While I will reserve judgement, the theme of this Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) conference sounds like yet another example of US Americans telling others, in the case, Asian universities, how it should really be done a la Daddy knows best. Why not just New Approaches to University Education? Or, as one colleague put it, "It's … Continue reading New Approaches to University Education in Asia
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EducationUSA Closed for Business
From the website of US Mission-Viet Nam: Lapse in U.S. Government Appropriations The Federal Government of the United States of America is currently in a Lapse of Appropriations period. Scheduled passport and visas services, and emergency services for U.S. citizens, will continue at the U.S. Embassy Hanoi and our Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City … Continue reading EducationUSA Closed for Business
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”
Happy Holidays from Viet Nam!
Wishing those of you who celebrate the holiday Merry Christmas and all of you a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, & Peaceful Solar New Year! Shalom (שלום), MAA
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
“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!
O Canada! The Vietnamese Student Pivot to the Great White North
It appears that the bloom is temporarily off the red, white, and blue rose for growing numbers of Vietnamese parents and students. For the first time ever, there are almost 15,000 Vietnamese students in Canada, nearly half as many as in the US. Vietnamese students had the highest percentage increase in 2017 at 89%, making … Continue reading O Canada! The Vietnamese Student Pivot to the Great White North
An International Educator in Vietnam 
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