Articles

[Anonymous]

National Geographic Magazine has a special issue about China in May. In several articles they talk about many problems that China is facing right now after its rapid development. For example, in one article the writer discusses how China sacrificed its environment for economic development and deadly pollution coming from the phalanx of chemical and pharmaceutical damages China's northern heartland as its lifeline, the yellow river. China has the world's highest number o fannual deaths triggered by air pollution. Another problem is that urban Chinese earn more than three times as much as those in rural areas, the highest income gap since the start of reforms in 1978. This problem will affect a lot of social issues that may arouse more and more public protests and furthermore, cause instability of the political system. China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the world's largest economy in ten years. However, Chinese government needs to overcome a great amount of challenges in order to become a real developed country. I highly recommend you to read this special issue, so you can get a better picture of modern China.

[Anonymous]

In this special issue about China, there is an interesting article, "Gilded Age Gilded Cage", talking about China's sudden prosperity brings undreamed-of-freedoms and new anxieties. "The society has completely turned around", one sociologist at Nanjing University says. Parents struggle to teach their children but feel that there is a big gap between two generations. Children, more attuned to modern trends, guide their parents through the maze of modern life. Therefore, parents have the new anxieties. On the other hand, because the competition is severe and parents have such high expectations for them, children are under a big pressure that they are living in a world that combines old and new-and the most punishing of both. In this article, the writer introduces the life style of a 15-year-old girl, Bella Zhou, who is in the middle school right now and the high school entrance exam is a month away. It a typical middle school student's daily. You can see how tight schedule the girl has and how much both she and her parents are pressured. The writer uses Bella's own essay to describe what the pressure feels like at the end of the article: I sit in my middle-school classroom, and the teacher wants us to say good-bye to childhood. I feel at a loss. Happiness is like the twinkling stars suffusing the night sky of childhood. I want only more and more stars. I don't want to see the dawn.What a small but heavy wish to a 15-year-old girl. Since we all are teachers, you might like this article very much.

[Anonymous]

You mentioned that China is in essence trading it's environment and the health of it's people for economic gains. Isn't the health issue ultimately going to cause a severe strain on China's economy?

[Anonymous]

Wonderful article in National Geographic May issue on Health in China. There is a picture of and elderly man standing next to a tree doing the complete splits. I think that the health of the older Chinese is something the US should be studying. They are very focused on staying healthy, exercising, and keeping social. I think that the older people's lack of processed food and fast food is something that should be studied. They also eat far less than the Western European counterparts. This may or may be attributed to their good health.

[Anonymous]

The LA Times today 5/3 carried a strange spy story. It seemed a Taiwan businessman who had investments on the mainland was recruited by Taipei "strangers" to report on various observations he made while on the mainland, most being on military installations. He was paid regularly. After being arrested by the Chinese Republic and serving four years ini prison, he has been released and is very angry at the Taiwanese government for endangering Taipei businessmen. But didn't he realize who was paying him to be an international spy? Didn't he realize that with the money came a definite element of risk? I could not muster up too much sympathy for him.

[Anonymous]

Inside the gorgeous special issue "Inside the Dragon" of the May National Geographic, is a series of one page presentations of diverse, but timely topics with excellent information and graphics.
I'll just give an overview with a few that I found particularly interesting.

E-Bikes
These are electric bikes selling for $200-$#00 dollars and reach speeds of 20 miles per hour.
Exotic animals
Although the Chinese have new, and very protective laws against the killing for profit of these
exotic animals, the trade continues to boom because it is so lucrative.
Chopsticks
The government has placed a 5% tax on bamboo chopsticks to try to encourage the use
of plastic. Unfortunately the bamboo forests are quickly being demolished. However,
some Chinese citizens are concerned about the cleanliness of the reusable plastic chopsticks.
Smokers
There over 350 million smokers in China. E-cigarettes have been introduced by companies
that say the atomized liquid nicotine (that sell for $200) are safer. However, most health
experts do not feel that these are safer

[Anonymous]

"Gilded Age Gilded Cage" is fascinating as it follows the story of Bella from ten to fifteen years old. Some child psychologists suggest that Bella's generation in China might have it the very toughest due to the rapidly changing social order in which these kids, seeminly in the middle, are being crushed by both old and new expectations. Her parents apply unbelievable pressure for her to make it academically and economically in this new order. Almost every minute of her day and night are tightly structured with school, lessons and tutoring. One Chinese educator argues that "the language of child education (in China) is Darwinian grime." Now at fifteen Bella has developed a slight attitude which her parents do not understand for the Chinese have no concept of teen-age rebellion.

[Anonymous]

I read an article China had 113.9 million migrant workers in 2003 from
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-05/15/content_330991.htm.

I know a lot of news reports which indicate negative things about China. However, this article said some positive things about China government. The central government has planned to provide training for every migrant worker in 2003. However, migrant workers still had many obstacles. I feel the government is trying to do something to improve migrant workers' life but it is still long way to go.

[Anonymous]

An interesting article in the LA Times analyzed the burnout the average South Korean citizen is feeling as his President keeps telling him or her to be more ambitious, study harder, and work harder. Actually workers in Korea work more hour per week than any other free-market economy. Some observers maintain that "it is a business culture of obsession and pressure.
And it certainly isn't any better for students who often study to exhaustion. Wallace,l the LA Times reporter suggests "the situation leaves South Koreans poised on the fringes of burnout."

[Anonymous]

I recently heard an NPR story about Swechwan food. You can visit the NPR website http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18664640 to see the actual article. It refers to the Chinese tradition of hot pot that has been lost in much American Swechwan eating. The hot pot is a peppery infused oil in which the consumer dips pieces of food. It sounds so hot and spicy, I don't think I could handle it. My husband would love it. This article might be a good beginning of a discussion with students about international food. In fact, the literature book we use has a story that focuses on a Chinese immigrant and how she experiences food. I may use this as a non-fiction tie in.

[Anonymous]

A New Yorker article called "Shanghai Surprise" http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/12/26/051226crsk_skyline explores a shopping district in Shanghai that follows the highly manicured Western style shopping complexes popping up everywhere. It's an interesting look at the new architecture in Shanghai as compared to the older but modern buildings.

[Anonymous]

In October, I attended the USC seminar about focusing on multimedia images of East Asia in the United States. The second speaker spoke about manga and anime, Japanese comics and cartoons respectively. The main part of her talk gave a history of manga in Japan and how it became popular in the United States. I found this talk the most interesting and the most applicable to teaching 6th graders, many of whom order manga comics from my Scholastic book orders.

Just after the October seminar, I retrieved the newest Wired magazine from the mail and found the cover full of manga drawing, the main title reading, "Manga Conquers America." The magazine had an article focusing on the popularity of manga in Japan, and more interestingly to me, they created a manga cartoon summarizing the history of manga. I thought I might be able to use it in the classroom, to show one form of storytelling, but the references to the sex in manga may be too giggly for 6th grade. It may be usable in high school. I tried to attached a scanned copy here in case any teacher is interested in using it. (It didn't work /accept the pdf-- but please email me if you want the pdf, [email protected]) I think it's a great way to bring East Asia in the classroom.

Also, I've found many translated manga books that tell the stories of classic literature. This seems like a great way to get students started on a difficult story. Even Shakespeare plays have been manga-ized.

[Anonymous]

A recent edition of The New York Times Upfront magazine (a news magazine aimed at tween / teen readers) had an article called "South Korea Welcomes Its Daughters" by Choe Sang-hun. The article reminded me of our Saturday session focusing on females in Korea and Japan. Basically, the article says that Korea is beginning to embrace births of girls as much or more than boys. In the past, as we know, having a son was very important in Korean society, but with more females caring for elderly parents and gender-biased Confucianism not held in such high regard, females are coveted. The birth rate has changed from 116 boy births for every 100 girls to 108 (the average being 105 boys to 100 girls).

This article would be very interesting to read with a class. It might go along with teaching of the American suffrage movement or religion and teachings of Confucianism. I've attached a scan of the article or it can be found on the NY Times Upfront website.

[Anonymous]

I wrote a recent inquiry about the film "2 Million Minutes," which follows 6 high school students through their four years of school, 2 from the U.S., 2 from India, and 2 from China. It serves as a comparison of the different attitudes toward education by students during the high school years.

I've ordered this movie (it's coming but taking a LONG time) and plan to create a lesson for my study skills class based upon it. I want students entering secondary education to examine their own goals for middle and high school. I recently found a great article to pair with that lesson. The New York Times Upfront magazine (news mag for kids) had an opinion piece titled, "Keeping America Competitive" by Thomas L. Friedman.

In this article, the author found that many high-level science PhD's in the U.S. are being given to foreign born students. His opinion is that these students should be given automatic citizenship along with their PhD. I plan to ask my students, after watching the film, to respond to this opinion with their own opinion, using their movie knowledge. I've attached the article if anyone wants to take a look.

[Anonymous]

Re: Article
When we had seminar about Migration and Labor in China, the speaker showed a short clip film. When I watched the film, I saw that migrant workers worked in the city and their children left behind with grandparent. They went home for the Chinese New Year. They brought some toys for their children. I felt so sad. Many Chinese parents consider making money which it is more important than spending time with their kids. I read an article from fall 2007 Focus on Family magazine in Chinese version. The author of this article talked about “Don’t separate from your children, please.” The author felt sad that parents could not be with their children. The author said children may feel rejection and abandoned when their parents were not with them. The author flashed back her memory about her own story. She had same situation like these children. In the end of the article, she said “I have an opportunity; I will tell every parent “Don’t leave your children behind.”

[Author]

Posts