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Midori SanchezI have been to JANM several times, and love that each time there are core parts to the exhibit and there are also different things that I have "missed" each time.
A quote that stood out to me was by David Mas Masumoto: Culture binds us, gives us meaning and provides us with foundation... it surrounds, entangles and supports our daily life, a matter of learning "what it is we have to know" to belong within a family and community.
The first unit I teach is about "What does it mean to be an American?" for school. We discuss that rather than America being a "melting pot" that it is more like a "quilt" (many pieces that are different that come together as one) and what struggles there are when coming to another country and making meaning of your new surrounding. This museum demonstrates that "the day that will live in infamy" affected those for generations to come; American citizens were forcibly removed and placed into concentration camps. My favorite part of the exhibit was seeing those that were not quiet during this period such as Mitsuye Endo and Godron Hirabayashi that went through the courts and even jail to seek justice for their loss of freedom and pursuit of happiness. It was great to see a woman alongside men featured in this section.
I believe that in my class, I would like to highlight heros from different time periods, countries, and also have female representation moreso than what is featured in the text though there are female writers in our main textbook used.
Midori SanchezThe Korean Cultural Center was an opportunity to not only understand more about the Korean culture to bring back to our classes, such as learning about the Korean writing system and plastic surgery, but also to see what opportunities are available to schools and the community. I thought it was amazing that they have someone read children's stories in Korean and have arts and crafts for young children to either be in touch with their own culture, or be exposed to another culture. There are also musical performances with traditional Korean instruments that may be of interest to my students to attend. I also thought that seeing the BTS and other KPOP cut-outs as well as Korean animated show figures and technology to explore more helped to allow the students to have a mixture of "lecture" and self-exploration; I could see something for all of my students to be focusing on.
My goal is to speak to my Female Leadership Academy head and discuss integrating more opportunities for Asian American students and/or those interested in learning about other cultures. Living in Long Beach means that we would be able to make that trip there and visit a place they may not see otherwise.
Midori SanchezThis is my second time I've had the pleasure of taking this seminar and learning more about China, Japan, and Korea. However, though I'm at the same site teaching the demographics and challenges of the students I will be mentoring are different; primarily my students are Latinx or African American. These East Asian countries may seem starkly different from those of my students, but I am hoping to take on the challenge of building more representation and empathy into my classroom. My students also do not have history their freshmen year, so I will not be able to be reliant on their history teacher to supplement about Confucius or China but only from middle school or my own supplemented background.
The first unit I teach is on What does it mean to be an American? through the My Perspectives consumable textbook. There is already a story by Amy Tan included called "Rules of the Game", but the one inch by one inch background on the author and several sentence "background" on the story itself is not sufficient to understanding the motives of the mother and daughter in the story without first understanding the rich culture of China and Confucian ideals/expectations brought over even to first generation Chinese Americans. Because of this, I have prepared a slide show that breaks down Chinese rules of conduct, Confucian ideals, and Chinese vs. Chinese American/American Expectations. I think it is important as a reader to empathize with the experience of being an immigrant, a mother who does not show love in a way that many may associate with, and a daughter who is having identity issues with being Chinese and American. The mother in the story is not "mean" as some of my students last year wanted to categorize her.
I will also be includng this video to get the perspective of modern Asian Americans dealing with the same struggles their parents, grandparents, friends, etc. have gone through and will continue to go through. I liked that one of the people being interviewed had beautiful multi colored hair and that they shone a light on Bangladesh and how often they are not included or remembered as Asian Americans. I have downloaded the youtube video using this site (https://y2mate.com/) and made cuts for length, and deleted the short section on the fetishization/sexualization of Asians.
Here are examples of questions I will be asking on my pre-reading powerpoint to help push their understanding after taking notes on the powerpoint:
On the bottom of your notes answer these questions and explain fully:
-According to Confucius ideals for Women on Slide 3, what do you think is the most important ideal to Americans, and why? Which is least important, and why?
-What do your parents and/or culture expect of you, and how do they teach you? Do you think those expectations are important? If so, why? If not, why?
Midori SanchezHello,
I teach 9th graders who, for the most part, have a similar view. I like your idea of combining the new with the old to ensure tyheir understanding of history as modern as well.
Midori SanchezThis article described the individualism that is emerging in China and being able to balance duty and what may be perceived as self interest. Dedication, bravery, sacrifice, and strength are all valued in this "new" woman. I put "new" in quotes because while there is encouragement to be one's on self with their personality and dreams, there is also the pressure to be able to perform as an incredible mother while doing so. That is an extreme amount of pressure for someone breaking into modern thinking and, as the article states, risks for the woman as well.
Midori SanchezI am already planning to integrade individualistic and collectivist, but I agree that familism is also an important word for students to familiarize themselves with especially being Americans. I will be teaching a short story by Amy Tan and feel that this can also be added to the powerpoint I recently made for the students so they can empathize with the mother figure in the story that was previously viewed last year as "mean" or "intense".
Midori SanchezI thought it was interesting that the article spoke of marriage as an agreement and business. In the article, they discuss how having a son allows the woman power and basically "hits the jackpot" so to the say by doing so. Having a job and parental support is helpful when navigating through the relationship, but confucian ideals remind the woman that ultimately your focus is on being a good wife and having a male heir. They also emphasize the struggles in wanting to "have it all" by trying to balance your own professional goals but still be expected to take care of the household.
In the classroom, students are motivated in different ways; some expect to get married and to take care of the home. As educators, we may push our students to get their own education to ensure their independence but have to be careful of the cultural expectations they may come into the classroom having.
Midori SanchezI enjoyed learning about Qui Jin who was the first Chinese feminist to speak out against Confucianism, foot binding, etc. She dressed as a man and left her family to go to Japan; she believed that women needed to pick up the slack because they could no longer be relied on. We learn about the civil rights movement and women's rights in the United States, but it's important to also know what is going on in other countries in the 20th century and celebrate important men and women who were not "well behaved" in history.
Also, looking at the posters for female employment was interesting. Seeing the housewife turned manufacturing expert under Mao reminded me of Rosie the Riveter: both are forms of propaganda. Once again, these posters mirror the idea of the importance of women and the ability to have fluidity between femininity and masculinity with their roles and attire.
Midori SanchezI found it interesting that He Zhen viewed capitalism as both oppressing to men and women. Often times, we think of women as the ones that are being held back whether in the wage gap or the expectations to be a wife rather than have a job. Therefore, something was needed to replace capitalism. Servants, workers, and prostitutes are among the people who suffer the most due to physical abuse or have no value placed upon them. The necessity of a need for a change of mindset to displace the anger on men to "real" problems such as hunger and take the time to solve that. Depending on men or others actually is what continues to facilitate your issues and you can only depend on yourself.
This is an interesting perspective because it seems to be empowering in the sense that they say that you need to earn your own rice bowl and not depend on the man to do so, but it still does not change the fact that the inequality based on wealth and abuse is still ocurring and that socially you are isolating yourself from friendships and relationships with others. Some students I have already have entered into abusive relationships and been able to leave them, but some of them don't see what's going on; their boyfriend becomes the parental figure/protector that they yearn for. This reading showed the universality of the struggles that women deal with across ages and countries.
Midori Sanchezjfijds
Midori SanchezThe first unit that I teach my ninth graders is about "What does it mean to be an American?". We discuss the immigrant contribution and struggle coming to the United States and the pressures to conform to our culture and abandon the old. Within Professor Wang's lecture, I feel that it's important teaching students in Southern California not only about the Latinx experience, but also the Asian experience. I teach "Rules of the Game" which has gender and generation tension between the mother and daughter; the mother to my students comes across as controlling and unreasonable. I would like to give more historical/cultural context to my students prior to reading based on this lecture in addition to what I already teach them about Amy Tan's focus on generations in her writing.
Midori SanchezAfter discussing in our previous lecture about haiku and being able to determine the gender of the writer by seeing small details, it seems that China during the Confucius teachings also emphasized the space of women being inside while men were outside. There are positive expectations for women such as being a role model and teacher to their children.
I also was not aware of the of the "alternative" of Daoist's outlook on women which comes across as more admiring and appreciative rather than having "expectations".
Midori SanchezHere is information about what China started in 2017 to combat plastics:
Midori SanchezI teach a unit on Survival and currently teach The Hunger Games as one of the ways to discuss this focus. After seeing "Folding Beijing" I can see my students using this in literature groups to discuss a continued outlook on a dystopian planet. The Hunger Games and Folding Beijing both emphasize the class system: the more you have to borrow to get food, your name is added to the tesserae (the pool of names who are "eligible" for the reaping based on how many times you have borrowed) which means that the disadvantaged districts become the focus of "fun" for the rich people living in the capitol and how long you are able to be awake on the planet based on what class (which you cannot change from) you belong to. However, based on the language I noticed in the novel I will have to either only use exerpts, tread carefully or possibly edit out the words for my classes since I teach 9th grade. (There is usage of the F word on page 3, for example!)
Midori SanchezYes! The focus of my program is business, and I'm an English teacher. We discuss "authenticity" and the problems that can occur when you don't do your research or portray yourself in a way that is not real such as with "Fyre Festival". It is interesting to think about how plastic surgery affects children psychologically and to compare how we view plastic surgery in the US versus in Asia or South America.
