[Alma Ochoa]

In doing the readings and listening to the lectures, I was so fascinated by the comparisons and similarities of Buddhism and Christianity.  Such as leaving the house hold life and living a religious life and take a life of poverty.  I find it intriguing to know that the Christian gospels were written about four decades after the crucifixion and learn that the first recordings of the Buddha were written some four centuries after his death.  I find it incredible that the Buddha’s impact was so great that it was able to survive by word of mouth for some 400 years before something was written down.

Professor Lori Meeks’ comments on the Four Noble Truths specifically the fourth one, Cultivating of dispassion really stuck a cord.  Which is the cessation of desire, the cession of attachment to the notion of one self.  She mentioned that in this truth we “internalize the idea that death comes to us all.”  This really resonated with me because it is something that really has help me focus and what is most important in life.  In the end no matter how much money we have or how many material things we have accumulated it will not matter because we will not be able to take it with us.  However, I did find the practice of meditating over bones was a little creepy and out of my comfort zone. 

Thank you very much Professor Meeks for your time.        

[Alma Ochoa]

Juana, I agree with you; it is interesting how Korea promotes K-Pop through soft power and would like more people to come to Korea yet it is extremely difficult to obtain naturalization.  In doing a little research I found this is not uncommon.  There are many countries where it is almost impossible to become a citizen.  It would be interesting to find out countries’ reasoning as to why they would not want people to stay their permanently.     

[Alma Ochoa]

Megan, I love that you would like to bring attention to the exploitation, suffering  and sexual abuse of Korean females.  I believe this is a huge issue not only in Korea but throughout the world.  This is something that many women and children are victims of.  Only by bringing this out to the open and talking about it will people be able to work together and find a solution to end this.     

[Alma Ochoa]

I honestly had not heard of K-Pop till viewing the lectures.  I did hear and listen to the song Gangnam Style when it was trending in the airwaves.  However, I’m not one to follow trends and look into bands, actors and or actresses for that matter; so I was not aware that the artist of Gangnam Style is Korean. 

In the reading I found it interesting that South Korea was ranked “among the worlds 13^th largest economies but still does not have its own unique identity.”  Professor Jung-Kim did clarify that my interpretation of this was incorrect.  However, after thinking more about it I still found it interesting after doing some research on Korea in which I learned that we have a lot of things here in the U.S. and yet, I think most of us do not know that these items actually were invented and come from Korean.  This makes me wonder if this is because of Korea’s lack of advertising or whether it is due to U.S. censoring or simply due to lack of people’s interest in knowing where things come from.

As far as incorporating K-Pop into my math class and having my students learn more about Korean culture I could do a stats lesson and have students do some research to find out what items that we have and use regularly come from Korea.  Then have them do some kind of poll and see if I’m actually mistaken and more people actually know more about Korea in my school community than I am aware of and make different types of graphs with that data as well as have students share with the class things they discovered in their researched about Korea.       

[Alma Ochoa]

Hi Everyone : )

My name is Alma Ochoa.  I'm a math teacher at Sylmar Charter High School.  I've been teaching in LAUSD since 2006.

Outside of work I really enjoy running.  I've ran several marathons including the Boston Marathon and I’ve completed several Spartan races. 

In the spring I took ‘East Asia Origins to 1800’ and I really enjoyed learning about East Asian and brainstorming to create math lesson that integrate what I learned about East Asia.  I'm really looking forward to taking this course and learning more. 

[Alma Ochoa]

Taking this class has really taken me out of my comfort zone.  History has never been something I have enjoyed learning.  I was that kid in high school that did not see its value.  As an adult now I wish I knew more not only about US history but my own Mexican history as well as that of other countries and cultures.  I signed up for this class thinking with the hopes of learning about Asia and be able to somehow use that knowledge and tie it into my math lessons.  Being able to tie real life situations into math content I think makes math little easier to understand especially when it comes to Algebra which can be very abstract when it comes to variables for students.        

I must admit as a math person and not having taken a history course in almost 30 years, I often felt overwhelmed and very insecure about giving my thoughts, opinions and in asking questions.  Professor Dube was awesome and seem very patient and encouraging.  I really enjoyed taking this class.  Relearning about the different philosophies, religions of Asian was a nice refresher and I found it really fascinating to learn that the fasting emaciated Buddha.  I had never hear or seen a picture of one.  I was also surprised to learn that Catholicism had spread the area so long ago.  As a very you kid I thought Catholicism was the religion that only Mexican’s practice you can imagen my surprise when I started meeting people of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds who were also Catholic.  Thinking back to that day I still feel embarrassed to have been so naïve when it came to certain topics.  The topics I really enjoyed learning most about was the meditation gardens and the architecture of Japan and the strategic layout of their cities.    

The testimony given by Nurnisa Kurban was also very touching and overwhelming.  As mentioned in one of my post many times we do not know and learn about things that do not directly affect us.  Her story is something that I’m sure is others’ story as well and something that happening in other parts of the world.  As an educator I feel a responsibilities to bring awareness to injustices such as this and I feel fortunate to be able to share this with my high schoolers.  Getting then to learn about this and to think outside their own world I think will help shape them to help others.

I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have be able to take this class.   

[Alma Ochoa]

Cynthia, I have not taken a history class in almost 30 years and to be honest with you I was one of those kids who found no interest in my history/social studies classes and as a math teacher I have forgot most of what I did learn so in taking this class I too have been amazed at seeing the similarities between the different philosophies and within the constitutions of the different cultures.  I think your question about how much ideals are borrowed and how much are actually universal desires that are intrinsic to humans is a great question and one you can pose to your students.  Depending on the grade level you teach it would be interesting to see their points of view and thoughts on this topic. 

[Alma Ochoa]

Mario, I totally agree with you, in reading “Warrior Codes” I to felt the things they valued most were respect and honor.  I especially took note of the fact they were careful in selecting officials that had honor and could not be bribed, they prohibited commandeering private homes and they gave back to the people.  I think these qualities that are so important and should be valued.  I think they have been lost in our society.  More often than not people’s view is ‘looking out for number one’ and are willing to do whatever it takes to get to their end goal.  I think that if you can create some kind of school code to be implemented within your entire school or just with in your on classroom would be awesome.  In my high school math class my class rules are that of respect for all and helping others as much as you can.  So, I think it’s important to teach kids to value respect and honor and that one does not have to disrespect, belittle or take advantage of others to be successful and get ahead.  I believe that when people can work together and help each other it makes for a better and more successful society.     

[Alma Ochoa]

Billie, I think it’s a great idea to have students examine clauses from Shotoku Constitution and compare them to modern day examples so they can see how those clauses from back then can be relatable to now.  I especially like you posing the question of whether the constitution was write for the people or just to appease them.  I must admit while in middle school through high school I always had difficulties and had no interest when it came to my social studies/history courses.  I was one of those students who didn’t see the value in studying history.  Looking back now I think it had a lot to do with the teachers I had and because now I realize the importance it is to learn as much as we can and to be involved in what is taking place within our government.  So I applaud you and your efforts in creating critical thinkers within your class, I think it’s awesome and wish I had time to sit in your class and learn what I have forgotten.       

[Alma Ochoa]

In reading the “Warrior Codes” it was interesting to learn that in Kamakura warrior society women had ownership rights and privileges like men, yet with in a century these privileges were lost.  It’s hard to understand how things like this happen but in reflecting on this I came to realize how within our own society we are constantly slowly losing our own rights.  

The qualities and behaviors they celebrate and value are those of honor and truth which can be seen in Articles #7 though #11 where they are careful to select officials with merit that will not be bribed and will prevent powerful countries as well as people from within from meddling in the government.  They seem to hold a high regard for protecting people and their property which we can be seen in Articles # 3 through #5 as well as in article #21 where women’s grant of land is protected even after divorce.  Respect is also very important to them no matter who the person is which is clearly seen in Shingen’s orders specifically the 47^th where it states, “Warriors [under your command] must not speak badly toward the enemy.”

[Alma Ochoa]

Mario, I really like your minority ethnic injustice project idea.  When I first started teaching I was part of AmeriCorps and while participating in this program I had to do a yearly service learning project with my students.  A lesson on this topic is perfect to turn into a service learning project.  Not only does this bring knowledge of this issue with our students but it is something that they can then take out to the community and teach others about.  In response to one of Jessica’s post I mentioned trying to do a stats lesson about this topic which I can then carry over into a project where I can have my students take the information that they come up with and have them share with other students in other classes.  Possibly work with a couple of other teachers that would be willing to allow my students to come and share what they have discovered about the injustices that minority groups have faced and possible are still facing.          

[Alma Ochoa]

Jessica, thank you for sharing the comic link you found!  It was very powerful just as Nurnisa Kurban story was.  I must admit that I did not know that this was happening to Uyghurians.  It is heartbreak to hear and learn about these events that are taking place.  Many times we don’t know or learn about things that don’t directly have anything to do with us or affect us.  My heart breaks and I feel helpless but I know that in talking about these horrible events that are taking place and bring awareness to this issue is a start.  I know that as a teacher I can have some influence within my classroom with my students.  Perhaps as Jessica suggested introduce the topic through the comic she linked.  As a class I can have a guided discussion with the students as to what this currently means for Uyghur people and what the implications of these events mean for their future.  It is a difficult topic but as I high school teacher after learning about this I feel a responsibility to bring some light to this issue.  In learning about this students can think and question what other groups have faced similar circumstances and how many other groups currently are.  It would be something that I could tie into a stats lesson that might be even more eye opening and powerful putting number to these atrocious stories.          

[Alma Ochoa]

I love your thoughts on the Great Mirror and your perspective has me wanting to learn more as well.  It is something I can incorporate with the “Postface” from the Chinese Thought Institutions in Early Japan which I plan to do at the beginning of the year when I introduce self-evaluations to my students which I have them do at the end of every 5 week grading period along with having them make their yearly goals for my class.   I think I could fit it in nicely in the beginning because I use mirrors a lot at the start of the year when students are discovering that all regular polygons are created from reflected triangles and that no matter how many sides a regular polygon has the central angle formed from the reflected triangles that meet in the center of the regular polygon always has a sum of 360^o        

[Alma Ochoa]

I found reading Chinese Thought Institutions in Early Japan very interesting especially the ‘Postface’ on page 88 saying, “It is not that knowing is difficult, only that putting it into practice is not easy. Putting it into practice can be achieved with hard effort, but it is only bringing it to a conclusion that is truly difficult.”  This to me is very powerful and I would love to discuss with students what it means do them after reading it as well as what it could me if applied to school.  I would like to actually start the school year off with this to help them set goals for the year which is an activity that I start off with and then have them do a self-evaluation every 5 weeks to coincide with the grading period. In it they reflect on whether they did most of their homework, did they participate in class, etc and did their efforts now reflect their grade for the current grading period.  

 

I also found the section “Regulation for Fitness Reports” to be one that we as a society should currently be using, LOL!  It talks about evaluations how “fitness reports” should state only the facts with no interpolations of either favorable or unfavorable material.  Going on to say the reporter is responsible for the report and any false or occulted information will result in a demotion of the reporting officer, the imperial officer and the officer.  I find it fascinating to see something like this written down and to learn that it was something that was valued and practiced because more often than not it’s all about who you know and not about merit or even about whether one is capable of doing a particular job.      

[Alma Ochoa]

Esther, I love your idea of partnering up schools to have students of different ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds come together and exchange ideas.  I think it’s important for kids to learn from others and experience the world beyond what they know if important.  Working with others and exchanging ideas is how creativity and new inventions are born.    

[Author]

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