alice-lau

[alice-lau]

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

In this book, Ariely blended day-to-day common experiences and psychological research with thought-provoking analysis. He explored human irrationalities from the perspective of scientific rationales. Each chapter starts with a “why” question to introduce the topic. 

The decoy effect mentioned in the Truth about Relativity is intriguing. A slightly worse decoy helps people make a decision between two options. For example, when people see the less-favored option (-A) when compared to the original option A, they are more likely to choose option A rather than option B. The lesson people can all learn from relativity is that “making relative judgments is the natural way we think. (p.21)” 

The biggest take-away for me from reading the Fallacy of Supply and Demand is that our initial decisions may influence us in a relatively long term. We may assume the value of something on the basis of other people’s previous behavior. This is called behavior herding. The more fascinating idea is self-herding. That means we are more inclined to make future choices based on our previous behavior or impression, so the subsequent experiences lie on our preferences. However, this kind of anchor, rooted in our initial decisions, may have a bias or negative impact on us. We may have lost a better chance while we stick to the old habit. 

In the chapter of the High Price of Ownership, Ariely noted that “the more work you put into something, the more ownership you begin to feel for it. (p.135)”. As soon as we think about the ownership, it simply changes our perspective as we might not need certain material things as if we were a nonowner. Most often, we are unaware of the emotions attaching to the materials things and we might not admit that the emotions can trouble our mind. 

Indeed, our main objective can easily be distracted by too many options. If we keep all the doors open, we may get more irritated. “We have an irrational compulsion to keep doors open. (p.150)” However, our time is limit and the options may drain us away. What we need is to think carefully and close some doors that wear out our emotions. In the end, the decision-making process will become easy if we are less distracted. 

One of my favorite quotes is shown as follows.

“The other side of this tragedy develops when we fail to realize that some things really are disappearing doors, and need our immediate attention. (p.149)” This quote resonates with me. Indeed, the options may vanish very soon when we are too focused on the less important options in our lives. Running from door to door may eventually link to a circumstance that we are burned out. This irrational impulse that pushes us to chase worthless options is particularly destructive when we face too many doors. 

Ariely cited from a philosopher Erich Fromm’s book called Escape from Freedom. It says, “people are beset not by a lack of opportunity, but by a dizzying abundance of it. (p.148)” It is empathetic to note that in our modern society there is a majority of people continually chase their dreams while their quality time is slipping away.  

#dan ariely

[alice-lau]

Assigning, Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide

The book was written in the new era of the teaching of writing as today there are a host of new modalities from the Internet social media to school e-platforms. The authors principally intended to provide a guide for teachers of college writing courses. Some thoughts on assigning writing, responding to student writing, and evaluating writing assignments and writing programs are available in the book. “Writing like parenting” (p.49) quoted from the authors is a reminder for composition teachers who find their writing instruction arduous.  

In the preface, the authors addressed how discussion of college writing instruction should worth more attention. “The teaching of writing and the work of teachers of writing will continue to develop and command more and more attention and resources as this century progresses, and we assume that the teachers of writing today and in the future will continue to affirm the importance of critical thinking and careful writing (thinking made visible) as central to the liberal arts and college education. (p.x)” Indeed, writing as a tool to sharpen students’ thinking is powerful. Particularly, the era of new technologies has brought innovation for composing ideas yet writing still serves as a crucial skill that helps people make their thinking visible. 

Part I and II of the book presented effective writing assignments that bolster students’ need for revision that is viewed as an essential part of the writing process. Writing teachers can devise their assignments and incorporate discrete writing tasks into their courses. Also, students have to get the understanding of the genre when they write papers on complex topics. A series of discrete or smaller tasks throughout the course can help students grasp the idea of what is involved in the larger assignment. Students work through the sequence of tasks can apply the simliar approach when they construct their own essays in other courses. Another way that facilitates teachers in composition courses is to discuss writing assignments with students. It is worthwhile for teachers to elicite writing from students and explain an assignment during the class period. It not only promotes students’ effectiveness on discussion but also encourages students to connect their thinking productively through interactive talks in classroom. 

To accomplish ESL learners’ goals of writing, teachers need to consider whether the assigned readings reflect the culturally relevant curriculum. Instead of tackling mere mechanics in the essays written by ESL learners, teachers might support their students by providing a safe space for academic discourse. Students who are comfortable with the language are more willing to explore the possibilities of writing in a new context. 

It is interesting to note that “since most teachers of writing have received advanced degrees in some field other than writing, they are likely to be tempted to design a course focused on the content of those fields instead of writing instruction, particularly when they have had little or no training in rhetoric and think that writing instruction is a limited or even remedial activity.” (p.21) This point of view could be problematic when teaching ESL students. Since reading should be used to support the teaching of writing rather than substituting for the teaching of writing. Composition teachers need to bear in mind that writing courses are supposed to enliven students’ thoughts on the writing conventions. The writing assignments, therefore, are supposed to guide the students through the the writing process. 

With the advanced technology, composition teachers can make use of the digital scholarly databases such as JSTOR, Academic Search Premier, and Google Scholar to give guided instruction in their class period. It is helpful to let students explore a topic in the databases and notice different disciplinary approaches and methods to find out their interested topics. 

One of the actual practice is to create a digital style assignment: Twitter &/as Platonic Dialogue (p.40). This assignment aims to help students critically synthesize viewpoints and engage in dialogues with the others. They will approach the digital genres and style. Here’s the writing instruction that illustrates how it works: 

“Review the annotations you made for your sources on your topic. What is the main point or argument of each source? Write these down in the margins of your annotations. Now, imagine the authors of these sources conversing over Twitter. Assign each source a Twitter handle (name) and begin putting your sources into conversation, using tweets of no more than 140 characters, and no more than 20 total tweets (or roughly 4 tweets per source). Remember to model stylistic conventions of Twitter - hashtags, irony, rhetorical questions, concision.” (p.41)

Never give puzzling abbreviations that are abstruse to students. Additionally, vague positive feedback might not be helpful if students do not what they did well. “Writers (like all learners) improve when they can internalize evaluation - when they can themselves see what needs to be changed and how to make those changes.” (p.50) Composition teachers should avoid obscure directions as well as mysterious judgment as their responses to students may be deemed as a waste of time. Revision should be taught as a practical task of writing but not as a remedial step. 

The role of composition teachers should be operated to proactively connect their students’ background knowledge about writing to discovery of writing practices. “But students will not learn much about writing if they are merely passive recipients of the teacher’s knowledge.” (p.53) Composition teachers need not to take control or exercise authority on their students’ papers because those students in the writing class have to think their own thoughts, invent, process, and revise. Let the students express what they personally delight in the writing process. 

In Evaluation part, the authors clearly distinguished holistic scoring guide and analytic rubric. It could be helpful to use scoring guides as part of teachng writing and to foster self-assessment. The chapter (p.70) offered a summary of a multitude of methods for handling the grading load. 

- Require student writin logs, whic you can skim and respond to without editing or grading through simple checkoffs. 

- Design writing assignments with care, present them in written form, and distribute samples of excellent responses.

- Include assessment criteria along with assignments. 

- Use student writing groups to give responses to early drafts or even to grade later drafts. 

- Assign writing - such as journal entries, five-minute writes, or freewriters- that you will not need to read.

-Resist overmarking, proofreading, editing, and red-marking, particularly on drafts.  

- Use scoring guides and class discussion of sample papers to develop student self-assessment and reduce the need for extensive comments on individual papers.

-Focus written comments on papers to a few main points, raising questions rather than proposing solutions and locating some passages for praise. 

- Designate a limited number of papers for presentation level and grading. 

#Edward M. White + Cassie A. Wright

[alice-lau]

Teaching Immigrant and Second-language Students: Strategies for Success

This book, published in 2004, draws on the challenges that English-language learners in the United States are facing. The book attempts to offer insights for teachers and teacher educators to teach the new generation of U.S. students. 

Here are some stunning statistics regarding the U.S. educational demographics:

- One in five children in the United States comes from an immigrant family (i.e., one or both of their parents were born outside the country).

Teaching immigrant and second-language students has become a pressing topic over the years. It’s always not too late to rethink what we are doing and to do it better. 

In chapter 2, cases regarding the assessment of immigrant students indicated that some language screenings administered may be dated and seemingly impeded by some form of culturally misunderstanding. The screening process described in the chapter was deemed to ignore students’ cultural background that may possible influence their behavior in classrooms. Some language-minority children, who may be temporarily intimidated by the new learning model, could be placed in special education due to a mistaken language assessment. Rather than looking at the deficiencies in students’ language ability, teachers should take account into students’ background social and cultural factors as well, such as students’ interaction with peers, culture of origin, parent’s dominant language. A socialcultural approach could be used to access a child’s individual learning strengths since every child is seemed as a unique example of complexity. 

“If language-minority children are not mislabeled as special education students early on, they stand a better chance of thriving in a mainstream academic environment later on. (p.29)” It needs a concerted effort of educators to ensure that limited-English-proficient students receive equitable opportunities to develop their strengths. A more careful look can often bring up with different stories. It is necessary that educators need to conduct realistic assessments and gain better knowledge about language acquisition issues before they determine whether a student has a learning disability. 

Chapter 4 calls for more systematic approaches to imrpoving immigrant students’ performance in high-stake standardized tests. How could teachers  help their students get familiar with academic content and culture in English? As noted, conversational English is not academic English. Immigrant studentts have to receive explicit instruction on rhetorical styles in writing. Creative writing may not be the best fit to ELLs if they most struggle with academic writing. Students need to be accustomed to the rhetorical patterns and structures in English writing before they produce meaning-making thoughts. Yet, many times, ELLs are trained to produce cohesive paragraphs when they simply fail to master the basics. The quote in the end of the chapter could be served as a good reminder of what teachers could keep themselves accountable (p.57):

1) Learning should be rooted in joy. (Yes! Students without affection and motivation are hardly to partake in the learning process)

2) The most miportant thing to learn about reading is to love it.  

3) We all need help with our writing. (I can’t agree more on this statement. I won’t consider it as an overgeneralized fact.)

4) For some of us, art and music are as important as breathing. 

5) No lesson on math, reading, or writing is so important it can’t be interrupted for a lesson on honesty, generosity, or compassion (Matthews, 2004).

It is true that writing acts as a powerful tool for writers to explore the multiple facets of their lives. Writing often allows students to dig deeper with the topics they are studying. This book puts forth sociocultural theories that could be adopted to teach second-language writing. Actually, immigrant students could be encouraged to navigate new lives and new norms under the guidance provided by writing teachers. Instead of writing on “safe topics” (such as recounting their stories about their origins and families), immigrant students could learn how to respond to the real-life issues they are less certain of and what they are not sure about. 

One thing teachers who have immigrant and refugee students in class should bear in mind is “the educational quality and customs in refugee camps in developing countries are often much different from those in industrialized nationa. (p.74)” Some refugee students may have been traumatized by their prior living conditions. Their formal education could largely vary with their same-age peers. The ultimate goal of classroom instruction is to meet the students where they are and give them the support. It is suggested that literacy skills and cultural concepts could be taught in form of problem-solving and collaboration. Also, the book states that successful instruction should focus on spiraling curriculum that exmpasizes constant review. Both teachers and students could build portfoloios of their work. Teachers could fashion a record of their students’ academic achievements. It takes time to build the collaborative structures and relationships with students, but the effort is worthwhile when such structures and relationships lead to positive immigrant student outcomes.  

Virtually, school programs that yield highly successful rate of immigrant student results incorporate the following fundamentals (p.120).

modified instructional strategies, exposure to rigorous academic curriculum, extracurricular integration, extra time, and schoolwide reform.  

#michaelsadowski

[alice-lau]

Mere Christianity

This book is one of the top read choices on the list of Chrsitian books. The author segments the contents into four parts - Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe, What Christians Believe, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality: Or First Steps in the Doctrine of the Trinity. The chapters were first broadcasted on the air. CW Leswis seeks in his book to help people see the crust of Christianity. First published in 1952, Mere Christianity carries the motives and influences that give people a more comprehensive picture of understanding what it means to be a Christian. 

CW Lewis made it quite clear that “the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or -- if they think there is not - at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. (p.63)” From everyday examples, people have their own criteria on drawing a line between good deeds and wrong deeds. Some religions request believers to worship and do goods for the return of benefits. For example, if a person helps the others, a certain good fortune will be rewarded from “a heavenly goddess”. Yet, this is not what a Christian thinks. God, in the eyes of a Christian, will make us good because He first loves us. 

Living a Christian life doesn’t mean being cut off by the evil world. Certainly, only when we understand more and more clearly how the evil works, we can be more conscious about our own badness. As the passage goes, “You understand sleep when you are awake, not while you are sleeping. You can see mistakes in arithmetic when your mind is working properly: while you are making them you cannot see them. You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk. Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either.(p.93)” We cannot be awaken if we pretend to sleep. The world is not under our control. Morality may lead us to the reality that we are ignorant or careless of our guilts and bad manners. To put it simply, the Christian virtues seem to be based on the assumption that people realize their own weaknesses and sins while they know the irresistible love doesn’t come from their own but from God.

Another notion we get from this book is that being a Christian is to start to have “a real giving up of the self (p.226)”. CS Lewis spent a chapter on depicting The Great Sin. His point showed, “according to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind (p.121-122).”  It is certainly the Pride that draws us from the presence of God. For Pride is like “spiritual cancer (p.125)”: it engulfs the alive elements (love, or even other senses) of a man being. It is not uncommon that people who are eaten up by Pride when they put it into the very centre of their lives. They forget about themselves as a self that has finite longevity and limited power compared to the nature. 

Christian love is not bound to the law or commandment. “But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference. (p.133)” The hope in a Christian’s heart is the eternity with God. By hearing faith, people have the power in Christ. CW Lewis pointed out the importance of hearing the Word. “If you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines hsall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life.(p.141)” These are the ways that people attune themselves to what they believe. The belief is not merely religious in one’s mind. Instead, it should remain alive. 

CW Lewis explained how faith is established in a Christian language. “To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. (p.147).” Through obeying God’s word, people have a better sense of His will. The author used a witty parable to explain the relationship between Christians and God. “When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him. And, in fact, He shows much more of Himself to some people than to others- not because He has favourites, but because it is impossible for Him to show Himself to a man whose whole mind and character are in the wrong condition. Just as sunlight, though it has no favourites, cannot be reflected in a dusty mirror as clearly as in a clean one. (p. 164). 

The later chapters of the book illustrated how God’s time is different from the concept humans understand. For Him, yesterday, today, and future is all at the present. Humans have the term “time” to describe how things started and ended. The process of time always has an origin in the past. Yet, God simply sees people doing things, no matter they did or will do. Even though this idea is not written in the Bible, CW Lewis introduced it in the sense that greatly helped Christians know how God knows everyone’s schedules. “In a sense, He does not know your action till you have dones it: but then the moment at which you have done it is already ‘Now’ for Him.” (p.171) Time as a straight line can be applied to humans but it apparently is different in the picture of God. That is difficult at the first glance. To notice, God Himself lives through the eternity. 

Another difficult concept in Christianity is the three-personal God. The Christian statement “God is Love” is always quoted among churches. Yet, people seem not to notice that there is no meaning of this statement unless God “contains at least two Persons (p.174)”, as love is a reciprocal and dynamic relationship. The relationship with God begins as a Christian that lives in His Power that will never stop. God holds no reservation for those who put themselves in His hands. 

Here’s a parable from George MacDonald (and CW Lewis found he must borrow it). It demonstrated how God’s tremendous love transforms people and brings new hope in their lives. 

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can undertsnad what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself. (p.205)”

#cs lewis

[alice-lau]

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Mindset:The New Psychology of Success, written by Carol Dweck, delves into the questions that how people would fulfill their successes through a growth mindset. “The fixed minset makes you concerned with how you’ll be judged; the growth mindset makes you concerned with improving. (p.13)”  

 The book demonstrates the differences between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. The chapters illustrate why people differ in the ways they think and how mindsets change the meaning of failure. Particularly, the idea of mindsets helps teachers to re-evaluate their teaching and to help their students learn and grow. Dweck draws examples from different aspects of people's lives such as business, relationships, sports, and schools. She emphasizes the power of shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. 

When introducing the concept of the mindsets in chapter 1, Dweck mentioned the most significant criteria in creative achievement is "the kind of perseverance and resilience produced by the growth mindset. (p.12). The growth mindset is also recommended in any corporate training program. Companies need to hire a person who "has a zest for teaching and learning, an openness to giving and receiving feedback, and an ability to confront and surmount obstacles. (p.142)" It is far more important that leaders are willing to adapt a growth mindset at their work than those who are extremely smart and talent but exclusively manipulate their power. 

When it comes to relationships, the author cited a French expression: "Tout comprendre c'est tout pardonner." which means to understand all is to forgive all. For couples with the growth mindset, they learn to prioritize forgiveness and to practice encouragement. It is commonly understandable that a great marriage relationship doesn't assume no discrepancies in how a husband and a wife believes. Developing in relationships is to learn how to deal with difficulties and develop communication skills. 

Here's a wise reminder from the book, "your failures and misfortunes don't threaten other people's self-esteem. Ego-wise, it's easy to be sympathetic to someone in need. It's your assets and your successes that are problems for people who derive their self-esteem from being superior. (p.163)" When we are internalized in a growth mindset, we tend not to judge other people but stand more chances that make us become genuine and courageous. 

There are also some practical advice for teachers and parents to adopt. It is better to praise children for their hard work and improvement rather than their brains and talent. "It doesn't work, and in fact has the opposite effect. It makes children doubt themselves as soon as anything is hard or anything goes wrong. If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. (p.177)" Teachers and parents don't have to lower their standards in order to build up children's confidence.

A very encouraging message about great teachers is conveyed in this book, "The great teachers believe in the growth of the intellect and talent, and they are fascinated with the process of learning. (p.194)"

#carol dweck

[alice-lau]

一個地方

科幻小說構造的世界不一定充滿外星猛獸或智能機器，也可以是一個樸素至極的原始境界。在《一個地方》中，藍種人沒有欲望，一切生理需求回歸大自然。那樣的人沒有罪惡，卻也沒有愛的認知。人，為何而生，為何而活？

此書為倪匡在2002年完成，於2003年出版。正如作者所言，《一個地方》沒有轟轟烈烈的情節，跟以往的衛斯理系列故事不同，書中主要複述一位世界知名探險家岩石的一段經歷。出版書籍的年份為2003年，十多年過去，書中角色岩石所提到的烏托邦就像永久存活在一個平行時空，人們在現實世界無法接觸，只能靠腦內世界自行填補。

略知倪匡背景的讀者對書中敘述不免有所聯想。在一些訪問節目中，倪多次談到他對極權統治的鄙夷，表現對中共極深的不信任。當年從上海逃亡到香港的經歷，讓他更珍惜活著的自由。正如《一個地方》提到一個情節，是紅綾跟溫寶裕對地球人的爭論，紅綾不明白為什麼溫寶裕把人分成了兩種，一種是應該被滅的，一種是有資格繼續活的，而在他們的對話中，出現了這麼一段旁白：就像在自由環境中生活的人，看到居然有人在極權統治之下，連基本的人權都沒有，可是一樣可以生活得興高采烈，歡欣鼓舞，你覺得不可思議，他覺得活著就是活著。

少時求學期間在課堂上寫文章，經常會遇到兩個選項：抒情或議論。我總是毫不猶豫地選前者，可是分數往往是後者比較理想。終於到大學在選修課創作班上才恍然大悟，華麗堆砌的措辭比不過細膩描述的實情。濫情就像是色彩鮮艷卻修飾不出精緻五官的妝容，拼命塗抹也遮掩不住刻意描畫的線條，很是造作。 

#倪匡之衛斯理系列

[alice-lau]

Oprhan Train Girl

The backdrop of the book is based on a little-known but intriguing episode in America’s history. The moment when thousands of homeless, orphaned, and poverty-stricken children who mostly were first-generation Irish-Catholic immigrants were riding on trains from New York City to other towns. Those children were later indentured or contracted to the families. Their fates changed drastically afterwards.

The story narrates the cross-generational friendship between Molly, who is originally from a Native American family, and Vivian, who immigrated from Ireland and spent most of her childhood as an indentured child. Despite of the age difference, Molly, a young foster girl, found herself surprisingly have many thoughts in common with a well-off ninety-one-year-old Vivian. Their individual and unique family stories built up as a whole. 

Molly, after stealing a book from the library, is told to complete her service hours at Vivian’s home. Molly gradually unwinds her emotional binds that make her so hard to get along with her foster parents. Together with Vivian, Molly grows her friendship and forgiveness. She learns that VIvian used to live in brokenness and lost her own identity as an Irish immigrant. As Vivian recalls, “I have to pretend. Smile and nod and try to act like everyboday else, even though I feel broken inside. (p.110-111), Molly, in a simliar way, thinks she cannot deal with her life after her biological mum left her. 

There’s a scene when Vivian (Niamh), who was once renamed as Dorothy, saw the classroom where she could again study and read books. Vivian is thrilled with the chances that she can dig up treasure of knoweldge. Even though life is not always fair to her, Vivian is content with the learning opportunities. Her teacher, Miss Larsen, is described as “Her face was pretty and lively, with big brown eyes and a wide smile. Her shiny brown hair was pulled back with a white ribbon. (p.122)” That scene particularly struck me when I read. All I can think about is how amazing teachers are when they actually show an impact on their students. 

The book leaves me with a thought - We can’t alter our childhood because when we were too young, we were inevitably being influenced and shaped by the people around us. As Vivian says, “Life throws us together with all sorts of people. And we don't have much choice about most of them. Certainly not when we're young...People don’t always give us what we need. Sometimes they just won’t. But often it’s because they simply can’t." (P.154-155) Look on the bright side, when we care enough, we can guard our soul so it’s not easily crushed. As often, people never would have expected fragile things to last so long. Who knows? 

#christinabakerkline

[alice-lau]

Paper Towns

Paper Towns is not an ordinary teenage novel. The story is a mix of romance and philosophy. A highschooler Quentin Jacobsen follows the clues of his crush Marago Roth Spiegelman to start an adventurous journey. On the journey, Quentin wants to unveil Margo's mystery and he later realizes he has wrongly imagined Margo. Tracing back to the year when Quentin and Margo both were nine years old, they found a dead man in a nearby park. Since then the incident has imprinted on their mind. 

Green set the characters in a fictional suburb of Orlando, Florida, where he spent most of his childhood. Through the use of symbols, Green linked the lives of the characters. A dominant symbol is the image of strings breaking inside a person. It becomes a metaphor used throughout the book. When Quentin and Margo discovers Robert Joyner’s body in the park, Margo astounds that all of the strings inside that man must have broken. The other scene is that Margo describes her friends are the only strings holding her. The image of strings represents the relationships that connect a person to the living world. For example, Margo hopes she is apart from Florida by cuting the strings that tie her to her parents, her friends and past events. 

Not only Margo uses the image of strings, Detective Warren, who is in charge of Margo’s run-away-from-home case, likens Margo to a balloon which is drifting away without its strings. The image of strings can be a source of strength, however the image can be a form of less freedom. For Quentin, strings and connections are what ground him and give him a sense of reality. For Margo, she is tied to the unwanted relationships by strings. She feels that the strings make her pain as she always have the fatal feeling of lacking freedom. 

The most excruciating yet stunning scene happens near the ending of the story. It takes place when Quentin and Margo have a conversation about their vaguely-implied relationship,

“But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and        when we finaly fall apart. And It’s only in that time twe see one another, because we see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs. When did we see each other face to face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade, but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.”

When it comes to an initimate relatioinship, two people can inevitably let each other see out of themselves through their broken sides. And at such moment, the light of truth can shine on both of them.

#johngreen

[alice-lau]

Girl Meets Change: Truths to Carry You through Life’s Transitions

When we thrive through changing circumstances, we are better equipped to be God’s vessel for blessing others He puts in our lives. 

The book title clearly indicates the main message of the author - Truths that help you thrive through life’s changes. The book is divided into three parts: Acknowledge, Accept, and Adapt. Answering God’s calling to transitions is one way to stretch our faith and broaden our horizon. When facing changes that make us reluctant to accept, we should consider our own selves in the stretch of time (past, present, and future) and how God has loved us everlastingly. He loves us without the limit of time, so whatever circumstances happening in our lives are part of His everlasting love of us. 

As what Theodore Roosevelt puts, “There can be no life without change...and to be afraid of waht is different or unfamiliar is to be afraid of life.” Strong encourages us to give up worring about the tomorrows of change. She shares a perspective that God initiates and He provides. At times we feel particularly weak in dealining with challenges, but we can look to the horizon and trust God. Strong wants us to trade our what is for what will be as God knows what is best for us. 

Strong quotes some Bible characters to reveal God’s promises and blessings through changes. An example of Abram’s story is proof of faith. When God wants us to step out of our comfort zones, He is as committed to us as He was to Abram in Genesis. When God asks us to give up something, it’s because He wants to give us something better (p. 85)”. There is always a promise of blessing coming after a change that God sends us packing.  

“Life’s limitations are God’s invitation to change our expectations (p.96)”. Indeed, limitations are sometimes hard to accep. As we grow, we have to accept the unacceptable that change brings. However, just like Joseph’s life in Genesis, God still had good things planned for him even though undesirable scenarios brought limitations. Joseph did not doubt God’s faithfulness and he believed God was still watching over his life. 

Strong ends a chapter - Asking the Right questions to Become Fit for the Right Purpose - with an encouraging message: “When we realize our highest purpose through change is to glorify God, He gives us the brave encouragement we need to make it through (p.186)”.  

Change is a blessing from God as He widely opens our eyes and changes our vision to enlighten ourselves as well as others. God’s purpose in blessing one is to bless many, so He brings change to one who may change many for good. 

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him. - Lamentations 3:25 

#Kristen Strong

[alice-lau]

There is More

“God can do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” Ephesians 3:20-21 

I’ve seen how God can take limitations that have been put on my life and expand my heart to feel more. His faithfulness is way more than I ever thought and God has given me more than I dreamed. Heavenly Father sees more in me than I could ever see in myself. There’s more when it comes to His love and grace. Life is mixed with triumphs and failures and God’s will for our life is hoping us to understand that there’s more goodness, mercy, love, and forgiveness. 

“If you’re dreaming about something you can do on your own, you’re dreaming too small! God-sized dreams are dreams that can be done only when you put your faith in Creator, the One who knows the beginning from the end and who desires your future to be filled with hope and abundance.” (p.10)

Stay still. Sometimes it’s hard to discern what God has put in our hearts and hopes us to do. “Whatever dreams are in your hand- your family, your career, your ministry, or whatever-don’t count it as significant.” (p.15) This is a good reminder. 

God Never Disappoints - We have our lives filled with purpose, blessing, and more. When God appoints, He doesn’t disappoint us. Reborn like a new baby means we simply absorb every new experience day by day and place no doubt on adventures God presents to us. 

Do we have the ears to hear the Holy Spirit if He whispers? At times our lives have too many different distractions and concerns that can fill up our minds and dim our vision. God has promises in our lives, but we need to ask ourselves whether we have the vision that is inspiring enough to wake us up. Have I prepared myself for all that God has planned for my future?

Here’s a good reminder - “The first two things that disappear when something has changed in the heart of an individual, a couple, or perhaps a family are joy and generosity.” (p.96) It’s true that many things can jade the way we view and make us stumble if we do not protect our minds. 

As Christians, we have to constantly reflect on our mind and ask ourselves, “Do you think that sometimes we look for spiritual answers simply because we want God to do all the work?” (p.128) Be strong and courageous. God wants to take our lives forward. Our God always prevails. God’s promises are always exceedingly above all you can ask or imagine. 

#BrianHouston

[alice-lau]

The Alchemist

A Journey of Finding Love 

The Alchemist depicts an adventure about a shepherd boy, Santiago. His journey began with a recursive dream that tells him to find a treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt. Santiago learns lessons from different teachers (the King, the merchant, the Englishman, the Alchemist) he meets on the trip. For Santiago, life is full of tests and doubts, but the challenges help him better grow his potential. He is an ordinary boy living with his sheep and old books until one day that he encounters an old man who tells him to realize his destiny. 

Santiago’s pursuit of his dream also resonates with the teachers surround him. The King meets Santiago and tells him to read omens. He shows Santiago how important it is to recognize one’s Personal Legend. “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation...And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it (p.22)”. 

Here’s a story about the legend of Narcissus in prologue. But the story had a different ending. After Narcissus died, the goddesses of forest found the lake which had been transformed into salty from fresh water. The goddesses asked the lake, “Why do you weep?” and the lake said. “I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.” 

The difference that Narcissus’s death made to the Lake is how everyday life changes. The Lake is no longer able to appreciate the own beauty through Narcissus. The story is connected to Santiago’s journey of searching his Personal Legend. His search is not done alone but with other companions. Each session includes Santiago’s interaction with the other people who direct or teach him the new lessons. 

Another interesting message Coelho shared in the book is related to how people view their lives. “Every day was the same, and when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises (p.27)”. This quote is also linked to Oscar Wilde’s, “Each man kills the thing he loves.” It is possible that people feel guilty when they have failed to get what they want and feel that they actually do not deserve to achieve what they want either. The obstacles easily renounced happiness and deceived people who fought so hard to realize the personal calling.  

A final quote:

“When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times (vii)”.

#PauloCoelho

[alice-lau]

In Our Time

In Our Time is a collection of short stories with a time setting of World War I. There are 15 chapters in total. The stories were published for the first time in 1925. Like other pieces of writing done by Ernest Hemingway, the style of language in the book is plain and modest. Even though the sentences are less florid, the emotions revealed through the stories are powerful and realistic. Many of the critics suggested that Hemingway’s In Our Time is purely masculine and an aesthetic appreciation of male bonding.  

The short stories mainly depict how male soldiers face their life changes after WWI and how they view the society. Hemingway incorporated many male characters into the scenes while some of the characters’ thoughts about the value of life are obviously twisted by their experiences throughout the war. Hemingway’s style helps create the true and real depiction of the way as the narrative is restricted to a simple flow. All the stories weave together to create the potraits of people, mostly Americans, before, during, and after the war. The themes of In Our Time surround the relationships including same-sex bonding, masculinity, and the arbitrary connections between men and women. The spirits of most characters in the short stories are undergone a drastic transformation because of the war. Taken Nick as an example, he has turned into a more mature and masculine man in Big Two-Hearted River when compared to the time when he is an assistant to his father in Indian Camp. 

Hemingway’s depiction of death in the prologues of the short stories particularly moved me while I was reading. Here’s a passage from Chapter XIV that captured the moment when a man died, “Maera wanted to say something and found he could not talk. Maera felt everything getting larger and larger and then smaller and smaller. Then it got larger and larger and larger and then smaller and smaller. Then everything commenced to run faster and faster as when they speed up a cinematograph film. Then he was dead.” The sentences are plain, but powerfully loaded with the tension that you cannot miss in between the lines. This is Hemingway’s story. 

#Ernest Hemingway

[alice-lau]

Journey to Jo’burg

This is an award-winning children’s book written by Beverley Naidoo, who lived in South Africa before moving to English at her young age. The story gives a glimpse at life as black African families during Apartheid, a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa from 1948 through the early 90s. 

In the story, a young girl Naledi and her younger brother Tiro set off a long journey to find their mother in Johannesburg as their youngest sister is very sick. The journey of Naledi and Tiro not only saves their sister’s life but also opens up their eyes to the real world. On the journey, the two young children explore themselves to the unfairness and discrimination during the period. Growing up in a small village, Naledi and Tiro never think about their life living in another city. Once they enter the area of Johannesburg, they start to learn about the inequalities that black Africans face in daily. 

Naledi and Tiro are brave enough to begin the journey as they would have to walk almost 200 miles to arrive in Jo’burg where their mother works. The realities of Apartheid come to Naledi and Tiro. They get yelled when trying to get on a “Whites Only” bus, and they are terrified to death that they might be caught by the white farmer who grows orange trees.  

“Her mind wandered over the terrible events in Soweto, to Dumi and to the word in big letters - freedom. What did the word really mean? Did it mean they could live with their mother? Did it mean they could go to secondary school? But Grace said the children arched because they had to learn a  lot of ‘rubbish’ in school. So what would ou learn in a school with freedom?” (p. 49) Here is an excerpt from the book revealing the historical event The Soweto Uprising in 1976. Thousands of Black school students gathered on streets and protested against the policy of using Afrikaans which was only spoken by the members of the ruling government but not well understood by African students. Afrikaans is also regarded as the “language of the oppressor.” 

Once in South Africa, the youth dared to sacrifice their own lives for the liberation of their peers and the future education of their generations. It is the spirit of righteousness that gives people boldness and empowers them with courage. 

Reference:

https://www.newsweek.com/soweto-uprising-hector-pieterson-memorial-471090

#BeverleyNaidoo

[alice-lau]

ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors

Edited by Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth

The book constructs an overview of how tutors could improve their instructional strategies for working at a multilingual writing center. The chapters aim to articulate the common struggles among ESL writers and share tutors with a guide to collaborating with students who are from linguistic backgrounds other than English. The authors challenge us to rethink what we ask our students to do. Writing in another language might be conceived as a tedious task as it requires step in fixation of ideas and formulation of sentences. Students not only have to put down their thoughts on the paper but also to develop the writing skills that help them excel in inhabiting their thoughts in essays and self-editing their errors. 

"The language they use has filled their communicative needs, and they may not really perceive (or be able to remember) the difference between what they prodcue and the target forms or correct language expected of them in writing" p.6 As writing is so different from the spoken form of language, 1.5 generation students who have the training from their high schools may not be able to learn thoroughly the repertoire of language features for academic texts in English. Even though many of them have been using English for communication, they may probably need a more rigid structure of learning academic writing. There seems to be a huge gap between their conversational English and academic English usage. 

"They describe English essay as extremely lockstep: introduction of two to three sentences ending with a thesis statement, body paragraph(s) of two to three points (depending on how many words the writing prompt requires) or reasons for position taken, and concluding paragraph repeating the main idea." p.9 The overly structured essay teaching is so common among EFL countries. Students who are taught by this type of scripted style of writing easily cling to produce "standard" form of esssays. These students understand the basics of academic English essays, yet they are far from reaching the expectations of their professors especially who are native speakers of English. It is also said that their thoughts may be unnecessarily constrained because of the fixed structure. Is this kind of teaching really bad for ESL writers? How can they learn to write without being explicitly told about the structue and sentence functions? The free-flow style of expression may just sound unfamiliar to these students. 

"When learning a second language, learners move from controlled processing (paying attention) to repeated activation (practicing) to automatization (being available whenever called on)." p.25 It's true that learners need to consciously recall the skills they learn when they practice writing in a second language. Learners attain fluency when they don't have to stop to think about component skills all the time. It's particularly important to those learners who want to improve the fluency in speaking. Actually there's a term called "backsliding" which is a sign of the learner's language development. 

"A tutoring session isn't just about one particular paper; it's about learning expectations for writing in English and learning how to prioritize issues." p.37 Some students may be too consumed with getting their papers fixed so that they ignore the more important goal which is to become a better writer and a proficient self-editor. Students may easily lose sight of the big picture if they just want to get help from tutuors who can correct every single error in their writings. 

"ESL writers and their texts vary widely from individual to individual and from situation to situation, and overgeneralization should be avoided." p.43 Even though teachers shouldn't overgeneralize and categorize their students' traits, it is helpful to understand some of the general characteristics of many ESL writers and their texts. In this way, teachers can better evaluate their students who are in the process of developing the understanding of the English language, parcticularly the language features including the form and use.

"Studies of error gravity generally show that professors tend to react more negatively to global errors - errors that affect the comprehension of meaning - such as the wrong word choice, word order, and verb tenses." p.47 One of the potential implications for such studies is that tutors/teachers may want to focus more on global errors rather than on local errors when reading ESL students' writings. Is this a good approach to teach students how to edit their grammatical errors? It may not be possible to tell the difference between global errors and local errors as the meaning depends on the context. Would it be better if students learn how to clarify their meanings when they write and what they try to communicate? 

"For many ESL writers, reading their paper out loud may shit their attention to the pronunciation of the English language - an aspect of language proficiency separate from writing in English. p.47 As ESL writers read, they may focus on the pronunciation of certain words that distract them from reviewing the grammatical errors and meanings of their texts. It may be more helpful for the ESL writers to hear their tutors read the paper out loud. 

“Topical structure analysis can help writers look at both global coherence (what the whole text is about) and local cohension (how sentences "build meaning" by connecting to each other and to the text as a whole)." p. 69 It's useful that students can learn how to analyze their own texts and keep the main idea of the paragraphs they write clear. Once they identify the sentence topics of the paragraphs, they are more likely to be able to relate the topics to the paragraphs and to the whole essay. Also, such skill should be guided explicitly by tutors. It helps tutors emphasize on higher-order concerns when they discuss the underlined topics with student writers.

"You might also consider graphically illustrating the various elementts of a piece of written work (introduction, body, conclusion), showing the erlative size and importance of each, along with some notations about what kinds of things might be included in each element." p.86 This kind of illustration can be used to represent both the forms and the language structure of the student writers' texts. It assists students in  visualizing their main ideas in the paragraphs and creating a picture or a list together. Also, the writers can take the paper with them and the paper can be an additional reference that they can consult when revising the essays. Try it!

"Six error types that are treatable and are often frequent or serious in ESL college compositions: Subject-verb agreement, verb tense errors, verb from errors, singular and plural errors, word form errors, sentence structure errors." p. 119 It would be worthwhile to try create an error table for students when helping them learn how to self-edit their own papers. The table would include the numbers of errors they made each time so that the students could track their progress of writing. 

Other references:

The Longman Guide to Peer Tutoring

Tutoring Writing: A Practical Guide for Conferences 

Amy Tucker, Decoding ESL: International students in the American College Classroom 

Janet Lane and Ellen Lange, Writing Clearly: An Editing Guide  

#BenRafoth

[alice-lau]

Passion and Purity

Elisabeth Elliot recalls her journey of love with her husband Jim Elliot in the book. Questions surrounding relationships and love affairs are answered in chapters of the book, such as “is this person right for me?” Elliot shows her own story of five and a half years of loving her husband, Jim, and how she learns the principles from God’s words, the disciplines of loneliness and unconditional commitment to Christ. It is indeed a challenging task to many of the youths in the contemporary time. 

Our passion and purity for our own living purposes as disciples of Jesus are easily settled when we yearn for finding the One. Elliot illustrates how she clings on the need to commit daily to Christ and shares her temptations and sacrifices of the relationship which takes the priority of God over her love for her future husband. The book gives directions in areas like singleness and marriage and putting God’s words ahead of personal desires. I’m encouraged by Elliot’s brave and her obedience to God as she walked along the path of loneliness when she decided to pursue the linguistics degree and live apart from her lover. The letters written by Jim to her emphasize the reminder that we should put our human passion and desire through God and guard our hearts. Since God is love and sinless, and He hopes us, His children, to be purified. 

Things are easier said than done as always. I have no doubts that Elliot has srictly walked through the trails and fully committed herself to the authority of God. Her marriage is such a blessing that allows the couple to be always held in the love of God.

The book consistently reminds us of the importance of our faith. We may be bitterly suffered during the period of waiting for God’s providence. We may also question ouselves, “does our singlehood appear to be an inadequate status for deep personal growth?” 

1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered a while, he himself will mend that which was broken.” If all struggles and sufferings were elimiated, the spirit would no more reach maturity than would the child. The Heavenly Father wants to see us grow up (p.90). Elliots adds that “when anyone is united to Christ, there is a new act of creation; the old order has gone, and a new order has already begun. (p.188).” God’s times have never changed, even though human longings seem to change. 

#Elisabeth Elliot

[alice-lau]

扶桑

扶桑此女子讓我想到了施叔青筆下的黃得雲。扶桑的身世在大時代中丟失，成為幾千名妓女中的一幅畫，即使她活著也像死了般，漸漸沉寂，身外物早就埋在了他鄉的塵土。有人拿嚴歌苓跟張愛玲比較，說她是當代的張。嚴歌苓的筆鋒沒有張那麼華麗，可是視角多變。在嚴的小說中，一連串簡單的句式經常搭建成一段複雜糾纏不清的關係。《扶桑》描寫的人物活鮮鮮地表現出各種內心的糾結，一氣呵成地演示了那個時代的特色。小說講述一個中國女子扶桑為尋夫被拐賣到美國舊金山，命運讓她成了一名靠賣笑為生計的妓女，她就是那三千多個飄洋過海到舊金山的中國妓女中的一個，從事著皮肉生意。嚴歌苓用回顧的方式寫扶桑的一生，包括她如何認識美國少年克里斯和人販子大勇。

《扶桑》的歷史背景見證了十九世紀華人移民美國的生活，扶桑的生平遭遇刻畫出當時唐人街的混亂不堪，種族之間的對立廝殺。引書中一段話：「在這個人欲橫流的城市，半年不是個短日子。半年是一些人的開端，是一些人的末日。半年可以使一些樓房立起，一些樓房倒塌；富人窮了，窮人富了。使思緒、時尚，以及一些街巷完全改了方向。尤其對於一船一船、一車一車傾倒在這個海灣城市的新移民，半年相當於脫胎換骨的一世。」

華人女子光裸著身子被叫賣，沒有誰試圖逃脫，認命受難讓這些十多歲的芳華少女急速地老去，活成了暮年的寡婦，逃不過歲月的強暴，無聲無息地死去。《扶桑》有太多這樣的角色，看似麻木，脫離了血肉之軀的情感。誰知道扶桑或許從離鄉的那天起就看透了世事，在別人眼中她是愚蠢至極，她任人宰割的温柔使她的微笑總是流露出一絲蠢。而她這種形象，卻成了克里斯眼中的聖女。扶桑處在貧窮生活，掛著卑微的身份，對待情感和精神的執念，交集在一起的時候，她成了最聖潔的女人。扶桑在暴動中被輪姦，在床上被男人輾軋，她内心深處仍恪守著對愛情的忠貞，以致她忘掉那些男嫖客的名字，只記得一張在夜裡為她驚歎過的臉......

#嚴歌苓

[alice-lau]

The Help

Picture: Thehelpbookcover.jpg

After almost six years, I can still recall a couple of scenes in the film “The Help”. I didn’t realize the film is adapted from Stockett’s novel titled the same name. This book and I never met until I took a random look at the school library shelve on a quiet summer afternoon. The most captivating scene I remember in the film is when Skeeter first met a black maid Aibileen and worked with her on the secret stories about raising white children. The book depicts the ordinary lives of a group of white and black women living in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi. 1962 was one of the most sensitive years during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and Mississippi was known as a racially conflicted state. The deep history in the black/white relationship became illustrative through the stories of those black maids working for white families. Stockett attempted to squeeze the historical facts into the novel and to form the backdrop around these facts. Some chapters remind us of the events such as the Montgomery march led by Martin Luther King and the assassination of African American civil rights leader Medgar Evers who was shot to death. 

The novel is written from the perspectives of two black maids, Aibileen and Minny and a female, white writer. Skeeter, the young white writer, is my favorite character. Her relationship with her boyfriend Stuart near the end presented a deep division between classes. Skeeter may be kindly ignorant of the political issues and the changes in the world around her. However, she has a dream that makes her so much unique and sincere among her bitchy friends. I was stunned by her bravery when her boyfriend proposed to her. Here’s a lesson: Don’t put yourself in the situation that you have to spend the rest of life to fix someone you don’t know. 

“We are both silent. His eyes don’t even meet mine. They stay a steady two inches to the right of my face. After a minute, he says, ‘I just...I don’t understand why you would do this. Why do you even...care about this, Skeeter?’ I bristle, look down at the ring, so sharp and shiny. ‘I didn’t ...mean it like that,’ he starts again. ‘What I mean is, things are fine around here. Why would you want to go stiring up trouble?’ I can tell, in his voice, he sincerely wants an answer from me. But how to explain it? He is a good man, Stuart. As much as I know that what I’ve done is right, I can still understand his confusion and doubt. ‘I’m not making  trouble, Stuart. The trouble is already here.’ But clearly, this isn’t the answer he is looking for. ‘I don’t know you.’ I look down, remembering that I’d thought this same thing only moments ago. ‘I guess we’ll have the rest of our lives to fix that,’ I say, trying to smile. ‘I don’t...think I can marry somebody I don’t know.” 

#Kathryn Stockett