The dumbest generation

For the most part, I agree with the author. It is quite accurate to say that the Internet has taken up most of our free time which unfortunately is not always put to good use. Internet has become a crucial part of our culture, and one must concur that it is almost impossible to resist it. The Internet itself is inherently a very good thing. It is a sea of information and a heaven for information exchange. It helps make the world smaller than it ever was. It allows for convenience, efficiency and price reduction. It is, in short, a miracle. However, everything is two-sided. Similar to any human invention, when used in a wrong way, this powerful tool could backfire and create a mess. The Internet now is the number one procrastination tool. The human overriding need to communicate with each other has given birth to countless websites that specifically tailor to this need. Young people spend their precious youth living a virtual life as opposed to a real one. In the book exerpt, the author mentions the inability of young Americans to read and write well, among others. They spend a tad too much time chit chatting with their peers and put off working on their main priorities. Nevertheless, as pointed out by the author, no one including teachers, professors, journalists, intellectuals has really made an effort to put a stop to this, leaving the young souls to further indulge in their own online world without learning the skills crucial for their futures. I second the author's notion that if adults make sure to incorporate in their offsprings' lives healthy habits like reading for fun, visiting museum, attending art peformances, the young people will nonetheless be able to transition into adulthood.

Thoughts on "Don't teach so close to me"

There is a school of thought that teachers should keep their distance from students in order maintain "professional" in their teaching, with which I disagree. I feel that there is much more to teaching than just shoving information at your students and expecting them to memorize and repeat on tests. My idea of a good teacher is someone who loves their job enough and cares about the younger generation enough to go the extra mile to develop personal bonds with their students outside the classroom. The better a teacher gets to know their students, the more likely it is for him or her to do a successful job. The logic is quite simple: students tend to work harder for teachers that they like. Once they acknowledge the fact that the teacher cares about them as a person and not just merely another name on the attendance sheet, they will more likely have the urge to engage in the lecture and devote their time and effort to their homework in the anticipation of sharing it with their teacher. It is also true the other way around: teachers can derive joy from and take pride in their ability to muster the attentativeness and willingness to learn out of their students and that will motivate them to work harder in the future. When it comes to any social relationship, not restricted to ones in learning environments, the line can definitely blur at times, but only if we let it. Otherwise, it is my belief that with good intentions and careful consideration, the benefits of a close teacher-student relationship most definitely outweighs the potentially harmful drawbacks.

Facebook

I was first introduced to Facebook by a friend of mine back home. She is from Virginia and she was traveling in Vietnam at the time. I still remember her exact words, "You should have Facebook. Everybody has Facebook, it's amazing." So I got a Facebook account in the hope of keeping in touch with my friend for she was about to leave Vietnam. And then Facebook, for God knew what reason, started spreading and everyone I knew suddenly had a Facebook account. It became so popular that we decided to drop our other typical means of communication and use Facebook only. It was easy and convenient; we loved it. It gradually becomes a (bad) habit that you can never seem to break out of; like a sweet desert after dinner that you try in vain to resist. However, unbelievable as it sounds, I have grown to hate Facebook. I still check it daily, for I want to know if anyone is dropping me a note, but I feel like my life is being manipulated by some mere website and I am frustrated. I find it amusing and laugh inside when strangers spend hours in the computer lab to look at pictures and chit chat on Facebook. God! No offense to people, but that is p.a.t.h.e.t.i.c. Why don't they spend their timemore productively and, say, read or something? That's what I do every weekend now. I'm so happy that for the first time in my life I have access to more books than I can ever read. It's amazing. So if you're thinking about banning Facebook, ban away. I'm not stopping ya.

Viet Nam

Since I haven't come up with anything "interesting" yet, I will stick to what I know best, which is

~~**VietNam**~~

First off, I'd like to introduce to you one of my all time favorite songs, "Hello Viet Nam"

I was born and brought up in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It is not overly exciting or romantic, it is no New York or Paris, but it is especially dear to my heart. The city has been my parents, my teacher, my friend, my date; it represents my culture, my individuality and my beliefs. It holds some kind of magic that I have yet to comprehend; all I know is that wherever I go, it is the one place that I always look forward to going back to.

The first university in Vietnam

THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT. MORE WORDS AND PICTURES COMING UP!

Huyen