Session #1 - March 2 (morning), Clay Dube

[Tiffany Chang]

I learned so much yesterday from the overall lectures! When I was younger, I enjoyed studying maps and seeing where things are located. Yesterday's discussion about the dispute over the sea between Japan and Korea intrigued me as well as the naming of Mount Everest as we know it to be. We see things from our worldview. This reminds me of a staff development training we had in my district when our speaker asked us to search up what was happening in Central Asia. Then he asked us to switch our views to how people in Central Asia would see the news if they used a search engine. In the classroom, I hope to use this as an example about research and multiple perspectives. Not everyone sees it the same way or know it the same way we do. Most of my students are of East Asian descent, but they have grown up with an American mindset. I would like to show them the map examples such as the Sea of Japan/East Sea and NASA's map of North Korea so they can see how geography and politics shape a worldview as well as make observations and inferences. 

[Tiffany Chang]

The history behind ginseng was surprising to me! I knew that ginseng was grown in the midwest area, but I always assumed that it was brought over from Asia because of the use of ginseng in Asia.

In the beginning of our school year, our students studied the different regions of the US and how the climates and geography shaped the different Native American tribes. We just finished our colonial America unit and how the different climates of those regions shaped their way of life in the New World. Comparing how the U.S. has two neighbors to the China having 15 neighbors really makes it a political game-changer. I'm hoping for future planning that I can incorporate more about how geography can shape worldviews and experiences. 

[Heidi Kwalk]

According to the article on demographics crisis, Europe was able to recover from low fertility by closing the "cultural lag." For example,  childcare was more available and men took a more active role in household chores. This made it easier for women to have children and have careers.  I wonder what different obstacles there may be for Asian countries to close the cultural lag. I believe the traditional perception of "the proper place for women" is much more deep-rooted in Asian culture than in the European culture. I wonder if it would be more challenging to close the cultural lag to alleviate the demographic crisis in Asia. 

 

[Heidi Kwalk]

My 4th/5th graders, too, learned in Native American unit "how natural resources--which depends on where people lived--impact HOW people lived" This big idea of "WHERE people live impact HOW people live" comes up over and over again in social studies. We reviewed it during the study of the colonial period and pioneer days.  Reading your post about ginseng export got me thinking.... I am thinking about adding another layer to this big idea in our class discussion. I could have a discussion about how trading with another country (especially with a country so far away as China) could change and affect people's lives.  

[Kim Leng]

Prior to attending the seminar sessions, I also did not know that Asia’s population is old or that there’s a population crisis. The population just isn’t replacing itself. Although the article mentioned that cultural lags closed in Europe in just a couple decades, I think the cultural attitudes in Asia will take much, much longer.  I grew up in a family where my brothers were given more freedom simply because they were boys.   It did not matter that I was the eldest.  And in professor Dube's lecture about the four schools of Chinese philosophy, the key ideas expressed in Confucian has influenced Asia for over a thousand years and continues to do so! The article seems optimistic that the cultural lag will catch up to reality by 2070, but I’m doubtful.  I hope I’m wrong and it does catch up soon.

[Brenda-Jean Shephard]

Following yesterday's session, I was conversing with my daughter and her boyfriend, both of whom are college students.  Since she traveled to Hong Kong and China in January on a field trip for the international business program she's taking, we've had a number of conversations about her impressions of the culture of both places.  (Obviously, she only had a tiny taste during her brief visit.)  The boyfriend is more in touch with current events and global issues than she or I are, so he always has opinions to contribute.  A couple things we discussed were the U.S./N. Korea nuclear negotiations (disappointing), China's practice of expanding their territory by building islands and claiming them, and a rating system (in China, not Hong Kong yet) in which vital statistics pertaining to individuals - like a credit score but far more comprehensive - is being implemented.  She didn't have a lot of information about it, but I am now being made to watch an episode of a show called The Black Mirror on Netflix.  Here is a description: "The episode is set in a world where people can rate each other from one to five stars for every interaction they have, which can impact their socioeconomic status. Lacie (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a young woman overly obsessed with her ratings; she finds an opportunity to elevate her ratings greatly and move into a more luxurious residence after being chosen by her popular childhood friend (Alice Eve) as the maid of honour for her wedding. Her obsession leads to several mishaps on her journey to the wedding that culminate in a rapid reduction in her ratings."  Scary stuff!  Has anyone heard about this sort of thing happening in Asia (or anywhere else)?

[Marcos Rico]

A new concept that I learned from this article was Upside down family structure, it is upside because we are use to have more children than adults. The upside down family has four grandparents, 2 parents, and only one child. Historically it used to be 4 grandparents (who would spend some time with each of their adult children), 2 parents, and several children (plus many cousins). Unfortunally, these new families have led to ultra low fertility rates in several countries like Japan, South Korea, & Taiwan.

In the 1970's Japan had a stable fertility rate of 2.1, currently their fertility rate is 1.42. The estimate that I found for 2017 (https://www.indexmundi.com/japan/demographics_profile.html) indicated 7.7 births/1,000 vs. 9.8 Deaths/1,000. More people are dying than those that are are being born, hence the population crisis.

There is some hope, because Europe went through a similar demographic crisis in the early 1900's. Now several Europen countries like France, Britain and Scandinavia are experiencing a fertility rate increase close to 2.1 percent. It could be due to a combination of social changes and other factors.

I find it hard to imagine the life of these very small families. My parents raised 4 children, on the small side compared to most of my aunts and uncles (we are from Mexico). My older sister has 3 children (2 girls, 1 boy), my older brother has 2 children (1 boy ,1 girl), my younger sister (just recently married) so, no children, and my wife and I have twins(2 teen aged boys). On my father side (smaller family) I have 2 uncles and 5 aunts, with a total of 24 cousins plus their children. My mom's side is larger, I have 3 aunts and 5 uncles, 51 one cousins plus all their children.

[Marcos Rico]

I already knew that our beautiful state of California has a strong relationship with Asia. But during class when we were talking about Empress of China, first official USA shipto sail to China back in 1783. I realized that our countries and continents are linked by an even stronger connection. Without China there would not be a United States of America, or even the continent of America (it would still exist but it would be very different).   

The only reason that Cristopher Columbus aka Cristobal Colon traveled west was to find a faster route to China. Instead of finding a route to China he stumbled upon a whole continent, he died without even knowing that he had landed in the wrong continent. Colombus believed that he had landed in India, that is the reason why our Native Americans are often called Indians. Later, more Europeans followed Columbus route and eventually realized that it was a whole new continent. It was great news for the European explorers and settles, bad news for the Native Americans that were already here. For good or bad many of us are the product of this clash of cultures. 

[Brenda-Jean Shephard]

When the subject of North Korea and the lack of lights in the satellite image came up, I thought of a TED Talk given by a girl telling her story of growing up witnessing public executions and families starving to death, of people dying or risking their lives to escape.  It's unsettling and heartbreaking.

See https://www.ted.com/talks/hyeonseo_lee_my_escape_from_north_korea?language=en

I've never personally met anyone who lived in North Korea.  Does anyone know more about this?

[Brenda-Jean Shephard]

I don't have anything to add to your remarks, but if there was a "like" option, I would click it to say, "Thanks for sharing!"

[Brenda-Jean Shephard]

How did you switch your views to see how the news would appear to someone in a different country?  Is there a different search engine you can use?

[Tiffany Chang]

It's been awhile since that meeting. I'll double check with a colleague of mine to see how it works. 

[Amy Chen]

I've seen that Black Mirror eipsode. So scary! The rating system made me think of how students are influenced by social media (YouTube, Instagram, vloggers, and influencers) and how they are judged by their peers or try to mimick their online role models.

[Jimmy Martinez]

The Bride School article was particularly interesting regarding the social aspects and norms of South Korea. I knew of the pressures that some Asian nations face but this really opened up my eyes to those specific social pressures and even greater pressure from within the families to marry and carry on the lineage. Not only do they have to face these challenges but they also have the language barrier that they must overcome. Relationships are already so difficult to maintain and I could not even imagine adding the difficulty of communicating with your significant other. The new mandate that South Korean officials instilled in their country to "share a language" with their husbands was really interesting and it really makes you wonder if this will change the divorce rate there. Learning a new language and being fully immersed in that new country must be a dauting task and it reminds me of the difficulties that my new students from Latin America face everyday.

[Jimmy Martinez]

Brenda-Jean Shepard I used to intern at the museum of tolerance and I remember seeing a video about a man who had escaped North Korea twice. This story stuck in my mind and probably will for the rest of my life. His story was unbvelievably heart-breaking and brought me close to tears. During his plight he describes his family dying of starvation and having to look for rats to eat just to stay alive. The first time they caught him he was tortured in a variety of ways. He begins to cry while telling his story and it was just such a powerful moment.

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