Edwin Chang

Edwin Change was a simulation technical director at Pixar. He submitted his idea for Wind and then took time off from his job to create the animated movie. It was inspired by his family’s story.  Wind is a love letter to his grandmother. His grandmother raised Chang’s father as a single mother. Eventually, she saved enough money to send him to the United States for a better life. It was a huge sacrifice to let her son so that he could live better.

The Making of Wind

 

Wind – A Pixar short

If you haven’t seen the Pixar short,  Float, I t is worth seeing. It would be great for students to see and realize that it is okay to be different  “Pixar Animation Studios and the SparkShorts filmmakers of FLOAT are in solidarity with the Asian and Asian American communities against Anti-Asian hate in all its forms. We are proud of the onscreen representation in this short and have decided to make it widely available, in celebration of what stories that feature Asian characters can do to promote inclusion everywhere.”

 

The Art of Disagreeing

In The Importance of Accepting Different Perspectives from @DavidGeurin Blog, the author shares,

“I used to get upset if someone expressed an idea I didn't agree with. It would frustrate me to no end if they took a position that seemed unreasonable to me.” 

It seems as if lately, many people think that everyone should agree with the way they think.

I don’t know when it became an “all or nothing” kind of world.

People in different political parties are attacking each other for believing in different things. I believe that having differing opinions is what makes the world real. If everyone believed the same things, we would live in a cookie-cutter world and life would be boring! People have different life experiences so their perspectives on different things may be different.

I have a friend who was married to an alcoholic and had a terribly abusive marriage. She hates anything that has to do with alcohol or drugs. She won’t read or watch anything with alcohol or drugs in it. I have another friend who was brought up in a very religious home who is easily offended by profanity. She won’t read or watch anything with profanity in it. Yet, we are all still friends even if my beliefs are not as strict as theirs.

Some people get offended by books and want them removed from shelves so no one else can read them. Why not let others make their own opinions? These people can write reviews and if people believe the review, they can avoid the book.

The same goes for movies. When some people are offended by movies, they want the movies removed from view. Why do these people think they have the right to decide what I can watch? They should share their opinion in writing or speak with others, but they shouldn’t have the right to stop me from seeing it if I want to see it.

If people don’t like something and write reviews or share their opinions, like-minded people will avoid these books or movies and not give money for it. When there is no money to support that book or movie, it will be replaced by others.

When I’m in a social group, any discussion about politics can turn into a nasty argument with both parties becoming aggressive and nasty. If I don’t like a certain politician in my district, I will vote for someone else. I can share my feelings with others, but I don’t feel that others should agree with me. Those that feel my opinion is something they are interested in may do their own research to make their own decisions.

Ireland and Northern Ireland had a war over religion. Why did some people think that everyone had to be the same or that one was better than another? Why couldn’t they just let the others believe what they wanted as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else or put any lives in danger.

I remember my mother always saying that in social situations, stay away from discussions on politics, religion, and money. No one wins but everyone tries.  Why can’t we agree to disagree? I think we should be able to share our opinions without the fear of being attacked because we don’t agree with someone.

How do we teach our students that it is alright to have a different opinion? How do we teach students to be tolerant of those that don’t agree with them? Please share.

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

It’s Okay to Be Different

In Ambidextrous from Seth Godin's Blog . Seth Godin  shares,

“Anthropologists have found that we’re very motivated to divide into teams, and once on a team, we’ll work hard to degrade the other team.”

I see all this talk about politics, cultures, and religions and it seems like everyone is on one team or another.

I guess I don’t know why everyone has to be on one team or another. Why can’t we all agree to disagree and then not be on any team?

I guess that is why I hated to participate in team sports. Whenever we played a game and there was someone on the other team struggling, I wanted to help them. I know that is crazy but I never felt so competitive that winning was the most important thing in the world. Whenever I watch school sports, I want whoever has the ball at the time to score a point. I want everyone to be a winner! I know this is unrealistic and not real life but that is how I feel at times like this. I somehow feel that competitions should not always be a life or death situation like a military action.

I’m more of a collaborator than a competitor. I feel like when I’m on a team and everyone has different strengths, we are a stronger team than one where everyone thinks alike and has the same point of view. It doesn’t bother me if people are from different cultures and I’m curious about our differences. I want to know more and learn more about a topic I don’t have enough information about.

I want my students to learn to collaborate with others and celebrate their differences. I want them to see that differences can be strengths and not something to degrade. I want to give them situations where they have to use their individual strengths to be a stronger team.

How do you feel about teams and differences? Please share.

Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash

  

My Quirks

In The Eccentricity Bus: Please Find Your Seat! From Lisa Ricard Claro – Author, Lisa Ricard Claro

“What quirks do you claim as your own? Who is the quirkiest person you know? What books, movies, or television shows do you love because the characters are quirky? Are there any you don’t like because the quirkiness is overdone?”

A lot of my quirks are in relation to my husband. We have been married for 36 years so I guess he is used to my quirks.

I like to sleep in bed on my husband’s left side. If I try to sleep on the right side of him, I won’t sleep a wink.

I also like to walk on his left side. If I try to walk on his right side, I feel awkward.

When I eat a plate of food, I like to eat one food at a time instead of having little bits of each item.

When I wake up, I have to brush my teeth before I eat or drink anything.

When I drive anywhere, I always say a prayer that I get to my destination safely.

If we play the lottery, I ask my husband to get the ticket because he is always luckier than I am.

My favorite quirky person is Sheldon on Big Bang Theory. He is different than others and he knows it but he doesn’t apologize for being different.

Explaining these quirks to my students helps them see that we all have quirks and it isn’t always a bad thing. These quirks are what makes us all unique. We should embrace our differences and not make people who are different feel bad.

What are your quirks? Who is your favorite quirky character on TV? Please share.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash