[Brigid Schmidt]

Like some of the people who commented above, I was not familiar with the term soft power prior to Professor Jung-Kim's lecture and readings. Deborah makes good points that Korea is ranks high in many areas for being a medium sized country. A few years ago I was fortunate to be able to visit Korea and judging by the size and congestion of Seoul, it is hard to tell that Korea isn't a larger country. Seoul was like New York City with its skyscrapers, many restaurants, crowded streets, and bustling night life. Prior to this trip, I didn't realize how many influences Korean culture had in my own life (the food I love, my electronics, my car!) I think it would be an interesting project to have my students choose 5 of their favorite products and research where they are made, their origins, and information about their consumers. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

Hi Megan, being from the Midwest as well, I didn't notice that many Korean influences growing up. However, when I went to undergrad at The University of Michigan, I had a Korean roommate and there were many students who came from Korea to study at UofM. I started to see more Korean culture around me. Then, when I started teaching in Orange County, I tutored many Korean students. The families were so welcoming to me and always cooked traditional Korean foods for me to try. I found this so rewarding to learn about the culture directly from families who lived in Korea. Now in LA, I have many students who are Korean and from other areas of the world too. K-pop music, certain books, and shows are talked about often. It is easy to see the Korean wave at my school. I think it is wonderful to see my students sharing their backgrounds and cultures. Allowing my students the opportunity to choose their own novels gives them the chance to learn about other cultures through stories. I will continue to find more novels by Korea authors to encourage my students to branch out to new writing styles and ideas. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

Thank you Professor Meeks for diving into the origins of buddah and Buddhism. Having taken a class that previously talked about Buddhism, I had some knowledge, but there is always more to learn. As an English teacher, thanks for going over the difference of buddha versus Buddha. It is interesting that buddha does not mean a specific being but someone who has achieved enlightenment. I always have students asking me what needs to be capitalized, so when writing or researching, I can now inform them correctly. Listening to the story of the Buddha reminds me of the origin stories of Jesus in Christianity. I think it is interesting that there is a slight correlation, in that they both were born in unordinary ways, talk about life as a child, and as they grow up. I think some of my students could relate these two religious figures. I was also interested in the 4 Noble Truths. My 6th graders learn a little about Buddhism in their history class and they touch on the 4 Noble Truths. I am interested in becoming more familiar with them myself, as to be able to share that knowledge with my students. I think many of them would be interested in learning about the origins of Karma and what it actually means. I hear some of them say it almost as a slang term, so knowing the true meaning would be beneficial. I look forward to diving into all of this more in our Zoom! 

[Brigid Schmidt]

I found this article interesting being somewhat newly married myself. It initailly caught my eye because Qian studied journalism in Michigan, which is where I am from. The article talks about men having a hard time coming from a heavily partiarchal society and not having the same jobs or status in the US. I can relate to how this could be hard for couples. My husband was laid off last year and had a hard time feeling confident when I was the only one earning an income. Even though our society has many gender roles that do not need to be traditional, he still felt unworthy being the "house husband." Fortunately, we are able to talk about it and he is now back in graduate school, but it was a learning experience. It is easy to see how couples could resent each other or feel like a failure to their partner. Like Maria mentions of the article, women's roles are changing and it is ok for women to be the "bread winner" or be more independent. Learning to work together and value your spouse for what they do bring into the marriage is key. It is hard to not let money divide couples though. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

Friday's meeting talked a lot about crossing physical and figurative boundaries. With Covid-19, there have been many boundaries set up for people to help keep the country safe and stop the spread of the virus. As some areas started to open up, many people were uncertain what boundaries they could cross. Can we go inside a store or a restaurant if we are wearing a mask? How do we exercise outside in a mask? Is going outside safe? Is traveling safe? And for all of us teachers: are schools safe? We have been living in the boundaries of our homes for months and it is scary to know what we should do and how to stay safe. In life, there are often boundaries and decisions to make on what to do. We discussed missionaries crossing physical boundaries like boarders, but also sharing and teaching their religion to others. This idea of crossing boundaries stuck with me as I crossed state boundaries to be home in Michigan for the summer to help my family. I now am traveling back to California and am crossing state boundaries again. We've seen many states with different boundaries set up, some more than others. For safety, we are keeping our distance, wearing masks, and were tested negative for Covid. During this time I have learned to listen more to others rather than judge. It is very easy to judge people who cross different boundaries from you. I think there is a great lesson for my students in crossing boundaries and trying to judge others less. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

Hello! My name Brigid and I teach middle school English at Paul Revere MS in Brentwood, CA. I previously participated in a USC US China Institute class and really enjoyed it, so I am looking forward to hearing from some of the same professors and some new speakers. I have also traveled to Korea, Thailand, and the Phillipines in the past. I like adding my travels into my teaching and blending my lessons with the history curriculum which studies ancient civilizations-China, Korea, Japan, etc. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

Great lesson! I love the idea of working with poetry. I feel it is a wonderful way to bridge ancient China with our students' backgrounds. I love how you incorporated the idea of "nature" in your lesson. I might try to use some of this and tweak it for a middle school lesson. I like using graphic organizers with my students who need more support. I used a Venn Diagram in my lesson too. Thanks for the creative lesson! 

 

[Brigid Schmidt]

Back in January I signed up for this class as an opportunity to take a class with a friend, earn salary credits, and maybe learn a little about Ancient Asia to understand my 6th graders history class a little more. What I didn't expect was how much I would enjoy it. Unfortunately my friend was unable to take the class, so I was on my own. Going to our first class I was reminded of college classes and being on campus. I had a wonderful feeling of nostalgia. In class we discussed the Corona Virus, which at the time still seemed far away. The class lecture and discussion made me realize, I have so much more in common with the subject matter and so much more to learn. While I am sad that we were only able to have one in-class lecture, I was happy to see that Professor Dube was still leading our Zoom lectures. His knowledge on China, Korea, and Japan was impressive as were his personal stories from visiting Asia. One day I would love to go to China to see some of places he showed us in the pictures and talked about. 

As I have said before, I am in my first year of teaching middle school and I teach English. I did not know much about the 6th grade history curriculum until my partner teacher asked me to do a joint assignment: The Silk Road. I knew nothing about it. This class has opened my eyes so much. Not only did I learn about the Silk Road, I learned about the people who traveled the Silk Road, that ideas and religions were shared and traded as well. My 6th graders perform a play called Buddha Walks. I have learned so much about the origins of Buddhism and Lori Meeks did a wonderful job explaining the different sects of Buddhism as well as the differences between what we in the West perceive Buddhism to be versus what it actually is. I plan to use both the information (readings) about Buddhism and the Silk Road with my students. If they are learning how to research and reading documents from the Silk Road, it could help them in their history class and with primary sources and citing information. 

A part of the class that I did not expect was how much art and poetry influences there were in Ancient Asia and Pre-modern Asia. I have a love of the arts, so this was a pleasant surprise for me. I enjoyed read the poetry from the Tang Dynasty, most notably, the Song of Everlasting Sorrow. We also learned about Sijo poetry and the symbolism it displays. I teach poetry and symbolism, so I will be sure to choose some of the poetry we read for my classes next year. Additionally, Dr. Anderson shared some great examples of music and art. I will use art and poetry as part of my lesson as well. I hope that schools will reopen in person so I am able to carry it out with my students next year. 

While I enjoyed all the different guest speakers we had, I was truly affected by Dr. Kurban and her personal accounts about the Uyghur people living in China. Because I was not familiar with this, I did not expect her stories. She was very raw and vulnerable and it was heartbreaking. It is a situation I cannot fathom. Now, with our current situations in our own country, I really want to be able to teach my students about equality and human rights. It seems as there is a lot of hate right now and I aim to encourage a positive and respectful environment. 

I am sad that this course is ending because I gained so much from it. I know I am a better teacher for having been in this class and I look forward to keep learning more and sharing with my students. (I have also been sharing with my family and friends!) Thank you, Professor Dube for making my Saturday mornings inspiring and engaging. I hope there are more classes like this in the future. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

I like this lesson idea, Cynthia! Because I am newer to teaching middle school, it is always nice to get other teacher's ideas for lessons. During remote learning, I have encouraged all of my students to start journaling. My 8th graders read the Diary of a Anne Frank in March (the beginning of the quarantine) and we would discuss Anne's journaling and how her situation of being confined to one place gave her time to think and write. They compared this to their situations of not being abl to attend school, events, see friends, go to the movies, or even to church/synogues/temples/weddings/funerals. However, your idea is a great way to have the students journal about other topics as well. Anne wrote about crushes and many teen things, not realizing other people would publish it-similar to Sei Shonagon. Bringing comparisons from today's culture helps my students find those connections with history and understand it more. Thanks for sharing!

[Brigid Schmidt]

As both Billie and Sandra mentioned there are risks and benefits for the Chinese leaders to be open to the European Jesuits. Still to this day religion is a subject that causes controversy and is not supposed to be debated during family functions! It is interesting that the Jesuits were able to "sell" the idea of Christianity to the Ming rulers at the same time when Japan was saying no to missionaries. The benefits that the Chinese leaders saw were the idea of morality in Christianity, but more importantly, the advancements in science. They saw Europe moving ahead in science, so this was of interest. The advancements in astronomy and geography were tempting to the Ming rulers. They wanted their country to advance more as well. However, Christianity is very different than Confucianism or Buddhism, so there were bound to be conflicts. Just as we see in our country, many people feel very strong in their beliefs and it is difficult to change someone's mind on what to believe. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

As we advanced more into pre-modern Korea, there were many topics that stood out to me. The first was the importance of women. In history, it is rare to hear about class being more important that gender. Women even had freedoms, even married women. Women could be artisans. A women's inheritance was just like a man's. It is sad that this idea changed with Confucianism. The homes are what catch my eye because I cannot imagine having women's quarters separate from men's. (Apartments in LA are much too small for that!) 

Another area we discussed in the video lecture as well as in the Zoom discussion was the spread of Catholicism. Going to Catholic schools for most of my life I have studied Catholicism and vaguely remember touching on this in some high school classes. It is interesting that it was known as "western learning." I do wonder about how many Korean converts there were. Were there many Korean saints? I would be interested to read more about it. One thing that came up under this topic was the controversy over rites (rituals). The Jesuits thought the Confucianism memorial services (rites) were ok because they were honoring their families, but Dominicans said no because it was worshipping false gods which is not ok. Later, they were allowed by the Vatican. Just last week I was going over homophones with my students and rite/right/write was the one we were studying. I was surprised how many students did not know what a "rite" was and had never heard the term. Many could not use it in a sentence even after we went over it. Having a more concrete example of the words is helpful for me to explain meanings to my students. I can share this story with them as an example of what a rite is. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

I teach poetry in both my 6th and 8th grade English classes. I can definitely incorporate a Sijo poem into these lessons because it would be great for helping to teach symbolism. As Professor Jung-Kim mentioned, these poems can really be about any subject, so it would be nice to have my students choose their own subject to engage them more. Because Sijo poems are only 3 lines (45 syllables) this would be a good poem to start them off with because it is not overwhelming in length. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

This is my second time going over these lectures and reviewing the readings because I seemed to have gotten distracted after the class lectures this day and discussing the materials from Professor Jung-Kim that I neglected to post about it. However, I am happy that I was able to go over it again with a fresh set of eyes. Korea has interested me for some time because my sister lived there and I was fortunate to be able to visit her there. I find it fascinating to learn about cultures that began in the 4th C BCE when our country is so young. Even in the Neolithic Korean life you still see their architecture of dwellings, pottery, and hunting and fishing. The myth about Korea's origins is interesting and would be something my 6th graders could dissect. We study myths and their meanings and I would be interested to hear their take on this one. Korea has such a vast history with the Three Kingdoms (Four) and later with Koryo and Mongol Rule; I know there are many areas to incorporate this into their studies of Buddha Walks and The Silk Road. I have noticed my students retain information better when we make it more project-based or as a play, so I wonder if there is a way bring this history to life? I know they would be interested in knowing more about Marco Polo and his journey. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

Betsy, 

 Thanks for sharing this poetry piece. Especially today, my emotions are raw. For me, writing poetry helps me express my emotions and I feel that is what "Tarim" seems to do as well. It is so scary to see so much hate in the world against people just based on their physical identity or cultural identity. Perhaps this poem would be a start in drawing parralles with what is going on in the US this week? I might share this with my students and encourage them to write a poem to explain the emotions they are feeling about the dangers our countries are facing. I am trying to promote respect and change. 

[Brigid Schmidt]

Reading about Chinese architecture was quite interesting because like the US, the North and the South have very different climates and topography which are part of the reasons for the specific types of structures. In the South in the US we tend to see different types of roofs in the Southern states that can withstand the heat and sun, however, in areas where tornadoes are common, we see homes with basements. In China, the North (Honan and Hopei for example) is have steep cliffs, more variations of weather changes, barren lands, and the Yellow River which can flood. Homes were built into the cliffs and built to withstand the harsh winters. Less people lived in the North as well. 

On the otherhand, the South was more prosperous particially due to the tropical and substropical climate and the longer growing season which made them a strong food supplier. Their homes were built like community structres or like a clan system. They had townhouses with really high walls for privacy, so only the roofs were visable. Additionally, no windows were facing out, only in towards the courtyards. Courtyards were common in their homes. The more affluent homes had more than one courtyard! What is also part of Chinese culture is the idea of Feng shui for the siting and building of their homes. This style aims to bring forces of nature to balance. This design idea has even made its way to the US and there are many people who move their furniture about to be more feng shui. 

My 6th graders start the school year off at many different levels, so learning about the different types of architecture could be a way to teach setting and descriptive adjectives and vocabulary. Having something place to look at and visualize could be enaging. 

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