Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Children of the world
Look at all the people who commit these atrocities in the world... they were all cute, little kids once before.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
How smart are you?
They say that intelligent people are naturally thinner than most, since the brain uses the largest amount of energy (when used) in the body. No wonder I am so thin.
However, David Hume is fat. My favorite philosopher turned out to be a fat ass, doesn't that just proved my point to be wrong?
Well, Hume famously argued that all deductions and inductions cannot possibly be justified because they all rely on the principle that the past is a good indicator of future events, and this principle is justified only if it is itself true. Hence insofar as all deductions and inductions are premised on circular reasons, they are all unjustified anyway.
Therefore, I must be right when I say all smart people are thinner, since the objection to this (that Hume is fat) cannot possibly be justified according to Hume himself. QED
However, David Hume is fat. My favorite philosopher turned out to be a fat ass, doesn't that just proved my point to be wrong?
Well, Hume famously argued that all deductions and inductions cannot possibly be justified because they all rely on the principle that the past is a good indicator of future events, and this principle is justified only if it is itself true. Hence insofar as all deductions and inductions are premised on circular reasons, they are all unjustified anyway.
Therefore, I must be right when I say all smart people are thinner, since the objection to this (that Hume is fat) cannot possibly be justified according to Hume himself. QED
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tutoring
Last week I concluded what was hopefully the last teaching assignment for my M.A. here.
Why "hopefully"?
Initially I thought that I love teaching, just that I hate the administration that goes along with it. Stuff like preparing for lessons, doing CCA stuff, deal with delinquents, manage the students fan club etc., they really put me off teaching; that's a huge reason why I don't want to join MOE.
But Philosophy is different; there is minimal pre-lessons preparation needed. Or at least, this is the case for me, since I have taken the very same course that I am teaching, and already have a reasonable grasp of the subject matter. Plus, since I am a philosopher by training, I have lots of philosophical anecdotes and interesting side issues that I could engage my students in, and all these just come on to me impromptu, so it wouldn't look faked or deliberate when I lead my students to them.
Still, it didn't turn out to be that much fun in the end. I still enjoyed teaching to some extent I guess; the amazed look on the students' face when you showed them something they thought initially impossible; the look of comprehension that shone through when you explained something extremely difficult; the look of befuddlement after you showed them how wrong they were in some of their claims; the look of "OMG this is a brilliant piece of argument, but I'm sure I can't remember the details later! Argh!"; the laughters that come after you cracked a hidden joke; all the signs that your students are really enjoying your class, these are my motivation and fuel for teaching.
I've always felt one hour per fortnight is not enough for my students. There are always so much to learn, so much they needed to know, so much they were mistaken about, and there is always the feeling that if they know just a little more, they will see the whole point of doing philosophy (and switch major haha). I've always offered to give my students extra consultation if they have more questions, or if they are interested in something I alluded to in class but didn't talk about in details. I would always do a very detailed breakdown for their post-essay review individually, so that they would actually get something out of it, and write better essays generally even if they aren't going to do philosophy. But sadly, not many students took up my offers; either they are afraid of me, or they thought I was just paying lip-service when I offered.
And the attendance was getting from bad to worse. Last semester was okay; one student didn't show up at all, but the rest turned up fairly regularly. This semester is really bad. I have one student who didn't show up at all, and the rest all on-and-off. It could be that it is a 9am class this semester, but it could also be because my enthusiasm for teaching is waning, and they could sense it.
Some of the students are obviously not interested in learning. And this is not just because they didn't attend classes. Some of them did regularly, but their disinterest still showed. It's like they attended my classes for the entertainment and fun you get when you read a piece of "factual information" that claims you can't lick your own elbows--interesting to know, but just that. And I must say I'm rather animated in class, so going for classes might be akin to going to one of those Taiwan variety shows, or to the circus if you like. These students came and went, I'm still unsure what they got from my class. Certainly they thought about the questions I posed, but I'm not sure any of it registered in their minds out of class.
Some are smart. Too smart in fact. Or should I say, they thought they are too smart. Maybe because I am the same kind of person, I didn't really like them at all. They would give answers that they think immediately solves all the problems that we have been discussing in class, with that offhand air they thought to affect. Which I would immediately show to be false, of course. But that didn't faze them; either they thought my reply is stupid, or they think they could come up with a different answer which would be "too complex" for exposition now in class. In the end, these students didn't do well, for they thought philosophy is what they thought it is, despite me repeatedly shouting in their ears that that is all a mistake.
Then there are the excusers. Whenever there are assignments to be turned in, there are sure to be people who claim that they have some issues that prevent them for handing in their papers on time. I believed most of them, but I wonder at times if I am being taken for a ride. There's once that I was glad I believed the student. 5 days after the deadline of a paper, this student replied to my email that he has financial problems, and hence is working instead of attending classes. He asks if he can just get a zero instead, and concentrate on the next paper. I gave him instead a choice to get zero, and a choice to turn up his paper 2 days later which I will deduct just 6 marks. 2 days later, his paper appeared in my mailbox, and it is one of the better pieces of philosophy I have ever gotten from my students, even though he has never attended a single class of mine.
I feel the most for the last group of students, the enthusiastic but just doesn't get it. They are genuinely interested in philosophy, and they want to do well for this module, but they just can't seem to get the hang of it. There is a certain knack to doing philosophy, intelligence aside. I pay the most attention to them, explaining everything over and over again, spending hours after hours in consultation with them, in the hope that eventually something would seep through, and they would suddenly see the light. Words and texts are merely the medium. they can't really provide understanding; no matter how well you explained a thing, there is always something that the student has to do from within herself if she wants a complete understanding. What I can do is merely provide the opportunity for their light to come forth, but I couldn't ever drag it out of them, much as I try to.
Then after one semester of vomiting blood over the students, the feedback came back, and it made it all worthwhile, in a way. Some of them thought I was a passionate teacher, some thought I was brilliant, one suggests that I "not ask too deep questions, since most students don't really bother thinking that much, especially if they aren't planning to major in philosophy". I take the last comment to be a compliment, even though it was specifically written under the Criticism section. Some thought I was very clear in my exposition, some thought I was approachable, and allows for interaction in class, and makes them think. For all these compliments, I here give my thanks to them, even if I couldn't do so personally, though I wonder why none thought I was damn good looking.
This semester is probably the last semester I would be teaching as a M.A. here. I wonder what my feedback for this semester would be like.
Why "hopefully"?
Initially I thought that I love teaching, just that I hate the administration that goes along with it. Stuff like preparing for lessons, doing CCA stuff, deal with delinquents, manage the students fan club etc., they really put me off teaching; that's a huge reason why I don't want to join MOE.
But Philosophy is different; there is minimal pre-lessons preparation needed. Or at least, this is the case for me, since I have taken the very same course that I am teaching, and already have a reasonable grasp of the subject matter. Plus, since I am a philosopher by training, I have lots of philosophical anecdotes and interesting side issues that I could engage my students in, and all these just come on to me impromptu, so it wouldn't look faked or deliberate when I lead my students to them.
Still, it didn't turn out to be that much fun in the end. I still enjoyed teaching to some extent I guess; the amazed look on the students' face when you showed them something they thought initially impossible; the look of comprehension that shone through when you explained something extremely difficult; the look of befuddlement after you showed them how wrong they were in some of their claims; the look of "OMG this is a brilliant piece of argument, but I'm sure I can't remember the details later! Argh!"; the laughters that come after you cracked a hidden joke; all the signs that your students are really enjoying your class, these are my motivation and fuel for teaching.
I've always felt one hour per fortnight is not enough for my students. There are always so much to learn, so much they needed to know, so much they were mistaken about, and there is always the feeling that if they know just a little more, they will see the whole point of doing philosophy (and switch major haha). I've always offered to give my students extra consultation if they have more questions, or if they are interested in something I alluded to in class but didn't talk about in details. I would always do a very detailed breakdown for their post-essay review individually, so that they would actually get something out of it, and write better essays generally even if they aren't going to do philosophy. But sadly, not many students took up my offers; either they are afraid of me, or they thought I was just paying lip-service when I offered.
And the attendance was getting from bad to worse. Last semester was okay; one student didn't show up at all, but the rest turned up fairly regularly. This semester is really bad. I have one student who didn't show up at all, and the rest all on-and-off. It could be that it is a 9am class this semester, but it could also be because my enthusiasm for teaching is waning, and they could sense it.
Some of the students are obviously not interested in learning. And this is not just because they didn't attend classes. Some of them did regularly, but their disinterest still showed. It's like they attended my classes for the entertainment and fun you get when you read a piece of "factual information" that claims you can't lick your own elbows--interesting to know, but just that. And I must say I'm rather animated in class, so going for classes might be akin to going to one of those Taiwan variety shows, or to the circus if you like. These students came and went, I'm still unsure what they got from my class. Certainly they thought about the questions I posed, but I'm not sure any of it registered in their minds out of class.
Some are smart. Too smart in fact. Or should I say, they thought they are too smart. Maybe because I am the same kind of person, I didn't really like them at all. They would give answers that they think immediately solves all the problems that we have been discussing in class, with that offhand air they thought to affect. Which I would immediately show to be false, of course. But that didn't faze them; either they thought my reply is stupid, or they think they could come up with a different answer which would be "too complex" for exposition now in class. In the end, these students didn't do well, for they thought philosophy is what they thought it is, despite me repeatedly shouting in their ears that that is all a mistake.
Then there are the excusers. Whenever there are assignments to be turned in, there are sure to be people who claim that they have some issues that prevent them for handing in their papers on time. I believed most of them, but I wonder at times if I am being taken for a ride. There's once that I was glad I believed the student. 5 days after the deadline of a paper, this student replied to my email that he has financial problems, and hence is working instead of attending classes. He asks if he can just get a zero instead, and concentrate on the next paper. I gave him instead a choice to get zero, and a choice to turn up his paper 2 days later which I will deduct just 6 marks. 2 days later, his paper appeared in my mailbox, and it is one of the better pieces of philosophy I have ever gotten from my students, even though he has never attended a single class of mine.
I feel the most for the last group of students, the enthusiastic but just doesn't get it. They are genuinely interested in philosophy, and they want to do well for this module, but they just can't seem to get the hang of it. There is a certain knack to doing philosophy, intelligence aside. I pay the most attention to them, explaining everything over and over again, spending hours after hours in consultation with them, in the hope that eventually something would seep through, and they would suddenly see the light. Words and texts are merely the medium. they can't really provide understanding; no matter how well you explained a thing, there is always something that the student has to do from within herself if she wants a complete understanding. What I can do is merely provide the opportunity for their light to come forth, but I couldn't ever drag it out of them, much as I try to.
Then after one semester of vomiting blood over the students, the feedback came back, and it made it all worthwhile, in a way. Some of them thought I was a passionate teacher, some thought I was brilliant, one suggests that I "not ask too deep questions, since most students don't really bother thinking that much, especially if they aren't planning to major in philosophy". I take the last comment to be a compliment, even though it was specifically written under the Criticism section. Some thought I was very clear in my exposition, some thought I was approachable, and allows for interaction in class, and makes them think. For all these compliments, I here give my thanks to them, even if I couldn't do so personally, though I wonder why none thought I was damn good looking.
This semester is probably the last semester I would be teaching as a M.A. here. I wonder what my feedback for this semester would be like.
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