WONG Kwan Ting (54780109)

EN2719 Final Profolio Submission

The Importance of the Ticking Bomb: ‘Boredom’`
Elpidorou, "The quiet alarm"

The general public used to think boredom is unnecessary. But recently

Andreas Elpidorou (2015) suggests that boredom is unpleasant but has a vital
importance and value. Elpidorou, throughout the passage, compared pain with
boredom, pointing out the function of pain has shown similarities with that of
boredom. In other words, pain and boredom to him are both kinds of warning: while
the former tends to show an alarm towards physical danger (for example, feeling
burnt or getting a cold); the later portrays expectation mismatch of expected
stimulation and reality. Elpidorou also quoted from the famous example of
insensitivity Gibson: a man who could not feel pain. He mentioned that although
Gibson did not feel pain, pain and danger still took place, while the same was for
boredom. Therefore, Elpidorou emphasized that pain acted as an indicator that there
was a need for change before someone realized it is too late, and the same applied
for boredom.

While it is true that boredom is such a helpful reminder about our mental
state, it does not necessarily follow that we feel boredom as much or as frequent in
our daily lives. Many of us in the society holds an identity as a parent, a salaryman, a
student or all three identities at once. With uncountable duties and life
encounterments, boredom can hardly have its place in our lives nowadays. Yet,
according to a study conducted by Argentinean University students (2015), it pointed
out that lacking value in something is the anterior cause of experiencing boredom in
class. Pekrun (2010) also confirmed the correlation between boredom and value.
Task value is related to personal interests and importance in certain issues, and its
definition varies from person to another. Indeed, it is highly likely that if students lose
their own task value in their daily studies, they will feel bored and lack motivation.

But who really cares? Who besides me and a handful recent researchers has
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a stake in these claims? At the very least, the researchers who formerly believed that
every human should care. As we all know, boredom is never something like a nice
chocolate sundae; it is, indeed, like having the same dishes every night for dinners of
the rest of the life. It is as mundane as putting on toothpaste caps in a factory
eternally. Here, boredom suggests that human need to make a change, as boredom
alarms us that what we want do not exist in our activities. As a result, someone
would find out that the activity taking place is not stimulating or meeting their
expectations.

Ultimately, what is at stake here is our unfulfilled desire. And naturally, one
would lose motivation in committing to a certain activity. To prevent that from
happening, someone would have to pay close attention to how they felt when
participating in certain activities. Therefore, before being completely sucked into the
blackhole of dissatisfactory, we need to seek for more stimulating activities and re-
enlighten the passion to pursue goals. (498 words)

Reference:

Elpidorou, A. (2017, April 24). Life without boredom would be a nightmare – Andreas Elpidorou |
Aeon Essays. Retrieved April 24, 2017, from https://aeon.co/essays/life-without-boredom-would-
be-a-nightmare

Rosas, J. S., & Bedis, J. (n.d.). Measuring Strategies to Cope with Boredom in Spanish Speaking
Population: A Study with Argentinean University Students. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305680201_Measuring_Strategies_to_Cope_with_Bore
dom_in_Spanish_Speaking_Population_A_Study_with_Argentinean_University_Students
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Blooming Virtual Classrooms Could Take over

Traditional ones
Looser, "Why I teach online"

It has become common lately to discuss how online courses gaining their
positions
in the world of education and schooling. Devoney Looser (2017), as an English
professor, took up the job of online teaching after her husband fell ill. The opportunity
gave her insights on the education done via an illuminating screen. The credibility of
online students and the functioning of online courses. Many people assume that
online courses bring more harm than good as the students are generally lazier while
the university might reuse the videos to earn more profit. Although none of them
have ever said so directly, my teachers have often given me the impression that
online teaching is a cheaper way to deliver education and truly, “making a buck off of
a lousy product” (Looser, 2017). Looser pointed out that these stereotypical thoughts
were simply misunderstanding hence online courses would not replace the physical
classes. Looser is right that the online courses are not as how the general public
perceives, but she seems on more dubious when she claims that the online courses
would not take over physical classes.

Online courses have trending needs to fulfill the human desire for
convenience since advancement in online technology. Looser cannot have it both
ways. On the one hand, she argues the benefits of having online courses and their
benefits to society. On the other hand, she also says online courses could not
override in-person instruction. My own view, however, is that online courses are
becoming more common in these decades. Writing in the Journal of Online Teaching
and Teaching “The Effectiveness of Online Teaching: Beyond No Significant
Difference and Future Horizons” (2015), Tuan Nguyen complained that a study done
by Anstine and Skidmore (2005) had revealed the online students and in-person-
instructed students had similar test scores in the same course, which denotes that
their learning outcome are almost the same. When the educational output has such
little variance, choosing the convenient and efficient online education would be
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undoubtedly a more prefered option to many learners, hence gradually gains its
importance in the market.

While many institutions which provide higher education obtain great sum of
tuition fee and require an updated academic background, online courses allow many
of those who missed out college during their youth to join the online campus once
again. Looser demonstrated that many women who did not take college due to
various reasons could have the opportunity of receiving education again via online
platforms. In making this comment, Looser urged one to look for continuous
education and improve one’s knowledge capacity. As the current working parents of
many youths did not receive higher education, more of the middle-aged population or
the working class would be able to make use of the online education platforms after
their retirement or even during their career lives. The upshot of all this is that there
would be a growing demand from the specific middle-aged population, asking for
little in requirement and is, surely, rather approachable and user-friendly.

Although online education may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of

today’s concern over the competition of online courses and physical classrooms.
People could not underestimate the potential of online educational platforms, but
appreciate the benefits that it can bring to our society at the same time.
(547 words)

Reference:
Nguyen, Tuan. "The Effectiveness of Online Learning: Beyond No Significant Difference and
Future Horizons." MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 11 (2015): 6. Web.

"Why I Teach Online." The Chronicle of Higher Education. N.p., 20 Mar. 2017. Web. 20 Apr.
2017.
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From He to She: Could that be easy for Asian

Families?
Maurie Franke “From he to she in First Grade”

Many people assume that society has become more open-minded about
gender after the many protests like Pride Marches. In fact, as society develops
greater liberation in the transgender. Children, like that of Franke, has gained more
opportunities in having their own decision powers on what they prefer. The son of
Franke first preferred dressing in girls’ costumes when they were playing puppet
theatre at home. Gradually he became more self-aware and even suggested wearing
a fluffy pink skirt to the first day of school. The courage of this young child was
demonstrated when he was fearless to face the possible bully from his schoolmates.
Frankes did not deny that he faced struggles on whether to include his subjective
opinions for his child. Adding to Franke’s argument, I would point out that this
“openness” varies across countries. Although Franke makes the best possible case
for the liberation of parents’ minds on their children’s gender decisions, I am not
convinced.

Traditional conservativeness is real, and are arguably the most significant

factor in how parents are willing to accept their children as they are. When it comes
to the topic of crossdressing or transgender, most of us will readily agree that people
should openly accept such behaviors of their children. Where this agreement usually
ends, however, is on the question of the mental preparation to accept their children
the way they are. Whereas some are convinced that they love their kids as who they
are, others maintain that not that acceptable about it. Franke is right that certain
parents or families have very liberated mindsets about gender issues, yet his
assertion that his case of his child going smoothly in a western country does not
assure the same smoothness of that in Asian countries. Franke wrote in a narrative
way in terms of parenthood, describing how they, as parents, came to accept their
child as who he was. As an Asian youth, the evidence shows that not many parents
or more senior generations could not come to the fact: their children might want to
make decisions on their genders. They tend to be more open-minded about gender
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issues nowadays (yes, because of the liberation of Western countries); yet the
challenge is that when this might take place in their own children, they could feel
discontent and might just lose their minds. Accepting others’ child is seemingly fine
for them, however, it is a big “no-no” for their own children in their own case.

In short, the milestone to accepting the children or the youth as who they are
certainly not a simple matter. Indeed, it is still possible for Asian parents to have
hope in their children no matter who they are, as well as how they act as long as the
children respect their parents and show filial piety. (468 words)

References:
Frankel, L. (2016, September 16). From He to She in First Grade. Retrieved April 24, 2017, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/fashion/modern-love-transgender-child-identity-
parenting.html?_r=0