Captain Obvious Vs. The Clueless Student
With 1.6 billion people in China, everyone needs a job. Every apartment complex has guards that sit in booths so they can 
wave and comment on your life as you walk by. They are friendly, but we often call them “Captain Obvious”. When leaving they say, “Oh your leaving.” When you have groceries they say, “You’ve been to the store?” When I take the dog out for a walk they say, “Is this your dog?” or “You’re taking her outside?” Some of you know that humor doesn’t translate well and I fight even today to not give a sarcastic response. After reading Alder’s and Bayard’s book on how to study and reading techniques, I felt as though some aspects of this book were like the guards in my complex, and I was being visited by Captain Obvious. Endeavoring to find kernels of new knowledge or reminders of those things long since forgotten, I pressed on through the book.
I try to be as Rowentree calls it, “The reflective student, Learning to study is essentially a do-it-yourself operation. Of course, you’ll get ideas from this book.”1 So in discussion of chapter 3, about studying in the context where one lives, I have been reflecting on the environment of my studies; my classroom.
Speaking at various functions, churches, universities or conferences, invariably someone will come up to me as ask one of several questions that I have fought to keep from answering sarcastically. A common one is, “How do you like living in China?” Most of the time I answer politely, something about liking it and enjoying the opportunity to learn a new culture. Honestly after 12 years, I am not sure that I always recognize or can differentiate what is or is not Chinese culture. Some of you have even asked about my children and how they have enjoyed growing up in China. I usually respond that it is that same as someone that has grown up in Michigan, Seattle, Sacramento or even Montana. Growing up in any location is normal for the child that is growing up in that situation. I have no context for growing up in any place other than the places that I have lived. So my education has taken place in Samoa, Hawaii, Kansas City and Southern California. Those are the cultures that have shaped who I am and how I view the world.
Rowentree says, “Being able to stand back and look at your situation, as if with the eyes of an anthropologist, is an ability well worth acquiring.” 2. Even today, the country I live in influences the thoughts that I have and the conversations that I am privileged to be apart. As I am working on this essay, I had a casual conversation about 13-14 year old daughters. This Chinese lady, that I know well, was talking to me about a conversation she had with her daughter. Her daughter complained that her homework is so much that there are times that she feels like she should go to the roof of the school and jump off. If this happened in the States, I might have been tempted to call a school administrator or counselor to assist. Knowing my audience I simply said, “What did you tell her?” She said that I told her that if she wanted to do that, that I would go to the roof with her and we could jump together.” The daughter quickly said that she would never let her mom do that. Her mom went on to talk to her about God’s love and provision for our lives when we are stressed. China is a communal society and this daughter wanted to know that her mother understood that she was having a hard time, and that her mother loved her. The mother expressed her love in her willingness to sacrifice herself with her child. I realized that I was experiencing a moment of learning and understanding from this woman, her child, and the educational system of this country.
If the world is our classroom, then the teachers that teach are more then those we employ. The guards
we talk to, the grocery store attendants, and the lady that randomly comes to your house to have a discussion about the grace of God and the struggles of raising a middle school girl, are not moments that can be reproduced, but are moments that teach far beyond a traditional classroom setting.
Rowentree’s the awareness of cues3 in this context had me also thinking of the cues we miss in culture and in life. Do we miss cues in our own marriages, or in our own relationships? The three types of cue personalities Rowentree mentions are cue-deaf, cue- conscious and cue -seekers4. Cue-Deaf are people that believe there are truly no cues, be it a class or in life. They see things through a limited perpective and don’t handle flexibility well. Cue-Conscious are those that know there are cues and expect a teacher or friend to point them out in order for things to be made clear. Cue-Seekers are those that are aware that cues need to be sought out to bring clarity to a situation. Education comes with seeking those hidden kernels be it cultural cues or scholarly opinions.
My classroom is China, with horns honking, traffic road noise in abundance, dogs barking and the sounds of life happening. Can I study well here? There are moments that work happens and research progresses better than others. Do I miss cultural cues sometimes? I definitely do, but I see those times as learning moments as well. Whether it is organization of my place to study, learning how to read or take notes more efficiently, writing essays or preparing better for exams, Rowentree helps us understand the culture that shapes our learning experience. Even though this book seems to be designed for a traditional learning experience, and is beneficial in that context, how much more is it when we approach our day to day lives with the view of a life long learner. I have to remind myself as I am exiting my gate, that even Captain Obvious has something to teach me each time I see him.
1Derek Rowntree. Learn How to Study: Developing the study skills and approaches to learning that will help you succeed in university: A virtual tutorial with Professor Derek Rowntree. Kindle ed. (Wappingers Falls, NY: Beekman Books, 1989). Location 130
2Ibid, 960-961
3Ibid, 1290
4Ibid, 1290-91
About the Author
Greg
Greg has a wife and 3 children. He has lived and work in Asia for over 12 years. He is currently the Asia Director of Imanna Laboratories, which tests and inspects marine products seeking US Coast Guard certification. His company Is also involved in teaching and leadership development.8 responses to “Captain Obvious Vs. The Clueless Student”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Capt. Greg,
You exhibited Rowntree’s “grit” characteristic when you said, “I pressed on through the book.” Great use of quotes to enforce your thoughts, and the cross-cultural context does evidence itself in your writing, even though it may seem totally “Kansas” to you. I especially liked your reflection on the mother and child story about jumping off the roof. While the mother is applying Christian love and passion, I wonder if the cultural context of managing shame and honor come into play some. Do Chinese Christians still struggle with losing face scenarios?
Please cut and paste your paragraph on “the world is our classroom” and image of blue face (oceans) and brown (land masses) into next week’s post on ethnography. You are there! Also, your Bayardistic non-reading abilities are outstanding! Great post.
Stand firm,
M. Webb
Shame is alive and well in the churches of Asia. I am sure you see that in the middle east as well. In China it is about communal shaming and saving face has to do with more than just individuals. That does add a lot of difficult struggles to relationships in a church. I think it also helps us understand more of the Bible and it’s community based stories.
So Greg, this is your Rowntree book review. Just wanted to state the obvious for you.
I am not sure if I should feel stupid asking you all the questions I asked about China now; you make some great insightful points. I think we are all curious about cultures we are not used to, and for that reason, always assume things are just drastically different everywhere else. When we returned from South Africa, the first question everyone asked was, “So what was it like”. I found myself, almost disappointingly, saying, “In some ways, just like America.” I saw a number of similarities in culture, behavior, architecture, commerce, and even verbal slang that actually surprised me.
Your story about the mother and daughter made me consider the conversation between Jesus and the rich young ruler when He tells him to “take up your cross and follow me.” I have always been moved by Christ ability to not ask of us anything He was not already prepared to do; He understood our obstacles and was willing to walk through them with us; perhaps that is all He is asking us to do for others.
I believe we all want to understand what the obstacles to communication are though, and when I visited with the classmates that have spanned other cultures from places like China, France, Germany and Texas, I like to find out that maybe there is not as great of an educational barrier as I have suspected; that maybe the right caring person can have much less difficulty going into a foreign location and teaching the gospel than I actually feared.
Great post!
Shawn,
I hadn’t thought of the connection between the Chinese lady and bearing the cross. Middle east (Israel) is a communal society like China. Sometimes I think I learn more about Biblical society by watching Asian culture. It has much more similarities than our western views.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for mentioning Montana in your post!
Your writing about “cues” made me think at a deeper level than when I read it for myself, especially in the context of thinking about you being in China. Thank you for stretching me on this.
And good creativity using Captain Obvious!
Gotta name drop Montana every so often. I think we all struggle with these cultural cues. I was even thinking about how I personally responded in South Africa’s cues. There were many times I just sat back and allowed the leaders to direct me more than I should have.
Greg,
“If the world is our classroom, then the teachers that teach are more then those we employ”. What a great insight into how we are going to learn. By the way, I shall never ask you about China again, then again we both know that is a lie. I am quite interested in the shame cycle in the society you live in and how it affects those in Christ and the sharing of His love. Does it come in play with you very often?
I love your captain obvious post. When I meet those people I also want to say “Here’s your sign”, in the words of Bill Engvall. I also thought your post about our learning environment was helpful and you brought out some good points that I will pay more attention to. My wife would also say I am constantly missing cues, cues for connection, social cues, learning cues, etc. I definitely want to be a “Cue-Seeker” instead of “Cue-Deaf”. Great post Greg and hope all is well in crazy China.