Being in BSP, I have the privilege to learn
CDE as one of my subjects. This is a good chance of learning the different
cultures of the East and West. This made me not regret joining BSP as the other
special programmes doesn’t have this course. Learning the cultures of the East
and West is important as China and USA are the two most power influential
countries in the world. Learning the cultures makes us understand them and we
will be able to cooperate and interact with them in many fields such as business
and science research. The lesson by Mr Karplus is very interesting and it will
benefit me in the future.
The first lesson, Mr Karplus showed us a
collection of advertisements by HSBC, the world’s local bank’s advertisements.
The advertisement included the conflicts when people from different cultures
meet without understand each other. There was this commercial which shows how
the Germans felt cars are a source of pride and any minor damage to the car is
taken seriously. However, just across the border, the French felt totally the
opposite and did not care about their cars at all. This shows that even if
countries are right next to each other, their cultures and habits can be
totally different. There was another commercial which was an English having dinner
with the Chinese in a Chinese restaurant. The English wasn’t used to eating
Chinese food. However, the English believed it’s a slur on your host’s food if
you don’t clear your plate, whereas the Chinese feel your questioning their
generosity if you clear the plate. The commercials shows the different cultures
of different places and how people are often not used to the other cultures.
From these advertisements, I have learnt that it is important to understand the
local cultures of different places and how the cultures can make a difference
between the two places.
Then, Mr Karplus gave us a CQ Self-Assessment
to do online to see how much we know about the cultures. This exercise made
tests our Culture Intelligence to see how much we know about ourselves. From
this, I have learnt that I don’t have a lot of knowledge and I will focus on
this area more.
The second lesson we learnt the cultures of
America. Mr Karplus taught us the 15 core values of America. The values are
Individualism, Achievement and Success, Activity and Work, Efficiency and
Practically, Science and Technology, Progress, Material comfort,
Humanitarianism, Freedom, Democracy, Equality, Racism and Group Superiority.
The other values added on 1975 are Education, Religiosity and Romantic love.
For me, the significant aspect was on education. Previously, I thought the
Americans didn’t focus as much in education and only wants material comfort
like cars and phones, unlike the Asians whom have lots of work load since
primary school. However, later I realised the Americans focus on education more
than I thought. Most Americans will go as far in school as their abilities and
finances allow. Most people will go to college. My previous understand could be
due to the amount of work load received by the Americans. They have
significantly lesser homework as compared to the Asian countries like China and
even Singapore. Having read about it, now I know that even the workload is
lesser in America, but they also focus a lot on education. I have significantly
improved my understanding of America education.
In conclusion, just over the first two
lessons, I have realised that the cultures of different places can be so
different from others. I have learnt the 15 values of America and that they
also focus on education and want material comfort. Although the value about
romantic love contradicts the high divorce rate. I expect to learn more about
the cultures and lives of the West.
Hi Ming Chuan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you have mentioned in your first reflective journal. We have indeed the same views. I feel that this year will be a much more interesting year especially when we get to learn a new type of humanities in this case Cultural Differentiation. Cultural Differentiation is quite important nowadays especially when the East and the West (China and USA) are gaining power. It enables us to understand each other no matter where we are from and also be able to respect different countries' cultures. What I have mentioned is shown in the HSBC commercial that you have also touched on in your post. I feel that we all can learn well together although you have scored badly for the CQ self assessment. (I have also scored badly. Values are also very important in both the East and the West. They indeed share some similar and yet very different values. Such examples include the workload and freedom. I feel that you have really learnt a lot during the first two lessons and I certainly hope that you will learn more about the East and West in the next few lessons! :)
Hi Ming Chuan,
ReplyDeleteI think you have written a great reflection on CDE. I think you truely like the subject. I feel that you have put in alot of effort and place in lots of details to explain what you have learnt. The HSBC ads are a great example that you have talked about. I think CDE education is gaining its importance, just like the HSBC bank, it is important to actually handle the relations with foreigners, so that we can communicate with them. You have also talked about the core values of US and you have make good comparisons with the Asian societiy, like for example,"They have significantly lesser homework as compared to the Asian countries like China and even Singapore." This shows that you have comprehend the values and compare them with different cultures.
Therefore, I think you have written well for this reflection.
Yo!
ReplyDeleteI like your reflection and i can see that you had put in a lot of effort in your journal. Keep up the good work! I agree that it is a privilege to study CDE while other special programs do not provide such awesome lesson! Both America and China are huge countries in the world and they are both very influential so it is very important for us to learn about the culture of the two giants and understands them. i also like the HSBC videos as they are very creative and they had show us the importance of learning each other's cultures and habits. I am also surprised that actually the Americans are hard working as well. i thought they don't really focus on studies and only cares about material comforts like big house and luxury phones. I can see that you had learnt a lot of new things through the 2 lessons and i hope that you would enjoy your future lessons!
-yikun
Hi Ming Chuan,
ReplyDeleteYour reflection is a pretty good one and I can see that you have put in considerable effort. I agree with you that it is very important to have knowledge of both the east and west so that we are able to thrive. I believe that CDE would help us learn more about this. You talked about the HSBC commercials and I believe that those commercials are very good examples in showcasing the importance of learning the culture of others. About your CQ Self-Assessment, although you scored badly, I think you would be able to see a major improve of your score after this year’s CDE lessons. You also talked about the second lesson which was about the cultures of America. Through learning the 15 core values of America, it should better allow us to compare these values with Chinese ones and think more about this. I hope that all of us would benefit and learn a lot from the CDE lessons and I wish you a successful year ahead.
Hi Ming Chuan,
ReplyDeletegreat reflection and i can see that you have learnt a lot these few lessons. I do agree that with China and the US being the 2 most influential countries in the world, it is important to learn about the cultures of these 2 countries. However, keep in mind that with the world developing both socially and economically, other countries are catching up as well. We all had this idea that Americans are lazy, but through these lessons we do realise that Americans are pretty hardworking as well! The 15 core values are not really well known to me, as i missed the lesson, so i am glad you brought it up. Overall great reflection, and i wish you a great year learning CDE.