1. Can you use historical debate in your class, or have you ever used it before? In what way? (We would love to learn from your experience or your ideas on how to implement this!) Yes, I have used historical debate for years as part of my unit on the US Civil War.  I think debate is an excellent way to show students the complexity of an issue since so many different viewpoints can be represented.  It's a very structured process since most of my students had not really engaged in debate before.  After they're assigned a side for the debate, the group generates topics and questions and divides the research.  I encourage them to discuss the opposition's stance to each topic so they are ready with rebuttal, which allows them multiple perspectives.  I bring in outside "judges" to determine a winning side for the debate, but students are graded individually for their contributions to the process including their written notes and conclusions.  The students enjoy the process and the debate itself, often becoming quite passionate about their topics.
2. Scenario: You found out that your father has broken the law, and he knowingly broke this rule. What should you do? (Please respond from the perspective of your school - Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism) As a Daoist, I would do nothing.  Laws are social constructs that may create problems rather than solve them.  I would allow my father to follow his own path and not interfere with the consequences.

I found it funny and somewhat suprising that Marco Polo's visit to China has become controversial as of late.  Up until that point, it had never crossed my mind that this was the case.  I hear about it so much in HS history that I simply took it as fact. This spotlights the fact that the who ever controls the narrative of events (or non-events, allegedly) are the ones that dictate what the dominant conversation around this topic is.

This can translate into a classroom history class where students are taught to decipher and analyse the quality of research they do.  Were they weight primary vs. secondary sources and make critical choices about what evidence they should or should not accept.  In a lot of cases, it's not always what you find, but where that information came from.  This skill becomes ever-so important as students get older, but can and should begin at an early age.

I remember studying fossils in 3rd grade where one of my studens enthusiastically said, "Mr. Esquivel, triceratops are real, there's a tic-toc on youtube," insinuating someone had brought them back. After facepalming and a quick sigh, I decided to have a discussion about certain resources we can rely on, and about things that may seem real/true, but are not. Even more dishonestly, sometimes what is put out there as fact or true, can be quite literally quite the opposite.

What I found to be very interesting for this week's topic was how the feet-binding was reserved for the upper class and not for those who worked. This was something new to me as I had initially thought that this was a societal wide phenomenon. Another interesting concept presented was the thought that Marco Polo may have never gone to China afterall. In a world that has a lot of conspiracy theories that challenges everyday thoughts, this idea definitely had me thinking. 

I have a lot of historical debates in my classes. As a history teacher, one of my main focus is harness their critical thinking skills and I have found debates to be one tool to do so. Something I have preached in my classes is how there is not definitive 'right' or 'wrong' answer so long as you have the evidence to substantiate your stance.  When we debate, each side must defend their stance or argument with substantial evidence. 

As a Mohist, I would evaluate and analyze the extent to which my father had broken the law. I will look into who he may have affected and to which degree. From there, I will see what I can to do assist him in righting anything or anyone he may have wronged. Once we can put this incident behind us, I would do my very best to make sure my father is a better citizen who is able to express impatial care for all. 

Asking students if it matters whether Marco Polo really visited China.

I would try to guide the discussion in two directions – I would remind the students of the Prester John legend who was clearly legendary (although eventually identified by the Portuguese with the Ethiopian dynasty). Even if Marco Polo’s travels were just a collection of fairy tales, it would have had the same impact as it did inspiring Columbus among many other Europeans to head to Asia. On the other hand, I would present a history detective view. Proving Marco Polo right or exposing him as a fraud are legitimate avenues for real scholarly research (as Morris Rossabi has done).

1. Can you use historical debate in your class, or have you ever used it before? In what way? (We would love to learn from your experience or your ideas on how to implement this!)

At this point I have yet to use this. As a science teacher there are plenty of the things we have learned over time that dramatically change.

John Snow vs ___ for the development of epidemiology (resources 1. Snow PBS and 2. CDC epidemiology ) or Galileo vs Copernicus

2. Scenario: You found out that your father has broken the law, and he knowingly broke this rule. What should you do? (Please respond from the perspective of your school - Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism)

As a Legalist, I must turn in my father. It is for the good of our Emperor and China.

How widespread was slavery in Song China? From the Attractions of the Capital, it seems that there were no slave markets. We can assume that most prostitutes were enslaved persons as in the Roman Empire, right?

Ayse Zarakol’s critically acclaimed “Before the West” focuses on the Chingisid pioneering notion of sovereignty. It has a chapter  on the Mongol influences on the post-Yuan Ming dynasty.