Monday, 28 August 2017

Developing Critical Thinking, 1 (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013, p. 82)

What we read 
Having now read and checked our understanding of the ideas in "Most Likely to Succeed" (2013, p. 81), we can move on to Bixby and Scanlon's critical thinking exercises, the first two of which focus on this reading.
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Questions to respond to 
Bixby and Scanlon's first two critical thinking questions on page 81 are: 

  • The article claims that while there are some people who are driven to be high achievers, others are "perfectly happy  with whatever life brings."
    Which type of person are you most similar to? Why do you think so? What do you think might have made you the way you are?
     
  • Do you agree with the writer's suggestion at the end of the article for how to find the balance between stress and success? What other suggestions help people avoid feeling the pressure to succeed?   
Write a comment to respond to both of questions here.

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Reference
  • Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful reading & writing: Student's book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education 

18 comments:

  1. I don't know the answer for the fist question. I think, may be few years ago I was totally sure that I had a drive (to be honest - a lot of drive). But now.. I'm lost my way. And I don't know what exactly I can say now. It looks like - nothing.
    About second part: yes. I'm agree. I think it's a good way to keep balance. And I think all of us have to remember "why are you doing that", "for what". If you like you answers, if you are happy, if you like your life... Why not? The balance in our live, probably is the most serious point in our life. Almost all of us (except me) are Buddhist, and maybe you know the answer for this question. What the Buddhist people can say about balance in our life?

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  2. I think we can not avoid the pressure feeling of success because every steps in our life are contain with pressure from surrounding, ourselves, parents, societies. Hope is also ones of the pressure but what is perfectly happy that we can bring to our life, This is interesting question. Sometimes I think we can congrats with everything we have done with ambition even it fail or it is very little but failure is still success because it is a lesson and learning new thing is improving in some other way.And this made me the way I am, accept everything that have passed it is all good thing just think in reverse.

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  3. I think I'm likely to be a "higher achiever". Since I was in primary school, I first move to an English program school and that makes controversial argument between my parents if I could study there, but after the first final test, I did it very well. So that is the main reason, my mom noticed I'm good in studying so she always pushes me to the highest level. However, I hardly follow my mom suggestion because that's not my goal. If we do anything we aren't willing to do, it's sure that we might likely fail it. Anyway, my own goal is also high but that isn't that high of my mom, so I could step forward with no anxiety. Whenever my mom draws my goal, I'm not always following her, just see it's mine then I could follow that suggestion.

    Yes, exactly, I agree with the article that friend, family, and many relationship can recover you from being too stressful. I could never imagine if I have to always study, get to my goal, but have no friend. Just one week you're staying alone, that can kill you, and me.

    For other suggestion, I don't know, just stay relax, don't too stress, do what you want that is in the rule, that's fine and get to your goal smoothly.

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    1. What you said " I hardly follow my mom suggestion because that's not my goal. If we do anything we aren't willing to do, it's sure that we might likely fail it." catches my thought and totally agree with you. I think this kind of situation become a prblem to a lot of thai kids. By our culture, kids should respect and obey what adults said. Respect is good, but to do everything as they said is not. Adults are not always right and they should not put all of their thought and dreams to their own kids because that will cause them stress.

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    2. My opinion is the same as Pa's comment.I absolutely agree with you that "If we do anything we aren't willing to do ,it's sure that we might likely fail it".
      Because of the high goal which our parents give us,we usually under great pressure to work hard to achieve our goals but actually it is their expectation on us.
      Although my parents' thoughts are always right and benefit to me,I always think think about it before I do and talk to them my real ideas if I will not obey their decision and they also respect my ideas.

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  4. I mostly like a person who fight for for more achievement because I always set a goal for each period of time and when I succeed, I will put up another goal. My dad is my ideal person. He is the one who teach me to dream high and not fear to fall. And if I fall, at least I have learnt from it.

    According to the article, I agree with the way to balance stress and success. Stress sometime can motivate people to be success, but if you have it too much, then it will pull you down instead.

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    1. My mother always tell me like your father do. I thinks it is also important to have someone who support us to not afraid of failing. Family is one of the people who can help us and also support us.

      Another thing I can think of is general people who have a big dream, I am quite fascinated in people who have difficult dream, it makes me stronger, and I like to see them as a role model to pursue my dream whether how difficult is it.

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    2. I agree with your opinion that it is a really good way to set a new goal when you have already achieve. To keep setting a new goal really improve our ability.

      I think every successful person grow in stress. Stress really make people be more stronger, it also test a person have ambition or not.

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  5. I think I am a person who are perfectly happy with whatever life brings. Maybe I have not achieve the year to find what I really want. But before I find that, what I have to do I think is to do what my father told me or get the licence that the company needs. If I find my high achievement to do, I will hardly to achieve it. And improve the area which I am weak.
    I think I agree with find the balance between stress and success.

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  6. I quite similar to people who are driven to be high achievers. As I was a student in high school, I attempt to do a lot of things as much as I can to improve myself. My mother also so play a role in my life, she always tell me to work very hard with assignments in the school, but I never do that because it was boring. What I enjoy doing is just reading and watching movies . I very interested in this type of activities. And it drives me to do more and more. Started with reading now I can writing, as well as movie, I started with watch movies but now I can make a movie. This is my success , which began with my pure interests.

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    1. I agree with you that interest is one of the most important factor for success. Everything that begin from our interest can be achieved easier than what is boring for us. I found that I can learn subjects I like faster than subjects I hate a lot. For example, it took me more than one hour to understand and remember any English grammar. In contrast, I can understand any mathematics equation in a few minutes.

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  7. My types is similar to the first type because I do not think that everything I am not happy with everything that life bring to me. I am happy with what I want to have and I want achieve my own goals. When I have succeeded my goal, I will set my new goal to be my next target to achieve. I might be like this because of my school. Teachers teach us that we cannot stop challenge. When we succeed the challenge, we have to find a new challenge for developing ourselves.

    I agree with the solution to find the balance between stress and success. I also have an idea that doing things you like can help you avoid the pressure too.

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  8. I am a person who would like to be better and better. I think demand in achievement is the great motivation of people to live their life. However, achievement is different in each person. I have my goal in each step of my life and I try my the best to reach my goal. I believe that if I sufficiently strive for it, I will get it finally.

    I agree with the writer's suggestion. Money and wealthy are not the answer of our live. Many rich people suffer their life from trying to gain more and more money. Sometimes just enjoying with the things we love, is the most happiness.

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    1. Mon, your comment is very interesting for me. I have a question. Do you a person who would like to be better every day? Or do you a person who achieves your goals at all costs? For me, the first question is more important. If I understand correctly: if you (now I'm talking about an abstract person) want to be better and better you need a lot of work. I think this all work is inside you. And this is great! I also want to be better every day (but I'm too lazy for it). So, back to second question. For me it looks like very hard job. But, this job already outside you. Maybe I did not understand your idea or misinterpret it. But if you work on yourself and work to achieve your goals, I'm so happy for you. You are go-getter person!

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  9. I saw three type of people, the first is "perfectly happy with whatever life brings.", the second is high achievers and the last is sit between the first and the second. If you only focus on what you want, you don't get to appreciate what you have. And if you only focus on what you already have you won't try to get more.

    2.I agree with the writer that we need to find balance between stress and success. Some can think that "perfectly happy with whatever life brings." i or high achievers is best, but For me, 70% of high achievers and 30% of "happy with whatever life brings." is best for me. My way to feel less, one of them is music, like when you clean your room I put on music.

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    1. I agree with you and after I read your idea, I think that no one is perfectly first type or second type. We all are in third type that shared between "happy with whatever life brings" and "high achiever". If people can't balance these two factor in moderate level, then it is a disaster. For example, the
      higher achiever would die because of stress if he or she doesn't know how to recover with the stress. The one happy with his or her life, I think he or she must have some desire also.

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  10. When I first read the questions, my first thought was of an idea in Stamp's recent post on the use of English in restaurants in Berlin: it's all very well to be relaxed and not too driven to succeed, but others will not be, and if you don't keep driving yourself, you will be overtaken. That made me think of the competition in the field of AI, which worries many of the top researchers and thinkers in that area, but again, if the US falls behind China, that will be disastrous for the US, just as falling behind the competition from other search providers would be disastrous for Google, or as falling behind intelligent smart device assistants will not help Samsung stay at the top of that market. It seems we are inevitably being driven by the drive to succeed to create the machines that will be gods compared to our puny human abilities.

    More on topic, I think I'm driven, but in a more relaxed kind of way than I used to be, perhaps because I now value balance with relationships and other pleasures more than I used, too. Sometimes I'm not sure whether I'm drivan or not, but I think I am. Not believing in free will, I think this comes mainly from my parents' genes, and then how the environment that they interact with creates me, including my brain and every thought, feeling, desire and so on that arises in my brain. But that doesn't mean we can't change our drive, only that the change is also fully determined.

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  11. My comment is gone when I publish it in the morning.
    I think I am the person who likes to have a goal and work hard to achieve it.As having the goal helps me to know where I have to improve and it also let me have motivation to reach it because the goal is clearly set already!

    According to the article, I agree with the writer's suggestion to balance stress and success.Having a little stress may help you to move on but with too much pressure on your shoulder may easily make a person break down and always at a tense situation.
    Therefore,it is important to do something you like to relax yourself in the leisure time to relieve stress.

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