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Kim LengI enjoyed Professor Kubo’s lecture on the Strengths and Weaknesses of Rights-Obligations Asymmetrical Alliance between the United States and Japan. This is a complicated alliance not to be taken lightly. I learned that many Japanese are not interested in gaining a more symmetric alliance and that Japanese who are willing to defend the country amounts to only 11%. Wouldn’t it be interesting for students to read about the US-Japan Security Treaty found here http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1950_usjapan.htm
and have them discuss their views on the US-Japan alliance? They can read the introduction and take a look at the primary documents regarding US-Japan Treaties. After reading the the documents, a possible essential question up for debate could be whether Japan’s Treaty with US should be more symmetrical. What’s their opinion? I would have them make a list of strengths and weaknesses and then do a gallery walk to compare.
Kim LengDuring Professor Kubo's lecture, I thought about the alliance between US and Japan. You read my mind with this thought: "By allowing the US to use Japan's multiple bases throughout the island and on Okinawa, this "imbalance" is not quite as asymmetrical." Japan allowing US to have military bases is a huge benefit to the US. With this alone the US is able to be in a very important strategic place in East Asia.
I was also surprised at the low percentage of Japanese (11% ) willing to defend Japan. Why so low? I kept thinking about the low percentage. I think a possible reason may have to be the impact of the bombings of Japan. So many people died and it was horrific. The effects of radiation continued long, long, after the war. I think Japan remembers how horrible war can be. Check out these articles: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki and https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-still-inform-health-today-180956185/
I think the low percentage of Japanese willing to defend Japan will make a good reflection exercise for students and then have them read the history.com article followed by the Smithsonian article by Marissa Fessenden. I found the Smithsonian article after I thought about the low percentage. The last passage stated, "The atomic bombs’ immediate effects devastated both cities and killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people. But the psychological toll of radiation may be one of the most enduring parts of the bombs' legacy." So it's not just the physical effects of the war, but the psychological effects as well.
Kim LengWhen I first heard about the Flint water crisis and with California's drought...I immediately thought about Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower series. I read the book over 10 years ago. In this imagined future, water is very expensive because it's the one resource that is rare. This book is definitely worth a reread. I continue to be amazed by science fiction writer's ability to invision a probable future. The book has gotten a lot of attention in this current political climate: https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/octavia-butlers-prescient-vision-of-a-zealot-elected-to-make-america-great-again.
In reading “Can China fix its mammoth water crisis before it's too late?” by Ben Westcott and Serenitie Wang, I am once again reminded that our world is so connected. China is doing great economically, but at what cost? Over $2 million people died from air pollution and part of the air that we breath in Los Angeles comes from China. Factories not in compliance with discharging their chemicals properly have polluted water. In the region of Dawu, China, more and more people are dying from cancer due to water pollution. The article also notes that China aims to improve the water pollution problem by 2030. See this article: http://english.gov.cn/policies/latest_releases/2015/04/16/content_281475090170164.htm.
I think it would be interesting for students to compare the Flint water crisis with the water pollution crisis in China. Our students are currently working on the Mikva Challenge speech and I hope maybe one student will speak about the environment.
Kim LengI made a note to promote Barefoot Gen to the kids and it's definitely on my reading list. Our library has the entire series, but it has not seen much circulation. I read "Barefoot Gen: The Japanese Cartoon Character Who Stoked Our Nuclear Fears" and learned that the author of Barefoot Gen, Keiji Nakazawa, survived Hiroshima. I can't imagine the horror of that experience. I also found the Barefoot Gen movie on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8XT5kRlDrU with English subtitles. I scanned it and the bomb scenes are very gruesome (32:00- 36:00). It was hard to watch. I'm going to read the series first prior to watching the movie.
Kim LengEveryone looks so happy in the "Learn from ZaDhai" poster. They are sitting on what appears to be a bountiful harvest. Is ZaDhai a province that makes straw hats? This province seems to set a great example for production. The people are well dressed and groomed. I wonder if they are expecting someone or maybe they are enjoying a show? I see a picnic basket and there's a river behind them. Maybe the message is that ZaDhai does so well in their production that the people have time to dress up and have a picnic?
In the other poster I see the phrase "Open mind to develop education." The man in a white shirt seems to be the teacher. The students are gathered around them. A girl is taking notes. Maybe the message is that the value of education starts with the youth of the country?
Kim LengI truly enjoyed reading excerpts from Linda Sue Park’s When My Name Was Keoko. In just a few chapters Park was able to express the sentiments of one family in having to change their Korean names to Japanese names. This painful experience is voiced by Uncle who said, “I won’t do it…Let them arrest me! They will have my body, but not my soul__my name is my soul!”
Wow! I can’t imagine having to change my name. How have I not heard about this before? I don’t remember my teachers going in depth into the Korean War. I think this historical fiction will bring to life experiences of a Korean family during the occupation of Korea in 1910 that will provide discussions about culture and identity.
Has anyone used teachingbooks.net yet? If you haven’t, it’s a free database that offers lesson plans, book trailers, and other book related resources to all California students and teachers starting this school year. Teachers may create an educators account to gain full access to the resources. Check out this link for Linda Sue Park’s When My Name Was Keoko: https://www.teachingbooks.net/qlz94fs.
Kim LengHow can anyone not listen to such a sage? Why continue to fight over property when property can be shared communally? Borders only cause warfare! Even husbands and wives can change partners yearly. And it'll take a country to raise children. Isn't it wonderful that children are placed in public nurseries? Once we move to the final stage of the Grand Unity, we no longer will need laws and courts. Why should we need justice when everything will be in perfect harmony? Theses ideas were part of a utopian society that Kang Youwei envisioned for China, but in the meantime, he had ideas for practical reform within China to deal with the foreign invasion.
Kang Youwei played such an important role in Chinese history that he was able to get Qing emperor, Guangxu, to listen to him and enacted The Hundred Days Reform. The reform was cut short by dowager Cixi, but imagine what would happen had there not be a coup. I imagine China would have had a smoother transition to modernization. Kang did not abhor western ideas. He encouraged keeping Chinese culture, but acknowledged that the world is changing. Why not learn western medicine and anything western that’s useful? The Chinese can still be keep their Chinese culture. This new learning is just adding to their knowledge. When Kang was warned by the emperor of the coup, he escaped to Japan, then Canada, and I was surprised that he was living in West Lake! West Lake is MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, which is just next door to USC! I think it’s crucial to bring this up in discussions about Kang’s life and influence. I think students might find that interesting to know that an important figure in China’s history once lived in Los Angeles during his exile and that he was a poet and calligrapher!
Kim LengLindsay,
Check out the movie I Can Speak. I found an upload on Youtube with Vietnamese and English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3_ystasyg4. It's about a comfort woman in South Korea, but it doesn't start out serious. I think the film does a great job covering such a tough topic. Did you happen to get all the notes regarding the symbolism in the comfort women statues? This article on CNN contains a chart with the symbols: https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/05/asia/south-korea-comfort-women-statue/index.html and an interview with a comfort woman who recalls the horror.
Kim LengI visited Central Library in Glendale this summer and there was a comfort women exhibit inside the library. I saw portraits of comfort women and their eyes haunt me. Today's lecture informed me that some comfort women were taken from their homes as young as 11! When studying World War II, have the class read about comfort women. Check out this article:
And I discovered a film last week called I Can Speak that told the story of one comfort women in South Korea. In the film, the main character Ok-boon said, “If I forget, I’ll be losing.” Let's teach our students about what happened in Korea!
Kim LengI found the territorial disputes between Korea and Japan over rocks fascinating. This dispute can be used in the classroom to provide students different perspectives. I’ll have them do a mini research project about the rocks. What are the reasons that Korea is claiming the rocks vs. that of Japan? And have them take a position. Check out the following articles:
Profile: Dokdo/Takeshima Islands: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19207086
Stepping Ashore on a Disputed Island: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19841335
South Korea's Lee Myung-bak visits disputed islands:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19204852
Why China, Japan and Korea fuss over tiny islands — 4 things to know: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/04/17/why-japan-is-making-a-big-fuss-over-tiny-islands-4-things-to-know/?utm_term=.585d907c96cf
I think the above articles can be used to start the research.
Kim LengI loved loved Born a Crime. One of our English teachers is currenlty reading this too and she can't put the book down! She takes it everywhere with her. Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties by David A. Kilpatrick sounds like a useful resource. I'm looking for ways to reach out to our reluctant readers. I might just check out that book. Thanks!
Kim LengHi all,
I'm a high school librarian in Los Angeles. I look forward to meeting everyone soon. Maybe I'll finish reading The 57 Bus before Saturday! Just curious...what is everyone currently reading?
Kim LengRuth,
What a funny video! I love the crazy sets section depicting them dancing on top of a volcano. I think it might be fun to make the project a contest. Last school year, three of our students wrote a song inspired by Hamilton and they got to perform the song at the Pantages! Some of my colleagues and I judged the class competition and we selected one winner. We have some talented kids out there. It would be interesting to see how they would make a KPOP video complete with writing their own songs.
Kim LengYasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953) is rated as one of the top films by Criterion and it’s easy to see why. A train passes by a serene town, blowing smoke, cutting through the heart of the town. It is mesmerizing to look at. When an old couple, Shukichi and Tomi Hirayama, decide to visit their children in Tokyo, events are set in motion. Like the moving train that passes through, their voyage from small town of Onomichi to Tokyo represents the unstoppable passage of time, and the inevitable distance between families as life moves forward. The elderly couple soon realize they are an inconvenience to their busy children. Their daughter-in-law, Noriko, is the only one who takes time off work to show them around Tokyo. The themes in Tokyo Story are universal: loneliness, disappointment, and mortality. Tokyo Story reveals the humble depicting of day to day life, without the “cheesy” music heard in a family drama series on a Friday night, depicting a parent who sits down with a child for a reaffirming talk about life. As the youngest daughter, Kyoko remarks to Noriko, “Isn’t life disappointing?” to which Noriko’s replies, “Yes, it is,” Tokyo Story captures scenes of interactions between family that is at once raw and heartbreaking.
I would have students write about the themes in this movie and select a quote that resonates with them to focus on. They may consider some of the following quotes:
“You can’t serve your parents from the grave.” (twice mentioned)
“I’ve had enough of wars.”
“To lose your children is hard but living with them isn’t easy either.”
“I’m afraid we expect too much from our children.”
“We can’t expect too much from our children. Times have changed.”
“What’s the point of becoming a family?”
“Isn’t life disappointing?” and “Yes, it is.”
Kim LengYes. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for students to learn about another country while engaging in the hands-on experience of creating a postcard? We can take a look at websites on Latin American tourism and have students examine the sites for images that continually stand out. These images must be presented in the postcard. For example, if they are researching Ecuador, what major images might one see for the country? Will we see the Galapagos Islands because of its importance in the works of Charles Darwin? Let’s make this collaboration happen this school year!
