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AnonymousHi,
I'm currently teaching 8th Social Studies at Robert Frost Middle School in Granada Hills. I've taught both middle and high school social studies in previous years. I'm intrigued with the impact that China has in World History as well as its influence in the world today. My goal for this seminar is twofold: 1) to freshen up my knowledge of Chinese civilizations, and 2) to gain a deeper understanding of China as a world power. I've read a lot about China in the news in recent years and I hope I can contextualize that knowledge through our discussions in class.
AnonymousHello,
My name is Ericka Bonilla. I live in Los Angeles since November 1983. I was born in El Salvador in Central America. I was privileged come to the United States as young girl to start a new life here with my parents and my two new little sisters. Learning English was not easy since we lived in the inner city of Los Angeles and English Language Development was not as structured as it is now in LAUSD (I figured this out as an adult and as a teacher). After high school I went to the University of California Riverside, where I got a Bachelors of Arts and from there I went to Claremont Graduate University for a teaching credential and a Master degree in Education. I became a teacher in 1998 and I have been teaching since.
I teach Spanish to eighth graders at Curtiss Middle School, LAUSD, in Carson, California. I have been at this location for 11 years. I am happily teaching Spanish mostly to non-speakers. I don’t know if all of my students go on to take Spanish in high school, but the ones that do, come back later to tell me how my class helped them in being prepared for their high school Spanish courses. From time to time a student will come back and lets me know how they are fluent in the language. Those are my most proud moments that even bring me to tears of joy.
Some years ago, I took some courses about Chinese art and that opened my eyes to the beauty of Chinese art. From those courses, I had to visit some Asian sites through-out the city. I have lived here for so many years and not once had I visit the Japanese museum, Little Tokyo, China town. After those visits I was fascinated with Asia, making me wish I could speak all the Asian languages. Pretty ambitious! I will need to start with at least one first. I’m thinking Japanese, maybe.
I don’t quite know how the e-mail for this course came to me, but I jumped on the idea of taking this course. I did not think I would be accepted since I don’t teach history, but it did not hurt to try. I am so glad I am here. I am learning so much about Asian culture. I even started to watch videos that teach Japanese from the Japanese Society. I have not learned all the introductions in the first lesson yet, but I learned that Japanese language and Spanish have something in common. That is formality. Formality does not exist in English, but it does in all romantic languages and now I know that so does Japanese.
I am grateful to be here with you all in this course. Thank you for the opportunity!
edited by ebonilla on 4/14/2015
AnonymousHi everyone,
I'm Irene Ramos. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. Growing up, my parents took my siblings and me all around the Los Angeles area to explore new cultures and interesting events and activities each week. I think this upbringing caused me to become more adventurous in my travels and trying new things. I attended UC Riverside where I received a BA in English in 2009. I did not intend to become a teacher with my English degree; it was not until I began working with kids at a summer camp off the coast of Washington following my undergraduate did I decide to pursue my teaching credential. I recently finished the CSUN Multiple Subject program in December 2013 and was extremely fortunate to be hired at Stanley Mosk Elementary in the San Fernando Valley for my first year of teaching. I am also lucky enough to be on the 5th grade team at Mosk with my mentor teacher during my CSUN student teaching. It has been a year of learning, to say the least. Outside of the classroom, I enjoy practicing yoga, learning about Eastern philosophies, and collecting records.
I am interested in applying as many connections from this course to my 5th grade curriculum as possible. As someone who was exposed to many cultures growing up in Los Angeles, I know how interesting and educational this exposure can be to a child's development. I look forward to learning something new each session.
AnonymousMy name is Mayra Alvarenga. I have been working for LAUSD since 2000. Initially as a teacher's assistant as I worked on my undergrad program. Upon receiving my bachelor's in criminal justice, it took me almost a year to find a job in the legal field. Then I took a year off from LAUSD to work at a criminal defense office. Three months after leaving LAUSD, I realized that I missed working with the children and having those day to day interactions with them. Teaching children and collaborating with colleagues was a learning experience for me as well. Working at the law firm was never fulfilling for me. Sitting in front of the computer reading legal files and driving to the court was not how I imagined I would spend my days. I dreaded going to work. Not because I couldn't do the job, but because I didn't like it. After a year of hoping it might change, I changed fields and returned to education. I began working as a day-to-day substitute teacher, long-term substitute teacher, and currently a multiple subject teacher. I am currently teaching a self-contained 6th grade class at Sutter Middle School. I teach all subject: math, science, English, and history. I believe that one is never done learning. Taking extra courses, trainings, and/or seminars may seem tiring at times, but it only helps me grow as a person. It also helps me find more creative ways to teach my students. I have a Masters in Education and a multiple subject credential that allows me the opportunity to teach k-6. I am currently working on attaining a single subject credential to teach social science for students k-12
edited by malvarenga on 4/6/2015
AnonymousMy name is Dalia Coronel. I was born in Los Angeles, California. I have been blessed with parents who have always supported me in my educational endeavors. Sonia, my older sister and Jake, my younger brother, are both attending LMU and are working on their Master’s in education. I attended CSULA for my BA in English Literature and MA in Education with an emphasis on Literacy. Bright Star Secondary Charter Academy, a small institution of about 520 students, has been my place of work for the past seven years. I have been teaching high school English literature for six years. I am currently working on the National Board Certification program and hope to certify by the end of the year. Since Bright Star is still a young school, there are many opportunities that have allowed me to explore the leadership role. This year, I am a mentor teacher and have been facilitating and collaborating with two new teachers and helping them clear their single subject credential. I am also Department Chair for English and have been able to collaborate with my colleagues in the topics of literacy and writing. When I am not teaching, I enjoy running marathons and will be running the Great Wall of China Marathon in May. I like to volunteer in my community and have partnered with Care Mission to feed the homeless. I am an avid learner who likes to travel, explore and learn about different cultures and the mysteries of life. Most importantly, I am happy to work with great students who are eager to learn about the future.
edited by dcoronel on 4/6/2015
AnonymousHi my name is Katherine Venturoso. I teach 5th grade at Hoover elementary in Whittier City School district. I was born in Berkeley, California..as my parents were students at Berkeley..
I have lived in California my whole life. I studied French for 3 years and then went to Brazil as an exchange student for a year where I learned Portuguese. and hitchhiked 10,000 miles in South America. When I came back I studied Spanish and became a Bilingual certified teacher. I have taught all grades up to 6th except kinder cuz I don't like bodily fluids. I love learning about different cultures and infuse this in ALL areas of teaching. We are entrusted to teach our children to be global citizens.
AnonymousHello everyone!
My name is sandra Beltran. I teach first grade at Mid- City Magnet. I was born in Mexico City where I went to school till 6th grade. When I came to the USA my goal was to finish college and become a teacher. When I graduated from High School I started working as a TA for LAUSD; I continue working in various capacities until I became a teacher. Now it is my goal to become more knowledgeable about other cultures and integrating this knowledge to my lessons.
AnonymousMy name is Kurt Berg. I currently teach U.S. History, Government, and Economics at Verdugo Hills High School Multi-Media Magnet. Prior to returning to LAUSD last year, I taught at Vaughn International Studies Academy in San Fernando. Vaughn is a member of the Asia Society, which is a network of International Studies Schools. While at Vaughn I had the opportunity to travel to China and visit schools in Beijing and Shanghai. Prior to working at Vaughn, I taught 7th grade World History at San Fernando Middle School and Geography, Life Skills, and 10th grade World History at San Fernando High School. I earned a BA in History at UC Berkeley. I became a teacher as a result of a midlife career change. Formerly, I worked in sales and marketing. I find teaching extremely rewarding and have remained a teacher despite repeated RIF notices and an ultimate layoff from LAUSD, which lead to my teaching for three years at Vaughn Charter.
While at Vaughn I set up a Model United Nations program and I am currently working with students to set up a Model UN club at Verdugo Hills HS. I am interested in politics, history, economics, and international relations. Model UN provides me with an opportunity to share some my knowledge and enthusiasm with likewise interested students. I enjoy helping students make connections across time, history, and cultures and I am certain that this course will provide me valuable material to take back to my classroom.
AnonymousMy name is Juana Evink, I was born in Torrancae, CA, but moved to Durango, Mexico when I was 3. I lived there for 6 years, then returned to LA in 1992, and went back to Durango in 1997, and finally came back permanently to LA in 2001. Since I was 18, I had to attend adult school in LA, then attended LBCC from 2003-2007 and CSULB from 2007-2013. Currently, I'm a 7th grade world history teacher at Berendo MS, it's my first year teaching. I loved to travel, got to experience 2 study abroad trips while at CSULB, the winter of 2008-09 to Greece and the winter of 2009-10 to Italy, each trip lasted 3 weeks. I also, love to read, mostly historical fiction and about history. I enjoy learning, I like to take the opportunity to to learn every time I can, and share what I learned with my students.
AnonymousHello everyone I'm Hollie Hardwick. I teach for Monrovia Unified, 7th and 8th graders, Studio Art. I'm completing my 9th year in the district, Santa Fe is the second middle school I have taught at and this is my first year at Santa Fe as well as my first year teaching Art full time.
Since I am a lover of languages, cultural studies and learning I look forward to using information about Asian Studies to reach my students within their art exploration but as well within their social studies curriculum which includes a unit about China and Japan. It is also exciting to look forward to our district's new Mandarin Immersion Kindergarten class beginning next year and think about those students arriving to our middle school in 6 years. They will be bilingual and hopefully happy to see some Asian Art Lessons in 7th grade.
AnonymousHello Folks! My Name is Tayari Kuanda. Although I have lived in California for most of my life, I identify as being from Detroit. I am an avid sports fan of Detroit teams; Lions, Tigers, no Bears, OH MY!! I also love the Pistons and Redwings.
I began my educational career via the community college system. From there I transferred to UC Riverside where I received BA degrees in Native American Studies and one in History. I also received my Master's degree from UCR in Education. A few years later returned to school to receive my Doctorate degree from the University of Redlands. As you can tell, I love education.
As a high school teacher I have taught English, Intro to Spanish, and Math. However my focus area is in social studies where I have taught U.S. Hist., World Hist. Government, and AP European History. I also work with at risk youth. At the university I teach in the School of Education. It is my pleasure to be a part of this group, I hope to broaden my knowledge on matters related to Asia.
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edited by tkuanda on 4/13/2015
AnonymousMy name is Stephanie Lemburg. I have been teaching history for 10 years. I started teaching right after graduating from Azusa Pacific University. After taking several history courses in college, I already knew that I really wanted to have an impact on high school students. In my first few years of teaching I had the opportunity to teach students from grade levels 9-12. I really started to enjoy the various personalities of sophomores and have been teaching that level since I first started. I currently teach 10th grade World History and also AP World. Teaching a higher level course has really challenged me, and as you all know students are always asking questions. The reason I wanted to take this class is to continue to learn myself and be able to better educate my students.
edited by slemburg on 4/13/2015
AnonymousHello everyone my name is Ramon Martinez. I am an elementary teacher for LAUSD. I have taught 3-5 grades at Elizabeth Learning Center since 2000. I received my BA in International Business from CSU, Fullerton. Subsequently, I received my teaching credential from CSU, San Bernardino. Afterwards, I received my Masters from Michigan State University.
Prior to working for the LAUSD, I worked for the Orange County Dept. of Education working with at-risk youth. I conducted student leadership development for at-risk youth. In addition, I conducted parent and teacher training on working with elementary to high school age students. Afterwards, I worked for the Fontana Unified School District as an elementary school teacher. Since the year 2000, I have worked for LAUSD.
I have always found the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Asian cultures extremely fascinating. Over the last 20 years we have seen tremendous changes politically, economically, and culturally throughout Asia that have influenced and will continue to impact our life. I realize that we have to impart this understanding to all students young and old. It is my hope that I will have the opportunity to continue learning about China, Japan and other Asian countries long after completing this course. I am confident that this course will provide me with a deeper understanding to share with others. I look forward to continued learning.
AnonymousHello Everyone my name is Adebola Afolabi. I am an elementary teacher for LAUSD. I am originally from NYC and my parents are from Nigeria. I went to Nigeria in 2010 and I noticed that there were many Chinese people there. I enjoy learning about diverse cultures and traditions. I look forward exploring and discovering new information on my limited knowledge on the continent. Also, I want to travel to some place in China. I look forward to sharing what learn with my students.
AnonymousHello everyone I'm Hollie Hardwick. I teach for Monrovia Unified, 7th and 8th graders, Studio Art. I'm completing my 9th year in the district, Santa Fe is the second
middle school I have taught at and this is my first year at Santa Fe as well as my first year teaching Art full time.
Since I am a lover of languages, cultural studies and learning I look forward to using information about Asian Studies to reach my students within their art
exploration but as well within their social studies curriculum which includes a unit about China and Japan. It is also exciting to look forward to our district's new
Mandarin Immersion Kindergarten class beginning next year and think about those students arriving to our middle school in 6 years. They will be bilingual and
hopefully happy to see some Asian Art Lessons in 7th grade.