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clay dubeDon't we teachers already have enough to do without trying to shoehorn in stuff about Asia? Shouldn't we be focusing on reading, writing, math, and science? Why bother trying to bring East Asia into our courses?
AnonymousThis question is really easy to answer. All I have to say is that our governor and our president are currently in Asia as I write this!
Asia, especially China, will play a vital role in future American economics, domestic and foreign policy decisions, pop culture and entertainment. Asia dominates our lives today. Look at the clothes we wear, the gadgets we use and most of the cars we drive.
I can think of three situations in our recent past where the American government did not understand the importance of Asia. And if we don't do a better job educating American youth about Asia now, we will certainly repeat history. The Pearl Harbor disaster of 1941 was a direct result of our underestimating the power of the Japanese navy. When we "lost" China in 1949 to communism, the USA was shocked. In reality, the communists were obvious and predictable winners of the civil war due to the strong support of the Chinese people for Mao. Finally, the Vietnam War was an absolute disaster for the US due to our apparent total ignorance of the history of Vietnam and the determination of the Vietnamese communists.
AnonymousAs I was reading today to prepare for Monday's seminar I was glad that in school I only had to study about 200 years of American history. I can't imagine taking an AP exam on Chinese history. The length and depth of Chinese history and the complicated interactions of peoples and ideas in China make it a subject almost too vast to tackle. I have taught Chinese history for many years but with the extensive reading and lectures I am now being exposed to I have a new appreciation for the rich culture. I have a new enthusiasm for the subject and look forward to sharing some of this new found enthusiam and knowledge in my classroom. Why bother....many people in my community and my classroom are Chinese. Maybe I will understand them just a little bit better and be enriched by their culture.
AnonymousI completely agree...I have studied history for many years and find the history of Aisa to be complex and facinating. I was reading about the various different dynasties in our EWP book and was totally in awe of the richness of the history of the region. I am excited to learn more today in our class particularly about the influence of Buddhism in Asia and its role in shaping history in this area. My studnets are always facinated with the story of the Buddha and his teachings . I am thrilled to know more about this subject so that I can pass my knowelege on to them! See you all today at 3:30!
AnonymousThere are numerous reasons we should spend time incorporating Asia into our classrooms. Asia is becoming more predominant in our society each year through trade, literature, and arts. There is a possibility that in the near future Asia will be the predominant world power. They will continue to gain economic power and continue to trade with the United States and other countries.
I incorporate literature into instruction is an easy way to bring Asia into your classroom. I teach second grade and enjoy sharing books to my classroom. I have shared a book called "Ruby's Wish", this selection talks about Chinese culture, traditons, and beliefs. The illustrations show children examples of calligraphy and other forms of art. The characters are wearing traditional dress and it discusses important holidays celebrated in China.
AnonymousI love using children's books in my classroom. Another good one to read to small kids, but I use with grades 6& 7 is The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy. The Silk Road by John S. Major is a great one to cover the standard in grade 6 or 7. I have a book called Voices of the Heart by Ed Young that is a collection of beautiful artwork which incorporates calligraphy and values. It is a beautiful book. I love using children's books when I teach. I would love more ideas and even some good novels for the kids to read at the adolescent level.
AnonymousIt seems so interesting to me that we haven't begun teaching more about the Asian culture in our classrooms since our population is mainly Asian. In 4th grade, we are studying the Cinderella stories of different cultures and one of the children's favorites is Yeh-Shen because they can understand and relate to the cutlure. Bringing literature into the classroom is the easiest way to teach about the culture. I need to read more stories to my students so if anyone has recommendations please send them my way.
AnonymousAmy come next door I have quite a few.
AnonymousI do agree that we have so much on our plates with standards based teachings however, there are so many ways to incorporate culture and it’s influence into our curriculum. For instance, students need to learn how the subjects that we teach are applicable to real life. I ask my parents to come in and share their careers. It is fabulously interesting to see what parents of different cultures bring to the discussion. Certainly it is simple to infuse cultural sensitivity in the reading and language arts curriculum.
More important than these simple thoughts of how to infuse the curriculum is the global understanding that the Chinese influence on the world is a remarkable force. World economy, well I could go on but I am sure that I am preaching to the choir here.
AnonymousI found a new interesting CNN Internet article about the nationwide effort to teach Chinese in American schools.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/01/02/mandarin.kindergarten.ap/index.html
The article states that there is a push to create an AP Chinese language program. I think that this is a great idea, especially since there is an AP Japanese language program that is currently available. Also, in Oregon, they have created a complete Chinese language program for students from kindergarden to college.
After reading this article, one thing confused me. Why is the U.S. Dept. of Defense, (run by Donald Rumsfeld), paying for these Chinese language programs? Does our government see China as a threat and that somehow by teaching a few Amercan kids how to speak and read Chinese that this will mitigate this threat? I'm confused by the Dept. of Defense connection. What do you guys think?
Louis
AnonymousI happen to know that there was a grant from the Department of Defense that we (schools) could have applied for. It was a little intense, so I don't think we wanted to apply. Rosemary would know more about this. I think there is something for the govenment to worry about.
clay dubeIt won't come as a surprise to educators to learn that Americans don't have enough knowledge of foreign lands and languages. For example, our intelligence services intercepted two messages on 9/10/01 that included references to the big event tomorrow. These were only translated on 9/12 and had it not been for the 9/11 attack they would not have been translated for more than a month.
One of the nation's biggest successes in increasing the number of specialists working on foreign countries, the Dept. of Education's Title VI foreign and international studies program, had its origins long before there was a US Dept. of Education (established during the Jimmy Carter administration, 1977-81). It was born in the Dept. of Defense during the Cold War. The program that Louis and others are referring to was a new DoD initiative to develop innovative and intensive Chinese language instructional programs. UCLA has such a program in Korean and, together with PVPUSD and CSU Long Beach, we sought support for such a program in Chinese. Unfortunately, we did not receive the grant. It went to a Portland-based effort. PVPUSD and Hacienda-La Puente USD, however, have Foreign Language Assistance Program grants which have helped spur the creation of the Chinese language program here.
Some FLAP info is available at:http://www.languagepolicy.org/flap04.html#CA
Interest in Chinese instruction is high -- at UCLA we have more students taking first year Chinese this fall than we have students taking first year Spanish.
AnonymousBecky I just read your email from awhile ago! What a great idea to have parents of different cultures come in and talk. I have done it in the past but liked the reminder. I have had people speak on religion. Once a Japanese lady shared the custom of the kimono. I think I should tap into that source again. I should come up with some kind of interest finder and send it home. Maybe I will do that when we begin our study of Japan and China. Thanks for the reminder.
Cathy
AnonymousAfter hearing Lynne Miyake on Monday and hearing that she invites her students over for dinner, I was thinking we should get together to make (with instruction - maybe under Clay's instruction) a Chinese feast of sorts, practice all the cultural things he can show us in a home that he can't/doesn't have time to teach us in class. I have a tiny apartment, but I am willing to host such a thing if anyone is available.
If he can't help us out with this, maybe one of us knows someone who could. (We could always invite Lynne!)
clay dubeHi Folks,
I love the meal gathering idea, but have to confess that I'm not the guy to guide anyone around any kitchen. We do have a couple of folks who have more experience than I and I would be happy to help bao the jiaozi.
smiling,
clay