[Chad Espinoza]

I found it interesting that Japan fiercely denies having descended from Korea. The cultural tensions between the two countries is still very much alive and I met people in Korea whose hatred for Japan was practically their identity. Both peoples have a strong identity, and to think that they might have at one point been the same people is actually quite ironic. The myth the used to be taught in Japanese schools must have had a tremendous affect on the youth and their sense of cultural identity. While every country sees themselves as exceptional, the refusal to acknowledge an ancient tie to a particular culture demonstrates that Japan's identity is exceptionally strong. The myth that the Japanese people originated from the gods, allows the Japanese to give themselves rights and privileges that they can justly deny others, since others are not equally blessed. I think this origin story has had a very clear effect on Japanese history. I think this is a great thing to discuss with my students, the effects of an origin story on a particular people. 

[Chad Espinoza]

I found the Song's Dynasty's innovation fasciniating, especially their use of water. Our students, as well as myself, grew up in a culture very far removed from challenges. And because of this, convenience is an entitlement and not a luxury. I think it would be great for my students to imagine a life without modern convenience and have them determine which modern convenience would be the most missed by them. Now, I think it would be fun to then have students figure out ways to reattain their selected conveninces using water as a resource. I think such a project would force my students to become resourceful and learn something about the process of innovation. By depriving my students, I actually will engender a desire for them to overcome that deprivation. 

[Chad Espinoza]

Sadly, I must admit, that I have always looked at China as a country of homogenity with a history of homogenity. I am glad my ignorance of China and its history has been addressed by this course. I found it really interesting to learn that Li and Yuan families had mixed origins. The mixing of blood was not simply a novelty, it bestowed these families with knowledge they later used to develop the Tang dynasty. It also seems to have given them some mental flexibility and openmindedness as well, since they encouraged women to participate in the mainstream culture. While openness can be a risky trait, it seems to have tremendous payoffs. I think this discussion is a great way to discuss our current issues in immigration. What are the benefits of being open to other cultures? And what are the risks? I think a discussion framed this way would help students to acheive the mental plasticity seen in the successful Yuan and Li families.  

[Chad Espinoza]

Population control seems to now be short sighted policy. I get why large populations pose a problem to our current systems. Large populations require large amount of resources to sustain them. Resources dry up, then wars begin. So the impulse to keep a population at bay is at least a rational one. By looking at the counterfactuals provided by China and Japan, we see that the dwindling of a population increases scarcity as well. A large older population is a great burden on a small younger generation. Having to put more resources into an aging population reduces the amount of resources available for developing the younger generation. In addition to the economic issues population control policies create, there are social consequences as well. Resentment of the aging population can arise, engendering a desire amoing the youth to turn their backs on the ways established by past generations. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it is an inefficient way of progressing a society, so such resentment could cause an entire generation to dismiss the good of past generations while dispelling the bad. 

[Chad Espinoza]

I remember talking to my coworkers about this. Low birthrates, on the surface, seem fairly innocuous. But when our society is built on the assumption of population growth, declining birthrates can become catastrophic. Teachers will definitely be hit hard as it will shrink our job market and greatly affect our pensions, since there are no new workers to pay into the system, the funds will run out before they can be replenished. If such a scenario were to come into fruition, the state will find it hard to attract college graduates to a profession that already struggles to attract applicants. My school is currently feeling the effects of a teacher shortage. Can you imagine if things got worse? This will have a demonstrably terrible effect on education which will in turn adversely affect the economy, and our countty's ability to stay competitve in a world economy. I don't really know the solution other than to encourage people to have kids, but I think this would make for a great classroom discussion. Have students speculate the effects of a such a trend and then have them brainstorm ways to address the issue in a mock PSA. 

[Chad Espinoza]

You are right to ask how long this will last. It does seem like China is able to pursue such aggressive and dehumazing policies because of the economic leverage it holds over most of the world. I often think about this. History is often the story of smaller cultures being overwhelmed by larger ones. And larger societies benefitting off the abuse of smaller ones. With the abundance of information and the general understanding that such things are wrong, I hope that change can be more sooner, rather than later. We see clearly what happens when government powers wait to act. While most of us are unable to affect change in our current circumstances, we are able to use education to inspire and inform a new generation. 

[Chad Espinoza]

Very good point. I think the way we usually teach about the holocaust gives the impression it was an outlier event. And while is was in many ways a superlative in its cruelty, it is sadly not the only instance of human brutality. In the classroom, I think everything we teach should connect to relevant events and experiences, because, ultimately, we want our students to apply the knowledge the gain from our classrooms. This is, of course, a very difficult tasks, but extremely rewarding, and likely the reason why most of us got into education. Teaching about the current treatment of the Uyghurs is not only important, but it may also be a moral imperative at this point. Like the saying goes, "Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it." 

I have had Uyghur food a few times before. It is so good. 

[Chad Espinoza]

Hello Jessica, I was in Kazahkstan a few summers ago. Such a great country with great people. I'm sure you noticed that everyone in Kazahkstan was extremely hospitable and seemed to value hamrony and accpetance with an integrity I have never before experienced. I think such a model needs more exposure. Before the seminar, I was moderately educated on the fates of Uyghurs in China. Because I have quite a few friends from Taiwan and Hong Kong, I have always been, at least, peripheral aware of the agressive policies of the CCP. When I was in Kazahkstan, I was very impressed by the inclusiveness of the country. I helped with a youth camp in Almaty. The people at the camp told me that by day three, everyone will seem like best friends. By day three, everyone seemed like best friends. People from very different backgrounds were holding hands and sitting close to each other. Of course, no country is perfect, but I feel like we have enough examples that harmony among different groups of people can be achieved. As teachers, we can have a direct effect in creating this outcome. 

[Chad Espinoza]

Hello Jessica, I was in Kazahkstan a few summers ago. Such a great country with great people. I'm sure you noticed that everyone in Kazahkstan was extremely hospitable and seemed to value hamrony and accpetance with an integrity I have never before experienced. I think such a model needs more exposure. Before the seminar, I was moderately educated on the fates of Uyghurs in China. Because I have quite a few friends from Taiwan and Hong Kong, I have always been, at least, peripheral aware of the agressive policies of the CCP. When I was in Kazahkstan, I was very impressed by the inclusiveness of the country. I helped with a youth camp in Almaty. The people at the camp told me that by day three, everyone will seem like best friends. By day three, everyone seemed like best friends. People from very different backgrounds were holding hands and sitting close to each other. Of course, no country is perfect, but I feel like we have enough examples that harmony among different groups of people can be achieved. As teachers, we can have a direct effect in creating this outcome. 

[Chad Espinoza]

This is a very interesting idea. Many of our students immediately have an oppostional stance towards classroom rules because they have been subject to them for year-I teacher high school, so my students have felt subject to rules for many years. Though they may feel abitrary, rules ultimately are not. They are just too often delivered without context or explanation. I think reading about the warrior code and seeing how it was a set of rules that led to individual and societal benefit would be an engaging way for our students to think different about codes of conducts. It would be even more fun for students to create their own rules and have the challenge of enforcing them for the sake of a higher purpose. Allowing students to play with this will be lots of fun for us teachers to watch. 

[Chad Espinoza]

I found this extremely fascninating as well. Music is seemingly benign in any context, but music and politics have always gone hand-in-hand. Songs often embody the spirit and heart of a movement and a people. China first promoting the Muqam then seeking to treat it as a virus shows CCPs understanding of the power of art, especially music. Socrates feared people following movements with strong pathos, and I see that playing out here, though I highly doubt Socrates would in anyway condone the policies of the CCP. I am merely pointing out that the power of art has been well understood for thousands of years. As teachers, I think we need to make our students more aware of the power of stories. Yes, literacy instruction is crucial, but developing an articulate understanding of the power of the arts in our students will serve them very well. 

[Chad Espinoza]

China is under much scrutiny these days and for good reason. However, I am really shocked—and even impressed—by China's ability to control information going in and out of such a large nation. As a teacher in a democratic nation, I probably have a naive assurance in the belief that information is a right and is something that a government cannot restrict. Of course, I know this is a lie, but I probably live as if it is true, even worse, I probably live as if it is a gaurantee. If you were to ask me what is the greatest threat a government poses to its citizens, I would say restrictions of rights, but China is proving that restricition of information is even more deadly. I think such a consequence is important for our students to be aware of and to reflect on. I think making our students of aware of such things will let them know that information is a right that can be suppressed if allowed to. 

[Chad Espinoza]

China is under much scrutiny these days and for good reason. However, I am really shocked—and even impressed—by China's ability to control information going in and out of such a large nation. As a teacher in a democratic nation, I probably have a naive assurance in the belief that information is a right and is something that a government cannot restrict. Of course, I know this is a lie, but I probably live as if it is true, even worse, I probably live as if it is a gaurantee. If you were to ask me what is the greatest threat a government poses to its citizens, I would say restrictions of rights, but China is proving that restricition of information is even more deadly. I think such a consequence is important for our students to be aware of and to reflect on. I think making our students of aware of such things will let them know that information is a right that can be suppressed if allowed to. 

[Chad Espinoza]

I really like this idea of students analyzing their own cultures' origin stories. I think in America, we are always focused on where we are going and our discussions of the pass only matter when we speak of the future we desire. Understanding the past is valuable in and of itself. For Mexicans, origins stories are varied, because Mexicans don't always identify with simply the Aztecs or Spanish. Many have strong feelings about their German, French, and even Jewish heritages. And each of these heritages have their own origin stories. Origin stories are a rich vein of texts and I think students will be very excited to discuss them. Simply identifying one's heritage is quite a task. Learning and analyzing the origin stories of one's heritage will quite substantial and, I think, extremely rewarding. 

[Chad Espinoza]

In college, my favorite classes were those on literary critical theory. Considering various perpspectives and understanding how biases, both conscious and unconscious, affect discourse was and is extremely fascinating to me. The beginning of this presentation gives the first historical account of the Japanese. The narrative persistently calls the Japanese the dwarves and seemingly speaks dismissively of the Japanese people. Prof. Yamashita asks the attendees of the presentation for their observations of the historical account. Many picked up on the use of the term dwarf to refer to the Japanese, and assumed the term reflected the racist perspective of a Western historian. To the surprise of the attendees, the account was written by a Chinese historian. This interaction made me think of reader-response theory, a form of discourse that analyzes how the reader's biases and perspectives infuence the interpretation of a text. I think doing this exact same exercise will be a great activity for my students. Asking them to make inferences about the account and then have them explain how they came to at least one of those inferences will force my students to think deeply and critically about their assumptions and prior knowledge of Japan. This activity can definitely be done with a variety of texts. 

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