One may present a vindicating argument for said posing of question, "Why?", in the margin of a university upper-level division class essay. I find it annoying and pointless, I daresay, nonetheless. Why pointless? Because I already wrote the paper. Because the paper has been written. Because after the paper has a grade on it, it goes in the manila folder, and after it goes in the manila folder, it stays in the manila folder. And after it stays in the manila folder, it gets thrown out at the end of the semester.
Why?
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I found this article quite interesting, and I wish I could present this quote to my Chinese acquaintances when they cite, boast of, or complain about the hours and hours they spend studying and getting tutored:
Former U.S. assistant secretary of education Chester Finn recently wrote in TheWall Street Journal that the average Chinese college applicant has spent 30% more time in the classroom than his American counterpart--and that's not including considerable time in enrichment classes after school and on weekends. Finn cites that figure as something the U.S. should emulate. I could not disagree more. The amount of time in class is not the issue; the quality of that time is, and there the Chinese education system is lacking.
Here's to critical thinking...
Here's hoping for a good education reforms in China, even when they don't seem likely to ever happen.
Here's to the hope we have in Christ and His redemption of all that is so effed up...
...starting with me.
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When playing drums in a marching band drumline, if one drops a drumstick during a performance or rehearsal, one must take part in the "Lean of Shame" to pick up said dropped drumstick. It's not fun. If someone watching didn't notice that a drumstick was dropped, they will definitely notice the dropper leaning over.
I find that there exists in the classroom a similar shameful lean. If one drops his or her writing utensil and it lands or rolls to a position which is directly beneath the desk or table at which one is sitting, one must lean over to pick up said dropped writing utensil. To make matters worse, it is usually most convenient for the dropper to bring his or her head very close to the table while he or she reaches for the dropped writing utensil. This produces, for a moment, an awkward moment during which it appears that the dropper is just laying his or her head on the table or desk for some unknown reason.
Don't believe me? Try it. Drop anything under the table or desk at which you are sitting... chances are high that you won't want to put your head underneath the table or desk, and chances are high that it will be most convenient for you to keep your head above the table or desk while you reach for whatever you dropped.
I wrote way too much about this.
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"If God didn't want us to eat animals, why did He make them out of meat?"
-Samuel Rognstad
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"If you form your hands in certain ways, your enemy is gonna die!"
-Chinese Lit prof talking about Kung Fu-genre characters
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"How do you explain the music of the 80's?"
and
"Why is giving a diamond ring an expectation when getting engaged?"
Answer to both:
"It's just something that some lady made up."
-Philosophy professor
Question: How is requiring that a man give a woman a diamond ring when he asks her to marry him NOT encouraging them both to view love as something which is inseparable from money?
Wouldn't it be much healthier to start out such an incredible relationship with the giving of a $.25 ring from the toy machines in the lobby thing at Wal-Mart? Wouldn't it save a lot of money that young married couples could afford to hold on to? If a ring is representative, then it's monetary value should be insignificant.
Round 1: Fight!
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"My father told me and my brothers and sisters that his name is Gerald. I only found out that his real name is Maurice a couple years ago."
-Philosophy professor
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I don't like this post.
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I like this song.
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