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Author | Topic: True Freedom | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
messenjah:
I will not judge your intellect from your posts here but I find the defense of conformity usually attributed to those that are easily manipulated. I never defended conformity. I mentioned the need to strike a bargain with the universe. No reason your contract has to look the same as anyone else's. Not at all. But you will have to negotiate terms. No avoiding that part, I'm afraid. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
messenjah:
"the nice guy" empiricist Hume? Who called Hume a "nice guy"? Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
No need to prove anything, thanks. It's obviously a reference to Hume's standing as an enfant terrible. I just thought you might be quoting someone in particular.
Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
RAZD,
Your Joplin lyrics reminded me of a similarly ironic turn on the idea of freedom in a film. Are you familiar with Blue starring Juliette Binoche? It's part of a trilogy called Three Colors (Trois Couleurs) based on the colors of the French flag. The color blue represents Freedom. When you watch the film--and I highly recommend the experience to anyone who hasn't--you get the sense very early that freedom comes in a variety of forms. The English subtitled version of Bleu translates only the French dialogue. The choral music you hear all through the film, sung in Greek, is left untranslated. That's too bad, because many images in the film are drawn from this text, and the words are actually famous. If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, NRSV1 Corinthians 13 Edited by Archer Opterix, : Typo. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
Omnivorous:
Once upon a time, only peers and professors would witness this passage See what we go through? Good post. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
CK wrote:
Ah good times (well except for the riot control aspect of the job). I'm blessed to be working in Asia. College students don't suffer from narcissism here in the epidemic levels one sees elsewhere.They can be very loyal to past instructors, though. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
CK writes:
I tend to find that Asian students are a) not very good on word limits and b) like essay and exam questions to have AN ANSWER. I'm constantly asked what THE ANSWER is to any type of question that I set (not that I do much of that, I'm pure research, I only teach a module a year to keep my hand in). The Asian education model is driven by standards and tests. Students take standardized tests to determine what elementary school they can attend, then what junior high, then what high school, then what college. Students always attend the school they do based on how they performed academically. And going to the right school counts for much in a world where students wear uniforms every day. When students ride on the Metro--whether those students are 6, 10, 14 or 18--they know everyone on the train can see what school they attend. Everyone knows where the school stands in the pecking order--'That's the #1 school, that's the #5 school'--because everyone came through the same system. Families know, neighbors know. There's a long history behind this that predates by centuries the founding of the first European universities. Many advantages flow from this way of doing things. The main advantage is that it's egalitarian. Getting access to better education is made as strictly as possible a matter of merit. Students tend to invest in their own academic success early. Peer pressure works to encourage learning. Schools care about raising their academic rankings, not athletic standings. Schools know they do this by helping their students perform. But any structure involves tradeoffs. Doing well on standardized tests means delivering short, unambiguous answers. Then students enter college and begin, as they must, studies that admit more than one right answer. Suddenly they can feel at sea. How are they going to pass the test on this? Every college student has this moment, whether they study here or abroad. This is speaking very generally. Asian societies are very different from one another even though, from a Western perspective, the school structures look similar. Taiwanese students tend to be a very creative lot, very optimistic. They work hard and play hard. Their culture frowns on corporal punishment (still a problem in Japan) and values self-discipline more than regimentation (still the tendency in China). The arts are part of their curriculum from early childhod. So Taiwanese students are not all that intimidated by the idea of 'more than one right answer'. They will appreciate your best advice about how to prepare for your test. Give them that, though, and they're game for anything. Edited by Archer Opterix, : Typo. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
kuresu writes:
sounds like you all in taiwan have a system that appears to work well then. It has its drawbacks, as I say. But most of us will happily take the disadvantages given the advantages.
i wonder, how can we transport it over here? I'm thinking a cargo ship is too small I wouldn't say that. You could probably fit most of Taiwan onto the cargo ship. The main ingredient is strong central guidance by professional educators. Students meet national standards that are tested. Schools do, too: accreditation of all schools is handled by the government. People know a school is certified by the Ministry of Education or it isn't. It's like the federal guarantees you have in the US for food and banks. There's not much room for bogus colleges to offer bogus degrees through bogus accreditation agencies. No room exists for retired cops to demand that real science educators put in a plug for pseudoscience, as happened in Dover. The professionals run the schools.
do your all's standardized tests work? Well... it depends on what you mean by 'work.' You know how these things go. No one's going to design a perfect test. The exams are demanding, so a lot of learning takes place. High school graduates here tend to be solid on the facts of history, geography, math, grammar. And everyone has confidence in the tests. Most people feel they are fairly designed and administered.
ours over here aren't a very good measure of what the student knows. reason being--the classes become focused on passing that test, and focus solely on memorization of the facts, and not on why the facts are.which is what I think the biggest failure of standardized tests is. It robs the ability of the school to teach why and how, and forces on only what. and most students end up not remembering what, oh, say Boyle's law is. I know what you mean. Same pressures here. Definitely. You make an excellent point about learning styles. Fortunately, we have good teachers here. They know lasting learning--and even a good test score--depends on real understanding. Classes are structured to promote this. The national tests are constantly reworked, too, to try to measure this. It always depends on the teachers, when you get down to it. Tests don't teach. Edited by Archer Opterix, : Concision. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
Kuresu,
You mentioned you were exploring the idea of a major in international affairs. If you think this is a likely route for you, I hope you are involved already in some language studies. A specialty of that sort calls for some language skills and I know undergrad programs in the US don't always require foreign language study. If you pass it up now it could be taxing to try to catch up later. Summer language programs, especially those that involve study abroad, can be very helpful option for you at this stage of your studies. Have you thought about international law? Fascinating. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
The professional musican's lifestyle involves selling. Selling tickets, selling recordings, selling sheet music. Selling food and drinks by drawing a crowd to the restaurant that hired you for the gig.
It's a business. A noble business when done right. But a business nonetheless. No one has 'left the system' just because he stands behind a mike on Friday night instead of sitting behind a desk on Monday morning. That's trivia. And to succeed in that business normally takes a more uplifting message than 'All of you are mediocre and trivial and stupid, kiss my ass.' Not much of an audience for that. I wish you well in making art that exalts everyone, not just the artist. Edited by Archer Opterix, : Concision. Edited by Archer Opterix, : Revision. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this. - Bertrand Russell Crazy I remember when, I remember,I remember when I lost my mind There was something so pleasant about that place. Even your emotions had an echo In so much space And when you're out thereWithout care, Yeah, I was out of touch But it wasn't because I didn't know enough I just knew too much Does that make me crazyDoes that make me crazy Does that make me crazy Probably And I hope that you are having the time of your lifeBut think twice, that's my only advice Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you,Who do you think you are? Ha ha ha - bless your soul You really think you're in control Well, I think you're crazyI think you're crazy I think you're crazy Just like me My heroes had the heart toLose their lives out on a limb And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them Ever since I was little, ever since I was little It looked like fun And it's no coincidence I've come And I can die when I'm done Maybe I'm crazyMaybe you're crazy Maybe we're crazy Probably - Gnarls Barkley What a waste it is to lose one's mind, or not to have a mind. How true that is. - Dan Quayle Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
Brad,
Thank you. I take your point about Derrida. 'Speech Acts' Introduction I guess this is a rather 'parasitic' thread, too, given all the song quotes! And on that subject, here's a little number by Laurie Anderson.
Language is a Virus ParadiseIs exactly like Where you are right now Only much much Better. I saw this guy on the trainAnd he seemed to have gotten stuck In one of those abstract trances. And he was going: "Ugh . . . Ugh . . . Ugh . . . " And Fred said: I think he's in some kind of pain. I think it's a pain cry. And I said: "Pain cry? Then language is a virus." Language! It's a virus!Language! It's a virus! Well I was talking to a friendAnd I was saying: I wanted you. And I was looking for you. But I couldn't find you. I couldn't find you. And he said: Hey! Are you talking to me? Or are you just practicing For one of those performances of yours? Huh? Language! It's a virus!Language! It's a virus! He said: I had to write that letter to your motherAnd I had to tell the judge that it was you. And I had to sell the car and go to Florida. Because that's just my way of saying (It's a charm.) That I love you. And I (It's a job.) Had to call you at the crack of dawn (Why?) And list the times that I've been wrong. 'Cause that's just my way of saying That I'm sorry. (It's a job.) Language! It's a virus!Language! It's a virus! ParadiseIs exactly like Where you are right now Only much much (It's a shipwreck) Better. (It's a job.) You know? I don't believe there's such a thing as TV. I mean - They just keep showing you The same pictures over ond over. And when they talk they just make sounds That more or less synch up With their lips. That's what I think! Language! It's a virus!Language! It's a virus! Language! It's a virus! Well I dreamed there was an islandThat rose up from the sea. And everybody on the island Was somebody from TV. And there was a beautiful view But nobody could see. Cause everybody on the island Was saying: Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Why? ParadiseIs exactly like Where you are right now Only much much Better. -Laurie Anderson
_ Edited by Archer Opterix, : Brevity. Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
robinrohan writes:
You do? Do you? Archer All species are transitional.
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Archer Opteryx Member (Idle past 3624 days) Posts: 1811 From: East Asia Joined: |
Well, it's been fun, kids. Thanks for the music and the memories.
Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. 'The Beat Goes On' _ Edited by Archer Opterix, : Corrected spelling of 'la-dee-da-dee-da.' Archer All species are transitional.
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