[Jaclyn Wall]

Growing up in the south, slavery and plantations were something that was commonly grazed over. It would be mentioned in our history books but with extreme precaution as it's a story not a lot of people want to tell, but also bearing in mind, students learning it are in elementary school. I also was not aware that Korea had a history of slavery so I did a little digging and was awe struck at what I found. Apparently Korean slaves were diminishing until 1930 when slavery was abolished; however, in World War II Koreans women were doned as "comfort women" and used as sexual slaves to the Imperial Japanese Army in the midst of other ways of forced labor.

[Jaclyn Wall]

I also really enjoyed this story. Highlighting on what Serece said, the symbolism behind the crane promotes a lot of what Christian Korean missionaries were trying to promote: Longevity for a long fulfilled life, purity with a pure religious perspective and peace between one person to the next. I would like to read this story "in a slightly modified way" to my third grade students and have them partner up to discuss what character traits they heard throughout, (Kindness, Gratitude, Responsibility, etc.) We use these as our monthly pillars of what someone with good character exemplifies and I think this story is relateable on multiple accounts.

[Jaclyn Wall]

Like Brigid, I was also fascinated by the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. We had tickets to view one of the gymnastics events, alas we didn't go after the bombing occurred. When the professor was discussing the Olympic games and how Korean athletes weren't allowed to compete for their own country but instead, had to compete for Japan, my heart sank. These athletes work so hard and are so proud of where they come from but then get told they have to perform for another country? It made me think about professional athletes today who play on United States sports teams but then have the power to choose if they want to play for their home country in the Olympic games or stick with the United States. The power we have today vs. then is impactful in so many ways and I think this would be a great compare and contrast piece for my third grade students to embark on. They would be able to research Korean athletes from the past and compare them to those dual citizen athletes who perform on United States professional teams but then choose where to perform during the Olympic games. I'm already excited thinking about this project for the end of the school year before the potential 2021 games!

[Jaclyn Wall]

Like Tara, I also agree with Brigid and Katherine's takes on Asian missionaries. I find the Korean missionaries inspiring as they allowed women to hold a place in a gender hierarchy time; however, they still had class separation issues as well making it not so different from Catholicism after all in that respect. With missionaries opening up and teaching citizens about western medicine and the like before pulling them in with the faith and spiritual side of things it brings up an interesting perspective on how they got their following in the first place. That being said, I think it would be very interesting to do a compare and contrast on early Korean Christian missionaries vs. modern day Scientology in the United States. Although they are vastly different, I feel the way they initially reach out to members is very similar by entrancing them in with a plethora of things. 

[Jaclyn Wall]

The Ukiyo-e art pieces we discussed were fascinating. I have an art minor with my undergraduate degree so remember learning about this style in a art history class. The sheer amount of detail which goes into these prints is miraculous and tedious given the amount of detail from a patterned wood block. When looking at the link Professor Dupe provided, I was especially drawn to the piece Midnight: Mother and Sleepy Child by Kitagawa Utamaro. He was known for his portrayal of beautiful women, and this one is just that. The way she is cradling her child you can tell there is a special bond between them. The body language of the child's head looking up at his endearing mother; while the mother is looking down at her child with a smiler upon her face exudes happiness. It goes to show that during a time when women weren't necessarily always appreciated, they still brought joy to the world.

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[Jaclyn Wall]

I really enjoyed Professor Takesa Tomoki's breakdown of the Peoples Right Movement in the 1870's and 1880's. Given the local groups wanted to have a voice they became independent groups made up of both the poor and middle classes. These indepdendent groups were led by Taisuke Hagaki and Shigenobu Okuma which were part of the liberal party. With this leadership it allowed more people to feel comfortable to have their voices heard vs. just listening to the rich and having things go as they did in the past. I think this is very relatable to now with both the BLM movement and the Presidental election. When explaining to students how BLM has allowed people of all races, and all walks of life (rich, poor, white, black, etc.) to speak up and demand their voices be heard it is not only powerful, but also the beginning of a movement. Although my students are in 3rd grade, I brought both of these Japenese leaders up to them and explained how by using their voices and standing up for what they believed in, caused others to feel more comfortable to have their voices also heard. It was a powerful discussion which we then transitioned into how Americans are currently using their voices more than ever for the upcoming Presidental election.

[Jaclyn Wall]

Much ilke Zoey, I find connecting to pieces of history can be overwhelming and harder to connect to personally. This was not the case when the Arson in Edo was discussed a couple of Saturday's ago. I'm originally from South Carolina, so when I moved to Southern California I soon realized how often these unfortunate wildfires are happening. This made it a lot easier to connect to the Arson of Edo lecture. I was particularly fascinated by the different levels of punishments which would happen to the aronists causing the fire and the different reasons they were starting fires to begin with: out of spite, for revenge, to showcase their anger, etc.

[Jaclyn Wall]

          Kang Youwei was fighting for women and wanting to change the status of education. He had two younger supporters, Liang Qichao and Tan Sitong. Communists ended up not liking what these three and their followers were up to so they made it known. Sitong ended up being captured while Youwei and Qichao escaped eventually to the United States of America. These are just a few of those mentioned in the lecture, but without people like them willing to stand up and use their voice to fight for what they feel is right, a lot of history wouldn't have been paved the way it has been for centuries.

     With the upcoming election, I have been talking to my class about why it is so important for our voices to be heard no matter our age. We discussed how although they aren't able to legally vote, they are able to speak up for what they believe in both inside and outside of the classroom. We discussed how our Zoom sessions are a safe space to ask questions and learn from one another, but also a great place to get ideas on how to better the world. This transitioned into a beautiful discussion on our polluted oceans and how the crayfish (currently learning about in our Science unit) won't always be able to survive if they don't have clean water to live in. Although crayfish live in fresh water and not salt, this led to my class wanting to organize a socially distanced beach clean up to do their part to help solve a problem.

     

[Jaclyn Wall]

The Emperor of China agreed to pay $6 million (as the value of Opium) to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain as a ransom for those who has been imprisoned and given death threats by the Chinese High Officers. This was just one of the financial agreements before the final total of $21 million was agreed upon.

Great Britian benefited from this agreement because they simply were given a huge lump sum of money and rights to Hong Kong to name a few reasons. 

 

The Treaty of Nanjing would be labeled as an “unequal treaty” because the Chinese conceded the territory of Hong Kong and agreed to have a a reasonable tariff on goods.

[Jaclyn Wall]

     In 3rd grade we discuss cities vs. small communities in our first Social Studies unit. Knowing that, I believe my students have a good understanding of how population growth can help an economy both thrive in aspects and slim resources in others if they're not careful. Now a days, the latter isn't likely to happen; however, in the beginning of the 1900's as citites progressed and populations grew, resources needed to as well. With California's capitol being founded in 1850, the population has only increased, but so have goods and services. This is also a great tie in to supply chain management which could bring in China's GDP and how it increased in the mid to late 1900's. 

[Jaclyn Wall]

     When the chart popped up and Clay stated, "China and India had over half of Global GDP' I wasn't surprised. In the 1800's the United States was still a fairly young country trying to gain its bearings. With these statistics being from the middle of the Industrial Revolution, it doesn't shock me at all that China began creating factories to build and execute anything and everything they could. When you have populations that massive, you need to create jobs and forms of income for people to be able to support themselves. It's a double whammy that they were able to not only use their population for the greater good, but also expand their mark on the world with the amount of goods being created/delivered.

[Jaclyn Wall]

     With an aging society, like in Japan, it is important to point out to our students why this is important. Yes, they're living a longer life; however, when the chart came up on the nursing home needs and intrafamily murders I was a little caught off guard...and I'm an adult. For me to explain this to 3rd graders, I would tie it in with our ELA Benchmark unit titled "Communities Then and Now." It's a great transition to discuss how places have changed and adapted over the years both geographically and as a society. The populations in a majority of places have only increased - so bringing in the high population statistics for 65+ year olds from Asian countries compared to those in the United States would be a fun activity. This could be done with a T Chat or a variety of thinking maps.

[Jaclyn Wall]

     In our Science lesson last week we were planting albino corn seeds when one of my students asked, "How do I know if it needs more water?" Such an innocent question, but it led to a powerful conversation about water management and the recurring drought in Los Angeles. We discussed how if people are wasteful with water faucets, long showers, etc. it isn't good for the enivornment. This was followed by if we don't have enough clean water, we wouldn't be able to hydrate our bodies, hydrate plants and other organisms, or be able to live for very long because we all need water to survive. When we brought the conversation back to our Science lesson we decided to water one of the corn seeds once every 2 days vs. every other day to see if we notice a difference. My students are really into this experiment and I think this information could be a great tie in to the lesson.

[Jaclyn Wall]

     In 3rd grade our first Social Studies unit covers the continents, oceans, equator, prime meridian and the hemispheres. Going over the diffrerent Asian countries and placing them in the appropriate hemispheres would help my students establish their geographical bearings of Asia, while also giving them an insight into how different parts of countries have varying weather patterns and temperatures (this also would tie in with our Science weather unit.) 
     In addition to learning about continents and countries, we also talk about smaller scale cities, towns, and states in our first Social Studies unit. This would be really fun to discuss how Clay mentioned both Korean countries and Japan individually have smaller populations than the state of California. I think my students would really be amazed by that fact! When discussing California cities, we spent a lesson discussing the Golden Gate Bridge and how it is an iconic landmark to San Francisco. It would be a great tie in to the Chinese civil engineering of The Great Wall to do a Venn Diagram of how they are similar, yet also, very different. Students would be given the opportunity to really learn about their home state of California and realize that across the Pacific Ocean are numerous countries whom we have a lot in common with geographically.

[Jaclyn Wall]

Hello! My name is Jaclyn Wall, but I prefer to go by middle name Paige. I've been teaching for the past four years and currently teach 3rd grade in LA Local District West. We have a pretty set schedule of Zoom synchronous and asynchronous work from 9:00 - 1:30 PM. While it's not ideal being out of the classroom, I'm grateful for my job and am enjoying my new class.

Pre COVID-19, you could find me at any sporting event or frequenting Disneyland as much as possible. Since we've been in quarantine, I have found a new love for curating charcuterie boards. It's been a lot of fun learning about various cheese and meat profiles while discovering which ones pair together best.

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