the glass ceiling at full speed, I hurt my head really badly. Ouch, what a brutal wake-up!
When the glorious time of my liberation arrived in the form of a thick check, I did not know where my career was going, but I knew where it was not going: back. What's next?
Back to college. Picking and exploring dream subjects I neglected when I was a young unsecured chick listening to my parents and striving to become an engineer, so I can get a happy and wealthy job for life. Yeah right. Delocalisation, merge and acquisition and other corporate ego-politics did not hit the headlines at that time, o happy days!
So now I am bathing in a delight of creativity: creative writing, creative photography, theater, advertising, journalism... you get the picture. Creative creative creative. Anything away from a computer !
How does it work when you're 40 and surrounded by MySpace generation? Well that may be the most interesting part of my learning...
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