The Hymn on Education, Tiger Moms and UWC

Diana Huynh (Norway AC ‘11) and Harrison Neuert (US AC ‘12)

Parenting isn’t something that most UWC students probably think that much about. In many ways, we live in an oddly parentless society. No one is to tell us when to do our homework, how many hours to play the piano or what kind of extracurricular activities to take. Sure, we have teachers, tutors and houseparents looking after us, but ultimately, we are responsible for much of our own discipline and decisions. Within this context, we have been interested in the reactions stirred by Amy Chua’s infamous “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom”; what can we learn from her approach to parenting in relation to our UWC education?

United Words Annual Issue 2011

We are proud to announce that the annual issue of United Words magazine is finally out, you can read the Spring 2011 edition at http://issuu.com/unitedwords/docs/unitedwordsspring2011.

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As always, we invite you to contribute with articles and stay updated on the blog – perhaps your article will be appearing in our next publication.

Enjoy,
The United Words Team

United Words Official Facebook Page

United Words recently updated our former Facebook group to a an official Page. We welcome all current and new members to join us – stay updated with news about the blog, magazine and other UW related posts.

United World Cultures

Diana Huynh (Norway/Vietnam, AC 09-11)

If you ask any UWC student about the many qualities that they have gained over two years, you won’t be surprised to hear that a sense of ‘international and intercultural understanding’ is one of them. This is an important value we are encouraged to embrace while being at a UWC, and continue to nurture throughout our lives. However, as our world is constantly in transition, we often forget that people, too, move forward with the forces of globalization; with the new generation emerge changes in cultures that the rest of the world has yet to grasp.

On Venezuela

Juan Carlos Apitz (Venezuela, AC 10-12)

Este próximo domingo se celebrará una fecha muy esperada por la ciudadanía venezolana, y aunque intentaré plasmar mis ideas con criterio poco disidente, la verdad es que le ha llegado el fin al parlamento que tanto ha ayudado a Hugo Chávez a permanecer en el poder. Hace aproximadamente 5 anos, cuando se celebraban las elecciones parlamentarias, la oposición venezolana decidió retirarse de la contienda por poseer pruebas suficientes para declarar un fraude electoral. Sin embargo, el costo político de aquella acción, fue padecer por más de 5 anos los poderes omnipotentes de Chávez a través de sus diputados con el 99% de los asientos.

Eat, Pray, Go Globetrotting – a recollection of India Summer Project

!ncredible India, or so the advertisement say. She invites you to the Taj Mahal, exciting curries and masalas, Slumdog Millionaires and Holy Cows. I would not know, because I never went to Agra, they do have McDonald’s in Delhi – serving chicken exclusively, and slum dogs and millionaires all live side by side. And yet I was tirelessly fascinated. What is it with this multidimensional culture, so enigmatic and ubiquitous? Lonely Planet lies. The truth is India cannot be explained, it has to be explored.