[Betsy Telle]

I am very glad I was accepted into this seminar series. Professor Bharne was absolutely amazing and generous with his time to craft his lectures to our discussions. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about architecture and design across East Asia and Professor Bharne’s unique perspective.

 

There was so much from this seminar series that I will be able to bring back to my class. I teach a Science Elective where I can really teach about any topic that has a Science or Engineering connection. I honestly had never thought about teaching Architecture in this class, which is a shame because I have several students who choose to research Architecture during our Science Careers lessons. I know that my students will love having more Architecture and design lessons and projects.

 

I plan on having a project that looks at city planning in East Asia, especially the planning and growth of Tokyo. I want students to plan and design their own city. There are several topics that were discussed in the seminars around city planning, such as communal space, the interaction with nature, and the progression as one travels further into the city.

 

I would also like to bring into my course more about the connection between architecture and nature. There are so many great examples of these connections in East Asia. Cultures in East Asia have a reverence for nature that my students could learn a lot from. I anticipate teaching my students about the Chonggyecheon River Revitalization and Zen Gardens. I can’t wait to see what students could come with using the ideas and concepts from the River Revitalization and Zen Gardens in their lives and neighborhood.

[Betsy Telle]

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Before this course I only knew some very basic things about the history of East Asian countries, and what I did know was all taught from an Western/American perspective. I have learned so much and filled the many gaps in my own knowledge. Prior to this course I would have never thought to incorporate teaching about East Asia in my Curriculum. Once I started taking this course I was not sure how I would integrate my learnings into my Science class. However, I found the course and the fellow participants very helpful with thinking about how to bring in East Asia into Science. I was thankful that there were several other middle school science and math teachers taking the course as well.

 

The topics that have the most relevance to my class would be related to geography, environments, and population studies. I teach 8^th grade Science and one of our big Units for the year is Evolution. This Unit focuses on the main ideas of evolution. There are not specific examples that are required within the Unit. Because there are not specific examples required, this would be a great Unit to fit in integration of East Asian topics. Thankfully my fellow seminar participates helped my thinking about how to incorporate these topics, especially the comparison of the population issues facing East Asia right now with animal population trends. I also think it will be easy to use the geography of Asia to teach about different environments.

[Betsy Telle]

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie Parasite. It is a great movie with so many twists and turns and genre defying parts. I think that all adults should give it a view. I agree though that the movie as a whole is not appropriate for most students. Although it might be good for a high school cinema class as it does defy and span many movie genres.

 

There are plenty of shots and scenes that depict life and housing of the rich and the poor that could be used in class. Students could compare the lifestyles and the architecture of the two classes. They could even compare how those classes exist and live in the United States. Asking students what would this movie look like if it took place in LA.

[Betsy Telle]

I was very intrigued by the idea of going from a Sitting Zen in Zen Gardens to a Walking Zen. Over the last few years I have tried to incorporate mediation and mindfulness into my life and routines. I use mediation videos in my classes on occasion. But I have always thought of these in a very static way. Sit and find calm. I like the idea of adding a Walking Zen. I have a hike that I frequently do that is close to my house. I think that I need to incorporate some of these ideas into when I hike.

[Betsy Telle]

I found the story about the Great Buddha in Kamakura, Japan very interesting. The school I teach at has different themes for the days of the week for Homeroom. On Fridays the theme is Resilience. I think that the story of this Great Buddha would fit in very well. Knowing that the temple was destroyed again and again by tsunamis and fires and rebuilt over and over. I could even have students read the poem by Mark Twain. I think that Mark Twain visiting and writing a poem is just a fun tidbit to add to the story.

[Betsy Telle]

I have always been a tea drinker. I cannot stand the smell of coffee. I tend to drink very aromatic teas, like peppermint, and enjoy my ritual of holding the warm mug and smelling the tea for a calming effect. I like the idea of the tea ceremony and the process also being part of the meditation. I think that I need to add some of that in when I make tea.

[Betsy Telle]

In our discussion, Professor Bharne discussed how part of the solution to solve economic inequity was to add public spaces. That idea really struck me. I completely agree. In our communities in Los Angeles there are so few public spaces for people to congregate, especially in the lower economic areas. The school I teach at is in a very poor area of Los Angeles. There are very few parks and there isn’t a library or museum or other type building within walking distance of the neighborhood. The house are all close together with very tiny yards and the apartment buildings have not courtyard or public spaces, just the buildings and the parking lots. My students have no space to meet their friends except for the sidewalks and in the street. This is very different than other places in LA where there are large parks and fancy shopping areas with plenty of space to walk, congregate and exist. To build a better society we need to be able to have relationships and especially relationship outside of our own communities. I think it would do wonders to add these public spaces across all of LA where people from different neighborhoods could come and interact.

[Betsy Telle]

Thank you for this idea. I watched the movie once several years ago so I am familiar with it but I would have never thought of it. I know that many of my students are familiar with it and it would be a great resource for them to connect to. It also is a great example of the mixing of cultures. 

[Betsy Telle]

During this time of Quarantining and Stay at Home orders, there has been a great increase in the number of people Gardening. I started my first real garden as a result of quarantining. I think that in discussing Zen Gardens, I could have a discussion with my students comparing Americans turning to Gardening right now with the reasons for Zen Gardens. We could also compare and contrast a Zen Garden with a Garden. Even though a Zen Garden does not have any plants there are still a lot of similarities that students might not think of right away.

[Betsy Telle]

When I was in Middle School, we had an assignment in our history class to make our own Zen Garden with pebbles and small rocks in a Shoebox lid. We were provided with the "rules" of the Zen Garden. It was an incredibly difficult assignment that required a lot of thinking and revision. I know that my classmates and I really enjoyed it and it is one of the few projects that I still remember from Middle School. I had never thought about using the project in my own class because I teach Science and not History, but this session has made me think about how the project and Zen Gardens are as much about Design and Engineering as they are about their Religious and Historical contexts.

[Betsy Telle]

I think that this is an idea and concept that we can actually bring to our students during this lockdown time. You mention being stuck in their apartments, many of which are tiny. I think it would be a good idea for us to introduce the ideas of feng-shui and the zen garden to our students, so that while they are stuck inside day after day with the stress of distance learning they can learn to cultivate calm and seek serenity. I also really like your idea of having a zen garden on school campus as a space for students to do this as well.

[Betsy Telle]

I watch the movie 76 Days which follows various healthcare workers and patients in the hospitals during the beginning of the pandemic. One of the patients is really struggling with being stuck in the hospital. His son calls on the phone and tells his dad to be strong and to remember that he is a party member. His son keeps saying that the father is a party member and tells the nurses to remind his father that he became a party member. This lecture really helped me understand what the son was saying. The father had to really work hard and endure to become a party member. The son is reminding him that he is strong and he can make it through a hardship because he worked hard to earn his membership. I understand now the badge of honor that membership has.

[Betsy Telle]

I was shocked to learn that so few in China are actual members of the Communist Party. I had no idea that it was so difficult to become a member. This is not the way the Communist Party is portrayed in the United States. I always assumed that most everyone in China had to be a Communist and that it was the few that intentional left the party, rather than being the few that worked hard to be in the party.

[Betsy Telle]

I like the idea of having students comparing the two constitutions and trying to find the influence from the Americans in Japan’s constitution. I would love to hear why students think that the U.S. constitution did not include equal rights for Women. And why they think that Japan did allow equal rights. It would also be interesting to discuss why just having equal rights does not equate to equal treatment in society.

[Betsy Telle]

I was not surprised that the Japanese throne is only passed down to males. It feels that many countries still pass nobility down thru male lineage. It’s interesting that they were willing to consider a female heir until there was a male born. It feels that in a lot of societies that they are becoming welcoming to female power, but often times only when there is a lack of males available. Once there is a male available they revert to the preference for a male.

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