國際視訊看見世界：
　

當《TED幸福學》邂逅實中校友在哈佛
　

劉秀敏老師指導整理

背景說明
《TED幸福學—Hunting Good Will Through TED》是一門106學年首度獻給高二的選修課。本課程希望藉由聆聽、討論、分享多元而有系統的TED演講主題，一方面滋養學習者的心靈、自我成長與省思。另一方面訓練學習者的聽力、口語表達能力。最終我們希望學習者也能夠從自身周遭的生活中觀察、探索出值得分享的想法，創造自己的生命故事，成為小小TED演說家。

課程規劃
選修課第一個主題我們聆聽的TED Talk為Everyone around you has a story the world needs to hear (by Dave Isay)。我們相信故事的力量，我們也相信藉由聆聽他人的故事，不僅學習到寶貴的經驗，更展開與自己內心的深刻反思與對話，啟動生命的小小改變。
感謝學校提供設備，感謝資訊室蔡明原主任協助連線，讓全班同學透過國際視訊與高中部26屆校友薛世卿（Thomas Hsea-Ching Hsueh，台大電機系畢業後赴哈佛攻讀博士學位）互動交流，使教室和學習無國界。班上同學分成四組，事先擬定好想要訪談的問題。現場的問答中也穿插著即時的對話花絮和意外的驚喜。

學生心得
H203 Evelyn 曾品珊
“What is the biggest obstacle you had ever encountered in senior high school?” The answer to the question really surprised me.
Thomas said the biggest obstacle he had experienced was when he realized that he didn’t win the gold medal of the International Physics Olympiad Competition. To me, people who are qualified to attend the Olympia competitions are all geniuses. It’s hard for me to understand how those brilliant people’s brain works. I imagine that they can solve all the physics and math problems, and all those numbers and symbols are nothing to them. In Thomas’ eyes, physics was something he could handle easily, something he was really good at and he thought he should win the medal; but the result turned out the opposite. “I was not superior as I thought,” Thomas said. “Spending a lot of time pursuing something ended up the other way around.” After the incident, Thomas started to think why. Why did he need to be superior? Gradually he began to build self-appreciation.
Looking back at myself, I’m not a genius but an ordinary student. I always want to do everything well, even when the goal may be beyond my ability. And sometimes I don’t know why I pursue those things so tiredly. If I put a lot of efforts into a matter, and the result did not live up to my expectation, I would feel upset for a few days or even a few weeks. But why do I need to be a winner? Everyone has something he or she is good and poor at. Isn’t it more important to try hard and accept any result in the learning process of hard work. If I have already tried my best, it’s not necessary to be upset for such a long time. There are always people who are better than you and me. I should learn how to appreciate myself just as Thomas did, but I will still try hard all the time before the end. This was the part that impressed me the most.

H203 Cindy 楊諭欣
One idea that he mentioned: make everything little thing meaningful really inspired me a lot. For me, a busy high school student, I always wish to stay at home to finish my work, my study, instead of coming to school. I really don’t think there’s a need for me to learn about our Military Training and stuff like that. But it turned out I can’t run away from them. So, Thomas’ words really make my day better, as I would focus on how to endure boredom rather than have my mind wander around waiting for the class to end. (I do believe there would be a lot of things in our future life that is inevitable yet boring.) Another thing is that I really appreciate Thomas’ ability to voice an idea from a brand new perspective. And moreover, to be unique and successful at the same time. Ever since I was a kid, my thoughts are different from the rest of the people. A lot of times, I raise up ideas no one has thought about. Though in the end, everyone recognizes my idea as brilliant, I gradually grew tired of explaining my ideas from time to time. I try to train my brain to be normal, to think from the angle and perspective most people would, but I never succeed. My conversation with others makes me doubt and the fact that I interpret test questions make me doubt my IQ. Not until today when I listened to him did I realize there might still be chance for me to one day be a successful person, rather than someone who has a good idea but wouldn’t fit in to any given categories.

H202 Ted 林翊庭
From our interaction with Thomas, it is easy to find out that he is a guy full of thoughts and imagination and often have conversations with his inner self. He is the guy who always follows his heart and tries to achieve as many things as possible. One of the responses he impressed me the most is when we discussed procrastination. We never really think the reasons that caused procrastination. Instead, we just try to avoid it. In Thomas’s reply to the causes behind procrastination, he thought that “procrastination” itself can reflect some fundamental problems in our lives. Think about the reasons why you just can’t enjoy your study at school and often turn in your homework late. Maybe that means you haven’t found something you’re fond of or you don’t have much time yet to do the things you like. After we meet those fundamental needs, we can better concentrate on what we’re asked to do right now. In other words, procrastination itself is a process which gives you extra time for you to resolve those problems and move on. “If you want to procrastinate, then procrastinate. But try to be sober during the entire process,” Thomas said. The concept in his mind is a bit like “a gap year”—we could leave the campus and go figure out what we’re actually interested in.

H201 Jenny 楊又臻
“Why should we be superior to others?” Is it necessary or just for self-admiration? In a long period, I spent so much time comparing between peers and myself and trying to get the sense of superiority when finding that my classmates are not as good as I am. I think this could be the reason why I consider studying such an important matter in my school life. It’s not an enjoyment for me! I really understand the necessity of studies, which makes me study hard, but only for the sense of superiority. If I had known the true meaning of studying and persuaded myself to, I wouldn’t have been so upset while hearing others commenting me that I am only good at studying.

H201 Stephanie 郭巧童
Before stepping into the classroom, I had been imagining this video-conferencing interview for a few days. Actually, I wasn’t really in a good mood during those days, and that’s why I desperately hoped that this conference could bring some changes to me. I didn’t do well on my math at that time, which made me keep questioning myself what was the real meaning of trying so hard and got nothing. I became negative because everything turned out to be a big mess. However, after the whole interview, I did learn some important things.
Thomas was not a person that looked hard to communicate with. On the contrary, he truly shared with us a lot of his personal beliefs of life, and this fully interested me. One main point of his life philosophy is not to always make ourselves the best. Why should we have to be the best? What’s the main purpose of our life? Is the goal everyone expects of me to achieve the one I desperately want? It is not a bad thing to be “chaotic,” the word he chose to describe his life in Harvard. If we live our life to the fullest, “chaotic” is just like “splendid.”
I felt much relieved and positive after hearing what he said that afternoon. What he wanted to convey is not to give up studying and pursue every single desire, but to consider who we are seriously and do one thing resolutely. It’s a simple concept, but we must experience it through our whole life, just as what Thomas now is doing.

H202 Emma 陳品妤
As teaching assistant, Thomas has to transcribe the experimental data for hours. The way how he bears the repetitive, tedious and even boring work is to imagine he was practicing playing the piano by pressing computer keyboards. A tip he offered us was to find fun from boredom. That is, if we seek differences from every test or the duplicated work we did, then every single action and task will be a unique experience which we can look for enjoyment. Moreover, every single incident may bring you a distinct feeling, despite peer pressure flooding towards us.
After introspecting about myself, the most important part I’ve learned from this video-conferencing interview is that people have unlimited possibilities. We should not impose a restriction on ourselves. When we say we can’t do something, it doesn’t mean we are in lack of the ability. Some excuses make us escape from the barrier which might be one of the whetstones for us to become mature. However, years later, things we fail to face may go back to us again. Therefore, we should try to surmount the obstacles and train ourselves to think beyond the box with a view to “living our life to the fullest.”

H202 Julie 陳俊璉
Thomas didn’t want to give us a clear or exact answer or tip for doing anything because everyone is a unique individual, and he wants us to understand that there’s no standard answer to cater to everyone’s needs; even the mainstream belief is worth questioning. It’s nice to know that there’s an outstanding graduate walking in front of us, and he encourages us to be ourselves.
This has been the first time I carried out a video-conferencing interview. It was really cool! The advance of technology enables us to interact with Thomas at Harvard. I’ve learned a lot from him. His thoughts are very different from those of the traditional society. We explored the world through his vision.
I can’t believe that he remembers Teacher Laura’s class and The Giver!! These are the connection between two generations. I hope the tradition can pass on forever. Perhaps we can listen to other alumni’ experiences next time.
　

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