Bessie Chan: EQ

Emotional Intelligence Date:19-9-2007
Emotional Intelligence , or EQ,includes skills such as understanding one’s emotions and relating well to other people. According to psychologist Nancy Matz, there are five components of the EQ. They include “Self-Awareness” , “Self-Control” , “Self-Motivation” , “Empathy”,and “People Skills”.In my opinion, “Self-Control” , “Self-Awareness” and “Empathy” are the most important in Emotional Intelligence.

“Self-Control” is a kind of intrapersonal relationship that reflects the ability of handling one’s emotions. It is a fact that everyone faces disappointments everyday. We must all learn to deal with setbacks. When things go wrong, we will get depressed. Someone will allow themselves to dwell on failures for a few minutes, the whole day or even the whole life. It is obvious that no one can control one’s thoughts. One should tell himself that it is time to stop being depressed and think positively. For example, I was very disappointed when I failed my driving road test. After feeling upset for a few minutes, I told myself that the world won’t change eventhough I keep on feeling depressed. Afterward, I discussed other social issue with my driving teacher. It was apparent that I didn’t feel so disappointed when my focus changed.

“Self-Awareness” is a kind of intrapersonal relationship that reflects the ability of understanding oneself. When things go wrong, we must keep going and not let the problems stop us. In the example mentioned above, I studied the results sheet carefully and figured out the mistakes that I had made in the road test. I decided to pay more attention to those weak aspects when I drive the next time.
“Empathy” is a kind of interpersonal relationship that reflects the ability of understanding others’ emotions .It is true that no one is an island. One cannot live by himself and ignore others. Everyone must deal with others and have interpersonal relationship with others. The most effective way to understand others’ emotions is to project yourself into others’ situation. Once again, in my example of driving road test, when my friend told me that she failed two times in her driving road test and had the same feeling as me, I suddently felt that she was like my old friend and understood me a lot.

Can anyone be trained to develop their EQ? It depends on how one can control his/her emotion, how one has his/her self-awareness and how one can show empathy towards others. If someone can control his/her emotion,he/she will not dwell on failures forever. If someone is self-aware enough, he can improve himself and escape from failure. If someone knows how to show empathy towards others, he can probably heal others’ sorrows and relate well to others. After doing all of the above, there is no doubt that one can upgrade his/her EQ.

Bessie Chan: Home Schooling

The Idea of home schooling Date:24-9-2007

What is home schooling? When childern are educated at home or in places other than a traditional setting as in a school,it is called home schooling.The idea of home schooling is detable as it has adventages and disadventages.

The adventages of home schooling are enormous. It is believed that the emotion of a child affects his/her learning.Bullying from other students will kill the motivation of learning in a young child. It is obvious that there is less bullying in home schooling. Teenagers who are easily affected by peer pressure will absolutely have less negative peer pressure when they are educated in home schooling. Also, it is apparent that children are internally motivated to learn in home schooling as they can choose the subjects they are interested in. Teaching methods and teaching materials are some of the external factors affecting children’s learning. The parents, acting as the teachers in home schooling , not limited by school curriculm, provide flexible teaching methods and immense teaching materials to their childern. Children learning under these global curriculum will absolutely have an open-mind about the world. As students spend long periods of time with their family in home schooling, the relations between family members will probably become closer.

The disadvantage of home schooling are undoubtly numerous. It is believed that students teaching and supporting each other with their own language and methods raise the learning effectively.These emotional factor of positive peer encouragement can hardly be found in home schooling. There has external factors affecting children’s learning. Unlike traditional school, home schooling is not subsidized by the government. Those un-organized home school and unwealthy parents may find it difficult to provide enough learning materials and resources for their children to learn. Relationship with others is another aspect that we should consider. As students spend short periods of time dealing with other classmates in home schooling, it is possible that they will become more self-centered and less social-skilled persons.

In conclusion, I believe that in home schooling, as with any debatable issue, the adventages and disadvantages are neither simple nor one-sided. The most important thing is how people apply the idea of home schooling by taking its advantages and diminishing its disadvantages.

Susan Lee: The Internet

A large number of people say that the Internet provides people with a lot of valuable information. I firmly agree that the Internet has made our lives much more convenient and efficient by providing a lot of valuable information.

First, in my view, students find a lot of information on the Internet very easily. Before the Internet was common, students had difficulty searching for information they needed. The only way was looking in their textbooks or other books by visiting libraries or buying books at the bookstore. This way not only wasted too much time but also was inefficient. On the contrary, nowadays, students can access various information all over the world at just one or two clicks of a mouse . From my personal experience, when I was a freshman in university, I had to make a presentation about early music education in two days. At first, I was at a loss how to gather proper information. Fortunately, thanks to the Internet, I was able to get much data by accessing the international libraries. In addition, I also had a chance to listen to on-line lectures provided by famous educational institutions across the world.

Second, companies benefit from the internet. If in the past, companies found information without Internet, they not only had to hire more employees but also wasted so much time searching for it than now. However, nowadays, companies are able to find the proper information with a few office workers. For instance, a company selling dresses can easily get the list of companies specializing in parties or events if one employee knows how to use the Internet. Besides, if one employee has the ability to create web site , then the company can generate profits consistently. Futhermore, companies can search for and contalk more offerr by having the internet, and then there are many chances to give and take its own services to them . Also, by using the Internet, it is possible for a company to advertise many advantages of items.

To summarize, although the Internet cannot be said to be totally perfect, the advantage of providing a lot of valuable information to both students and companies outweigh its disadvantage. For this reason, the Internet can surely be said to not only benefit individuals but also our society more progressively.

wang Tai Lee: What Are We Deleting From The Developments Of Email

The inventions of modern technology are playing an important role today. They have changed our daily lives and the whole world a lot. The email, for example, is one of the wonderful developments in this computerized era. We have taken a great advantage of using it everyday since it was popular everywhere. However, I think we are losing the enjoyment of handwriting, reading, and delivering letters; in fact, those are the three ways the email has diminished our quality of life.

First of all, we send email by typing instead of handwriting; actually, an increasing number of people don’t use pen to write a letter any longer. It seems we lose nothing when we enjoy the convenience and speed of typing on the computer. There is a variety of arts and skills for us to use in the computer typing. We can choose different types of fonts in computer which are as beautiful as handwriting. However, we are losing the enjoyable process of writing by hands. Human beings have been using handwriting for several thousands of years. We can show our skills, arts and character traits through handwriting. There is so much happiness and satisfaction when we write the words with our hands one by one. In addition, people’s handwritings are changeable when their emotion and life experiences change. As a whole, those are our valuable cultural heritage.

Secondly, the experiences of reading the traditional letters can hardly be replaced by reading email. The messages in email are mostly short and simple. The main purpose of email is information exchange. Computers can make the email not only neat but also colourful; furthermore, we can even email our letter with sounds and pictures. Email system tries to satisfy the user by doing all that it has been ordered to do, but we lose something. For one thing, people lose the passion to write a letter like writing a literary works; that is, people express their feelings and emotions in traditional letters more than in email that makes a difference when we read them. In addition, the places where we read the letters are more varied. Lovers hid and read their love letters under the quilt and cried. At wartime, mothers received their children’s letters from battlefields; they then carried the letters to anywhere they went and read them again and again whenever they had time; it seemed to them that they could hear the terrible sounds from the wailing bombers while they read the letter. Even the ordinary friends can feel the sincere concern from the familiar handwriting of the letter he got.

Thirdly, mailmen used to play the Santa Claus role in many cultures to some extent. They not only delivered the letters but also distributed the loves, concerns, care, and relationship from door to door. People expected their arrival at the same time everyday. The pictures of some nice mailmen greeted everybody kindly in the village still vivid in my mind. As a matter of fact, it can’t be seen nowadays. Today, Post office is becoming less important and mailmen have become cold. They deliver some trashy flyers and cold documents only. They will lose their job, and we will lose a precious life experience in the near future.

Everyone looks forward to enjoying the lives of high technology, and every country pursues the same goal of modernization. One of my standards to judge a country’s or a person’s quality is whether or not they allow people (or allow himself) to keep their past wistfully while they move to the high-tech society. Therefore, most nice countries have varieties of reservation areas, heritage parks and historical museums; and for individuals, it is always a good idea to spare themselves a small mental room to stay in the past and keep their lives balanced between the future and the past.

Susan Lee: Emotional Intelligence

Theses days, many people say that having emotional intelligence is one of the most important abilities in success. What is emotional intelligence? In brief, Emotional intelligence includes five sub-skills, including how we monitor our own and other's feelings and emotions, how we discriminate and assess and how we use knowledge to guide our thinking and actions. It includes self-awareness, self-control, self-motivation, empathy and social skills. In my opinion, among them, self-control and social skills are most important components of emotional intelligence.

Firstly, I believe that self-control is an important part of emotional intelligence. Self-control helps people to build up ability to manage emotional states. It helps people to know what their feelings are and foster ability to choose how they feel and help people able to relieve their stress and tensions. Futhermore, self-control leads people to make correct judgements. When people need to make judgements, it always helps them to make effective decisions for better outcomes for themselves and others at a proper time. Sometimes, people should handle emotions when they are under some conditions as impatience, immediate gratification, fear, desire and uncontrollable anger; also, they need to solve problems while they are in those situation. Also, self-control guides people to find the best solution to solve problem.

Secondly, I realize that social skills are also an important component of emotional intelligence. Sucess today is closely linked to how people deal with others; in other words, a certain level of manners is required for normal social intercourse. Understanding and conceding to each other , it helps people to make a progressive society where we respect each other. From this point of view, having social skills is a requisite for workplace and school. Social skills cultivate the ability of cooperation which is needed to complete the task or avert a possible crisis. No matter how develop an individual system may be, all coworkers and peers keenly feel the necessity of mutual cooperation in the workplace and school. Social-skills conduct people to work in teams more productively and harmoniously.

In conclusion, having self-control and social-skills are more important than having self-awareness, self-motivation and empathy of Emotional intelligence. Of course, those cannot said to be unimportant components. When these skills are well-balanced, they not only help people to communicate and solve problem, but also lead to win-win outcomes in any situation

Bessie Sui-lan Chan: The Computer

A few decade ago, no one would imagine that he could wear his pyjams and work in his home office. No one would imagine their children prefer to stay at home and not want to go out to the playground to play. It was just after the personal computer was introduced to our households that changes began. Personal computer, at the same time, improve and diminished our quality of life.

The use of personal computer in business has become more and more important nowadays. Many people work at home so that they can arrange their own pattern of life. They can take care of their own children as well as meeting their boss’s mission. It is also some kind of energy conservation as you don’t need to drive to and from your office. However, workers don’t need to deal with others and this leads to isolation and low team morale. Since the commercial internet service became available, people have been able to pay bills through personal banking. The stock market no longer belongs only to those stock-exchange agents;everyone can access it through their personal computers. Many people don’t have to line up in the bank to wait for their services anymore. Nevertheless, personal interaction and jobs opportunities decrease arise many social problems such as isolation and unemployment.

The use of personal computer in education has made great changes.Those who live in remote areas, in bad weather or even in serious conditions can continue their study through distance learning. For example, when “SARS” was a social disaster in 2003 in Hong Kong, students continued their studies through distance learning. People can search a wide range of information through their personal computers. Distance learning, on the contrary, provides little or even no teachers-students interaction. Self-learning at home with the help of CDs and DVDs widen further study, but decrease human interaction. Parents tends to buy learning sofeware for their children instead of teaching their children by their own.

Personal computer also diverges people in their way of entertainment. The games that go in the first place are no longer those traditional ones but on-line games. We have a wide variety of games to choose from; in addition, we also have different levels of competitors to meet our needs. Once again, no real and direct interaction with others creates many social problems. Our children become less and less skillful in interpersonal relationships. Family problems arise. Downloaded movies through our personal computer provide wide variety of choice. We can enjoy our favourite old movies as easily as those new one that just come on market. In contrast, copy-right problems became more and more serious recently that it came to international discussing level.

Technology in personal computer developed in a high speed, and in no doubt that it will continue to improve in a profounded way. Is personal computer a blessing or a curse? It depends on how you take its advantages and diminished its disadvantages.

Maryam Karamy: The Internet

The internet is the virtual world that has made an amazing difference in our lives. People from around the world can come together in this global meeting place. This comfortable service which is available on the computer is used for many purposes such as email, newsgroups, chat rooms, shopping, and more. The internet provides opportunities galore that have increased the quality of human’s life in several ways, but there are certain dangers in using the internet which cannot be ignored.

The internet can be used for a varity of useful purposes. For example, any kind of news and information are available on the internet. It looks like a huge library where every body can easily find any subject that they need. Furthermore, online shopping is the most comfortable way for shopping. People can not only look for products but also use their credit cards to shop from the convenience of their computers. Finally, the electronical message system, email which serves as a high speed mail system, delivers mail around the world in a second.


On the other hand, there are some illegal activities which are really bothering the internet users. First, the internet is the source of pornographic sites which are detriment for children to access. Second, the computer could be invaded by spasms. These spasms can plug up the entire system. At the end, the internet makes people lonelier and increases isolation, even though it is a wide word of communication. As the usage of the internet turns to an addiction, the internet user, to satisfy his compulsion, spends more time surfing the web and less time getting together with other family members and friends.

In spite of the disadvantages of the internet, the bright side of this incredible technology outweigh the dark side. Everyday, people enjoy many benefits of the internet. However, it is very important to make an effort in order to prevent the internet illegal activities, so we can have a much safer internet environment.

Susan Lee: The Razor's Edge

Maugham, as a narrator and a character in the Razor's edge, described to readers a story of his friends, Elliot, Isabel, and Larry’s different but unique life styles. The story shows how each character tried to achieve their life’s same ultimate goal, happiness, through different ways.

Larry is non-materialistic figure in the movie. He always wanted to find his own truth happiness of life. Larry felt that money and fame won’t full-fill his life. He thought these things were empty and incomplete and would not last forever. During fighting in World War I, Larry faced the most shattering experience of his life time through his fellow soldier’s death. This incident made him think about the true meaning of life and what it is all about. After he returned home from war, he became deeply concerned whit death. He tried to look for the answers and decided to leave for a journey to look for the answer. In India, Larry studied the spiritualism for many years. He searched for the true meaning of life that would satisfy his soul. He learned the spiritual knowledge and used it to heal others; in other words, his happiness was helping other people after he trained his mind.

Isabel, who is Larry’s fiance, refused to marry him when she learned that Larry won’t be able to satisfy her materialistic needs. In my view, Isabel symbolizes the materialism of the young generation in the movie. It was the wealth and the social position that it was extremely important in her life and what determind her happiness of life. She did not understood Larry’s desire for spiritual happiness. She thought that it was odd and a waste of time. With her desire for wealth, she decided to marry Gray, who is rich stock broker and could full-fill her wealthy life style. Her character was not only very materialistic but also very possessive. She married Gray because of money; futhermore, she still wanted to believe that Larry loved her when he decided that he would marry Sophie. I just thought that she seems likely to beg for love when I watched last scene.

Elliot, who is Isabel’s uncle, symbolizes the materialism of the older generation. He is described as a social butterfly in the movie. Social popularity brought him the ultimate happiness of his life. Making new relationship with high society people and being a greater entertainer at a party gave him pleasure in his life. As he grew old, his social popularity eventually declined. He was so dedicated to his party-life style that even on his death bed he showed his endless passion and desire for parties. Through social activities, he achieved his life happiness. Although, he died happily by receiving a fake invitation from one friend, but, I saw his meaningless life when he died.

In conclusion, this movie made me think about happiness and love. I believe that happiness consists in contentment. Three main characters, Larry, Isabel and Elliot's pursuit of happiness were different, but I felt that they were satisfied with their circumstances. Incidentally, if I were Isabell, I would not break a sweet love for money. I think love is more important than money.

Susan Lee: Gotta Dance

"Gotta dance"
The story of "Gotta dance" written by Jackson Judie Daviss, is about how a young girl, katie, could set and achieve her goals. katie had a new plan to become a dancer, but her family opposed her decision. In fact, she had a compulsion for dancing. Therefore, she left her family and started a tour for her future life with the memory of her dead brother and role-model, Mutts. She took a long-haul bus where she met a rebellious boy who was like her. She went to a far away town where she gracefully danced in front of a large audience; however, she was still on tour for a successful life. In my view, hard work, responding to the inner child and setting goals well were the primary factors in katie's life.
Frist, her character as a hardworking person assisted her in achieving the success. Also, she had so much passion and love for dancing. She practiced famous dancer's step with perseverance. In other words, she worked so hard by herself with patience, passionate love and belief that she can make it no matter what.

Second, she could respond to inner child while she was in the long-haul bus and it made that she could complete her plan by compulsion. She had to persue her dream as a dancer since she lost her brother, Mutts. Her motive in becoming dancer was the memory of Mutts which was a escapeway from the sorrow of Mutts's death. Also, the rebellion in her heart pushed her to leave to achieve her goal. She had a kind of anger towards her family members who didn't support her.
Finally, she made steady progress toward her goals. She concentrated on what she wants and was very ambitious. She made her own opportunity for setting her goals and performed very well. Besides, she went on a tour with very positive attitude. Now, she still on the road to success in her future life.
In conclusion, hard work, responding to the inner child and well setting goals were cause of in katie's successful life. In my opinion, she will overcome all the challenges when she stays in a long-haul bus for a successful life in the future.