[Dennis O'Connell]

Perhaps what I appreciated most about Session 4 was the emphasis on who writes history.  A historian really needs to evaluate sources and understand the perspective of the one writing that source.  I think this could be an incredibly rich and valuable discussion to have with students.  Where do we get our information about Asia?  Is it from Asians themselves or from outsiders who are attempting to infiltrate Asian markets?  Within Asia, how do we know about various people groups?  Is it from the people themselves or from the perspective of their conquerors?  Are there differernt ways to view the same circumstances?    Does might make right?  Is that the only voice worth hearing?  How can we give voice to the voiceless in history?  The teaching and learning of history can become so much richer as we take into consideration all the voices from the past.  

[Dennis O'Connell]

Reading "The Treatment of Natives" and "Who Were the Emishi", it struck me that the US experience dealing with Native peoples is not unique in the world.  It would be interesting to engage with students about how Native peoples should be treated in the United States, Australia, and of course East Asia.  Why do newcomers often disregard the peoples already inhabiting a land?  What language do they use to describe the people they do encounter (e.g., "dirt spiders" in Japan)?  How has treachery been used to gain an advantage over Native peoples?  Even though these things occurred in the past, is there a place for reparations in the present?  What can we learn from the past (both good and bad) which should guide our actions in the future as it relates to various people groups?

[Dennis O'Connell]

Thank you for yet another full and insightful sesson!  I appreciated the mental exercise of arguing the position of one of the schools.  It is difficult but valuable work to put oneself in the sandals of someone else, trying to think and act like them.  I want to use some form of this exercise in my own classroom.  Working with second and third graders, instead of focusing on the schools of philosophy, I think I will focus on being a citizen of an Asian nation.  What is it like to be from China?  North Korea?  South Korea, etc.  As a class, we can break up into various country groups.  Each group could research the country and gather background information like population, important imports and exports, political system, etc.  My students could then "become" a citizen of that country and become an "expert".  The "experts" could then be used to teach other groups what they have learned.  

[Dennis O'Connell]

As the son of a Daoist, I recently witnessed my father breaking a "law".  What are laws?  Usually they are the machinations of imperfect humans.  Why create laws?  Aren't the laws of nature enough?  By making up new taboos, rules, and laws, you are just creating opportunities for people to break these codes and receive a label of "criminal".  Laws, regulations, and morality are all oppressive tools used by the greedy and ambitious.  Can't you be content observing the natural world around you rather than trying to catch people in traps you set?  As a Daoist, I am very tolerant.  I recognize that what is viewed as evil by one person can be viewed as good by another person seeing it from different circumstances.  You ask me what I am going to do about my father?  Nothing!  Why should I get involved in his affairs?  Do camels turn each other in to some tribunal?  I think not!  I am content to live and let live.  I wish you would do the same.  

[Dennis O'Connell]

Wow!  So much packed into a short session!  The world of Chinese Philosophy lightning version!  Without recounting all of the philosophy we discussed in the even shorter time period of this post, I want to focus on a couple of the take-aways I received this afternoon.  Firstly, I guess I have to thank Confucius each time I administer a state test.  I can also thank him wherever I see meritocracy being put into practice.  Secondly, I can thank the Mohists for cultivating universal love as a principle states could employ as a way of avoiding the wastes of war.  I just wish I saw more examples of this philosophy being put into practice.  Thirdly, I can thank the Daoists for their "Live and let live" attitudes, their encouragement to live a life of simplicity, and the idea that "Things that are meant to happen will happen."  Lastly, I am not sure what to thank the Legalists for, but I am guessing they would have a strict rule about starting and ending sessions on time.  Thanks to those in charge today for doing that!  

[Dennis O'Connell]

Japanese consumption of rice has dropped 20% in twenty years.  This article sought to pinpoint the reasons for the decline.  In addition to an aging population who eats less in general, the younger members of society seem to prefer wheat products.  Combined with a lower demand for rice-based sake (down 33%), rice farmers are finding their prices dropping.  Many would drop out of farming rice, but mechanization has allowed many older farmers to continue.  Government tariffs on foreign rice keeps Japanese rice economically viable for the short term, but there is still a "pay not to plant rice" program for some farmers (I am reminded of the 80's dairy buy outs in the USA to help prop up small farms in the Northeastern USA - paying farmers NOT to produce milk to keep the price up for the farmers who were producing).  What is the role of government in helping farmers?  When should markets be allowed to function unimpeded and when should safe-guards be put into place for those who have invested highly in machinery specific to their farming?  Good questions for some middle schoolers and high schoolers to wrestle with (not to mention a few Senators and Representatives in Washington).  

[Dennis O'Connell]

I read all the articles before the sessions today, but still came away with so much I did not know before.  I am excited to process not only what I am learning, but also how I might use this learning in my own classroom.  What are some of the new things I learned today?  1) A young America sent a trading vessel to China.  Named "Empress of China", the ship was filled with 60,000 pounds of ginseng.  In our third grade social studies books we talk about the Panama Canal and trips by boat before the canal was built.  This new piece of information about a ship leaving the East coast of the US and headed to China (not to mention the trip back) will certainly find its way into that lesson!  One of our units discusses bartering as a form of exchange before money was invented.  I am guessing barter was a part of the ginseng exchange for tea, porcelain, and namkeen trousers!  2) The discussion about naming geographic features was facinating.  I am trying to brainstorm ways of incorporating this into a mini-lesson of some sort.  3) I appreciated looking at the map and seeing China and her fifteen neighbors.  This will be a very visual way for me to engage my students in a discussion about what it is like to have neighbors.  Are all neighbors good neighbors?  Do you get along with some neighbors and not so well with other neighbors?  Do you think it could be the same way with countries?  Do some countries get along better with other countries?  Are there some countries which do not get along?  What could a country do to become a better neighbor?  

[Dennis O'Connell]

Marco, it sounds like you have had an interesting background.  It is also nice to know you have taken another seminar.  You can help us navigate these new waters!  I look forward to meeting you and collaborating with you this spring.  Dennis J. O'Connell

[Dennis O'Connell]

Heidi Kwalk, I was pleased to see the first post was from another elementary school teacher!  I look forward to meeting you and working with you collaboratively on ways we might incorporate what we are learning into our lesson plans.  See you on Saturday!  Dennis O'Connell

[Dennis O'Connell]

Hello!  Currently, I am a 2nd/3rd grade teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in downtown Los Angeles, not far from USC.  This is my 19th year at King.  Before King, I taught for one year in Lee County, Florida and two years at Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School in San Luis Obispo, CA.  Previous to choosing teaching as a career, I worked in International Agricultural Development in various countries, including six months in Taiwan and three months in Japan.  Having the travel "bug", I have now visited 139 countries of the globe.  I have 69 more countries to visit if I hope to see the ones remaining!  I truly look forward to this USC US-China Institute and the ways it will help me introduce the world of Asia to my students.  

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