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AnonymousSorry to tell you this, but I need to know what bao the jiaozi means. I have a few ideas, but want to be certain before you come over.
AnonymousI was reading the reviews about Memoir of a Geisha and Clay mentioned that some of the scenes were filmed in the Japanese Garden of the Huntington Library -San Marino, CA. An article in The Daily Breeze caught my attention. The article (written on 1-6-06) was about the Huntington Library also creating a 12 acre Classical Chinese garden. The ornate bridges and pavilions needed for the garden were built in China and they are ready to be shipped and re-assembled by the same master stonemasons who built them. The Library plans to have siminars and workshops during this time to demonstrate the ancient art of Chinese landscaping. (Sounds like a great Asian studies field trip!) But....a glitch in the plan arose when these craftsmen were denied U.S. Visas on the grounds that the government didn't think this project was an important cultural exchange! Needless to say, the Huntington Library feels it is "extraordinarily important" and will continue it's quest to bring these master Chinese stonemasons to the U.S. Why bother? Well, without these Chinese stonemasons the garden bridges cannot be built. What a loss for a true cultural exchange! [Edit by="bsmith on Jan 14, 11:06:26 PM"][/Edit]
AnonymousAlthough this question is geared toward teachers, I feel I can answer it as a counselor as well. I find that the information that I am learning in this course will provide immense insight into my understanding of some of the courses currently offered at PVHS...which inturn is helpful in assisting students with course selection. We currently offer Japanese and Chinese language courses which have become increasingly popular for our students. Although these courses are language based they also include an extreme insight into both cultures. Students choose to take these courses because they either have an innate interest in the language or because they often ask me about alternatives to the ever popular Spanish courses. After explaining the benefits of learning asian languages, the students understand how they will stand out among their peers in learning japanese or chinese....primarly in college admission as well as in the job market (if they stick with it).
I am also finding that students have a growing interest in attending colleges outside of the U.S....and have asked about college options in European and Asian countries. I currently can not answer many of the questions that they have, and I hope to be able to do so by the end of this course.
AnonymousI forgot to mention one other thought....
I have always been bewildered about the addition of foriegn languages courses in high school....why do we wait for so late in a students education to introduce them to such a vital subject? Although some students can take a forign language in middle school, many do not take their first course until high school. In comparision to the rest of the world, where often students are required to be fluent in English by the time they reach their teen years, I feel that our nation is doing our students a major diservice. I hope that efforts such as the asia institute within our district, where we are introducing students in kindergarten to the chinese language,will continue.
just a thought...!
AnonymousI totally agree with the foreign language issue. This year my sister, who is a senior at Peninsula is taking Chinese. It is the first year that they are offering it. She LOVES the class and the language. There is so much excitement about it that she asked to take a Chinese class at the Torrance Adult School with me. She also mentioned that she wished she had been taking Chinese since she was little. For an 18 year old to want more school besides what she is already doing is impressive and it shows the interest and facination of Chinese language learning. 😀
AnonymousI really enjoyed reading the postings in this section. I suppose that I am a bit of an optimist here I believe that we should interface as one-people, one-world. Isn't that what we thought we were starting some 200+ years ago. Too bad we lost our way.
AnonymousI think that students in the United States are at a great disadvantage in terms of learning languages. So many other countries provide foreign language instruction at a far earlier stage in learning. I applaud parents who recognize the importance of children learning foreign languages from a young age.
I am excited that Palos Verdes High School offers Asian languages to our students. Many of my students are interested in taking Japanese and are currently enrolled. As a teacher I think that we should encourage our students in this area especially in at the elementary level. I think that the PE program in place at Lunada Bay and Point Vincente is fantastic, I would love the chance to observe this program and see how it facilitates learning
AnonymousKristen, I can give you our Chinese PE schedule if you want. I am certain you could pop over to Lunada Bay sometime during the day to watch the class. Students are also given practice sheets for printing. We also have reading in the library on certain days and give out fortune cookies to students who show up. Most of our students respond in positive ways.
AnonymousClay,
About student interest in foreign languages... I have a 20 year-old son who took 4 years of Spanish in high school. He is now self teaching Chinese. He wants to take Chinese language classes after he completes his "law" major requirements. Lucky me he's my tutor!
At any rate, if he is any indication of our young students; perhaps we should pay attention.
AnonymousDid anyone watch the State of the Union Address last night? One of the themes was that we cannot be an isolationist nation anymore. President Bush talked about how important it is for us as Americans to lead the world in the fight for democracy, which I guess is one of the reasons for the Dept. of Defense in its interest in programs like the one we are working on.
However, I found two things to be interesting about President Bush's speech. First, Bush back in 2000 ran on an isolationist-like ticket during his campaign, (Clinton-Gore were "too involved with world issues". Remember that?). Maybe after 9-11, he saw the light.
Secondly, I saw more evidence of how many Americans try to project of our values on to other cultures. Is "democracy", a Western concept, as important in the Middle East or even in China as it is in the USA? Or is tradition or duty towards religious beliefs more important than democracy in other cultures? Can a Western-styled representative democracy work in non-Western parts of the world?
Perhaps we as Americans need to learn more about the world before we try to impose our political beliefs on others. Just a thought...
AnonymousI wonder if America, as a whole, is ethnocentric. It sounds like we are trying to push the American way as the right way. Is there a hidden agenda to Bush's desire to no longer be isolationist?
AnonymousJust FYI China was a catagory on Jepordy tonight...I realize this is silly but I was beyond excited! This seminar and experience has truly inspired a new passion in me for my desire to know about the history and culture or China. I realized this as I was franticaly trying to answer the Jepordy questions!!