session 7 (10/9) - dube (film + 19th century)

[Jazmin Luna]

I agree in part with what you say but here as a worker in the United States you have the right to speak up and you have a choice.  I was a T.A. for 6 years and yes the pay was not great but you had to make the best of it.  Yes, I had to appIy to medicare but there's no shame in that. I was able to live alone for all that time with the pay of a T.A., while working a second job tutoring.  If someone is fed up with their way of life then you do something about it.  If you plan ahead of time and research your options then there is a way out, there is always a solution, unless you have committed a crime then it's harder. And something that frustrates me is when people complain about their way of life.  You are where you are because of your actions.  You can easily change jobs or go back to school to change your career. Yes you might have to sacrifice some things, but it the end if there's a will, there's a way.  We are not bound to our social status like other countries. This is something that I always tell my students everyday.  If you are responsible and respectful things will come much easier to you.

[Carlos Oyarbide]

While it is true that the country most become more modern, it is important not to lose touch with our roots. China is one of the worlds oldest civilizations and our culture has contributed more to the world than any other nation. It would be a shame to lose what makes China unique. That being said, there are several changes that must be made if we are to return to the glory of our past. Our bureaucracy has become detrimental to our people. Our examination system is rigid and outdated. We are laying waste to our talented scholars and suffocating them with our arcane examinations. For most of what ails our country, we do not have raze everything to the ground. We must refine the inefficient to maximize productivity but this does not mean starting over and copying foreigners. China has led the world in culture and technology and can do so again if we permit our best minds excels in our schools and then give them the opportunity to become productive members of our economy. 

[Catalina Silvestre]

Tanisha, you’ve given me some great ideas on how to incorporate the movie we've the workers into a workable unit for my students who participate in my reading intervention course.  I do think that I'm going to show my reading intervention students this documentary because it will be a great way to get them using the reading comprehension skills.  The film itself has captions in that would be very intriguing to see if the students are reading and making sense of those captions as they pop up on the screen.  I'm not sure that I will pay much attention to most of the documentary, as it could be a little bit over-the-top for them in terms of their academic level.  However, I do believe that there are exciting parts in this documentary that would spark the interest and attention of the students.  I like the idea of dividing the class up by job such as factory workers bankers’ insurance salesman.  Having the role-play by giving them unfair wages and working environments would definitely spark an argument from my students.  This can then be used to lead into our argumentative reading unit where students also look at the cause and effect of various situations to argue why things should change.

[Ann Huynh]

The documentary, "We the Workers" showed China factory workers struggle for better pay and work conditions was very moving.  The film opened with a group of people attempting to get the people to understand their rights as workers and to try to advocate for those rights.  Those people were not always successful, but the film goes on to follow the case of Qingsheng in which the workers successfully fought for collective bargaining and increased pay.  As of now, factory workers all over China are trying to have collective bargaining with the owners.  Watching the film, it made me realized how much we have taken for granted the struggles of the people who had fought for those same rights in America.  During the Industrial Revolution, many factory workers were working in unfavorable conditions and it took many tears and years before the conditions are as it is now.  I think the director, Han Dongfang said it the best.  He made the film so that one day the younger generations in China will know how their ancestors fought for better conditions through the utilization of collective bargaining and that they will not forget.  This documentary is a great way for students to see how and why the conditions in the factories need to change, just as it did for the factory workers in America now.  In one of the clip, a worker was working at a motorized machine with sparks flying as he was filing down an object without safety goggles.  This is dangerous and would be prohibited in America and students need to know how hard the struggle was for better working conditions. 

[Ann Huynh]

During this time, China is undergoing many changes.  The Manchu Dynasty is weakening and failing in its duties to protect the Chinese people from foreign power and foreigners are taking over territories.  Internally, there are many factions who wanted China to change.  Among this faction is the self-strengthening movement, with its leader in Li Honzhang.  Unlike the other factions, Li wanted China to get stronger by investing in her military prowess because they have learned about the Japanese superiority over Russia due to her military capabilities.  China had lost the Opium War so the self-strengtheners strongly believed that advanced military technologies will contribute to make China stronger.  They did not want to get rid of the emperor, but work on ways to strengthen China.  They felt that the rebels and reforms were too extreme.  China needed to do something because it was being carved up like a melon and this period became known as China’s National Humiliation according to the Communist Party.  Letting students know about this long history of China might help them see why the Communist Party is able to justify their rule over the people and to maintain power, a mighty military is necessary.

[Ann Huynh]

The debate about what China should do is a great way to get the students to think on a deeper level about the history of China.  Having students role play the people during that time will provide a way for them see the threat that the Chinese was facing both internally and externally.  Furthermore, students would learn to work as a team and justify their positions using evidence to support their reasoning.  These are the skills that we are asking our students to do now as a result of the Common Core State Standards.  I wish my teachers in high school had done it this way.  It would be so much more interesting. 

[Ann Huynh]

China history is extremely fascinating.  This country has been conquered by foreigners several times.  The first time was by Ghengis Khan and then later the Manchu.  Unlike Ghengis Khan, the Manchu ruled over China lasted for hundreds of years and ended with the inception of the People’s Republic of China.  What allow the Manchu to rule China so long?  There are several reasons, but one of the most interesting was the Manchu’s requirement of having a hairstyle that required the Chinese to shave part of their head and braiding the rest into what is known as a queue.  An edict was issued that if the people did not comply then they were considered as dangerous and will be punished.  Of everything the Manchu could of have forced the Chinese to adopt, why this?  Is there some significance to this hairstyle?        

[Tanish Fortson]

 I was a TA and felt that I was being treated very poorly and not appreciated. I agree with everything you said 100% and what you said is said is from experience. I was a TA for 3 years and I know first hand about employers taking advantage of you. In the three years that I was a TA my health benefits were taken for me. My paid vacation and sick leave were taken as well. I was told that this was due to cutbacks. The school I was working at said they could no longer afford to give these things to TA’s. Only the teachers were eligible. But yet the owner of the school I was working at just had bought a new house and upgraded her and her daughters car to matching Lexus trucks.

During the summer months I was not working and had to apply for Unemployment. My life was sad and I was broke. I made the decision to go back to school to get my teaching credential. No one pushed me or told me anything. I just made a decision because I was tired of going to places like Planned Parent Hood for my female health needs.

I think the most important fact is that in this society that we live in today, we are taught how to fight and how not to give up. We have opportunities. In “We the workers” they did not know how to fight. It not an option for them to just say I’m getting a new job. This is a matter of life or death. How am I going to eat next week if I don’t work today? I think the entire situation was dangerous and the people are scared.   

[Tanish Fortson]

I was a TA before I became a teacher as well. I know what if feels like to work for hardly anything and my heart goes out for the factory workers. I think it is important for people like the factory works be taught how to fight for their rights. Only they can change the current situation. If they rally together the factory owners will be pushed to change. They won’t like it buy they will change if pushed hard enough. A factory will lose money if no one is working. I think the more education around rights if the way to go about it in China. It is dangerous but in the end worth it for the workers so that they will not continue to be taken advantage of. This movie is a few years old and I truly hope some of the laws have changed in China since then. 

[Sonia Arrayales]

As a fellow self strenthener,  I agree that we must strengthen our country. We look at our western counterparts had take the best of their technology and ideas and make them fit or needs. In doing so not just a few will benefit, but all will benefit.

[Sonia Arrayales]

It is strange to see this in a communist country, all of these factories in China. It seems to be a complete contradiction to what they stand for. For a communist that promotes equality for all, where do theses factory workers find it? This film exposes these inequalities, and will hopefully bring about a change.

[Sonia Arrayales]

As a self strengthener, I believe that we need a stronger China. The biggest challenge that we as Chinese fac is that we need to be modern and current as our Western counterparts. We find ourselves at a turning point. It is imperative that we seek this change. A strong military will protect China, and strong economy benefits all of the Chinese people. By taking the best of the what the West has to offer, and making it fit to our people, our country, we can be a force to be reckoned with.

[Luis Camacho]

Session #7 by Luis M. Camacho

In this session we watched the documentary “We the Workers”. A film made with original footage from the time when the workers were organizing to make public demonstrations pursuing fairness and a way to improve their work conditions.

We had the privilege to have the director of the film in our classroom to extend and confirm some of the most important details of the documentary and listen directly from him about this important part of the history of China. The direct conversation that Mr. Hondong, the director of the documentary, had with the class was extremely valuable to give us a closer and more accurate perspective of the situation of workers in China just few years ago.

I personally had the experience of spending five weeks working in a textile factory in the city of Ningbo, back in the year 2000, the year of the Dragon.

Since the first day at the factory I noticed a huge difference in the labor conditions that the Chinese workers had compared with the workers on the US. But at same time, I was amazed about the pride and dedication that the Chinese people place at performing their work. I learn to appreciate the nationalism that they reflect in every single activity they do. I feel glad that all these positive changes had become for the Chinese workers after all these years of fight.

 

[Cristina Hernandez]

I agree that the movie "We the workers" was an interesting film.  However, when I discussed it with my high school students I realized that there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding China, communism and capitalism.  I teach reading and ELD so I have a lot of freedom to choose my topics, but some times I had to be careful not to step on anyone's toes when it comes to core subjects.  Most of my students believed that communist countries did not have Unions, workers' strikes, etc because they think that the workers are the leaders of the country.  Also, they believe that China is a place where everything is either easy or non-existent.  I had a long conversation with them trying to answer questions about their misconceptions and then I found a couple of contemporary movies to show them that China is just another country with the similar challenges as ours.

[Cristina Hernandez]

Response to session 7

I agree that the movie "We the workers" was an interesting film.  However, when I discussed it with my high school students I realized that there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding China, communism and capitalism.  I teach reading and ELD so I have a lot of freedom to choose my topics, but some times I had to be careful not to step on anyone's toes when it comes to core subjects.  Most of my students believed that communist countries did not have Unions, workers' strikes, etc because they think that the workers are the leaders of the country.  Also, they believe that China is a place where everything is either easy or non-existent.  I had a long conversation with them trying to answer questions about their misconceptions and then I found a couple of contemporary movies to show them that China is just another country with the similar challenges as ours.

Forum: Asia in My Classroom

Topic: Response to session 7

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