Session 6 - August 7, Brian Bernards, USC

[Xiaowei Hunt]

 

Hi Frederic, 

You wrote "as teachers we don't throw away "apples" with worms (the metaphor referenced in the story) but, rather, work to cut the worm out." I can't agree with you more. I feel the You Jin’s novels were selected just for us teachers as they really come in handy before 2019 school year starts. When a student's behavior is a bit "unique", we really need to go to the bottom of what happed. In the past in a workshop I attended, a presenter told a group of teachers about dealing with inevitable "bad apples" in baskets with "Just throw them away since you can't do anything about them." Comparing the strategies You Jin   wrote in her other novels selected for this workshop like "The Boy with Golden Hair" and "Pets", we know that we really should not throw away "bad apples"; instead, we should work to cut out the bad parts only. 

 

Xiaowei 

[Anthony Pollard]

   Regularly, students are asked to be creative in their narrative writing and to think "outside the box" when revising their publications. This Pets has many parts, but I have never seen a green haired turtle. The green haired turtle is symbolism, and therefore students learn to think outside of the box. 

[Zoey McKinney]

"The Wandering Earth" could be an interesting complement to the current events assignment that my students work on. I ask students to read and report on articles from the news every week in various categories. I would be interested in seeing what parallels they could draw between the themes of the book and the things that are happening in our society today. For example, we go in depth on pollution and climate change, and the idea of using the earth's resources as fuel for the enginges in the novella could spark an interesting debate - are there instances in which our environmentally-damaging actions are justified? Do humans have the right to exploit nature for purposes of self-preservation? I could see my students arguing on both sides of that debate. We also talk about smog, living in Los Angeles, and I am interested in checking out the documentary "Under the Dome" Professor Bernards recommended. To relate back to the title of the course, environmental issues have kind of become a generational issue. We have students organizing huge protests against government inaction and the harmful practices of big businesses, young people filing lawsuits on the basis that their future is in jeopardy because of the actions of those currently in power, and children advocating for change all over the world. This is definitely due in part to increased knoweldge of climate change and better education in recent years, but it is also about who will be most affected by climate change. Young people will see serious consequences of climate change in their lifetimes, while older policymakers may be less motivated to enact change because they will not see those consequences. It is interesting to see how this issue, which is by definition global, has emphasized division between generations in some cases.

[Zoey McKinney]

I also noticed parallels with The Hunger Games, which adds to the level of engagement of this story. As you pointed out, both The Hunger Games and Folding Beijing speak to the stratification of society. I think this would spark interesting discussion about how this relates to income inequality in our own society. In many ways people of lower socioeconomic status do have higher physical risk, like in The Hunger Games, only instead of being in danger from the games, they are in danger of hunger, homelessness, and violence. They also do have less time in the day, like Folding Beijing, because they need to devote more hours to work, transportation, caring for dependents, etc. One thing I will note is that in Folding Beijing there is the possibility of social mobility, while in The Hunger Games this doesn't really happen. I wonder what students would think is more accurate to real life - how do they view social mobility in our society? Is it possible or impossible?

[Joy Chao]

Hi Kimberly, a good observation that you point out about school rules. Growing up in Taiwan, which is very much the same as most Asian countries where obeying authority and rules is the norm, I can completely understand why the teacher/narrator simply go with what is given to hey by the school. I remember back to the days when I was a student there, questioning a teacher or the rule is seen as inappropriate and disrespectful; the parents are also expected to abide by these rules, even though they might find them questionable. Challenging authority is simply not acceptable back in those days. Nowadays it has changed but only to a certain degree, but following the rules is still highly expected and appraised. There's good and bad in it the way I see it. Too much of anything usually turns into something negative. 

[Scott Craig]

I too chose this story and found the story very moving. I think it's a story every teacher should read at least once a year. I had a similar experience to yours with a student of mine who was always sleeping. This is embarrassing to admit, and one I still feel horrible about, but about 20 years ago, I got tired of my student always sleeping. So one day I let him sleep. His friends wanted to wake him up when the bell rang to go to the next class. I told them to let him sleep, because obviously he was exhausted. It was half-way through the next class before he woke up. He was all confused at seeing different students and ran out of the room all flustered. At first I thought, "that will teach you not to sleep in class." Later I found out that he and his father were homeless and they were living out of his father's car. I still feel horrible and every time I start to judge a student harshly I think about that experience. We really don't know what our students are going through and the Boy with Golden Hair reminds us of that.

[Scott Craig]

I agree completely with your comments and You JIn. Even the students who are "willing" to learn, will do a better job and learn more if they make some kind of connection with the teacher. Students can't learn in an environment where they don't feel comfortable. Your comment about "they might not be getting that at home", is true in too many cases. As a male teacher, I've found a lot of my students look to me as a father-figure since many of them do not have a father in their lives. Teachers do wear many hats and that's why a computer can never replace us and the work we do.

[Marcos Rico]

I enjoyed Professor Bernards’ lecture and wish that I had taken the time to read “Folding Beijing”. I am going to have to get my hands on a copy of the book, Invisible Planets translated by Ken Liu.

Sorry about hogging the conversation during the discussion about “The Wandering Earth”. I really enjoyed this novella and 

[Nira Sun]

After Prof. Bernards’ wonderful lecture, “Folding Beijing” definitely caught my interest and attention. I was able to find the Chinese version online which I will use as a reading material in my AP Chinese class. I have not gotten the time to read through the Chinese version to understand its literacy level but I think it’s an interesting introduction to the topic of social issues in China. I can’t wait to see my students’ feedback on this literature.

I really appreciate that Prof. Bernards provided so many Chinese literature sources for us to use in our classes. Finding interesting yet challenging reading materials is always time and effort consuming due to the work on selecting appropriate literacy level to fit students’ needs. However, that doesn’t mean I can only use Chinese literature in my advanced classes. With my novice level students, I can still introduce them with some readings so that they can start seeing what Chinese writers mainly focus on in ancient or modern literature and how they reflect the issues in their writing.  

 

[Joel Jimenez]

I chose the story 'Pets'.  I believe it provides a wonderful account of the power of a teacher caring for a disgruntled, or troubled student.  The teacher could have easily written of Wen Li as all her other Chinese language teachers did.  However, this teacher took it upon herself and went out of her way to get to know Wen Li and help her.  The teacher was able to find common ground with Wen Li over turtles and she used a pet turtle to build raport with her.  This is reflective of a what happens every day with teachers and students.  It's those teachers who take time to get to know their students and build a relationship with them that makes a difference and can lead to students being attentive and engaged as supposed to not being engaged and disruptive.  

Because of it's easy read and shortness, this would be a great story to use with my students.  I think that they would really be able to relate to Wen Li and hopefully see that just because they struggle in one or multiple subjects, all hope is not lost.

[Joel Jimenez]

I also chose this story.  I think it is a great story to use whether it's used in Chinese or English.  I also have had students like this and it has caused me to be creative in my approach to these struggling students.  They may not be able to thrive in all areas of a subject, but it's when a teacher is able to find common ground and build trust with that student that they will listen and try.  'Pets' is a wonderful story and I'm happy that I can add it to arsenal of resources.

[Amy Chen]

This story is great for teachers! I'm glad he introduced it to us. We had a great discussion about the story. All of us have experience that difficult student who needs a different approach to engage or make connections with.

[Frederic Vial]

In teaching history, I reference poetry whenever possible.  The analysis and breakdown of the figurative language used in poetry forces students to use descriptive language in their own words in the analysis required.  The idea of first masticating a poem, analyzing it, explaining it in one's own words can be a difficult process for middle-schoolers, however it gets the flywheel turning and offers an excellent opportunity to teach students the value of being able to express themselves in detail, especially when it comes time to writing their college essays.

[Nichole Morales]

“An Orchid in Bloom” by You Jin is about the transformation of a young girl in SIngapore under hte tutelage of her teacher. In the beginning of the story, Lan Hua (which means orchid) enters class late rebelliously using vulgar words. Rather than disciplining her new student, Madan Than takes her under her wing and guides her past personal struggles. When I started reading this story, I appreciated that Lan Hua wasn’t like Bao Zhao or the exemplary Confucian woman. Lan Han’s mother died when she was young and her father, a loan shark, raised her independently. Lan Hua uses foul language, is proud, and doesn’t respect her teacher in the beginning of hte story. She struggles with her identity and loneliness. Then, Madam Than notices that “she was really pretty - when she was quiet that is.” When she begins to motivate and guide, Lan Hua cleans up her language, donates money, and generally becomes a “virtuous” girl. I was disappointed with the end of the story, that in continued to share a story about how to become an orchid “in full bloom.”

 

[Nichole Morales]

I like your idea about pairing "The Wandering Earth" with current events. I'm confused about how to bring some of hte information we're learning into a high school English classroom for students wiht disabiltiies. It's a great idea to pair some ideas from East Asia when doing current events or warm-ups.

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