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AnonymousAlthough, as of January 2017, President Park Geun-hye is suspended from her position due to her impeachment trial, President Obama called her a 'stalwart ally and friend.' Since the South Korean National Assembly has until June of 2017 to decide to remove her from office or reinstate her, it remains to be seen whether she will continue to be a political friend of the US. Park also stated that the US/South Korean alliance is pivotal in regional peace and stability. Now that President Obama is leaving office, and possibly President Park, it will be interesting to see what develops in this important alliance.
AnonymousThank you for including this powerpoint. I reviewed it, since I missed it at the beginning of the first session.
I count it an honor to be part of the NCTA, and I understand why it is important to emphasize teaching about Asia. First of all, it has been lightly touched on in public education for a long time, but now that we live in a global community, it is imperative that we endeavor to learn as much as we can about people around the world. It is up to us, as parents and teachers, to model respect and understanding for each other as human beings, which can only be done if we first seek to learn about, and accept others.
Our students ALREADY DO have much wider horizons than we have had. The world was only just opening up to us on a large scale when I was young, and that was without the internet. Children and even young adults today are nearly automatically given opportunities to collaborate and learn from people around the world. My children and I alone have spent time working or studying with, and getting to know people in Germany, Japan, England, Afghanistan, Africa, France, Mexico, China, India, and Canada, that I can recall. Students will have CONTACT with innumerable people throughout their studies and careers. Learning about the history, culture, and language of people in East Asian countries will give them a background with which to make POSITIVE contacts, and perhaps life-long colleagues and friends.
One point you made that I felt was especially important for our area in Los Angeles/Southern California, was that we have 1/7th of the US, and 1/20th of the world's trade. We must teach students how to develop their research, collaboration and communication skills, because a more peaceful and prosperous globe begins with people who are willing to work with each other peacefully and respectfully.
AnonymousThe photographs and slides alone are a beautiful lesson I can share with my third grade students, because they are very visual and the vocabulary is not too intense, it is perfect for young students. I will review my notes and share those with my students. I believe my three - day lesson plan seems to be gelling around Korean history and culture this fall - again! So I will share the rest of my thoughts and work through my lesson plans elsewhere on the US-China forum.
AnonymousSince my pull-down maps in my classroom have been taken down, thank you for the topical resources! We can look at each of the three geographical resources you included on Korea, Japan, and China, and create a small booklet of the three, using these powerpoints. We have had many people immigrate to Riverside from these three countries, so it is fun for the students to see where there friends or their parents were born. It will also give them background for the fiction and nonfiction stories we read about people from these countries.
AnonymousI agree with @jdoll. I have always thought it very interesting that there is a collective amnesia about certain topics. There are things that are simply not discussed. However, it is ironic that there is a museum in Shen Yang called the 9-18 museum. In very large letters on the side of the museum are the words "Never Forget" or something like that. So, it's fine to remember how China's been victimized, but not at all ok to remember the devastation and havoc that China has caused in the lives of others? There's a book, In Manchuria, where the author talks about how there are supposed to be monuments in various places, however when he goes to look for them, they aren't there, and the local folks don't know what he's talking about... interesting indeed. If you are interested in this topic, you should also read The People's Republic of Amnesia about the June 4 incident at Tiananmen Square.
AnonymousSession 1
Overview of Korea
It is no secret that I have a special interest in Korea. After my brother married, I now have family that has lived/lives there. I was able to travel to Korea in 2013 and experience the culture and meet some incredible people. After taking two USC Seminars, I realize that I really have no knowledge about a country that I have come to love. I have knowledge about the basic geography, but during this session I was able to learn more and see pictures and graphs to help with my understanding. Having the visual of California and Korea side by side and then their populations is mind blowing! When I was in Korea, the size of the country never occurred to me, I just felt like we were in a big city. I am looking forward to visiting Korea again after taking these seminars so I can have a better understanding of a country that I love.
AnonymousAlthough Trump will take office as the first president to have committed an impeachable offense, Park has been removed from office over a corruption scandal. Park is not only refusing to testify at her own impeachment hearings, but it seems that she will also not be in attendance. Park rejected the accusations of corruption and in a knee jerk reaction, arranged meeting with reporters at Seoul's presidential Blue House. A dignified press conference by our elected president would be welcomed by the American public instead of Trump's daily barrage of Twitter messages, which is wreaking havoc on the American sense of decorum. Since the election, he has used Twitter to attack Rep. John Lewis, Hollywood stars including Meryl Streep, Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as a bevy of journalistic outlets including NBC News. He has also tweeted responses to negative news coverage and announcements about his efforts to keep jobs in the United States.
American vs. Korean, male vs. female, there are many dichotomies to explore as the disparaging politics, gender roles and entitlement when comparing and contrasting these two political figures and how they choose to communicate… or not. Park was criticized, however, for speaking with reporters as officials believe that "It's not good etiquette to the justices and also inappropriate for the president, as the defendant of the impeachment trial, to say this and that to the media outside of court."
On the other hand, Americans wish speaking to reporters was the problem. Nearly seven-in-ten Americans say that Trump's use of Twitter is a bad idea. Sixty-nine percent of people surveyed said that Trump's tweeting is bad. A majority of Americans - 55 percent -- also say that they strongly oppose how Trump uses Twitter to announce policy decisions and his own views on the news of the day. Forget legacy, we just want a respectable president. The only thing Park was doing was defending herself to the media, however, in lieu of the fact that she refuses to testify the critique is warranted.
Despite the upheaval and unrest, however, South Korea must understand that they have a luxury Americans cannot enjoy; the ability to bring their leader to court to face the accusations surrounding their bad behavior. Most importantly, she doesn’t tweet.
AnonymousIn this first session, we touched briefly on China’s interest and billion-dollar investment(s) in Africa. It was stated that China’s main interest was mainly in Africa’s ability to supply workers. I wanted to research this topic a little more to get a better understanding of the Chinese-African relations and what’s motivating China to dole out lump sums of financing in lieu of its declining economy. With China being one of Africa’s biggest trading partners, one of the recurring criticisms I have encountered in articles is that China “plundering Africa’s resources.” I am critical of opinions that China’s investment is lopsided because in order to invest 60 billion into outside economies in Africa, for the investment to be profitable, it must be sustainable by all the countries involved. Chinese banks located in Africa that finance infrastructure projects may be indicative of a political agenda. China is undoubtedly exporting large amounts of raw materials from Africa (oil, copper, etc.) but there have been many positives and resources brought from China to Africa. The biggest resource – in my opinion – that China breaks back to Africa is knowledge as Africa could potentially learn from China and how China was able to rise to an economic power in order to create new emerging models to self develop. In my opinion, the relationship between Africa and China represents a true investment from both sides, however, there are a lot of red flags and cautions that are apparent that should regulate China’s hand on Africa’s natural resources.
AnonymousI find it interesting that the cultural revolution is not spoken of by the rulers of China. At the same time Mao is a revered figure that has an iconic position on everything from currency to the forbidden city. In arguably the most irreligious country in the world he holds a deistic quality but at the same time many of his policies are seen as being harmful to the Chinese populace.
AnonymousIn my classroom we often discuss controversial topics. As teachers one of our most important roles is to prepare our students to be active and engaged citizens. Teaching them the skills to look at multiple perspectives and have a civil conversation on controversial topics is crucial. A starting pointing for this is establish classroom norms to promote respect of various viewpoints. It is pertinent that students feel like the class is a safe space where ideas are honored and respected. It is also important that students have opportunities to discuss controversial topics in small groups before a classroom discussion can be productive. Lastly, what I do is provide students with laminated "sentence starters." This scaffold allows students to learn the proper procedures for conducting themselves during a debate.
clay dubeThe Japanese state established the Yasukuni shrine to honor, first, those who died fighting shogunate forces in 1867 in order to "restore" the emperor to power. The attachment below includes six articles. You are only expected to read the first two, but may find the others of interest. They include the official Japanese government's description of the shrine and a piece written by Sheila Smith of the Council on Foreign Relations. The other articles offer accounts from Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and American newspapers.
Please think about what Yasukuni represents. Is a visit there similar to flying the Confederate flag? Or visiting the graves of mass murders? Or is it, for Japanese, similar to visiting a national cemetery such as Arlington.
Is this a topic you might address in class? If so, how might you introduce the topic and guide the discussion. What would your aims be?
edited by Clay Dube on 10/14/2016