【中文字讓外國人很頭痛？How to learn Chinese as a foreign language】

https://tw.voicetube.com/videos/5255?ref=fb_vidpost_20170628_5255&mtc=fb_vidpost_20170628_5255

A useful, interesting video clip for those who want to learn Chinese as a foreign language.

【Another thought-provoking Tedtalk】

"I can't promise my child a life without bias -- we're all biased -- but I promise to bias my child with multiple perspectives."

https://www.ted.com/talks/raghava_kk_shake_up_your_story?language=en&utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=education


Artist Raghava KK demos his new children's book for iPad with a fun feature: when you shake it, the story — and your perspective — changes. In this charming short talk, he invites all of us to shake up our perspective a little bit.

0:11Hi everyone. I'm an artist and a dad — second time around. Thank you. And I want to share with you my latest art project. It's a children's book for the iPad. It's a little quirky and silly. It's called "Pop-It," And it's about the things little kids do with their parents.

0:31(Music)

0:33So this is about potty training — as most of you, I hope, know. You can tickle the rug. You can make the baby poop. You can do all those fun things. You can burst bubbles. You can draw, as everyone should.

0:54But you know, I have a problem with children's books: I think they're full of propaganda. At least an Indian trying to get one of these American books in Park Slope, forget it. It's not the way I was brought up. So I said, "I'm going to counter this with my own propaganda." If you notice carefully, it's a homosexual couple bringing up a child. You don't like it? Shake it, and you have a lesbian couple.(Laughter) Shake it, and you have a heterosexual couple. You know, I don't even believe in the concept of an ideal family.

1:25I have to tell you about my childhood. I went to this very proper Christian school taught by nuns, fathers, brothers, sisters. Basically, I was brought up to be a good Samaritan, and I am. And I'd go at the end of the day to a traditional Hindu house, which was probably the only Hindu house in a predominantly Islamic neighborhood. Basically, I celebrated every religious function. In fact, when there was a wedding in our neighborhood, all of us would paint our houses for the wedding. I remember we cried profusely when the little goats we played with in the summer became biriani. (Laughter) We all had to fast during Ramadan. It was a very beautiful time.

2:06But I must say, I'll never forget, when I was 13 years old, this happened. Babri Masjid — one of the most beautiful mosques in India, built by King Babur, I think, in the 16th century — was demolished by Hindu activists. This caused major riots in my city. And for the first time, I was affected by this communal unrest. My little five-year-old kid neighbor comes running in, and he says, "Rags, Rags. You know the Hindus are killing us Muslims. Be careful." I'm like, "Dude, I'm Hindu." (Laughter) He's like, "Huh!"

2:44You know, my work is inspired by events such as this. Even in my gallery shows, I try and revisit historic events like Babri Masjid, distill only its emotional residue and image my own life. Imagine history being taught differently.

3:01Remember that children's book where you shake and the sexuality of the parents change? I have another idea. It's a children's book about Indian independence — very patriotic. But when you shake it, you get Pakistan's perspective. Shake it again, and you get the British perspective.

3:16(Applause)

3:21You have to separate fact from bias, right. Even my books on children have cute, fuzzy animals. But they're playing geopolitics. They're playing out Israel-Palestine, India-Pakistan. You know, I'm making a very important argument. And my argument [is] that the only way for us to teach creativity is by teaching children perspectives at the earliest stage. After all, children's books are manuals on parenting, so you better give them children's books that teach them perspectives. And conversely, only when you teach perspectives will a child be able to imagine and put themselves in the shoes of someone who is different from them.

4:00I'm making an argument that art and creativity are very essential tools in empathy. You know, I can't promise my child a life without bias — we're all biased — but I promise to bias my child with multiple perspectives.

4:14Thank you very much.

4:16(Applause)

【Ted talk:What I learned from 100 days of rejection】

http://www.ted.com/talks/jia_jiang_what_i_learned_from_100_days_of_rejection

Jia Jiang's journey through rejection revealed a world hidden in plain sight, where people are much kinder than we imagine.

Why you should listen

Jia Jiang is the owner of Rejection Therapy, a website that provides inspiration, knowledge and products for people to overcome their fear of rejection. He is also the CEO of Wuju Learning, a company that teaches people and trains organizations to become fearless through rejection training. In 2015, he authored a bestselling book, Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection.

Several years after Jiang began his career in the corporate world, he took a life-altering risk and stepped into the unknown world of entrepreneurship. His result was everyone's biggest fear: rejection. This was the catalyst that set Jiang on the path to his true calling.

To conquer the fear of rejection, Jiang embarked on a personal quest and started a blog, 100 Days of Rejection Therapy. His journey revealed a world that was hidden in plain sight -- a world where people are much kinder than we imagine. He discovered that rejection can be much less painful than we believe and that the fear of rejection is much more destructive than we know.

Jiang grew up in Beijing, China and migrated to the United States at age 16. He holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from Brigham Young University and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University.

100 Days of Rejection 

Study Questions & Answers:   

1.      Why did Jiang want to start out the journey of rejection?  

He wanted to conquer his fear of rejection and left his six-year-old self behind. 

Then, he was inspired by the creator of rejectiontherapy.com and embarked on the journey of rejection to get his idea of rejection.    

2.      What was Jiang’s initial reaction to rejection in his life?  

He ran away from rejection and was afraid of rejection.  

3.      What requests Jiang made were mentioned in the clip? 

1.      Borrow 100 dollars from a total stranger

2.      Request a “burger refill” 

3.      Get Olympic Symbol Doughnuts 
(* Youtube clip:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ax2CsVbrX0 )  

4.      Plant a flower in a stranger’s backyard 

5.      Be a Starbucks greeter

6.      Teach a college class  

4.      What did Jiang learn from rejections?

Mention doubts people might have before making a request. People might gain 

trust and say “yes.”  He can fulfill his dream by simply asking.  

5.      What did Jiang do after 100 days of rejection?    

He embraced rejection and thought rejection is the biggest gift in his life. He started to teach people how to turn rejections into opportunities by using blog, giving talks, and his book. He is even building technology to help people overcome rejections.  

Examples of big shots who faced severe rejections in their lives: 

People who really change the world, who change the way we live, and the way we think, are people who were met with initial and often violent rejections. People like

Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Jesus Christ. These people did not let rejection define them. They let their own reaction after rejection define themselves. And they embraced rejection.