Reflection Essay

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Going into the program I was just looking to expand my knowledge on East Asia and get a better grasp of the World History that was not just based on Western Civilizations. I did not actually expect to have developed lessons or too many ideas on how I would incorporate East Asian studies in to my curriculum immediately after. However, I am pleasantly surprised that knowledge on East Asia has increased and so have my ideas of how to incorporate this content into my curriculum for the next school year.

With this course I was able to brainstorm and hear from other educators about curriculum. Along with lectures and readings I have found these aspects to be extremely helpful. When I replied to posts online I realized that I was thinking of lessons constantly. A few of the topics I would like to address are gender roles in East Asia, the spread of religions and philosophies, and short stories from East Asia. I think that I could incorporate several excerpts from our class readings and chunk material for my students. The main topic I would like to work on and possibly make a unit is the topic of gender roles and expand the topic to all continents and the cultural diversity and similarities that affected gender.

I feel that in our seminar many ideas were relevant to my students and courses. Mostly, I feel that the museum posts and posts about local events were relevant because they were in central locations my students could go on their own or with the school. Also, I feel that many of us shared similar demographics would like to expand their knowledge as well. I found it extremely beneficial to work with other educators of different teaching backgrounds because I was able to gather information from different perspectives. I look forward to keeping up with the posts and to keep reading the lessons and collaborating with everyone.
edited by csanchez on 6/23/2016

[Anonymous]

Reflection The entire 12-session seminar covered Northeast Asian geography, history, philosophy and literature through the lens of academics and their analysis of the origins of these societies until the year 1800. The approach to the seminar series included the pre-session readings, presentations, and post-session evaluations posted through an online portal. The entire seminar is an excellent academic exercise, and it furthers the classroom teacher to bring more East Asian elements into the curriculum. As a 10th grade World Literature & Composition teacher, I frequently collaborate with the 10th grade World History teacher. This seminar affords the ELA teacher to collaborate more with the World History teacher and to bring East Asian literature (fiction & nonfiction) into the ELA classroom.
Regarding ideas for the classroom, I found the presentations to be helpful in order for me to look at the sessions thematically for ELA purposes. Multiple sessions covered the role of women in East Asian history, and the materials received during the sessions will give me thought to implement more female authors. For instance, many of the fictional short stories will assist the short story unit, as well as the poetry offered. I can use the poetry based on theme for almost every unit throughout the academic year. Other sessions that I can directly move into the curriculum are the sessions on Chinese philosophy (Confucianism/Buddhism), and warrior Japan. I can offer Chinese philosophy readings during the beginning of the year when we study Greek philosophy as a comparison and introduction to other philosophical traditions. The ideas and literature regarding the samurai era of Japan will also be helpful, especially in a unit when we study Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Overall, there are multiple ideas that can be infused into the curriculum throughout the year in a thematic way with the possibility of having a stand alone unit on Chinese literature or Japanese literature.
The portal of shared ideas is an excellent springboard for ideas when I need to reference other lesson plans and materials. In fact, the portal becomes a constant resource for myself and other teachers at my high school. I would eventually like to create a five-week unit specifically for East Asian literature, or at least one of the nations of East Asia.
edited by aschleicher on 6/23/2016

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