Steve, my colleagues and I were just discussing the graffiti wall of China. It's a perfect example of the thriving capitalism in the world's largest communist nation. My World History students will get a kick out of it considering we recently studied communism under Stalin's rule. Boy, what a difference.

Ana[Edit by="amitchell on Mar 22, 8:38:13 PM"][/Edit]

All right. You can know this about me now before it's too late.

I obsessively listen to the NPR affiliate up here in the Bay Area, KQED.

With that off my chest, let me tell you about an incredible resource. Actually, two incredible resources.

First, there's this show Marketplace that does spunky and engaging economic reporting. They did this amazing two week stint in China in January. They broadcasted from all over the Middle Kingdom for these two weeks, covering China's economy from a kaleidoscope of different angles.

I had my students choose just three of the plethora of stories to write summaries about. They all had fun exploring the Marketplace website, looking at pictures and features. Some did have trouble listening to the stories. I don't know the tech situation for your students.

Here's the link to their "Live From China" broadcast. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/china2006/

Also, Marketplace does at least a story once a day on some topic related to China. Their homepage has a great search by topic. If you go to Asia, you'll see what I mean.

Another resource is this show produced by KQED called "Pacific Time". As the name suggests, it focuses on stories with an Asian twist. Great and intriguing reporting. Lots of fun music stories. They seem to especially delve into the Asian-American experience. Go to their archive to see what they have.

http://www.kqed.org/programs/program-landing.jsp?progID=RD37

If I had to do the "Live from China" assignment over again, I would suggest that my kids listen to a podcast. Hey, it is the 21st century is it not?

Anyhow, I encourage you check out both these sites. They are rich, entertaining, educational and FREE.
Be Well,
Nicole

Hello all,

I posted this on the other site Asia in the Classroom, but I thought I would share it here as well.

The Discovery Times Channel has an new series called China Rising. I haven't been able to watch it yet , but tivoed quite a few episodes.

Here are some that looked interesting:

China Rising: "Party Games" 2006 Documentary about how Beijing is preparting for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games.

China Rising: "Getting Rich" 2006 Documentary about the impacts of China's rapid economic growth on the country's poor.

"A Decent Factory" documentary that follows a manufactorer who sends ethical advisors to inspect conditions at a cell phone factory in China.

"Secrets of the Great Wall" 1999 Documentary about the Great Wall during the Qin and Han dynasties.

I will try to watch them this week and share my thoughts. Would love to hear what others thought of them as well.

Looking forward to meeting fellow study tour participants in a few weeks-Dana

This would be awesome to purchase some of these shows. And....I do have some money left in the SS bank....Thanks for the heads up on good resources.
Nicole

My husband and I just watched the film Not One Less (Zhang Yimou) -- thanks to Netflix. It's a very charming movie. Some observations I made

The movie highlighted the extreme difference between the rural areas and the city. If you watched the beginning of the movie, you might think you were watching life in the early 1900's, but then the scene changed to the big city and you saw a bustling, somewhat modern environment. The small, poor, rural areas seem to exist today.

The children were taught songs about fighting on behalf of their country, etc. These little children are charming as they sing songs of fighting and loyalty to their leaders. You see how little understanding they have of the songs.

Most of the people speak in a curt, unpleasant tone of voice. There was virtually no polite, gentle conversation (except by the television interviewer when she's on camera). I had always heard that Chinese, especially women, speak shrilly and in a somewhat demanding tone. This movie seemed to reinforce that. It didn't bother the young teacher; she seemed to take it in stride and simply state her case repeatedly. That makes you think that such a manner of speaking is not unexpected.

My husband said my students should watch the movie in order to appreciate the advantages they have. The substitute teacher was 13 years old, the school was decrepid, they had only a little chalk, the teacher hadn't been paid in six months, and the teacher slept in one bed with three girls. I can't say whether the quality of their education was good or bad, but if they are learning, it would be hard to make a case that excellent environments would help our teaching efforts.

Courtney

Clay:
I posted it under movies. Thanks.
Courtney

Sounds interesting Ana. I will check out the article. I heard a report on the news the other day about a new book on China. The author contends that China is preparing to wage war against the United States in the future. They are building up their military at the same rate as Germany in the 1930s and planning to also attack us with cyber warfare. The United States is responding by trying to contain China's power within Asia by making deals with Japan and India.

The book it titled Showdown. Why China Wants War with the U.S. by Babbit.

I thought the theory sounded far-fetched and unlike China's style of foreign policy. Any opinions on the credibility of this theory?