Given events of the past few years, these are two phrases that mix like oil and water. Think textbook cognitive dissonance. Or a feeble attempt at rehabilitation in the eyes of the public, an audacious means of gaining the moral high ground from the morass of historical tone deafness and gross insensitivity. My first reaction … Continue reading Fulbright University Vietnam & Moral Leadership?
Commentary
About Viet Nam’s “gifting culture”
Giving gifts to people in authority has become normal, but we have to be aware it institutionalizes an 'underworld.' Also known as an "envelope culture" (văn hóa phong bì) because envelopes are used for more than sending letters, so passé in the digital age, and giving "lucky money" (lì xì) at Lunar New Year. A … Continue reading About Viet Nam’s “gifting culture”
English Proficiency in Viet Nam: Giving Credit Where Credit’s Due
An article entitled What is the real English profiency level of Vietnamese? (yes, the word "proficiency" was misspelled) recently graced the Internet in Viet Nam with this description: While an education organization has ranked Vietnam in the seventh position among 21 Asian countries in proficiency of English, some experts call the result ‘flashy’, saying it does not … Continue reading English Proficiency in Viet Nam: Giving Credit Where Credit’s Due
The Importance of Speaking Up About “Things That Matter”
After telling an acquaintance who is well-known in Viet Nam circles that I intended to write about the rhetorical bombshells that Thomas Vallely dropped in an early 2018 interview about Bob Kerrey and Fulbright University Vietnam, he warned me about possible backlash. In case you're just tuning in, Vallely is Senior Adviser for Mainland Southeast Asia … Continue reading The Importance of Speaking Up About “Things That Matter”
US Government Form Letter Generates Excitement Among Colleagues. Say What?
A couple of colleagues shared this letter by Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US State Department, on social media. It was sent to participants in a small international student recruitment conference in early December in the US. I'm not sure what they were so excited about. As … Continue reading US Government Form Letter Generates Excitement Among Colleagues. Say What?
The College of the Ozarks Patriotic Education Travel Program to Viet Nam: A Vietnam-Era Veteran Responds
I received a number of comments in response to my recent article entitled A “Patriotic” Education Study Abroad Program in Viet Nam: God Bless America, Right or Wrong!, mostly from US veterans of the war in Viet Nam, or "Vietnam-era" veterans. One who falls into the latter category decided to take it one step further … Continue reading The College of the Ozarks Patriotic Education Travel Program to Viet Nam: A Vietnam-Era Veteran Responds
“PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Harvard University’s professor”
When I saw this headline, I was curious to see who the Harvard professor was. It was none other than Thomas Vallely, who is not a professor but an administrator with neither an academic appointment nor a Ph.D. More importantly, this is the same Thomas Vallely (TV) who made a series of cruel and insensitive … Continue reading “PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Harvard University’s professor”
Fake News: “Australia ‘first choice’ for overseas Vietnamese students”
This is presumably an editor's mistake. Fact-checking is important and really easy these days. Is Australia the world's leading host of Vietnamese students, meaning their "first choice"? As of 10-18, there were 23,803 young Vietnamese studying in Australia at all levels out of a total of 673,296 international students, according to the Australia's Department of Education and … Continue reading Fake News: “Australia ‘first choice’ for overseas Vietnamese students”
“I Love America. That’s Why I Have to Tell the Truth About It”
I liked most of this recent Time magazine essay by Viet Thanh Nguyen (VTN). (The title is the very definition of patriotism, by the way.) I was, however, troubled by the parts in bold italics in the following statements. It's as if he's trying to sugarcoat his message in an effort to make it more … Continue reading “I Love America. That’s Why I Have to Tell the Truth About It”
A “Patriotic” Education Study Abroad Program in Viet Nam: God Bless America, Right or Wrong!
This is an essay I felt compelled to write about a US American study abroad program to Viet Nam that reinforces and indeed celebrates US nationalism. It is a textbook example of how not to structure such a program. The country of Viet Nam is but a sideshow, a prop that enables students and veterans to … Continue reading A “Patriotic” Education Study Abroad Program in Viet Nam: God Bless America, Right or Wrong!
An International Educator in Vietnam 
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