Response #3

I agree with the point this author is making: self-esteem education and allowance of multiple attempts can be enabling. I did not agree with the example of the SATs and ACTs because I disagree with these tests altogether. I did however enjoy the example of corporations being bailed out by the government. Sometimes people should not be given second chances, but rather face the consequences of their actions. The evolution of self-esteem being taught in education does seem to be more destructive than affective. The example with the girl's grandma suggesting she may need to practice more after playing piano supports this. Had this girl not been told that everything she did was great in school, she would have been able to take her grandmother's criticism without crying. I know, just as well as everyone else does, that people need to be encouraged, but protecting their self-esteem can give them false hope and shape them to be terrible businessmen and women.

Response #2

The felt this story was pretty funny. I enjoyed the author's description of being a child. He gave a vivid illustration of how youngsters focus on what they are doing and nothing more. It was easy to relate his situation of saying a word without knowing the meaning. I too have said words in my youth without knowing the meaning, and so has my roommate. My favorite part was the ending when his mom drags him inside and begins yelling at him for using bad language. His response is where I think his main point is being made: experiences, in this case bad ones, almost force kids to grow up.

Reading Response: The Good Immigrant Student

I enjoyed reading this story. Sometimes it can be hard to empathize with someone of another ethnicity or race, considering I’ve never dealt with discrimination personally. The author really helped me get into her shoes and see what it was like being the odd ball out. To be honest it was uncomfortable. Hearing it from a Vietnamese view point was a breathe of fresh air. I was unaware of the influx of Vietnamese families during the time of her story. This story and others like it help me to appreciate the time and place where I have grown up; dilemmas like the author’s are far less of an issue, if at all. She made a great point at the end about the shy children, how she can see that it is more than just quiet they want to disappear.

The author’s voice had a confidence about it that was lacking in the self she was describing as a child. However, you could see the child who wanted to disappear with passages like: “I would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools. I would like to speak for them (us). I hesitate; I cannot.”