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AnonymousSession 11
Cranes
After reading this short story, I would like to read some short stories with my English class. The story is simple and artistic, bringing to light the friendships we encounter as children. This story also takes place in a setting that is much different from what my students are used to and from a different culture. One of the topics I will introduce to my students is the familial relationships that take place in the story. His friend takes care of his widowed father who is not able to take care of himself and feels a great deal of responsibility when thinking about the future. This will be a topic that my students will be able to discuss and compare with their own personal situations and experiences. Another topic to discuss will be the friendship and how the roles have changed. It is hard to be friends with someone who is your inferior and has done something that is against your what you represent. I also like what the crane represents and can do an art component to help making the learning more meaningful to my students.
AnonymousSession 11
Kapitan Lee
After reading this selection, I thought it would be nice to use with my English class. Yi is a man with such inner strength and drive that he is a great choice in teaching character. My English class recently read The Book Thief and one of the characters, Hans Hubermann, has many similarities with Yi. Like Yi, he loves his family and is a man of character, faced with living in trying times and sometimes impossible situations. The constant drive and tenacity to keep moving forward is inspiring for teenagers. Where Yi is a man of position and some esteem, Hans has been blackballed in the community for being a Jew Sympathizer. I think these two characters can offer students the idea that it is important to keep moving forward in even the greatest of trials. That keeping your values and ideals is important in being able to live with yourself and finding contentment. This short story and novel also offer situations dealing with race through interracial marriage ( Yi’s daughter marrying an American), and how different people are viewed strictly because of their ethnicity and where they come from.
AnonymousUsing sanctions to punish North Korea are ineffective as long as North Korea and China continue heavy trade. North Korea continues nuclear bomb tests and missile launches while China still provides more than 90% of North Korea’s trade. Although China agreed to sanctions on North Korea, it also instituted a number of exemptions to minimize the impact on the trade. Loopholes that gave discretionary power to Chinese customs. As a result, the U.S. plans to build a defense against North Korea’s missiles in South Korea and China strongly opposes this. With Trump and Kim Jong Un trading threats, Trump is asking China “to do more.”
“Because of our active outreach, President-elect Trump and U.S. officials are clearly aware of the gravity and urgency of the North Korean nuclear threat,” ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck told a briefing. “They are maintaining an unwavering stance on the need for sanctions on North Korea and for close cooperation between South Korea and the U.S.”
To me it seems Trump is completely unaware that he’s asking one friend to betray another.
AnonymousThis was an interesting story where I didn't have a lot of background information and had to do a little reading before I read the story. I like Elizabeth R's idea about using the icons of depth and complexity with this story. There are a lot of important details that need to be filled in before reading the story, and although this story is only a few pages long, there is a lot to unpack. Students can not only talk about the ethics of the story and the details, but they can also record any patterns or rules that present themselves in the story. I know I definitely have some unanswered questions. At the end of the story, part of me wants to believe that the cranes that fly away are the symbolic release of Songsam and his friend Takchae. In one part of the story, the narrator tells readers that Songsam knows that his parents are safe, even now...how does he know that? Are they able to communicate? Are families that are caught on either side of the DMZ able to communicate with each other? Would they want to? It's also interesting how even after Songsam recognized his friend, he had drew conclusions about the man in bondage, "But today, how could he offer a cigaret to a fellow like this?" A fellow like what? What was he guilty of? Readers are left to draw their own conclusions until Takchae opens up and shares part of his plight with Songsam and readers. Lots of interesting directions the discussions can take and lots of opportunities to learn about other parts of the world. Very enjoyable.
AnonymousK-Pop, as I learned, is not just an international fad, but a government supported plan to expand Korean influence. From music to makeup, from TV to food, Korean culture is spreading to China and its billion plus population, as well as to Western countries such as the US. I think this is a fascinating, and clearly, from the interest in the Korean Make-up routine in class and the popularity of Korean Soaps in China, the Korean cultural agenda is enticing.
On a side note, Korean shows of people eating dinner, so that lonely people can have someone to "be with" is somewhat disturbing.
