Words and Ideas in the State of the Union, Part II

Hello dear readers. As the second part of my commentary on the State of the Union 2011, I’d like to discuss the topic of the speech that I found most relevant to my life and the teenage population: education. (Missed Part I? Click here!)

In the speech, President Obama pointed out our educational successes and our flaws. He asserted that the United States is home to “the world’s best colleges and universities” but also acknowledged that many public schools are not reaching goals and the No Child Left Behind Act was not fully effective. Obama especially emphasized the importance of teachers, saying that “we want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones”. This comment spurred a lot of thought and caused me to think about how “good” and “bad” teachers are and should be evaluated. (Interested in more of Obama's comments about education? Click here!)

Students are evaluated on everything they do in school by teachers, but rarely have the opportunity to give any feedback of their own. I understand that that’s probably fine in elementary and middle schools, where most kids are too immature to be fully conscious of learning. But throughout high school, we mature and discover what constitutes a good teacher, and I think it’s vastly unfair that there are no means of teacher evaluation by students.

Sure, one might argue that teachers are checked up on, but those are generally pre-scheduled visits by a supervisor. I believe that one experience like that does not depict a teacher’s integrity. Who is more qualified to truly know what a teacher is like than a student?

Obama did not go into detail about what his comment will enact, but I definitely believe something should be done. To ensure that evaluations are honest and not perpetrated by angry students, they should not be mandatory. In that way, I think only students who actually have constructive criticism or serious comments would take the effort to do evaluations.

Over the past four years, I have had excellent, inspiring teachers. I’ve also learned from teachers who I many not have liked, but I valued for their expertise and commitment to education. And then I’ve had classes with teachers who, frankly, could use a little rehabilitation. And I believe many teenagers share my sentiments.

Rather than waste time in classes where confusion and chaos is the norm, students should be able to make their voices heard in order to be taught to the fullest potential.

Arabian Nights

In a previous post, I proclaimed my love for a show I saw entitled “Metamorphoses” by Mary Zimmerman. I recently attended the Illinois Theatre Festival at the University of Illinois, and as soon as I learned that a school was putting on another one of her plays, “Arabian Nights”, I decided I had to see it. The play seemed especially necessary for me to see because we dicussed the original work on which her play is based, One Thousand and One Nights, in my English class.

Ms. Zimmerman did not disappoint. She spun centuries worth of traditional Middle Eastern stories into a witty, engaging show. She also left some room for creative license, as some pop culture references were used. The cast was talented and committed, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I think that Ms. Zimmerman’s work with the adaptation of classic literature into modern theatre is one example of the universality of great literature. Although many of these works are hundreds of years old, their timeless themes, such as betrayal, disappointment, and (unrequited) love allow any audience to connect. By reconstructing literature in a modern medium, Ms. Zimmerman helps a new generation enjoy classic literature.

Words and Ideas in the State of the Union, Part I

A few nights ago, President Obama addressed the nation with the State of the Union. I watched. If you don’t already know, I am not a very political person, but this year I’ve been trying to ecome more knowledgeable. (For my first experience with a political debate, click here!)

Similarly to that previous experience, I wasn’t sure what to expect and was a little nervous about keeping up. Like SotU teen guest Amy Chyao, “I don’t think I’ve ever watched the whole thing before”. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I understood and got out of the speech. This is the first of a two-part series of the SotU, and will focus on one of Obama’s rhetorical strategies.

I noticed that Obama peppered key phrases throughout his speech. I disagree with media trainer TJ Walker when he asserts that there were not “a lot of memorable phrases or sound bites”. I thought that Obama developed a few cohesive and effective expressions. He entertained the idea of the “American Family” as all citizens of the United States. This was representative of much of his narrative, as he tried to appeal to both Democrats and Republicans as much as possible. He generally did not reference either party individually and instead emphasized the need for them to work together. There would have been very different connotations if he referred to the American people as an army or a team.

I think this phrase channeled the unity he is seeking quite nicely and also promotes wholesomeness and supportiveness within the nation. However, it could be used pejoratively to separate the US from other nations.

Another key phrase Obama used was “winning the future”, which was used a total of 10 times during the address. (For a full transcript, click here!) I thought this set up an interesting metaphor: the future is a dichotomy that has only two possible results, winning or losing. This could be potentially dangerous as it also reiterates an us-versus-them mindset. In school, we discussed that a speech like the State of the Union (which aims to unify our nation, not appeal globally) is difficult to write without proclaiming American exceptionalism.

I wonder, is there really other way to do this? Can we promote ourselves without trying to outdo other nations? That might require a drastic change in metaphor. The US would have to recognize itself as a player on a global team, or maybe a nuclear family within a much larger family tree.

Want to see something cool? Here's a Wordle of the most commonly used words in the State of the Union address.

A Book to Sink Your Teeth Into

Happy Holidays!

There are so many fantastic things about winter break: hot chocolate, celebrating (or eating Asian food on) Christmas, and just relaxing with family. But one of the best things about it for me is the opportunity to curl up with a good book. I have always been a voracious reader, but during high school, it’s been exceedingly difficult to find time to read for fun. I’d like to share with you one of the delightful books that I read over break: Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Reichl.

Tender at the Bone is a memoir chronicling the experiences of Ms. Reichl’s life that ultimately lead her to her ideal career as an acclaimed restaurant critic. For someone whose life is dedicated to writing about food, she definitely knows how to write a good story. The novel is heartwarming and stomach-grumbling, dotted with anecdotes, recipes and exquisite food descriptions. Yet its literary merit should not be unsung; Reichl’s tone and techniques are very effective and should be valued.

Reichl focuses on specific stories from her life that are intertwined with the common theme of food. She narrates in a very conversational, personal voice. Her honesty, humor, and recounting of events that are so ridiculous they must be true (ex. trying to save dinner guests from her mother’s potentially poisonous meals; flying to North Africa on a whim; living communally in California) made me unable to put the book down.

My favorite part is when Reichl goes to her first job as a critic. She’s unsure, but as soon as she begins the meal, she’s surrounded by a crowd of ghosts from her past: a critical waitress she worked with, a kindly restaurant owner, a friend’s French father who introduced her to fine cuisine. She explains, “With this chorus of voices the review practically wrote itself.” I love this part of the novel because it brings all of her prior experiences together in one spectacular moment.

Reichl ‘s life was a unstructured, winding path until that moment. This gives me so much hope because I am quite uncertain about my future. I especially saw myself in Ms. Reichl during her more turbulent teen years, when she was disenchanted with her parents and had no idea where she’d end up. This book has shown me that it’s okay to be uncertain in life, as long as you enjoy the wonderful people, places, and food that you encounter along the way. If you want a good read, this will definitely satisfy your appetite.

Born to Make Who Happy?

In my class’s reading for this week in Reading Lolita in Tehran, one passage particularly stuck out to me. One of Nafisi’s students, Sanaz, will soon be traveling to Turkey to marry her fiancé, who she has not seen in over six years. Sanaz, while excited, is also quite anxious. Nafisi comments: “It was hard to tell if she was going to Turkey to please the others [ex. her fiancé, her family] or because she was really in love” (263).

This caught my eye because this past weekend, I began reading Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. The book was recommended to me by a classmate (check out her blog here!), and so far it’s been very illuminating on the current problematic state of young women and how they came to be this way.

Mary Pipher, the author, introduces the book by explaining many of the possible root causes for adolescent insecurity and negative decisions. She explains that in the transition from girlhood to womanhood, “Girls become ‘female impersonators’ who fit their whole selves into small, crowded places… [they] stop thinking, ‘Who am I? What do I want?’ and start thinking, ‘What must I do to please others?’” (22).

I was startled by the parallel in these two situations. The uncomfortable phenomenon of teenager girls learning to put others before themselves is replicated in the lives of these Iranian women. I believe that this emotion in both situations is caused by the culture they grow up in. After the revolution in Iran, “women, under law, were considered to have half the worth of men” (Nafisi 261). To put this in another cultural perspective, in antebellum America, slaves were counted as 3/5 of a white person in a population census. In this patriarchal society, women were worth less than slaves, and therefore could be imbued with the belief that their only value was in pleasing those around them.

This might seem difficult to connect to in modern America, where we claim to have equal rights for all. On the radio this weekend, I heard a song (which I can‘t seem to find the name of) but to paraphrase, it consisted of a woman explaining how she only felt happy when she was making her man happy. I mentally shook my head in disgust. The song had to be about 50 years old, and I couldn’t imagine that message reverberating with any modern audience. Yet to my surprise, I discovered that everyone’s favorite ex-pop idol, Britney Spears released a song in the late 1990’s entitled, “Born to Make You Happy”. I think you can guess what it’s about.

While I don’t believe this is the prevailing mindset of most educated women AT ALL, it is a pressure that can be dangerous if left to run rampant, as seen in Pipher‘s conclusions. I look forward to continuing both of these books to understand more about developing identities amidst the adverse conditions that can be found in many different forms, all over the world.

Shedding Light on Depression, at Home and Abroad

My English class began a new book entitled Reading Lolita in Tehran, chronicling the factual experiences of a modern Iranian woman, Azar Nafisi and the struggles she undergoes trying to teach American literature within the oppressive Islamic Republic of Tehran. From our reading so far, I’ve learned about the hardship faced by the Iranian civilians, and I’ve been appalled at what they’ve had to endure.

One passage was extremely poignant to me. After being expelled from the University of Tehran because she refused to wear the veil, Nafisi became increasingly disenchanted with the world around her. She imagined herself to be invisible, and contemplated her existence. Nafisi felt isolated from her husband, who had kept his job, and “had lost all concept of terms such as home, service and country” (169). In her own words, she became irrelevant. While Nafisi was not diagnosed with major depressive disorder or any psychological problem, her reaction to the loss of her vocation reminded me of the danger of irrelevancy and depression, especially in regards to teenagers.

Adolescence is a trying time. It seems to me that we are in an unfortunate conundrum: we think we’re adults, yet still treated like children in many ways. On our bad days, it seems like our voices can’t be heard amidst the din of society. I would diagnose us with the same ailment as Nafisi: in many ways, we are irrelevant.

Most teens cope, but some become depressed and feel “despair and a lack of hope for the future”. This depression can affect them so terribly that they feel no choice but to take their own lives. According to this excellent online presentation, “teen suicide is a fairly modern tragedy”.

It seems that depression (and consequently, suicide) is an unavoidable predicament in Iranian society, for teenagers as well as adults. This 2005 study found that 71% of Iranian teenagers had some degree of depression, noting that teenage girls were twice as likely to suffer. In many cases, these girls were victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. As we learned in Reading Lolita in Tehran, it is also very likely that they have been severely oppressed and abused by the regime, and even possibly arrested for crimes they did not commit. Suicide rates have also risen drastically in the past twenty years. In 2006, it was determined to be the second leading cause of death in Iran, with higher rates among women than men. (For more information, check out this link)

Depression can be triggered by unexpected, stressful life events, as seen in Nafisi’s case with the loss of her job or, more commonly with teenagers, the death of a loved one or parental divorce. It can also be caused by years of dehumanizing abuse, demonstrated those under the oppressive regime in Iran and teens who were abused as children.

I believe it is incredibly important to shed light on these issues that often get overlooked. A lot of media coverage is focused on breaking news and problems in troubled areas, rather than the human conditions in those places. By recognizing personal struggles abroad as well as in our own backyards, I hope we can feel empathy and make a deeper connection to all members of the human race.

If you or any loved one is suffering from depression, please do not hesitate to get help. There are many wonderful sources, many anonymous (such as save.org and online forums such as this that offer support as well as success stories), that save lives. You are not alone.

(graphic: Period of Darkness by jenniholma )

The Gift of Gratitude

In the past two weeks, I’ve experienced a time of great tragedy juxtaposed with a time of celebration. It’s been trying and tough, but it’s shown me the unpredictability of life. I cried and I laughed. I mourned a death and I met a new baby. Above all else, I remembered the importance of family.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that teenage lives are hectic. We are incredibly occupied with our own lives, and friends, and all the other minutiae of life. Some would even say we are the busiest generation. We make time for school, extracurriculars, homework and friends, but family can often get lost in the shuffle. I know personally, aside from brief family dinners, sometimes I don’t even communicate with my immediate family every day. My extended family is mainly situated out of state, so I really only see them a few times a year. I look forward to our reunions, but usually not extremely enthusiastically.

But this time, when I was with my family, I appreciated it more than I ever have before. My grandmother passed away on November 17th, and seeing the throngs of people who convened to celebrate her life really reminded me of that never-fail support system we take for granted: our families.

In the following days, I tried to get as much as possible of my time with relatives. I discussed the Vietnam war with a older cousin. I took a walk along a river with my grandma and uncles. I played with the afore mentioned baby and couldn’t help but break into a grin when she grasped my finger. Maybe it was just the holiday spirit, but I felt incredibly thankful for these moments.

So while these upcoming holiday season offers us teens the temptation to hole up with a book or a laptop, relax while playing some festive tunes, or meet friends at Starbucks for a seasonal drink in one of those cute red cups, instead, use this happy, uncluttered time to spend time with those who matter most. Take a younger cousin out for sledding and hot chocolate, or spend an afternoon decorating a Christmas tree with the grandparents. This holiday season, spending time with family might be the best gift you can give.