sessions 2-3 readings - asia's aging (10/15)

[Anonymous]

In the article “Abe’s Options for Halting Japan’s Looming Demographic Crisis” by Isabel Reynolds she states that in Japan the “Working-age population may shrink 40 percent in the next 45 years” as a result of this changes have to be made.

Prime Minister Abe is working with his advisers to come up with “Bold Proposals” that will help Japan to manage their aging crisis. Here are some of the proposals that we might begin to see taking place in Japan.

Increased immigration. Typically Japan does not have many foreigners in their country. They have a deep pride in their origin and heritage. Which family lines they come from. Adding different people means different cultures and inner mixing of nationalities etc.

Adding kindergartens or pre schools. Many people don’t have kids, because there is no one to care for them when the mothers go to work. The waiting lists are long, and it is a huge deterrent to having children.

Elderly care. He wants to put more funding in care facilities so people don’t have to take off work to care for their parents. When the people leave the workforce it creates other issues.

Removing tax breaks. The way the system is now, it has discouraged women to work, or take part time jobs. Maybe going to a more neutral tax system.

Equal Treatment. The basic argument of equal work, equal pay. I can’t believe in modern days we are still having this argument all over, not just Japan. Ugg!!

Decentralization. Wants more women all over to have more children. Not just the countryside, but also in the cities.

We will all be watching to see if any of this works to strengthen Japan.
edited by cgao on 2/7/2017

[Anonymous]

Currently in my senior class we have begun a unit on The Value Of Life. In our discussion this week we have been talking about how we place value on life. This was a perfect opportunity to share with my class the discussion we had about aging in Asian society and I was even able to talk about the policies that had been taken on trying to control the population in the Asian countries. The discussion headed into the direction of whether a population could get to the point of eliminating the members of its society that were not productive or contributing. That led to talking about the aging in other countries and where this problem could possibly lead. We also began talking about abortion and the impact this has had on the Asian societies due to gender selection and the over abundance of men. I was able to bring in so much from this class. My kids loved the idea of the government trying to get people to marry and setting up government dating sites and even encouraging people to procreate. This is the first time I added it in, in discussion format without really planning to. My kids loved it, and the discussion was rich.

[Anonymous]

I found this day of lecture very interesting and, honestly, disheartening. Filial piety, the prioritizing of family and respecting the elderly, has always been something that I admired about the Chinese culture. This is something that our society lost long ago. The ideal shown in "The Waltons" of families caring for each other until they die has become lost in the west. I help out hope for the East until I saw the statistics shared by Hsinyi Hsiao, PhD.

The thought that aging adults with dementia and alzheimer's disease are being left undiagnosed and unhelped is tragic. I was relieved to see that Hsinyi Hsiao is here to gather the information needed to establish a network of social workers and education for health care workers for the elderly. Their goal of 2 million social workers by 2020 is staggering, but necessary.

The issue of families not caring for their elderly seems to be a world event and therefore relevant to our students.

[Anonymous]

What is the government's role in caring for the elderly? I think that this is an interesting issue to approach in the classroom. As a high school teacher it is interesting to watch how teens--soon to be adults-- view the world. Up until now, most everything has been done for them and now they are taking on more responsibility for their education as well as other things pertinent to life and future. This could even become a good discussion of government's role in our lives vs. the individual's role. Using the statistics and information shared in our class it would be interesting to see what students think. Who should care for the elderly--families or government?

I would set up a poster with "family/individual" on one side of the room and "government" on the other. Then ask the student to stand beneath the sign they think best reflects their view. I could ask a series of questions from daycare, healthcare, to care of the elderly. Regarding the elderly--I have noticed that many students of my school have a strong family bond (many of my students are Hispanic and have their grandparents living with them or near them). Therefore I believe that many of them will choose that it is the family's responsibility. I would need to find articles that would be more accessible to my freshmen. We have a unit next semester that this could fit into.

[Anonymous]

While reviewing this article by Celia Hatton I was struck by one quote in particular. "China has a lot of orphanages for children. But the Ji Xiang temple has an entirely different purpose--it's an orphanage for the elderly." The group that lives there has created a "family" by building a community of dignity and concern where the inhabitants have people around them to keep them safe. It would be better if the family would care for their grandparents with dignity and love. This made me think of the PSA we watched in class that showed the grandmother moving in with her son's family. It was interesting to see the grandson's reactions/facial expressions to his grandmother. I find it odd to have the government advertising something that should be innate. As we were listening to the lectures, watching the videos--it all just kept boiling down to the disintegration of the family unit. I'm old fashioned I guess. In my perfect world, we would all be caring for our family members--young and old--and not relying on the government to take care of them for us. Or for the government to mandate that we should care for our family.

So here we are in 2016 with low birth rates and high retirement rates world wide. Financially the problem is that more people are retiring and are in need of services--and due to low birth rates--not as many are working and adding to the society through taxes. Socially the problem is that there isn't the care and concern for one's family. If we take a step back and look at the big picture--the government is taking on community care from cradle to grave. Maybe that is part of the problem. Would the care of family members be more instinctual if we didn't send our kids to daycare? put our elderly in homes? This question may not have an easy answer, but it deserves to be asked. This could be a good question for high school students to start processing. High school seniors will be facing this issue soon.

[Anonymous]

Rise of Machines Solves Labor Shortage - Machines are increasingly able to perform complicated tasks in the workplace more cheaply than people. In Yoshiaki Nohara’s article, Japan is leading the world in the field of technology and robotics. There are automated factories with less human employment. This shift means low labor costs and machines taking over jobs. In hospital settings, service robot machines assist workers at nursing homes with physical therapy and lifting patients from their wheel chairs with less strain. The voice-controlled robots help the elderly with household chores. Even though these machines could terminate jobs, humans are still the source of creating the programs. Students could explore the type of innovations that would help balance the gap.
edited by Mayw on 11/20/2016

[Anonymous]

0 0 1 167 881 LAUSD 18 7 1041 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Aging Crisis - Rapid aging in Asia’s population has led to a shrinking labor force. There has been a higher life expectancy and a decline in fertility rates. As a result, China announced it was doing away with its one-child policy and allow couples to have more children. However, it's too expensive for a family to take care of more members and the elderly suffer as family values change. In the Asian traditional culture, there’s pressure for the elderly to live at home with their children. Asian senior citizens are not open-minded about nursing homes compared to Americans. It’s considered “dishonorable” to separate the family unit but with the high costs of supporting a family, some elderly are left abandoned. How can this mindset be changed so that Asian people find a culturally acceptable way to care for the aging? In Amber Wang's article, social workers say that the government needs a greater role in caring for the elderly because the traditional role of the young is decreasing. Perhaps robotics can help build that connection.

[Anonymous]

Robotics - There’s a great opportunity from the Local District Northeast to attend the Lego Education K-12 Robotics Symposium on Saturday, December 10, 2016. The Local District Northeast and LEGO Education invite K-12 school educators and administrators to participate in engaging, hands-on workshops and a panel discussion focused on bringing robotics programs to life in K-12 classrooms. Schools are encouraged to attend in teams. (Schools may also want to consider including after school personnel as part of their team.)
[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]Here’s the information for anybody interested: [/font]
Where: Romer Middle School, 6501 Laurel Canyon Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91606
When: Saturday, December 10, 2016 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Food: Lunch will be provided.
How: Registration is required and limited at: tinyurl.com/ldne-robotics

[Anonymous]

In reading "In Japan, the Rise of the Machines Solves Labor Shortage" I saw an interesting future, not just for Japan, but for the world. Japan is in a situation in which they have a labor shortage due to demographic difficulties. Moreover, according to the other articles, Korea and China also are developing in a similar demographic direction. However, all three countries appear to be, if not anti-immigration, at least immigration resistant, stifling a youthful base in their labor market that would support their aging population. In these tech and industrialized countries, the development of robotics provides a real opportunity to solve some of their labor issues. Certainly Japan will continue to develop and employ robotics. Moreover, despite the current costs, like all technology, as it develops it will become cheaper and more efficient, making robotics a more and more attractive solution. While this may offer opportunity for some countries, it will certainly affect the labor market in all counties as this technology is spread.

A couple of months ago, I saw some articles about how Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates were concerned, worried, and/or hopeful about the rise of artificial intelligence. In those articles, it discussed how some governments have discussed limiting AI and robotics in order to ensure a functioning labor market, with low unemployment. What I see, with no real knowledge of the issue, is a tension between business interests and labor markets. One in which companies, hospitals, factories, and so forth, will introduce new technology, not only in places like Japan where it is needed, but also in countries like the US. In doing so, they reduce costs, increase efficiency, and in fact, may even keep some jobs in country, rather than exporting a factory wholesale. However, while Japan needs such technology to shore up its labor market, it means reduced jobs in places like the US, where there is not a labor shortage. We have already seen with the rise of globalization and free trade agreements a movement in labor markets and shift in industrial production. Significant advancements in AI and robotics will likely mean significant changes in industry and labor across the globe.

I am curious to see how a country like the US or England, which has relied heavily on immigration, or perhaps African nations with a more youthful demographic and high unemployment, will deal with the rise of robotics.

In terms of teaching, I think this would be a fascinating open ended question for students of geography. To read a cache of articles about two paths to solving labor issues: immigration or robotics, and to discuss policy values: open border vs. culturally restricted/closed borders. What are student's values, what do they think are the best decisions to move forward if they are Japan? If they are Canada or the US? Ultimately, it brings to bear a combination of issues: demographics, limited resources, values surrounding immigration, ethnicity, and culture, as well as the rise of new technology and the undeniable force of change. It is a challenging question that aligns well with chapters my Geography class has on immigration and demographics.

[Anonymous]

Filial Piety is a fascinating issue. I have three thoughts:

1. Lesson Plan: We often talk about the Westernization of countries and with it the introduction of open markets, technology, more democratic governments, media, etc. However, in this case, an Easternization of the the West, with an emphasize on Filial Piety, might be a good thing. This brought me to a lesson idea: a discussion/paper, should the US government support Filial Piety, like the Chinese government? And to what extent?

Democracy is a messy system when it comes to values. One of the most difficult issues for me in the classroom is how to discuss values in an honest and rigorous way, without crossing any kind of line, especially for 7th grade. As a public school teacher I am supposed to be non-partisan, religiously and politically, but this often also means morally. However, Confucius' principal of Filial Piety offers the perfect example of a non-threatening moral decree that we could discuss in class. We could talk about Father's day and Mother's day. We could discuss what is expected of students, in terms of taking care of their own parents and grandparents. Which set of values do they think is morally better? I think it offers a lot of good points for discussion and helps them stretch their moral discernment.

2. What strikes me about the filial piety we saw in the video of the sick and dying parent was not that the family provided support, but that there was this emphasis on emotional support. Generally speaking, I believe American's see providing for the elderly, for ourselves or our parents, as a question of providing material support. Rarely do we hear about the importance of supporting the elderly emotionally. It was mentioned that China had laws on the books that people had to visit their parents. The US government would never do that, but it does raise the question, what are the moral responsibilities that we hold to the elderly and should the government be responsible for trying to instill those values, and to what extent? I think this would be great to discuss in as an Ethics/Philosophy component of my 7th grade history class.

[Anonymous]

The articles on Japan’s demographics were interesting for many reasons. I think I would use these in my classroom to study what aging societies do to continue on. The fact that they are using robots is really for a lack of people and trying to get technology to catch up, not necessarily the opposite. We also talk a lot about China and the gender gap but in the Reynold’s piece she lays out a lot of issues that still face women in Japan today. I think getting the kids to really dig into gender inequalities in other places would help them examine these issues.

[Anonymous]

I think having students compare and contrast other retirement systems to our own would help explain those tough concepts to students. They do not always grasp the importance of social security and retirement plans but this would show them other countries and their arguments pro and against. I would also use the demographic information in my geography class as we often look at demographics and population growth.

[Anonymous]

China is typically who I focus on for demographic challenges. I think the first two are more out there for my students, they don’t quite understand the need for retirement. I think the third article that describes who will take care of the elderly would resonate the most. Most of my students could draw a connection between their lives and the article as many live close to grandparents.

[Anonymous]

The talk of Mariko Tamanoi and the way families get their name was so interesting. I think bringing this into the classroom would be cool because the very idea of a family name means something very different in the US. I think the gender roles of women and the fact that they are rarely fully employed plays with a different version of Japanese culture than most students know. I thought her whole discussion on Japan and Japanese problems for the future was interesting, even though they are not the only demographically challenged group.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I agree this is a great article, I learned so much from it last semester. I used to develop my lessons last semester and the students love it. This article ignited their curiosity about technology and created beautiful research projects. You can find my lesson plans under “lessons” on the forum

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