The 6-word Memoir (Expanded!)

你们好!
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I've written about my experiences using 6-word memoirs in the Chinese University Classroom approx. 1 year ago, and due to their overwhelming success then, I thought I should expand the lesson this semester for my English major students. Last week I gave my students the homework of writing one six-word memoir followed by a short paragraph explaining the "story" behind their 6 words.
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Read all my students' 6-word memoirs!
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My favorites:

• Rock, Rock, Rock, Keep on Rockin'!
• I once was so much naughty!
• Grammar and Vocabulary make me down!
• No absolute fairness in this world
• Try to remember, try to forget
• Friends hurt me, friends save me
• The stereotype sucks, the rationalism rocks!
• East or West, home is best
• What am I going to do?
• Like a fish, but couldn't swim
• I will be my own boss!
• So lucky to be with you
• Got the flu, lost in school
• I never feel alone, thank you
• Mum and I planted the tree
• I WANT TO BE WITH YOU!
• My life seems like a ladder
• Love me or hate me. Choose.
• No one knew. But I did. --- my favorite...

After we looked at a blackboard full of summarized experiences, picked our favorites and explained why they "stirred our soul," students got into 5 groups and I asked them to work together to write one 6-word memoir for each of 5 "famous" persons from history (pictures taped to the front board; see above pictures link). I tried to select a mixture of Chinese and Americans, from both the past and modern society, the last person being the "most intelligent, good-looking, and overall coolest person of the five pictured." Here are some of their responses, concluding with the 6-word memoirs/autobiographies I wrote for each of these world-renowned figures (Bolded):

George Washington:

First President of the United States

He chopped down a cherry tree

I really like your hair style

Where would America be without him?

Brave hero, but he approved of slavery

Mao ZeDong:

No Chairmen Mao, No new China! (insert smiling, clapping students here)

He swam across the Yangtze River

He made life easy and hard

Sometimes the hero can't resist temptation

Where would China be without him? (Good Question!)

A "foreign teacher" is an oxymoron (homework was to understand this)

Bill Gates:

Money Money Money Money Money Money!

Hundreds, Thousands, Millions, Billions, Trillions, WOW!

Gained from others, gave to others

You can't take it with you

Liu Xiang: (2004 Olympic gold-medalist who was injured for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, inspiring many Chinese tears)

Proving Chinese can run fast too

Run, Jump, Run, Jump, Run, Jump

Will come back stronger and faster

Love him or hate him? Decide.

Disappointed? What if he won silver?

Philip Razem:

Phil: 桃花朵朵开 táohuā duǒ duǒ kāi (Phil: You cause the peach flowers to blossom)

Being handsome is not your fault (Trust me, I know!)

I love you! Yes! Me too! (I love you too!)

A bridge to a different world

All I want is the truth!

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This activity, of course, was designed to exercise students' creative skills, as well as think critically at a life and note its successes and failures ("Remember: No one is perfect"). The most interesting answers were groups' 6-word memoirs of Mao; when I put his picture on the front board, many students in the class clapped and got physically excited (wiggling in their desks) when it was him I chose from Chinese history. Some groups, as listed above, had only good things to say, but others acknowledged the many (many!) faults of Mao in their 6 words. If a class from, well, any country outside of China was asked to write this summarized moment of Mao, I am sure a very, very large percentage of them would use words like "murderer" and "evil" and "failure" etc. But the question is: How many American students would acknowledge Washington's (many!) faults like I did above?

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Final note: A student in my last class came up to me and asked, "Why didn't you select any women?" I had no good answer, and for that, I apologize.

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PCVs! Do this with your class! and check out http://www.postsecret.com/ for inspiration. "We are more similar than different."

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞