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Dennis O'ConnellThe whole discussion we had in class about Marco Polo was fascinating! Who knew that such an influential person as Marco Polo could be as controversial at such a fundamental level (I understand influential people being controversial, but to debate whether his whole reason for being famous in the first place can be called into question...wow!)? I think students (and adults) need to have good discussions about what makes history. What are the evidences for a certain claim? What are the evidences against? I will be interested to read the book by Francis Wood who argues that Marco Polo did not travel as extensively as claimed. What is a tiny bit more mind-blowing to me is the fact that someone like Columbus read the adventures of Marco Polo and was inspired to embark on his own adventures in the opposite direction. The whole history of the world was changed at that moment, and there is a possibility it was based on a false premise? Wow! Getting history right, or getting it wrong, will still have major consequences!
Dennis O'ConnellMy students have looked at comparing and contrasting throughout the school year. They know how to compare and contrast common things like frogs and toads. They grew into comparing and contrasting different stories on similar topics. Additionally, they compared and contrasted a book (after reading it together as a class) and a movie (after watching it together in class). Now, with a resource provided by Clay Dube (https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d414f3241544e79457a6333566d54/index.html), I would like my students to see that the skill of comparing and contrasting is one used even by adults and can be used to look at different cultures even centuries ago. The short news clip used in conjunction with the online article and photographs will lead to a nice discussion about how adults can use this same skill they have been learning this year!
Dennis O'ConnellI am developing a lesson plan for my elementary school students which incorporates Haiku poetry. The website mentioned (http://www.haiku-poetry.org/) especially its follow up page (http://www.haiku-poetry.org/what-is-haiku.html) does a good job in letting you know that Haiku is not just "child's play"! It is not just as simple of following a syllable pattern. Getting the right syllable count does not necessarily make it a Haiku. Additionally, I think it is important for students to remember that it takes some great artists years and years of working at their craft to become really good at writing Haikus.
Dennis O'ConnellI tried to access this website, but was unsuccessful. Has this website been updated? Does this website lend itself to elementary students if adapted, or is it primarily of interest to high school teachers?
Dennis O'ConnellWe were introduced to Sijo poetry during this sesson. It encouraged me to strat putting together a lesson plan to teach Haiku writing from Japan, Sijo poetry from Korea, and Jueju poetry from China. I have located so far the following helpful websites for use with elementary students:
Haiku - https://www.kidzone.ws/poetry/haiku.htm and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkiTLxIQhdw
Sijo - https://www.playfullearning.net/resource/sijo-poetry-for-kids/
Jueju - https://nie.newsok.com/wp-content/uploads/Asian-Heritage-Student-Poster.pdf and https://www.poetspoetrypoems.com/categories/listings/jueju.html
The first website for haiku explains the form of the poetry and provides three printable worksheets (very similar to each other, you can pick the one that works for you). The second website for haiku is a very well done video walking students through the writing of a haiku. It even helps students work through mistakes of too many syllables!
The website for Sijo poetry is mostly an advertisement for Linda Sue Park, but contains some valuable information about the poetry form.
The first website for Jueju is a bit much for elementary school students, but some information can be gleaned from it. The second website is again more for adults, but gives some background for teachers.
By far, the websites for teaching Haiku were the most helpful. Has anyone found websites for Sijo or Jueju which they have found to be helpful for their teaching those forms?
Dennis O'ConnellDirected by Lixin Fan, Last Train Home follows a migrant family of workers for about three years. With over 130 million Chinese from rural areas working in cities, the largest human migration in history occurs each Chinese New Year as migrant workers seek to get home to celebrate this holiday with the families they left behind. The movie follows one family and does a wonderful job of drawing you into their world. You are able to see their work in the city and the rural life they left behind. The movie does not need much dialogue at the beginning as it introduces you to the characters and how their lives are unfolding. Many of the scenes show the mass of humanity and the lengths they will go in pursuit of things important to them. As the movie progresses, however, there is more dialogue which helps you understand what the characters are thinking and feeling. Throughout the film, you can feel the tensions which are pulling at the family. At the end of the film, you wonder if the tensions have become too much and have actually torn the family apart. Immediately after seeing the film, I watched the US trailer in the Extras. One of the film reviewers said that the movie is "Haunted and Haunting". This is a fair description as I felt I had lingering feelings about the family, their struggles, and the solutions they were seeking. The theme of this movie will stay with me for a long time.
As to how I would use this with students, particularly ones in Elementary School, I would show clips which draw out the elements I want to emphasize. I would then have the students do short activities. I would proceed to the next clips and the relevant activities. In this way, the class could "see" much of the movie, but without needing to watch the whole thing. Going in order, here are some of the elements I would tease out of the movie: 1) Show clips of urban scenes (factory work, crowds at train station, city scenes of smog and street signs and bustle of people) followed by scenes from the family's rural farm (walking through fields, feeding livestock, harvesting crops, eating meals together). Have students compare and contrast city life to rural life. Have students concentrate not only on what they see in the film clips, but also on what they hear! 2) Show clip when the couple goes to buy train tickets, the price is given to them of 262 Yuan for two tickets. Have students calculate how much it costs for one ticket. How much does it cost for five tickets? Also, with an exchange rate (currently 1 US dollar is about 7 Chinese Yuan Renminbi) what is the price of a ticket in US dollars? 3) Show clips as the family travels home for the first time (you could also mix in scenes from future trips so students will see train, boat, bus, walking). Have the students identify and discuss what modes of transportation the family took to go such a long distance. What difficulties did the family encounter? What feelings would you have if you had to make such a journey? 4) Show clips of the movie where the parents/grandparents are talking to the children about the importance of education. Have students discuss what kinds of pressures are on the students to do well in school. Why are the parents putting this pressure on the students? Is this pressure fair? 5) Show clips of Qin burning spirit money for her departed grandfather and talking to him. Show additional clips of mothers and sons at Buddhist shrine, burning incense and praying. Ask the students what role religion played in the lives of the migrant workers. 6) Show clips of movie related to the World Financial Crisis of 2008. Show empty factories and the dialogue of the workers. Have students discuss how world events have a deep impact on individual people. How were the migrants affected? What would they have to do if they lost their jobs?
Lastly, it would be interesting to hear student discussions surrounding their own experiences. How many of them know their families came to US as migrants? How many of them know their families are working hard so they have a better life? Do they have pressures on them to do well in school? What role does education have in their future well being?
Dennis O'ConnellSession Eleven focused on China and considered the Manchus, the Qing Dynasty, and Global Trade. The Manchus tried to integrate the Chinese into their rule. They also implemented a way to show loyalty and submission by requiring the shaving of the forehead and the wearing of the rest of the hair in a braid. The Qing were involved in expanding Chinese territory and influence. They brought Taiwan under imperial control. The pushed Russia north of the Amur River. They consolidated power in Mongolia, Xinjing, and Tibet.
The area of Global Trade is one that lends itself well to classroom discussion. Looking at China during this time period, China imported Mexican silver and cotton. China exported large amounts of tea. As the British began planting their own tea plants, how would this affect trade? As the British strated dealing in the trade of opium, how did this affect the economics of the situation? Did opium begin a moral decay in society? Did it initiate an economic decay? How did the trading of opium become a matter of national security for China? How did they react to this matter of national security?
Dennis O'ConnellSession Ten began with a discussion about the difference between growth and development. Growth tends to be doing the same thing in the same way, but doing it over a longer time period, thereby "producing" more. Development, on the other hand, involves the same number of hours but with an increase in productivity. This increase in productivity could be due to some innovation, technology, or more efficient way of doing something.
One of the major take-aways for me from Session Ten is the idea that history is a recording of things which happened in the past, but which requires the leaving out of large amounts of data. Those who decide what goes into written history and what gets left out wield a lot of power. It would be a great topic of discussion in a classroom. When history is written down, who gets to decide what is put in? Who decides what is left out? What voices are heard? What voices are considered unimportant? Can there be more than one perspective on an historical event? Should all of these perspectives be heard or is it ok for only the "winner" to be heard?
Dennis O'ConnellWhat a pleasure to learn about China and its unique position to impact global environmental quality from someone who has worked on all aspects of the issue for decades! Barbara Finamore was engaging and informative. Due to our interactions, I went out and bought her book, "Will China Save the Planet?". I look forward to reading it and gaining more insight about "behind-the-scenes" things that are happening regarding US and Chinese involvement in the fight for global environmental quality. I thought one of the telling quotes of the presentation was, "When the winds of change begin to blow, some build walls while others build windmills." How appropriate for today's political climate! The winds of change certainly have been blowing across our globe. Which nations will step up to be leaders in renewable energy? Which nations will benefit economically from solutions which work? How will all global citizens benefit as the quality of air and water improves? Solar power, wind power, and electric vehicles have been experimented with for years. Now is the time to make tougher decisions regarding their priortity in funding and research and development. While companies are involved, we also need a stronger government involvement in order to make our future energy situation secure. The future seems to be now!
Dennis O'ConnellI learned a lot about Buddhism I did not know before, thanks to the instruction by Professor Meeks. Firstly, I learned there is a distinction between "the" Buddha, the historical character, and "a" buddha, the category associated with someone atttaining awakening. While I had been introduced to the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path before, I had not spent much time contemplating the differences between the various forms of Buddhism (Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Chen/Zen Buddhism, Tantric/Esoteric Buddhism, etc.). Rather than a monolithic set of beliefs, I was surprised to hear that Buddhism has several variants and sects. As an example, I learned that Tibetan Buddism is closely aligned with Mahayana Buddhism, but also has its own special elements added in (e.g., reborn lineage of Dali Lama with some memories being retained from one reincarnation to the next).
Session Eight concluded with a look at women within Buddhism. Women were the first monastics of Japanese Buddhism, but unfortunately were later excluded from participation in such important roles within the faith. Many women went on to become patrons, supporting their local forms of Buddhism. Most noteworthy of these women seems to have been Queen Pimiko.
The things I learned from Session Eight could be used in a rich discussion with older students comparing and contrasting Buddhism to other faiths. Christianity is the first that comes to mind. Is it a monolithic set of beliefs or does it have its variants and sects? What is the role of women in Christianity. Has this role changed throughout history?
Dennis O'ConnellDuring our seventh session, I was sometimes reminded of the Animal Farm idea that all animals are created equal with some animals more equal than others. I say this because on a couple of occasions we learned that "Japanese" (Japan had not been formed yet) aristocrats often found ways to keep themselves "more equal" than others. Sometimes this was in their use of Buddhism. Other times it was in the making of laws which protected their interests. A specific example was given in regards to the Byodo'in Temple. While the temple emphasizes that all humans are equal, it is only the aristocrats which are allowed to enter the temple to pray. Those who are not aristocrats can enjoy the surrounding gardens and a glimpse through a small window to see the Golden Buddha within. I can envision great discussions with students regarding when equal really is equal and when equal is not so equal.
Another emphasis of Session Seven was the distinction between the samurai warriors and the Bushi. It seems that almost everything we have come to associate with samurai in popular movies and culture really were aspects of the Bushi. Taking the time to understand these distinctions could be beneficial for not only ourselves but also our students.
Dennis O'ConnellWe are over halfway through! One of the things which facinated me during this two-part lecture was the fact that exchanges occur between cultures whenever they come into contact. These exchanges can be local, or they can be over very long distances (the Chinese vases found in Syria are a good example of this). These exchanges can be cultural, linguistic, religious, commercial, etc. It might be interesting to engage my students in a discussion about how much Asia affects their daily lives today. Most of them have never been to Asia, but I bet some of the clothes they wear, the cars they ride in, and the foods they eat have some influence from Asia! Another thing I gleaned from these lectures was the idea of zeitgeist, the "spirit of the times". As one studies history, it is important to look at literature, poetry, music, etc. as indicators of how the times are changing.
Dennis O'ConnellHey! I just got done asking in my post on session five if anyone had ideas for Chinese poetry. I come into session six posts, and here is an answer! Thanks for the ideas!
Dennis O'ConnellI appreciated getting to know more about the history of the Korean peninsula and the Kingdoms which jostled for power over time. Like many of the other educators, I especially grabbed onto the idea of doing Sijo poetry. I think it would be interesting to learn more about Japan and Korea, then compare and contrast Haiku poetry to Sijo poetry. I could ask students to write one of each style of poetry, and then have them write an opinion piece on which structure they preferred. Additionally from this session, I liked the idea of teaching my students some Korean characters from the internet. Perhaps they could learn some Japanese characters also so we can add these to our two types of poetry. Hey...while we are at it, perhaps we better find an example of Chinese poetry. Any ideas on a "style" that comes from China?
Dennis O'ConnellAs part of our Language Arts/History curriculum we spend a week discussing the importance of primary sources. We look at letters, documents, interviews with eyewitnesses, photographs, paintings, and physical artifacts as ways of learning about the past. The resource given to us for Session 5 titled "A Teacher's Sourcebook for Korean Art & Culture" seems like a valuable resource for presenting primary sources from the Korean past. I am interested to explore this idea further to see how I could incorporate use of this resource in a unit on Asian history and the importance of primary sources.
