9 Mr Laos Opinion On Things example essay topic

A Central Daily Newspaper- May 1, 2000 Unfortunately, problems have arose at Central High, right here in Centralville, Nebraska. In the last 5 years, the situation at Central High has been on a steady decline from the low end of average to downright terrible. Not only are students being affected by this turn-around, but administrators, teachers, and parents are angry and in need of change for the better. The fact is, it is May and this year only 50 percent of seniors have met requirements to graduate. The number of seniors who are actually going to 4 year colleges lies in the 20 percent range. After the horrible attempt at the musical Annie and the yet to win a game winter sports season, an emergency school board meeting has been called for this Tuesday, May 3, 2000, at 7 PM in the high school conference room. by James Cannon Central Nightly News- May 5, 2000 Hello, Centralville, and welcome to the Thursday Evening News.

Our first and foremost story arises from Tuesdays school board meeting. As luck has it, the decision to reform Central High has finally made itself a reality. Thanks to the laptop computer of one of the 9 attendees of the meeting, the website for Confucius, Inc. was found. The site claims the following: Now, over 2,500 years after the death of Confucius, I, his 19 times Great-grandson am here to demonstrate the teachings of the all-mighty Confucius.

I, Mr. Kung, use Confuciuss philosophies on various aspects of society to guide others towards succeeding at any problem that arises. As you can clearly see, this seems like a group that will be the right answer for Centralville. On Saturday, Mr. Kung is to arrive at Omaha International Airport, and he will be staying at Centralville prized Holiday Inn for the next few months, until all is well in our town Reporting live, this is Patricia Fields, for Central Nightly News. Memo to Mr. Brown, Principal of Central High- May 9, 2000 Mr. Brown: Ever so sorry that you missed this weekends preliminary meetings with Mr. Kung! I certainly wish that you had a marvelous time at the meeting for principals of dysfunctional high schools out in Ohio. I must tell you all about Mr. Kungs teachings!

He handed out various worksheets explaining the original Confuciuss message to his public. The most important thing, that he kept on repeating was that people can be molded and elevated by education and by the virtuous example of superiors. 1 By this, I think he wants us superior members of the Central High community to set the right example for all those under us. The negative attitude that we usually show just isnt the right idea if we want to get back on the right foot. He thinks that if the students here are civilized, they will want to do what is morally right, rather than merely expedient, and hence will preserve the harmony of society. 2 Although we have been unsure most of the time, its fair game to assume the kids are civilized humans.

I must go right now- please call me this evening! -Superintendent Ross Vice Principal Melissa Jacobs Journal Entry- May 9, 2000 Today we had endless meeting with Mr. Kung. What influenced me the most was his comment that force and threats are ineffective controls... behavior should also be modeled on that of higher-status people 3. This made me think that instead of acting like a low level animal while screaming at the kids in the halls, I should just pretend Im really rich, and act calmly when approaching them, with grace and poise, if I have any left in me.

Also, I now reconsider threatening detention on them, because first of all, I know theyll never come anyway, and it isnt the right kind of conduct if I want to be effective. I should make a mental note to remind the Main Office secretary to make the schedule more organized, because Mr. Kung also said that to be successful, there must be stress on order. Thanks for listening to my thoughts for today! - Mel Lauren Cones Journal Entry- May 10, 2000 Today, the following appeared throughout our school on flyers. It is a list of Sayings of Confucius. It is meant to make the students and teachers think hard about themselves.

Learning without thought is useless... Do not do unto others what you yourself would not like. If one leads them with virtue, they will come up to expectations. After I read this, I thought really hard about how I treat people, and what I should do to be a nicer person to everyone, not just my friends. This handout was all over my school today, and I think that everyone might be just a little bit different tomorrow. Im not sure what this Mr. Kung is trying to do, but hes definitely brainwashing me with his view on things.

I hope this works! Until tomorrow- Lauren Speech in Faculty Meeting by Mr. Kung- May 12, 2000 Good afternoon fellow faculty members. I am here to discuss how my teachings should affect you. By now, Im sure everyone has seen the flyers displayed throughout school, with various quotes from the lovely Confucius. After talking to several of you, I am under the impression that they were very well received. Confucius also taught respect for scholars and philosophers.

4 This is for you. You must understand that in the next few weeks, I will have the students fully respecting you, different from anything you have seen before in your life. Please set the correct example for these students. Although I am only instructing you on the small scale of Centralville, Confucius believed that right conduct would bring happiness in this world 5. I need all of the teachers to follow this teaching if you want everyone in our community to be happy, inside and out. B Central Daily Newspaper Editorials- May 16, 2000 Mr. Lao of the Taoist group, based in China, has heard about the hiring of Confucius, Inc., and demands that we hear his story.

After an exclusive $10 a minute phone call with Mr. Lao in China, I have the following facts, and my opinion: The Taoist philosophy is a religion based on the test of the Tao te Ching, meaning the Classic of the Way. This book is described as a cryptic collection of mystical remarks whose meaning even in Chinese is unclear 6. Although Im not quite sure why this is something that pertains to us, I was willing to listen to this mans plead. After discussing many aspects of our society with Mr. Lao, the most clear statement that I received from him was that Those who understand dont talk; those who talk dont understand. 7 My reflection on this statement is that I now dont know who to believe- Mr. Kung or his prime competitor, Mr. Lao. Both philosophies seem to be somewhat different than the norm around here, but the fact that a change still must be made is apparent.

Mr. Lao argued with me that his Taoist people always relax, go with the flow, stop trying to improve things... Whatever is, is natural and hence good. 8 This is the 100% opposite of Mr. Kungs opinion on our situation. The other thing that Mr. Lao told me on the phone is that Where Confucians sought to shape the world through education, Taoists urged acceptance of things as they are.

9 Mr. Laos opinion on things seems like it is totally off the wall from what we want. What Centralville needs is a new education system to help prepare our youth for the future, not some man who thinks we should accept ways as they are. We obviously know that accepting things as they are now hasnt helped us any in the last five years, so how is it going to do us any good today Mr. Kung has only been here in Centralville for a little over a week. Even so, minute positive changes have taken place- the first positive changes in fact, for half a decade! While not everyone in the community agrees with Mr. Kung, they all consider his teachings to be reasonable. Other than some of our lazy students, no one agrees with Mr. Laos easy-going idea of simply going with the flow.

Going with the flow will just make the amount of Central children going to college diminish even more. Is this what we need right now I THINK NOT. -Signed, a concerned parent of 2 children at Central High --.