The students who competed
On Friday I helped judge an English competition at my school. The competition was open to grade 5 and 6 students and 25 of them competed. I was incredibly impressed by some of the students-- their presentation skills and English proficiency were wonderful! Other students were ill-prepared or forced to enter the competition by their parents.
The day prior to the competition I read through all of the students' speeches. Here are bits I copied down for your reading pleasure:
The story of my unforgettable trip
“We went first to the Philippines… I can still remember the first time I ate this exotic food called ‘Balot.’ Balot is a steamed chicken egg, but when you open it there’s still a chick inside. It looks scary but it’s so delicious.”
<No Title>
“Dear. Barack Hussein Obama
Hello. How do you do? My name is Kyoung kwan Oh, 12-year-old boy in Korea. I’m writing a letter to a person whom I respect the most. This is You, President Obama.
I was so frightened when I saw your speech accepting the nomination to run for president on TV. You are so young and black. The presidents that I have seen are old and white by the appearance in America. It’s my prejudice… My dream is to be a president since I was 7 years old… I was nervous by thinking you from a candidate period to the Inauguration Day. Because I felt there were hope, a passion, and sense of duty in you… I love my country and am so proud to be Korean. After I grow up, I would like to study with smart friends from all over the world in Harvard University. Aren’t you a president any more at that time? Can you meet me then? I have to ask a question. Could you win approval of health care legislation of poor people?”
Santa is Dead
“Long live Santa!
Every time someone says ‘I don’t believe in Santa Clause!’, a Santa dies.
I know that in each of us there is a Santa who survives on our faith and imagination, not on cookies and milk. However, some of my friends just never seem to realize this…
‘ If Santa really exists, why hasn’t anyone seen him for real?’
Well, it is true that no one has seen Santa for real, but I simply know that he is there somewhere whether it’s the North Pole or the Moon. Among my chaotic ramble of thoughts, a sudden query crossed my mind.
‘Why can’t we believe for the sake of believing?’
Wright brothers believed men can fly despite limited scientific knowledge, thus we fly around the world. Martin Luther King believed in a world of freedom despite the social situation, thus freedom became free for all. We believe in God despite the fact that no one has ever seen him in person, this he is within us.
Since we believed in a lot of things without concrete basis, we were capable of making dreams and the impossible come true. Those who have lost their faith in the power of believing have also lost the power of believing in themselves… Believe for the sake of believing! Believe in the impossible! Most of all, believe in Santa. As I believe in Santa I will believe in myself, and hope my bell will ring for me all my life.”
I have a dream
“I have always been inclined to exploring new things through experiments. However, I want to become a scientist not only because it is interesting and fun but also because I want to help people like my hard-working father.
My dream is to make a robot which helps old and handicapped people. Because my grandfather has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for a long time, he can’t walk and eat by himself; somebody should take care of him every day. It would be wonderful, if I make the robot which takes care of people like my grandfather.
With this goal in mind, I wish to pursue my dream and hope that you can watch me accomplish it.”
<No Title>
“The profession I want to do in the future is a scientist. I want to be a scientist because I want to create new inventions such as a time machine, a pocket-sized mini computer, a portable fresh oxygen inhaler, and cars that could use water for fuel… Even though my inventions sound absurd and impossible, I’ll give it a try. I hope my inventions make it difference in the end.”
My Grandmother
“Since childhood I was always with my grandmother… My mother is very strict, so if I do something wrong, she always scolds me. If my grandmother was there, she would tell my mom to stop scolding. Last time, my mom was scolding me, and it reminded me of my grandma. So I cried because of that, but my mom scolded me even more, because I was crying. How could she understand me?
My grandma has a lot of diseases, like heart disease and diabetes, so I always bought her medicine. but now, she is sad that I’m not helping her anymore. My uncle lives near her, but she doesn’t miss me?
My grandma said that she would come to my school when I go to university. I hope she’s healthy then, but I also want her to be healthy when I am married, so she could hug my children the same as she did to me. I believe she will be.
My grandmother, I love you so much.”
- P
The day prior to the competition I read through all of the students' speeches. Here are bits I copied down for your reading pleasure:
The story of my unforgettable trip
“We went first to the Philippines… I can still remember the first time I ate this exotic food called ‘Balot.’ Balot is a steamed chicken egg, but when you open it there’s still a chick inside. It looks scary but it’s so delicious.”
<No Title>
“Dear. Barack Hussein Obama
Hello. How do you do? My name is Kyoung kwan Oh, 12-year-old boy in Korea. I’m writing a letter to a person whom I respect the most. This is You, President Obama.
I was so frightened when I saw your speech accepting the nomination to run for president on TV. You are so young and black. The presidents that I have seen are old and white by the appearance in America. It’s my prejudice… My dream is to be a president since I was 7 years old… I was nervous by thinking you from a candidate period to the Inauguration Day. Because I felt there were hope, a passion, and sense of duty in you… I love my country and am so proud to be Korean. After I grow up, I would like to study with smart friends from all over the world in Harvard University. Aren’t you a president any more at that time? Can you meet me then? I have to ask a question. Could you win approval of health care legislation of poor people?”
Santa is Dead
“Long live Santa!
Every time someone says ‘I don’t believe in Santa Clause!’, a Santa dies.
I know that in each of us there is a Santa who survives on our faith and imagination, not on cookies and milk. However, some of my friends just never seem to realize this…
‘ If Santa really exists, why hasn’t anyone seen him for real?’
Well, it is true that no one has seen Santa for real, but I simply know that he is there somewhere whether it’s the North Pole or the Moon. Among my chaotic ramble of thoughts, a sudden query crossed my mind.
‘Why can’t we believe for the sake of believing?’
Wright brothers believed men can fly despite limited scientific knowledge, thus we fly around the world. Martin Luther King believed in a world of freedom despite the social situation, thus freedom became free for all. We believe in God despite the fact that no one has ever seen him in person, this he is within us.
Since we believed in a lot of things without concrete basis, we were capable of making dreams and the impossible come true. Those who have lost their faith in the power of believing have also lost the power of believing in themselves… Believe for the sake of believing! Believe in the impossible! Most of all, believe in Santa. As I believe in Santa I will believe in myself, and hope my bell will ring for me all my life.”
I have a dream
“I have always been inclined to exploring new things through experiments. However, I want to become a scientist not only because it is interesting and fun but also because I want to help people like my hard-working father.
My dream is to make a robot which helps old and handicapped people. Because my grandfather has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for a long time, he can’t walk and eat by himself; somebody should take care of him every day. It would be wonderful, if I make the robot which takes care of people like my grandfather.
With this goal in mind, I wish to pursue my dream and hope that you can watch me accomplish it.”
<No Title>
“The profession I want to do in the future is a scientist. I want to be a scientist because I want to create new inventions such as a time machine, a pocket-sized mini computer, a portable fresh oxygen inhaler, and cars that could use water for fuel… Even though my inventions sound absurd and impossible, I’ll give it a try. I hope my inventions make it difference in the end.”
My Grandmother
“Since childhood I was always with my grandmother… My mother is very strict, so if I do something wrong, she always scolds me. If my grandmother was there, she would tell my mom to stop scolding. Last time, my mom was scolding me, and it reminded me of my grandma. So I cried because of that, but my mom scolded me even more, because I was crying. How could she understand me?
My grandma has a lot of diseases, like heart disease and diabetes, so I always bought her medicine. but now, she is sad that I’m not helping her anymore. My uncle lives near her, but she doesn’t miss me?
My grandma said that she would come to my school when I go to university. I hope she’s healthy then, but I also want her to be healthy when I am married, so she could hug my children the same as she did to me. I believe she will be.
My grandmother, I love you so much.”
- P
