[Khrystle San Diego]

If I had not known the history of these cards, I would have noted that artistic elements of these individually illustrated pieces of art. In my class, I would show the cards to my students and conduct visual thinking strategies with them and try to encourage them to make meaning of the cards on their own first. I would possibly show the cards with the townspeople conducting business activities first. After discussion, I would bring in the historical importance of the images, and then show the more politically charged cards. This would open up the discssion amongst the students about why they think these cards and the art pieces are significant.

[Khrystle San Diego]

Foreign influence was a major issue for the Nationalists and Communists. As much as possible, they wanted to be able to overpower the foreign influence and become a hegemony again - much like Japan, but moving along the lines of the Soviet influence. They wanted to unify their country, yet their differences ideologies and achieving greatness caused them to continue on with their constant fighting. With the help of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party became more successful, which ended up provoking the Nationalists to move to Taiwan. Because of this bold move due to the aid of the Soviet Union, the Communists were able to seize control of the government, fulfilling Mao's goal of emphasizing the power of the Chinese economy while employing socialistic ideologies. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

I could also relate to the article in regards to Japanese women "marrying at an older age." As women are becoming more independent and rising in the workplace, the idea of getting married, starting a family, and building a home ends up on the back burner. I was married at 28 years old (which may be young to some), but if I followed the ideal plan for my life, I would have been married a little younger and have finished having children by 30. I totally understand the struggle these women are feeling as I ended up focusing on my career first which then prepared me to have a stable married life. 

I still don't understand why they say that the women participation in the workplace increases fertility rates. It doesn't make sense. If anything, being in the workplace increases stress levels which then affects one's fertility. I don't think the Japanese government is particularly focused on integrating women in the workplace because the patriarchy is still very prominent and favoritized. They may see women in power as a threat to their current system. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

I found it very profound that the Japanese workforce was more in favor of the men. Just like in the United States, many women experience various different forms of discrimination. Though the United States has come a long way in terms of gender equality, Japan is showing some change in their views. Japan has experienced numerous movements in support of women and their rights (specifically socially, motherhood-wise, and overall feminism). 

It is evident that in Japan, they have a lower percentage of women in the workplace - specifically in management and goverment positions. This is due to the fact that it is difficult in the Japanese culture for women to work over 12 hours while also attending to the familial activities and responsibilities of the home. Japan emphasizes the power of the patriarchy while on paper they promote "equality." 

An activity I would have my students do is to graph the percentages of women and men in the workplace across the years. Then I would begin a discussion on what they notice and possibly make inferences for the next 100 years and what they think will happen next if we follow the trends. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

I am particularly interested in how Korean culture in terms of music, arts, food, movies, and makeup, were able to garner such widespread attention from around the world. Growing up in Glendale, CA, a majority of my classmates were either Korean or Armenian. We lived near a Korean market and if I earned good grades I was able to take a trip to my favorite stationary store - Morning Glory. It was quite interesting because as a child, I was already aware of Korean culture, but as I got older, I noticed more and more people around have quite an interest to it. Some of my other family members and friends would go home to the Philippines and when they returned, they would have boxed sets of Korean dramas on DVD ready to share with one another. The impact of their culture only increased as K-Pop became more popular which emphasized a certain image which then brought in the importance of Korean skin care and makeup products. As Korean culture began to become more accessible to the world, it has brought more awareness about their country and has even become a highly desired tourist destination. 

In the article about BTS, it is quite evident that their fame came from the "hybridization of cultures" and the use of social media to promote their songs. I think social media has really made an impact on the power of Korea's culture on the world. BTS's work with UNICEF also helped boost their popularity even more as the fans or "ARMY" saw the group as more than just a "boy band" but also as global changemakers. As a result there is much global exchange between Korea and many countries around the world. 

An activity I would love to integrate in my classroom about Korea is to take graphical data and count any Korean store, show, or video that they see within a few weeks period. I think this will be quite a large number because we are close to Koreatown in Los Angeles and the fact that Netflix does now have Korean titles they can view. The number may be quite shocking and show how Korea's influence has grown. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

After viewing these videos and articles, I am intrigued by Japan's "identity struggle" in regards to keeping their own traditional and cultural roots while also integrating some Western modernization. Specifically in the Ravina reading, "Locally Ancient and Globally Modern," Japan, as a whole, was hoping to become a hegemony andwas coping with the modernity that other nations were also facing. A quote in the reading by Carol Gluck states "modernity is not optional in history," fascinates me because it responds to the fact that during the late 1800s and the early 1900s, nations around the world were all experiencing their own responses to becoming modern nations. The Meiji Restoration hoped to build Japanese up as a competitive hegemony in terms of their military, culture, and their technological advancements. One such was was the integration of a new type of paper currency. Their new notes depicted various images that were not very traditional and were actually printed and engraved in the United States. Much like the United States in their anti-counterfeiting efforts, Japan began using technological advancements which included copperplate printing rather than their traditional Japanese woodblocks. Upon looking at the currency, they looked rather similar to those of the United States Dollars. Because of their modernization, other nations began to recognize them as a world power and encouraged their alliance with other nations. Although this was "good" for Japan's emergence as a potential power, within the country, nationalistic ideologies were challenged and became an issue of struggle. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

The New Culture Movement attacked the ideas of Confucious traditionalism and praised the ideas of the West in terms of science and democracy. It was an intellectual revolution led by individuals who wanted to critique traditional Chinese culture and ethics. They thought this would be a way to address the problems that have risen as a result of their lack of modernization and specifically focused their efforts to educate the upcoming generation. 

The May Fourth Movement was a result of the protests in response to the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. The New Culture Movement was a precursor to this May Fourth Movement which in turn created a stronger motive which was essentially anti-imperialist and demanded that China became a sovereign government. The May Fourth Movement helped contribute to the rise of the Chinese Communist Party and increased nationalism in China. Rather than turning for Western guidance in terms of government, China became more radical in their outlook and as a result, China adopted methods from Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism. This is because they believed that this type of government provided self defense, support, and a sense of belonging and self determination. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

After the defeat by the Japanese forces and the increase of potential threats from other nations, I believe that some Chinese realized that there was a need for a change. People were understanding that if they continued to live the same way they did under the Qing Dynasty, they would be even more negatively affected or worse, their nation could have been lost to foreign powers. 

A way I can encourage students to see potential reasons for change is to create an activity where they take on a role of different Chinese individuals and how they would respond to change. By predicting how their roles would react, students can see the effects of change in the society. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

China was defeated in this war because of the corruption of the Qing Dynasty and their failure to modernize the military. They were fighting over supremacy in Korea. As a result, China gave up Taiwan and had to pay and give Japan trading privileges. This encouraged other Western powers to challenge China because of the lack of strong leadership under the Qing Dynasty.

Before revealing to my students who won the war, I would do a comparison in which I can show to my students the types of weapons China and Japan used. From looking at the differences, we can bring up ideas as to why they think which one is stronger and will ultimately lead to the victory. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

Thinking about how unequal treaties made a significant impact on how China did business with other countries, I am reminded of how students can relate this to personal experiences specifically when they were given unfair rules or treated unfairly by other people. We can also relate this to our current reading in our classroom about unequal rights in government. My students are particularly intereted in the women's suffrage movement in the United States. I can relate this event in U.S. history to how China was able to participate in global trade expeditions, but had to pay a significant cost. I can show that the women in the U.S. had won the right to vote, but that right was only given to them because they had to truly fight for it and convince the goverment. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

The Treaty of Nanjing was unequivocally favored the government of the British and left the Chinese to fend for themselves. As a result, the British were able to access China. This left China to suffer financially as they had to pay the British government for any of the costs related to the British expeditions, the debts incurred by the Chinese merchants, and also the ransoms of the British citizens. Because of this treaty, Hong Kong was now under the leadership of the British government. Although China was given the ability to participate in more trade relations, they had to lose much more in comparision to the British government. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

I believe that my students will be able to see the differences between the effects of population on the economy. I can use the individual sizes of my three classes to show how having more students in one class can affect how they earn their classroom points. For example, if I did a competition between grade levels, it could be easier for my fourth graders to earn points simply because they have more classmates in that grade level. It could also be a negative aspect of having a larger class size because that means that they could end up losing points if their classmates are always caught disobeying the rules. As a larger class size, the students can bring up important questions such as - "If our class is larger, what can we do to make sure that everyone is doing what they need to do?" This would bring into question the type of roles they can create within their own grade level to keep everyone accountable. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

Hello everyone! My name is Khrystle San Diego. I currently teach a third-fifth grade special day class at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary. I have been teaching for nine years. I used to teach middle school and high school in Riverside, but when I moved to Los Angeles, I was able to get another credential for Special Education - and now I love it! At first, I went to school to become a lawyer, but I found teaching to be so much more fun! I attended the University of California - Riverside (UCR) for my BA in Political Science/Law & Society with a minor in Music, the University of California - Los Angeles - School of Law (UCLA), and the University of Southern California (USC) for my Masters of Arts in Teaching Social Science. In the coming years, I plan to go back to school to earn a Doctorate in Education. Recently, I was chosen to become a ClassDojo Ambassador for Los Angeles!

Distance learning has been both a blessing and a burden. I am loving the fact that I can work from home, but I know that my teaching practice would be much more effective in the classroom due to the student population I support. I have been able to connect with all of my students, but even though we're using online learning, I have problems with attendance! I have been trying to keep my students engaged by bringing in virtual field trips, fun games, and dancing. 

Prior to COVID, I was often found at Disneyland or other theme parks with my husband. We used to have date nights every Tuesday at the AMC at Universal City Walk because of the discount movie tickets. My husband is a youth pastor at our church - so I really do miss hanging out with our youth group in person. 

New COVID skills I've picked up were using Zoom and Google! I think I've gotten a pretty good hang on it so far. Oh, another new skill has been personalizing things! I purchased a Cricut machine and now in my free time, I personalize Starbucks cups! 

[Khrystle San Diego]

I think my students would be most interested in comparing how lives were different from the way things are now. They are still surprised to know about total differences in the way we access media and the fact that our phones can do so many things that we needed multiple devices before. It is important to expose my students to the basic idea of the impacts of the Industrial Revolution. It is also important for them to know that the United States were only formed 244 years ago - making it a very young nation compared to the East Asian countries. When we compare it to China's very lengthy and colorful history, my students will see that China has grown so much over the many years. 

[Khrystle San Diego]

I can use expenditure charts with my students specifically in real life application of our money unit. When I present the money unit to my students, I usually ask them to go with their guardians to the store and chart down their expenses. By doing this activity, I can open up the discussion to larger scale expenditures of the home - should the parents be willing to share for educational purposes. We can include things like the water and power bill, the mortgage, gas bill, cell phone bill, cable bill, and other monthly expenditures the families may experience. 

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