[Jazmin Luna]

I agree with Nira in that it is fascinating to learn about the history of a country, especially one I have never really studied.  As she mentioned, a person's background does say alot about the person and what the person can or cannot do.  It was interesting to see how there was always tensions between the king and aristocracy, tensions bewteen the capital and other regions.  As well as rebellions and uprisings because of local corruption and the rigidity of the social status system.  This was particularly seen in the movie I reviewed, "The Concubine."  People didn't have say as to whether they thought they were being treated fairly or not.  That depending on their social status, that's how they would be treated.  Even in the reading "Lost Names" it was sad to see how people changed their name and had no say in it, they just had to follow along.  The narrator even says, "I know when to keep quiet."

[Jazmin Luna]

It was interesting and kind of sad to see how people live in China and how scarce housing is.  In this country you really understand how overpopulation causes apartments to be scarce since there are not many resources to meet those needs.  That is why some people are living in such small places yet paying a lot more money than here in the U.S.  I could definitely use this topic as an example in my economic unit, "In the Marketplace."  In this unit students learn about supply and demand, resources, and scarcity.  This would be a perfect example since I can say that apartments are so scarce yet there is a high demand which is why the price goes up.  Those willing to pay more will do it if they have the money. 

[Jazmin Luna]

I plan on incorporating East Asia into my teaching by using certain content topics as examples.  Unfortunately, the social studies standards in second grade focus on family history, map skills focused on the United States, governmental practices in the U.S., and important people who made a difference in our country.  Due to that, I won’t be able to go into detail about the history of East Asia countries.  I can, however, use certain articles or excerpts from articles to do close reading activities or further explain how each country, like individuals, are different from each other yet have similarities. 

Three social studies units I can use examples from East Asia are “Families Now and Long Ago”, “The Land Around Us”, and “People Who Make a Difference.”

For our language arts units, I believe that certain excerpts from articles can be beneficial in the following units.  “Characters Facing Challenges”, “Many Characters, Many Points of View”, “What Can Different Cultures Teach Us?”, and “How Does Understanding the Past Shape the Future?”

One issued raised in this seminar that was of greatest relevance to my course and students would be when we first started and the professor talked about the names of the sea depending on the country. This would be a perfect topic of discussion when looking at maps and learning how to read them, as well as how depending on where people live they will have their own point of view.  The film that I also reviewed “The Concubine” would also serve as a great example as to how people and countries are different.  I would only show the scenes of how they mourned for the loss of someone and discuss how different cultures have different customs.  This year I have one Armenian student and one student from Thailand.  The rest are Hispanic.  Using this topic for discussion, I would also be able to include all of my students’ cultures when discussing mourning practices.  I actually plan on talking about this, this week since we will be learning about Dia De Los Muertos and how people celebrate the dead.

Overall, this seminar has provided me with many examples of East Asia that I can incorporate into my curriculum. 

 

[Jazmin Luna]

My card focuses on two young men. One holding a gun and one holding a small red book.  In the background you can see more people standing and holding a red sign.  Another person is on the floor aiming at something with a riffle.  The setting is outside in what appears to be a desolate area.  In the distant you can also see other people holding a red flag.  The card says "Be Ready Now."

I was not able to find this poster’s origin on google images.  I believe that these people are the red guards, which were young people who were encouraged my Mao to rebel. Since they are on the lookout, I believe they were waiting to assassinate any person of authority who defied Mao's beliefs.  They were probably terrorizing people who opposed his views as well. 
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[Jazmin Luna]

As old as China is, I would have never imagined all the injustices people are still suffering at work. In my country (Ecuador), I would hear from family members about how they are mistreated verbally by their bosses and how they can't do anything. When they would say that, I was ohh that would not happen in the U.S.  For some reason I thought, ohhh well they are a third world country so they don't know of their rights, which is not okay.  But as for China, I would have thought that they had their stuff together seeing that they have been around longer.  It amazed me to see how many people were not interested in learning about the laws for they think that the laws are just written but the government does not follow them.  It inspired me to see how certain people are willing to risk their lives in order to educate others and make sure their rights are being honored.  It's saddening to see what people go through in other countries. 

[Jazmin Luna]

I agree that our country is not united.  I agree that we should have reforms that include industrial ventures and transport facilities.  This will allow for the total utilization of land resources.  Yet, as we have seen this has not been successful as these ideas are not central to the state's concern.  And as you mentioned small protests are becoming more numerous which divide us even more.  Our priority should be social reform in order to make our people happy and in order for us to prosper.  We should get rid of old systems like the examination system.  We should also change the status quo.  I believe this has been held by many people in power in order to protect their position and power.  By pushing for political change and social reform all these things could be accomplished. 

[Jazmin Luna]

As a follower of Sun Yatsen, I believe that we should have military reforms but that shouldn't be our focus.  We already have envoys stationed abroad so that we know in advance each move foreign countries might take.  Yes, we have external factors that are affecting us but we need to pay attention to those internal factors that we can fix and make us more united.  With our explosive population growth we should look at social reform in order increase our economic development and create more output.  This will in turn give us the monetary funds we need to strengthen our army.  Yes, we must establish instititutions where our people can study Western languages and philosophies but what good will that do for us if our people cannot fully develop their own talents. 

[Jazmin Luna]

Our group should emphasize the importance of social reform and not just economic and military modernization.  Even though, we were defeated in the first and second Opium Wars, we should focus on how we can make our country better for our people and not just think on how we can make the economy or military stronger.  One of our biggest challenges would be to convince the majority that a constitutional monarchy is better than the Imperial System. We would have to also convince Empress Dowager to allow foreigners into our country, since she is a big opponent to reform and is anti-foregin.  I would advocate for open schools for studying-abroad.  This would bring new ideas from people of different countries, which in turn can help us with the social reform. 

[Jazmin Luna]

I agree with all the reasons as to why we should learn more about East Asia.  There are growing relations between countries.  For example, my school has a sister school in China, HuJiaLou Central Primary School, and they have sent 16 students to spend three days in our classrooms in previous years.  It would be nice to be able to connect with these students and understand their culture before they come again. 

One idea that came up to me as I was listening to the speaker was how I can integrate some of that information into my lessons.  One of our reading units is "Many Characters, Many Points of Views".  I could mention how there are growing tensions over the name of the sea between Japan and China based on how each country has their own point of view.  This is just an idea but will definitely be mentioning this when I feel it's an appropriate example. 

[Jazmin Luna]

I would of never known that China was facing a water crisis until I read this article.  I also rarely keep up with current events which is why I was interested in taking this class, to broaden my knowledge about other countries.  How can people live that way?  More than 75% of shallow and deep water can't touch the skin because it is a grade 4 or higher.  You would think city designers would have come up with an actual design to preserve or resuse water before the population increased rapidly.  There always has to be a problem in order for people to take action.  How about planning for the future before there is a problem? I guess the Chinese government didn't think that water pollution would become a huge problem.  If I found deformed fish in the water, I would not go near it but many people there did.  When you think you have it bad, others have it way worse.  Nevertheless, it's good to see that there has been some improvement in the last years and that people are taking actions into their own hands by reporting companies that break enviromental rules. 

[Jazmin Luna]

I know very little of Asian history and culture.  Even though I majored in history, my main focus was colonial U.S. and Latin Amerian history.  It's interesting to see how the birth policy in Asia has negative effects now,  when it was intended to be a positive one.  First, they try to control the birth rate and now they want more babies to support the aging population.  It also amazed me to see their customs and how restricted these people live their lifes then and now.  One example is the process of joining the Korean Labour Party and how people join it to avoid physical labor and see it as a sacrifice.  

So many interesting facts.  One that I was able to relate to was marrying at a late age or not at all.  Now more and more people here in the U.S. are opting for no marriage and no babies until a later age.  As a 29 year old, I relate with the article "I don't".  I don't plan on getting married or having babies anytime soon.  I don't see a traditional family as the only way to living a fulfilling life.  I am happy with my masters and the fact that I don't have to depend on anyone financially.  Yes, I moved in with my boyfriend and that is totally fine with me.  Eventually, I would like to get married but don't see why I should rush into it. 

[Jazmin Luna]

My name is Jazmin and I am an elementary school teacher at a charter school in East Hollywood.  This is my third year teaching but taught P.E. for six years before going into the classroom. I majored in history at UCLA and received my masters at WGU.  Looking forward to learning as much as I can in this seminar.  See you Saturday!

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