Assignment:
Write a personal reflection on the essay Ten Things the Chinese Do Better Than We Do. The personal reflection can be of any format.
Length: Two pages double spaced.
The quotes are cited but it is lost during the copy and paste process.
Title of Personal Response: Five Things the Chinese May or May Not Do Better Than We Do
Life is the journey of self actualization. Les Browne, a motivational speaker, author, and television personality once said "Perfection does not exist -- you can always do better and you can always grow." Indeed, there are always ways to improve and we should always try to better ourselves. This is exactly what Jan Wong is trying to articulate in her essay "Ten Things the Chinese Do Much Better Than We Do". In this essay, Jan Wong lists a number of things that we as Canadians can improve on by learning from the Chinese. While I agree that we can learn a lot from the Chinese, I do not think this is true for the things she has compiled in her essay. The content of the essay "Ten Things the Chinese Do Much Better Than We Do" is outdated and fails to consider both side of the argument. This has resulted in a biased and incomprehensive comparison of the ten things. In truth, an unbiased comparison of the ten things on the list would reveal drastically different results for half of the things on the list.
#1 on Wong's list, Cell phones: Winner- China
Canadian cell phones and cell phone payment system have improved in the four years since the time the essay was written. Nowadays, Canadian cell phone payment systems are diversified plans that meet the needs of people both rich and poor. Our cell phone payment systems are not consist of expensive monthly contracts, as Wong implies when she describes the Chinese cell phone payment system as "cheap, pay as you go system, with no stupid monthly contracts." Furthermore, our cell phone has superior quality compared to the Chinese cell phone, especially after the recent arrival of the IPhone.
On the other hand, Chinese cell phones are better than ours in many aspects such as signal reach, "cover, ubiquity, and price". While it is true that Chinese have better cell phone and cell phone systems, it is far from the author's view that "by any standard you can think of, China's cellphone practices beats ours."
#2 on Wong' list, Informative stop lights: Result- tie
The author argues that the Chinese has better informative stop lights because their lights "offer a countdown clock for both green and red signals." In Canada, the pedestrian countdown lights have the same function as the countdown clock for vehicles in China. During green lights, a driver can assess the time left by looking at the countdown clock for pedestrian in front of the vehicle. Similarly, the amount of time left until a green light can be deduced by looking at the pedestrian countdown at the left or right side of the vehicle.
#4 on Wong's list, Adult playgrounds: Winner- Canada
The author states that the Chinese does a better job at adult playgrounds for having "free outdoor exercise equipments in various neighbourhoods." However, the author has failed to mention the inaccessibility and the lack of maintenance for these equipments. Having lived in China, I know from experience that the typical wait time for some of these equipments are half an hour long. Typical wait time for popular equipments can exceed over an hour. If a piece of equipment breaks down, it takes a few months before it is replaced. Furthermore, the Chinese do not have access to anything that takes up large areas, such as soccer fields and parks.
Canadians have access to a variety of adult playgrounds that are maintained regularly. This includes soccer fields, national parks, indoor pools, and basketball courts, just to name a few.
#5 on Wong's list, Anti theft slipcovers: Winner- Canada
Chinese has invented the anti theft slipcover. By simply throwing it over the valuables, it effectively makes it harder for thieves to steal the valuables.
Canadian's most ingenious defense against theft is the scarcity of theft, which is much more effective than any slipcovers.
#6 on Wong's list, Daily banking: Result- tie
Contrary to the author's belief that Canadian banks "opens for a few hours on Saturday morning", Banks in Canada opens for eight hours just like Chinese banks. Furthermore, Canadians and Chinese have similar ATMs, online banking, and telephone banking. In short, the quality of banking is about the same in both countries.
Contrary to the author's belief that Canadian banks "opens for a few hours on Saturday morning" (which might have been true four years ago), Banks in Canada opens for eight hours just like Chinese banks. Furthermore, Canadians and Chinese have similar ATMs, online banking, and telephone banking. In short, the quality of banking is about the same in both countries.
The list Wong compiled is inaccurate because the author failed to support both sides of the argument and more importantly because the essay is outdated. Originally, I regarded the fact the essay is outdated with disdain. Only now do I see that the fact the essay is outdated is a direct result of the rapid pace at which our society is improving. If this is the case, then maybe the fact that the essay is outdated is an asset to the essay. After all, what better way is there to show the theme of self actualization than to make the essay itself a testament of the rapid pace at which our society is improving?
Dear Gloria: With concern to the essay I am wondering:
-Does the personal response keep your attention throughout? If not, is there anything i can do to improve it?
-Do you find the structuring effective? (I'm referring to the fact that I wrote the essay using the same structure as the essay i was writing about which is simply a few paragraphs introducing the topic followed by a list of things that makes up the body of her essay. Does it even matter that I did this?)
-Does the personal response flow? What can I do to make it flow better?
As always thank you in advance for your suggestions.
Good morning :)
I like this format; it is easy to read and very organized. You move quickly from one point to the next, keeping your reader's attention while getting your information across. I think the structure is great; again, it keeps things moving along while still covering your main points thoroughly. Since you put your own analysis in each point, it helped make the essay more than just a list of another's work. I think the flow was great; it was fluid through the points, and your intro and conclusion both helped tie up the piece. Good work!
Regards,
Gloria
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