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Home › Forums › Core Seminars › Modern East Asia, Fall 2021 › Self-Introduction
Antonette Pelaez.
cgaoWe are so excited for you to be a part of this course! We'll get to know each other in the upcoming weeks, but please post a brief self-introduction here. Your fellow participants are from all over the United States (a few are even international), so it would be great to learn about your experiences. Here are a few topics to help get you started:
1) The basics - name, what/where you teach, favorite part about teaching, etc.
2) Experience with East Asia - what made you interested in this course? Favorite food/travel experiences in the region.
3) What do you hope to learn from the course?
Todd RutleyI am interested in this class taught by Professor Dube because I learned a lot from his last class! The US-China Institute does a great job of educating educators and the teaching resources are excellent.
I teach about China & East Asia because I want to promote better understanding and international relations between the USA and Asian countries.
Favorite experiences? I have visited Japan, China, and Thailand over 20 times. I like traveling by bicycle, public bus, trains and subways to see how people work and live. I especially like dining in Japan which has a fascinating food culture.
In this class I want to learn how to better represent the relationship between the USA and Asia to promote improved international relations.
Amanda McCarthy1) Hello, my name is Amanda McCarthy-Yuguchi, I teach health education at the high school level in LAUSD. I am excited to meet and collaborate around this topic with other educators.
2) I've never had the opportunity to travel to East Asia, I hope to travel there someday soon. My husband is Asian-American, his mother was born in Guangdong province and grew up in Hong Kong, his father is 3rd generation Japanese-American. I especially love Japanese food, a favorite YouTube channel of mine is Kimono Mom's Kitchen- she is a woman living in Tokyo who films herself cooking traditional Japanese food with her toddler.
3) I am so excited to take what I learn from this course back to my school. It is clear that East Asia has a lot of influence over modern day economics, global policy, and more. It is important our students to understand how what happens in East Asia can influence many areas of their lives.
clay dubeThanks to Catherine, Todd and Amanda for getting us started. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone next Wednesday. As many know, I head the USC U.S.-China Institute. I'm a historian and think that we all (myself included) know way too little about the role the past plays in the present. You certainly see the importance of the past in contemporary East Asia. You see it in institutions, norms and how people perceive our world. I love to travel and I'm always taking pictures, often with an eye to how they might help me illustrate a point. I enjoys movies, novels and exploring Los Angeles.
Jennifer MacchiarellaHi! I'm Jennifer Macchiarella. I teach a combined 10th grade World History (1200-present) and World Literature course at Eastlake High School.
My favorite part about teaching is how the same lesson produces different reactions and different discussions every year. Students are never boring!
I have never been to Asia and my college coursework didn't offer much. I feel I need more background to present a solid course to my students.
Crystal BokHello everyone,
My name is Crystal Bok and I currently teach at an elementary school in central Los Angeles, within LAUSD.
I am Korean-American and I have familial and personal connections specifically with Korea and Japan. I have always been interested in learning more about the histories of both countries as well as the surrounding East Asian countries in order to stay connected to an important part of my identity and also to stay informed about current events even as I live in the USA because the majority of my relatives reside in Korea. It has been interesting to witness changes over the course of my life as public perceptions about certain E. Asian countries have shifted due to media and popular culture.
What I hope to gain from this course is a greater understanding of how history shapes the present, and ultimately the future in the context of East Asia. I would like to adapt these concepts in the classroom to make social studies feel more relevant and connected to the present-day to my students. I am looking forward to meeting everyone.
Jennifer SmithHello,
My name is Jennifer Smith. I teach 7th and 8th grade language arts for Illinois Virtual School and a science methods course for elementary education majors at Illinois State University. My favorite part of teaching is developing and delivering lesson plans, coming up with new ways to convey content. I am continually seeking ways to better improve my lessons (both content and technique). I have found that networking with other teachers and participating in programs like this one help to expand my thinking and improve my lessons.
Jennifer
clay dubeJennifer makes such a wonderful point about how groups of students can be so different. Same day, same general pool of students, yet classes vary. As she writes, it is never dull.
And of course, from year to year the context of lessons changes. The importance of East Asia in our lives is immense. It will be even more central for our students.
clay dubeThanks to Crystal, Jennifer Smith and everyone who has posted a self-intro thus far. We look forward to having everyone tell us a bit about yourself.
Bin He1) The basics - Hi everyone, this is Bin He, a world language teacher who is working at Harvard Westlake in Los Angeles.
2) Experience with East Asia - I have attended two webinars held by USC US-China Institute, and I like how we learned from the speakers and each member. My favorite food is Kung Pao chicken. Also, I started a new cultural course about how ancient Chinese culture impacted modern China. So It has become a part of my life to share the Asia culture and history with others.
3) I hope I can deepen my understanding of all perspectives of East Asia and learn from all of you about how to teach the culture in the class.
Kayla KoleanMy name is Kayla Kolean. I live in Michigan with my fiance, dog, and cat. I teach online to middle and high school students across several states. I teacher Japanese. I really like talking 1-1 with my students and learning more about their interestes and chatting about Japanese language and culture.
I am interested in the course because I took the course about East Asian history that happened during the time period before we are starting this course. I am very interested to learn more and connect the gap in my knowledge. I have been to Japan for work and South Korea for vacation. I really like all the foods from these two countries!
I hope to learn more about this time period and how each country has changed and affected the countries and people within and nearby.
Kayla Kolean
Betsy UresMy name is Betsy Ures and I am a coordinator at an elementary school in Echo Park in Los Angeles, CA! I am a proud LAUSD educator. My favorite aspect of teaching is watching students grow and learn!
I have taken a course before, and I love looking at architecture, art, and the foods of East Asia. One day I would love to travel to Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
I hope to learn about modern life in East Asia so that I can provide engaging lessons that connect to my students' life.
Yasmin MartinezMy Name is Yasmin Martinez and I am a Special Education teacher at John H. Liechty Middle school. I teach science 6-8 SLD class. My favorite part about teaching is seeing the aha moment. Is amazing to see students make connection with the lesson being discussed at school. The reason for me taking this course is mainly for me to learn about different cultures. I really enjoyed many of the foods it has great variations of flavors and textures. I hope to learn about the cultures, and be able to expand my knowledge.
3) What do you hope to learn from the course?
Yasmin MartinezMy Name is Yasmin Martinez and I am a Special Education teacher at John H. Liechty Middle school. I teach science 6-8 SLD class. My favorite part about teaching is seeing the aha moment. Is amazing to see students make connection with the lesson being discussed at school. The reason for me taking this course is mainly for me to learn about different cultures. I really enjoyed many of the foods it has great variations of flavors and textures. I hope to learn about the cultures, and be able to expand my knowledge.
3) What do you hope to learn from the course?
Jenn BrandenburgWe are so excited for you to be a part of this course! We'll get to know each other in the upcoming weeks, but please post a brief self-introduction here. Your fellow participants are from all over the United States (a few are even international), so it would be great to learn about your experiences. Here are a few topics to help get you started:
1) The basics - name, what/where you teach, favorite part about teaching, etc.
Hi! My name is Jenn Brandenburg and I moved in July from urban Texas to rural Oregon so I am experiencing a lot of various culture shocks. I have taught for a total of twelve years but now is my first year in Oregon. I used to teach AP World History, AP European History and World Geography. Here in Oregon I am teaching (and feel like a first year teacher again!) World Studies and AP US History. My favorite part of teaching is making connections with students that the world is to explore.
2) Experience with East Asia - what made you interested in this course? Favorite food/travel experiences in the region.
I have never traveled here but have ties due to my parents being stationed in South Korea. My mother was fluent in Korean and practiced Theravada (Chen) Buddhism after service. I grew up in rural east Texas where we were one of the few people who were able to use chopsticks! I want to visit Seoul where my parents once lived.
3) What do you hope to learn from the course?
I attended the TCU course before COVID and loved getting resources and discussions with my professor and peers. Dr Carrie at TCU explained a lot of media misconceptions regarding China such as the Belt Road and expansion in SE Asia. I want to further my comprehension regarding contemporary China (aside from the current pandemic). I also need resources for my APUSH course from East Asian perspectives.