Important Ideas

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For the third exam, I asked my students to talk about an idea that's improtant to them. I used to say, "Talk about something important to you," because most native speakers understand that I'm not asking about tangible things. After too many discussions of cell phones and first computers, I revised the topic.

I've listed some of the more intersting topic choices. Of course, I've had many students talk about punctuality, perserverance, "never give up!", hard work, and aspects of the environment. One class had so many students talk about clean water that I started to wonder if there was a team effort I didn't know about.

I've also listed some of the more interesting lines from my students.



One student talked about how being a member of the CCP was important to him.

The following student talked about how faith was important to him. Faith in himself, not the religious sense. But he said that was okay, too.

Economic independence from my parents

Respect

Online gambling

The need to disengage from computer games because it's bad for our health

Personal space

Avoiding procrastination

Benevolence

Mental health services/resources for teens (These do not exist in China. And going to see a psycharistrist is seen as losing face.)

Keeping promises

Caring for old people in China

Kung Fu tea needs to be promoted to share the culture with the world. (He said he wanted to teach me but there wasn't the time. He said maybe next time. He clearly has no idea what my final exam topic is.)

Protect the sharks (shark fin soup) and seals (seal skins are worn in the north)

Mountain cycling

Card magic

How to pick up girls

Unlocked, free bicycles for use around campus

Not wanting to regret choices

Volunteering

"Beneficial friends are good friends"

Freedom

Imagination

Quality of life while growing old

Innovation of Chinese software (or, as I misheard, "salt water")

Being healthy, including mental health

Getting a good job in Hong Kong, and how working in HK is different than working on the mainland.

A Chinese version of Craig's List. She had no idea such a thing existed.

"Evaluate the good in my life"

Having a post-graduation plan

Not being late/lazy/skipping class. The teachers are supposed to do something. Not the students.

Get good sleep

Read more books; knowledge is power

Love

Get up off the sofa and do something!

Bribery and corruption in government

Sleeping

"Do for happy" = Do what makes you happy

Tolerance

World peace

Running

Love and "friendshit"

Recreational activities

Criticism leads to loss of face leads to shyness leads to no development as a person

Don't eat wild animals or dogs

Buy "green" products and 5%!o(MISSING)f the money goes towards planting trees

Time =/= money. You can earn money but you can't get time back. (I love this!)

Benefits of travel

Libraries

Sponsor a child so they have a chance

Global warming

Endangered animals

"Be a hard man" = be a hard working man

Go to the slums and expericne the other life and appreciate what you have

Know how to save yourself in an emergency. Offer training to everyone as part of standard education.

Environmental deterioration as a mandatory part of university studies

Internet addiction

Kindness

Sharing

Be full of life; love, beauty, sharing

Reading

Create an electronic trash can (with memory chip!) that sorts your trash and recycling

Inspiration

Conscientiousness (The student was able to say this correctly with a little help!)

"Impossible is nothing." Thanks, ADIDAS, for giving my student that grammatically correct statement.

"No complain, no explain" --taken from America's Next Top Model

"Sports are important because they help me see how my family loves me, my friends are important to me, and because it's good to keep fit." (Nice way to talk about 2 of the 3 topics I said weren't allowed.)

"Writing is imporant. Han Han insprires me. When I was in high school, I used to write a lot. I sometimes didn't do my homework."

"If people had helicopters it would make it easier and faster to go to work and class. I could go home for the night instead of staying in my dorm! This would also help all the cars, too. ...I'll bet you're wondering how this will affect planes. It won't; they fly and different heights."

"Everyone wants to be successful like someone famous. I think that's stupid." (Everyone should just be themselves.)

Line of the afternoon that nearly made me squirt tea out of my nose:
A male student was talking about himself and a good friend while they were high school students. Apparently they hung out a lot together and, "People said we like gays, like lesbians." My face must've looked quite confused because he clarified and I found out he meant "are like," not "like." Not that that's much more logical.

Best topic of the morning:
The psychology of picking up women

While talking about the importance of being kind to people, one student not only managed to describe the "Pay it forward" idea, he also managed to quote the historical hero Lei Feng and Spiderman.

"I think playing sports is important because it gets us more eyesight from the girls."



I think of all the exams I've done, this one is my new favorite.

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