Today is Jenny's birthday! Happy birthday, Jenny!
For those of you who were at the wedding, let me tell you about the REAL first time we met! ;)
It was the first week of school at Boston College, and I slid my card to get into our dorm. I noticed I was walking behind an Asian girl going up the steps. When we reached our floor, she opened the door, turned around and asked me, "Are you Korean?" I said that I was. END of conversation!
And that's when I knew we would be besties! Hahaha! :)
Happy birthday! I love you and I miss you!
Do you remember the first time you met Jenny? :) Tell, tell!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
all by himself
Do you wanna hear the saddest thing ever?
I'm reading a book about whales (This is not the saddest thing ever. It's coming.) which I heard about through NPR, and it's awesome! I've always been terrified/amazed by whales, and now I'm starting to fall in love with them.
Here's a sad story about one whale that The New York Times reported about back in 2004, an excerpt from the book I'm reading:
Anyway, I totally love this book. It's called "The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea" by Philip Hoare. He weaves literature, history, personal account and zoology together to talk about his most favoritest animal!
This post is best when read while playing Celine Dion's "All By Myself" in the background. It'll make you cry!
More about whales to come.
I'm reading a book about whales (This is not the saddest thing ever. It's coming.) which I heard about through NPR, and it's awesome! I've always been terrified/amazed by whales, and now I'm starting to fall in love with them.
Here's a sad story about one whale that The New York Times reported about back in 2004, an excerpt from the book I'm reading:
Twelve Years of Tracking 52-Hz Whale Calls From a Unique Source in the North Pacific was the result of research on a whale cruising from California to the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, 'calling out with a voice unlike any other whale's, and getting no response'.Isn't that so sad?
'The call, possibly a mating signal, suggests that the animal lives in total, and undesired, isolation.' The sound had been tracked for more than a decade, and in that time its timbre deepened, suggesting that the whale was still maturing. One scientist thought it might be 'miswired, broadcasting on the wrong frequency but listening on the right one'; another considered that the caller could be the miscegenic result of a liaison between a blue whale and another species, 'and hence truly alone of its kind'.
Anyway, I totally love this book. It's called "The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea" by Philip Hoare. He weaves literature, history, personal account and zoology together to talk about his most favoritest animal!
This post is best when read while playing Celine Dion's "All By Myself" in the background. It'll make you cry!
More about whales to come.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
beliefs about intelligence
I got a lot of feedback about this morning's post about the effects of the kind of praise you give a child after he succeeds. In short, when a child is told, "You must be smart at this," he's likely to choose an easy task the next time, as opposed to a more challenging task, for fear that he might not look smart. On the other hand, attributing the child's effort to success ("You must have worked really hard") yields more desirable results.
Here's some more about where this research comes from.
In addition to that interesting study in New York Magazine, Carol Dweck's theories on intelligence are really important to know. Basically, there's an entity theory of intelligence, and an incremental theory.
1. Entity theory. If someone has an entity theory of intelligence, that means that he thinks intelligence is fixed--that what you get is what you get, and that it's an unchanging internal characteristic. Now just imagine how damaging that is to a kid who isn't doing so well in school. She might never try any harder because what's the point? She's not going to get any smarter, and intelligence is what makes you successful.
2. Incremental theory. On the other hand, if a student has an incremental theory believes that his intelligence is malleable and can be increased through effort. How empowering! One of my professional development classes really drilled this in our heads. We did an entire project where we worked with one student and told them in as many ways as we could, "Effective effort leads to success." You wouldn't believe the stories we heard after this project was over! Students were attempting tasks a lot harder than they did before, they believed that they could try harder or use a different strategy the next time after they failed...it was magical.
So if you're working with kids or if you have kids, think about what messages you're sending them, even if you're not talking about this kind of stuff explicitly. This is why we don't say, "You must be smart at this."
Okay. Class over.
Here's some more about where this research comes from.
In addition to that interesting study in New York Magazine, Carol Dweck's theories on intelligence are really important to know. Basically, there's an entity theory of intelligence, and an incremental theory.
1. Entity theory. If someone has an entity theory of intelligence, that means that he thinks intelligence is fixed--that what you get is what you get, and that it's an unchanging internal characteristic. Now just imagine how damaging that is to a kid who isn't doing so well in school. She might never try any harder because what's the point? She's not going to get any smarter, and intelligence is what makes you successful.
2. Incremental theory. On the other hand, if a student has an incremental theory believes that his intelligence is malleable and can be increased through effort. How empowering! One of my professional development classes really drilled this in our heads. We did an entire project where we worked with one student and told them in as many ways as we could, "Effective effort leads to success." You wouldn't believe the stories we heard after this project was over! Students were attempting tasks a lot harder than they did before, they believed that they could try harder or use a different strategy the next time after they failed...it was magical.
So if you're working with kids or if you have kids, think about what messages you're sending them, even if you're not talking about this kind of stuff explicitly. This is why we don't say, "You must be smart at this."
Okay. Class over.
"you're smart" vs. "you worked hard"
A must-read for people who are involved in any child's life!
The New York Magazine wrote an article about this issue and talked about Carol Dweck, a researcher who does a lot with motivation. Must read!
I hope you've made it this far. I hear so many parents and teachers telling kids, "You're so smart!" which can sound encouraging, but if emphasizing effort in this tiny little experiment makes such a marked difference, imagine what would happen if a child's life was full of these positive messages about effort! Gahh!
What do you think??
The New York Magazine wrote an article about this issue and talked about Carol Dweck, a researcher who does a lot with motivation. Must read!
"For the past ten years, psychologist Carol Dweck and her team at Columbia...studied the effect of praise on students in a dozen New York schools. Her seminal work--a series of experiments on 400 fifth-graders--paints the picture most clearly.
Dweck sent four female research assistants into New York fifth-grade classrooms. The researchers would take a single child out of the classroom for a nonverbal IQ test consisting of a series of puzzles--puzzles easy enough that all the children would do fairly well. Once the child finished the test, the researchers told each student his score, then gave him a single line of praise. Randomly divided into groups, some were praised for their intelligence. They were told, "You must be smart at this." Other students were praised for their effort: "You must have worked really hard."
Why just a single line of praise? "We wanted to see how sensitive children were," Dweck explained. "We had a hunch that one line might be enough to see an effect."
Then the students were given a choice of test for the second round. One choice was a test that would be more difficult than the first, but the researchers told the kids that they'd learn a lot from attempting the puzzles. The other choice, Dweck's team explained, was an easy test, just like the first. Of those praised for their effort, 90 percent chose the harder set of puzzles. Of those praised for their intelligence, a majority chose the easy test. The "smart" kids took the cop-out.
Why did this happen? "When we praise children for their intelligence," Dweck wrote in her study summary, "we tell them that this is the name of the game: Look smart, don't risk making mistakes." And that's what the fifth-graders had done: They'd chosen to look smart and avoid the risk of being embarrassed."
Dweck sent four female research assistants into New York fifth-grade classrooms. The researchers would take a single child out of the classroom for a nonverbal IQ test consisting of a series of puzzles--puzzles easy enough that all the children would do fairly well. Once the child finished the test, the researchers told each student his score, then gave him a single line of praise. Randomly divided into groups, some were praised for their intelligence. They were told, "You must be smart at this." Other students were praised for their effort: "You must have worked really hard."
Why just a single line of praise? "We wanted to see how sensitive children were," Dweck explained. "We had a hunch that one line might be enough to see an effect."
Then the students were given a choice of test for the second round. One choice was a test that would be more difficult than the first, but the researchers told the kids that they'd learn a lot from attempting the puzzles. The other choice, Dweck's team explained, was an easy test, just like the first. Of those praised for their effort, 90 percent chose the harder set of puzzles. Of those praised for their intelligence, a majority chose the easy test. The "smart" kids took the cop-out.
Why did this happen? "When we praise children for their intelligence," Dweck wrote in her study summary, "we tell them that this is the name of the game: Look smart, don't risk making mistakes." And that's what the fifth-graders had done: They'd chosen to look smart and avoid the risk of being embarrassed."
I hope you've made it this far. I hear so many parents and teachers telling kids, "You're so smart!" which can sound encouraging, but if emphasizing effort in this tiny little experiment makes such a marked difference, imagine what would happen if a child's life was full of these positive messages about effort! Gahh!
What do you think??
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
mistakes in engrish
I'm working right now as a rater for a test of spoken English. The majority of our test takers are Korean, and I have a long list of the most common or frustrating errors Korean speakers of English make. Here's just a taste:
zero = jeh-roh
best = bast
energy = anerj
problem = frovlem
prepare = frefare
woman = ooman
city = shitty
sitting = shitting (these two are the most unfortunate...)
www = double double double
12 (twelve) = twenty
1:29pm = one hour and twenty-nine fee.m.
zoo = joo
enjoy = enzoy (why the switched /j/ and /z/ sounds??)
The absolute most confounding mistake is frovlem. I don't understand why the /p/ and /b/ in "problem" are substituted with /f/ and /v/; why two sounds that do exist in the Korean language are substituted with two sounds that don't exist in the Korean language. Why???
Just for fun, here are some quotes from Monday:
- "This concludes our shitty tour for the day."
- "In local news, shitty officials have announced a new energy saving plan."
zero = jeh-roh
best = bast
energy = anerj
problem = frovlem
prepare = frefare
woman = ooman
city = shitty
sitting = shitting (these two are the most unfortunate...)
www = double double double
12 (twelve) = twenty
1:29pm = one hour and twenty-nine fee.m.
zoo = joo
enjoy = enzoy (why the switched /j/ and /z/ sounds??)
The absolute most confounding mistake is frovlem. I don't understand why the /p/ and /b/ in "problem" are substituted with /f/ and /v/; why two sounds that do exist in the Korean language are substituted with two sounds that don't exist in the Korean language. Why???
Just for fun, here are some quotes from Monday:
- "This concludes our shitty tour for the day."
- "In local news, shitty officials have announced a new energy saving plan."
Monday, March 1, 2010
carrot help
http://no-carrots-please.blogspot.com/
We have a bag of about five carrots in the fridge. I bought them to put into a bourguignon I made last week, and now I don't know what to do with them! So here's an actual post about carrots.
Any idea what I can do with these guys?
Here are the criteria for ideas that I'll actually consider:
1. The recipe must involve cooking the carrots so you can barely taste the carrot.
2. The recipe must involve cooking the carrots so you can barely feel the texture of the carrot.
Difficult, huh? Welcome to my life. :)
We have a bag of about five carrots in the fridge. I bought them to put into a bourguignon I made last week, and now I don't know what to do with them! So here's an actual post about carrots.
Any idea what I can do with these guys?
Here are the criteria for ideas that I'll actually consider:
1. The recipe must involve cooking the carrots so you can barely taste the carrot.
2. The recipe must involve cooking the carrots so you can barely feel the texture of the carrot.
Difficult, huh? Welcome to my life. :)
yul kwon, part 2
http://no-carrots-please.blogspot.com/
Happy first day of March!
Last Saturday's Harvard dinner with keynote speaker Yul Kwon was really interesting. It was hosted by Harvard Law School's APALSA (Asian Pacific American Law School Association) where Cyrus is a board member. (Guess what vegetables were served for dinner? Cauliflower and...carrots!)
He talked about his motivation for going on Survivor, which, when you look at his career, isn't a likely choice. He didn't even actively try to get on the show; he was recruited. They were specifically looking for Asian Americans, and after a very shocking interview with Mark Burnett, a powerful TV exec who asked Yul the same kinds of ignorant questions about Asian Americans that my second grade peers asked me in elementary school, he got the offer. Yul decided that there needed to be more Asian Americans who were breaking the mold and confounding the stereotypes of Asian Americans, and it was really interesting to hear all about the challenges he's faced and how dedicated he is to his cause.
But then I think about myself, and I wonder if I'm perpetuating the stereotype that Asian women are submissive, won't rock the boat or cause problems, etc. But the stereotype must have started somewhere. This is what my upbringing has told me to be like, and I fully accept the way I am (well, mostly). Or, am I this way because I'm meeting society's expectations of me? And maybe I have some inner Aggressive Ina who is a natural leader and wants to change the world? ...Or maybe something in between? :)
So I felt a little out of place at a dinner full of motivated, highly intelligent Asian Americans in law school who nodded their heads vigorously when Yul said that we must break these stereotypes!
I don't think about my Asian Americanness much, but maybe I should...
Happy first day of March!
Last Saturday's Harvard dinner with keynote speaker Yul Kwon was really interesting. It was hosted by Harvard Law School's APALSA (Asian Pacific American Law School Association) where Cyrus is a board member. (Guess what vegetables were served for dinner? Cauliflower and...carrots!)
He talked about his motivation for going on Survivor, which, when you look at his career, isn't a likely choice. He didn't even actively try to get on the show; he was recruited. They were specifically looking for Asian Americans, and after a very shocking interview with Mark Burnett, a powerful TV exec who asked Yul the same kinds of ignorant questions about Asian Americans that my second grade peers asked me in elementary school, he got the offer. Yul decided that there needed to be more Asian Americans who were breaking the mold and confounding the stereotypes of Asian Americans, and it was really interesting to hear all about the challenges he's faced and how dedicated he is to his cause.
But then I think about myself, and I wonder if I'm perpetuating the stereotype that Asian women are submissive, won't rock the boat or cause problems, etc. But the stereotype must have started somewhere. This is what my upbringing has told me to be like, and I fully accept the way I am (well, mostly). Or, am I this way because I'm meeting society's expectations of me? And maybe I have some inner Aggressive Ina who is a natural leader and wants to change the world? ...Or maybe something in between? :)
So I felt a little out of place at a dinner full of motivated, highly intelligent Asian Americans in law school who nodded their heads vigorously when Yul said that we must break these stereotypes!
I don't think about my Asian Americanness much, but maybe I should...
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