Final Reflections

The one sad thing of this class is that we have only leaned to the writing things. Reading was not that important in this class. Assignment and the tests were mostly about writing. I wanted to read some of the articles like news or recent problems in Korea or all around the world. It was little bit of fast and hurried to finish the whole text book.

 

Maybe this class will be the hardest class in this semester. My grammar was terrible and I have hard time adapting to the blog system. I enjoyed speaking and having speech in front of the class but writing was never my type. Thanks to this class I realize my problems. Speaking was not my real English ability. Now I know my situations very clearly… I knew what kind of grammar was my main problem. I also learn lots of writing skills from this class. Thank you for teaching us for one semester.

Essay#2 rewrite Supporting Coed Schools

Yea eun Shin

Prof. Kyle Brebner

IERW03

26 November 2015

Supporting Coeducational Schools

In Korea, there are lots of single sex schools. I am also a student at a women’s university. I have not studied with males since 2005 and this makes a slight problem in my life. I have not talked with boys for 10 years and now, I have difficulties having relationships with the other sex. Persisting single-sex school because of education is definitely not a proper way for the students. I insist changing single-sex schools into coeducational school. Coed schools are essential because they will teach how to communicate with the other sex, the subjects that students study are all the same, and separating students by sex will make no difference in their grades.

             We learn how to communicate with other genders in coeducational schools. School is not only for studying specific subjects. Students spend lots of time in school and they learn how to interact and cooperate with others. Building relationships is a big part of our life but many students have to separate right after graduating elementary school. Males and females do not have any time or chance to communicate, cooperate, and interact. They do not have any experience of spending time with other genders so they cannot understand their thoughts. We have to teach how to mingle with other genders. Separating students by their gender will make no advantage of communicating with other groups. The experience of talking with other genders is a very valuable moment in their lives. Students who have these experiences will treat other sex more naturally when they grow up. The problem of single-sex school is that they totally block these natural communicating experiences. For teaching students how to communicate, coeducational schools will be the one solution.

             Another reason for supporting coed schools is that the subjects that male students and female students study are all same. In the old days, they have to separate the studying subjects by their genders. For example, girls had to study how to cook or sewing clothes. Boys had to learn how to use tools and fix cars but the time flows and things change rapidly. There is no need to study different subjects because all jobs are available to everyone. The words like “men’s job” and “women’s job” are gone these days. Discriminations of genders is disappearing. We do not have to separate boys and girls into different classes. Everyone can study everything. They can choose what they want to be by their own personality. To find their characteristic, personality traits and their individuality, studying must be the same with every student. Because of the single-sex school, students have no opportunity to have different classes and experiences. This is not fair at all. We should not separate students by gender. Further, separating students in to different school might make misunderstandings of gender because they do not know other gender properly. That is why we have to support coed schools to give rights of studying same courses to every student.

             Finally, separating students by gender will make no difference in their grades. Many people think single-sex schools are much better than coeducational school because of student’s grades. They consider coeducation will disturb student because they will only think of their appearance but this is not true at all. Craving good appearance is an instinct, not because of other gender. So being with other sex will make no difference with taking care of looks. It is hard to say that coeducational schools interrupt students’ studying. In this opinion, students from coeducational schools will not attend better universities than students from single-sex schools students but everyone knows this is not true at all. Having friends who have different gender does not disturb students’ studying. Students will study whenever they have to or want to. Grades are just by their own study works, not decided by their friend’s gender.

They are lots of cons in single sex schools. When we live our whole lives, we have to encounter many other groups of people. We are not stuck in one gender when we go outside the society. When children and teenagers are being locked in single-sex school, their thoughts will be locked up in one conception too. We can solve these problems by changing single sex schools to coed schools. Coed schools will teach how to communicate with the other sex. Single sex school is not necessary because the subjects that students study are all the same, and it will not make good grades too. So, increasing coeducational school and decreasing single-sex school by government is essential for students and for society.

#7-Unit 9 (Languages) Disagree second official language

In Korea, everyone, even kindergarten students are learning second languages to catch up in this global community. Some other countries use English as a second official language. There are some voices that we should have more than one official language. But I am the one who disagree this opinion. Korea should not have other official languages because might lose our own spirit, causes much money and time, and makes generation gap.

If we have second official language, we might lose our own national spirit. In language, especially Hangeul, have its own identity. It has been existed for a long period of time. Since then, lots of art works such as a literary work have been written. All of them were written in to Hangeul. The books have its own style and it is based on their own language. When we choose other official language, these books might lose their power. People might not read that kind of book which has our own spirits. Even if it is translated in to other official language, it might lose the own style.

 

Having second official language causes lots of money and time too. We must translate original official things. For example, text book need to have second language version. Traffic signs must include English below the original one. Every official worker such as 112or 119 must use English fluently. We also have to make new catalog and manual which include second official language. Of course every address must have another version too. Because it will be another official language, thing must be change too. But by changing these, massive amount of money will be cost. Changes are not made in one month or year. Few decades might spend for these changes.

Finally, second official languages will make other generation gaps. When we got older, learning new things are getting harder and harder. For older people, acquiring language ability is lower than the kids who learn two languages from the first time. Elderly man might have difficulties in having conversation with younger generation. Generation gap is getting bigger and bigger these days. When we have second official languages, this generation difference will be much bigger. Less communication will make generation gap big. Uniting power will be lower. Elderly man might feel depress because of these too.

Learning new language is a good action. By learning language, we can get larger sights and be more globalized people. But too much is worse than less. We don’t need to have second official language. Drawbacks are too big than advantages. Second official language is too much for Korea. Korea students are already spending lots of time studying second language. Just studying hard in English is enough. I disagree having second official language in Korea.

#6-Unit 8 Innovations

 Finding, breaking, or using glasses every day is an annoying inconvenience. If you are a glasses user, you might have considered eye sight surgery at least one time in your life. Actually, I am the one who had eye sight correction surgery name LASEK but I’m not satisfied with it that much. LASIK and LASEK have too much side effects for an operator to overcome. They were two main problems of LASIK/LASEK. First, these surgeries damage directly to the cornea. Second, it causes dry eye and light blur. Fortunately, new and safe surgery came out recently. The name of the surgery is ‘Implantable contact lens surgery’ which we call ICL. ICL is the next generation of vision correction technology. ICL will solve two main problems that formal eye correction surgery had.

 

 

First, Implantable contact lens surgery does not damage your cornea at all. The main problem of LASIK/LASEK is that re-operation is impossible. They use laser to this surgery and the laser is shaving away the part of cornea. This process of surgery is permanent but very dangerous. Our eye sight isn’t fixed for the rest of our lives. Eye sight changes when we get older. But when our cornea is shaved, changed and fixed in to one sight, it is impossible to do the second surgery. Implantable contact lens surgery is different. This surgery does not shave away your cornea. Tiny bio lens is made of collamer. A Collamer is a substance that occurs naturally in the body, and is implanted behind the iris in front of the natural lens of the eye. This lens is foldable, so it can be inserted through a smaller incision. This procedure does not require any sutures or permanent damages. When there is a problem of it, you can just remove this lens.

 

 

Second, Implantable contact lens surgery have fewer side effects than previous eye correction surgeries. Lots of eye surgery operators are having dissatisfaction with results including me. The main cause of the dissatisfaction is these side effects, dry eyes and blur of light. My eyes got so dry when I wake up in the morning. It is painful without artificial tear so I always left it right above my bed. Light blur is another big problem in my life. I enjoy driving when I got stress but after the surgery, I cannot drive in night. Street lamps light, traffic lights and the car’s head and back lights seems blurred to me. These side effects were inevitable for the operators but not anymore. ICL does not have these side effects. If it is not suit to you, you can go back to the past when you were not having surgery. You don’t have to suffer from various side effects that previous surgery had.

 

 

Implantable contact lens surgery will be the great alternative to LASIK/LASEK. The cost is little bit higher than normal surgery but I think it is worth it. There is an old Korean proverb of this situation. “If the body is 1000won, eye will be the 900won.” That means eye is the most important part of the body. If there is a safer and improved way, you should definitely choose it. It is better than having some problems with your eyes. ICL will make your vision clearer and better with no damages, fewer side effects. So if you are considering surgery, how about doing ICL than doing other surgery?

Formal Essay#1-Rewrites

Yea eun Shin

Prof. Kyle Brebner

IERW03

10 November 2015

Being Mightier with art work,

  ‘The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Diego, Me and Senor Xolotl’

by Frida Kahlo

 

 

             Have you ever looked at Frida Kahlo’s work? Frida Kahlo’s paint makes us think more deeply. Frida Kahlo is very famous of painting herself. Of her 143 paintings, 55 paintings are self-portrait and this picture is one of them. She once said “I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.” When I look at her self-portrait, I can feel her solitary life. Her art work always makes my heart pound and this is one of my favorite paintings. That’s why I choose this picture.

 

             In this picture, you can see she is wearing long, vivid burgundy color skirt. Actually, she underwent polio and big car accident when she was little. She did recover but she had to cover the scars with long skirt. Color Red stands for her strong soul and heart. She had hard time, but she is disguising it with colorful and vivid dresses. When I see this red colored dress, it makes my soul strong. She looks like warrior in this painting and I can feel her strong and steady mind with her skirt.

             The one who Frida cuddles in this picture is Diego Rivera, her husband. Their marriage was not like a dream at all. Diego has been involved with lots of woman including Frida’s younger sister. I will never embrace Diego If I were her. But Frida did. She is cuddling Diego as her baby in this painting. Frida might transcend about love and get rid of obsession. She is embracing Diego with love despite his affairs. I am a person who has an obsessive personality in everything. But when I look at her art work, I soon realize obsessing things are not the only solutions. I have to embrace other with love and heart. With this painting, I become more caring and broad-minded person.

Diego is depicted as a toddler in this picture. Actually, Frida Kahlo miscarried her babies several times and I think that’s why she paints Diego as a baby. Loss of her child made her to be strong and have a bigger love of her husband. An other strange woman is hugging Frida Kahlo too. This woman stands for Mother Nature and a strong Mexican woman. Her mother is Mexican so she thinks her root is from Mexico. Milk is dropping by this woman and this is a source of power, makes her grow and she makes Diego to grow. The whole universe is embracing all of them. Even Xolotl is sleeping peacefully. Xolotl is a god with death and deformities. We all want to avoid death and deformities as we can. Everything is balanced by embracing each other with love in this picture. Everything is same under the Universe no matter who they are. Universe will protect all of them.

‘I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return.’ She wrote this in her diary before she died. Just like this paintings, Frida finally finished her hard and painful life and go back in to the Mother Nature and Universe’s bosom. Her life was just like a storm. Physical disabilities, painful marriage and miscarriages, these were too much for one woman to overcome. Her whole life might look as tragedy but she looks like strong and independent woman in the painting. Painting pictures made her stronger and braver. These feeling make me braver and stronger too. Maybe she is the Diego, herself, Mexico and the Universe in her life. Although she was small and feeble in physical, she is mighty in soul to embrace everything with love. I can feel that this painting is embracing my heart too.

 

 

 

#5-Unit7 p.159

Are you a coffee lover? Then, are you drinking it with your own tumbler or just with ordinary take-out plastic cup? Don’t you think it is too much waste to be used for several sip of coffee and thrown away and go in to the incinerator? Actually, I was the one who use disposable plastic cups just for convenience. In this blog post, I want to talk about why we should reduce using disposable products.

First, it destroys large amount of resources by making it. Actually, every products makes several pollution while making it but disposable products, it’s another problem. For example, think about disposable wooden chopsticks. We only use it one time and throw it away. But enormous number of trees is cut down by making this. These precious natural resources are wasted for just one use. We have to produce massive amount of products because that products are disposable and never be used again. Factories which make these products will work over and over. By this process, factories will make water pollutions, air pollutions and so on.

MAKING disposable products is not the only problem. These products are not thrown away properly. Too many disposable products are being dumped at sea, down the ground by illegal. For example, Styrofoam is impossible to recycle. This chemical material does not biodegrade or break down. When Styrofoam is buried down the soil, it will not break down for almost 200 years. This terrible material is used in various disposable products such as parcel delivery boxes and smoothie cups. Not only Styrofoam but many other disposable products are thrown away in improper ways because it cost lots of money to dispose it properly. The products which are thrown away in the ocean, mountains will disturb eco system. Countless numbers of turtles lose their lives by eating plastic bags. They confuse it with jelly fish. Disposable products which are not thrown away properly are contaminating entire earth.

These processes will go on and on if we do not reduce using disposable products. We have to reduce using disposable products. From now on, please use mugs or your own cup when you visit coffee shop. This might seem very small but count how many plastic cups you haven’t use for one month. Months will be years and earth might thank you to reduce using disposable products.

#4 Unit6,p135

 Last class, we have talked about books, movies in which the place is important. When we do a free writing, one book popped on my head. The title of the book is ‘Masaco’s Question’. The book cover is just like this

 

 

I remember that I read this book when I was in middle school and I was so impressed that day. Do you know about an incident in Hiroshima? Place is very important in this book. Hiroshima is a very important element of this book because all of the storyline is related to the place.

The book is all about Japan and all the incidence is related to Hiroshima.One young girl, Masaco, is Japanese girl. She is having a walk around ‘Hiroshima peace park’ with her grandmother. While walking the park, Masaco asked her grandmother about Hiroshima nuclear bomb. She keep asking about why other country hit this beautiful Hiroshima park. Her grandmother cannot answer. If the place was somewhere else, the story might be hard to talk about Hiroshima nuclear bomb. Let’s think about this way. Masaco is in Osaka, Japan. Why would she ask her grandmother about Hiroshima? She might not think of it. So the place ‘Hiroshima’ is very important.

The title of the book is also ‘Masaco’s Question’ and it means the main character must be Japanese. This book shows afterwards of Japanese imperialism. Japanese girl is asking why they have been attacked. Main point is that grandmother cannot answer that question. It means the season of Japanese imperialism is not fair at all. It also makes us think one more time about it. How about changing Masaco to Mina, A Korean girl who lives in Korea. Mina is taking a walk with her grandmother. It’s kind of hard to think about nuclear bomb while walking around Seoul. It’s almost impossible to get in to that subject. And unless they talk about it, her grandmother will tell everything and the book storyline will get mixed.

By thinking this examples, we can realize that the place of the book is important than you think. ‘Japanese girl’ is taking a walk in ‘Hiroshima’ is a big thing to the storyline. I think making a second book just like ‘Mina’s Question’ is a good idea too. Making it and answering the question that Masaco’s granny can’t.