[Mishna Erana Hernandez]

I've yet to use historical debates in my classroom. Taking this class, and other recent conversations in general, have made me realize that I could bring debate into my Physics and Geology classroom. As someone pointed out in our last session, it's important to remember our past, as many of our choices and events today may still find themselves influenced by our past. I think about how to use history to bring up the debates on energy, climate change (how countries deal with it has a lot to do with historical and cultural relationships to resources). So while I haven't yet used them, I'm very much open to the idea and will be seeing where in my year plan it fits for next school year (maybe even this year). 

[Mishna Erana Hernandez]

If my father broke the law, knowingly, and I also knew of it… As a Daoist, societal rules and laws aren’t as important to me as the law of nature. The laws put forward by man are oppressive and, arguably, are what led my father to break the law. Having too many laws tends to conflict with the way of nature. Humans aren’t perfect, and, in fact, will never reach perfection. Through meditation, I hope that my father can find himself aligned with The Way once more. Harsh punishment will not lead my father to feel shame; it will only push him to find more devious ways to not get caught again. 

[Mishna Erana Hernandez]

I appreciate this perspective. As someone who doesn't remember learning about this school of thought, I can only suspect that Mohism was less popular because it challenged the central notion of heirarchy within the family and in the larger society. By stressing universal love, it directly challenged Conficianism. Legalists and Confucians in particular would've found it impractical to abandon filial structures. 

[Mishna Erana Hernandez]

Hello, may I please join the Daoism group?

[Mishna Erana Hernandez]

As someone who is a geography and environment enthusiast, teacher, and learner, I had a strong response to the first video. It was illuminating to see images of the fallout from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, given that so many factors went into the amount of damage that occured and few lives lost (plate tectonics, topography, engineering, policy, etc.). It's also great to see the comparisons of different countries to the United States, because it does drive home to how one country could contain a variety of climate zones and biomes. One thing that I was particularly curious about what the fact that South Korea is particularly fertile, and it makes me want to learn more about which soil order(s) are predominant in different parts of the country and how these do with the lack of freshwater use, despite the heavy rain and availability of it. California right now is dealing with a similar paradox in that we experienced consistent and heavy rainfall over a long period of time, yet our soil just wasn't prepared to absorb it and most ran off into the ocean.

It's interesting, and slightly concerning, to learn that Japan has been heavily investing in coal burning power plants and efforts are ramping up as a result of the loss of Fukushima. I understand the need for power for this industrialized nation, yet as a climate scientist, I can't help but wonder if this wasn't the blank slate needed to invest in renewable sources of power. It's equally devastating to read about North Korea's deforestation of their natural forests, given that they typically provide home to a vast biodiverse population. From a soil perspective, the lack of roots and vegetation to keep soil in place, the runoff and subsequent loss of nutrients probably doesn't help with the food scarcity that the North Korean population faces. 

On a completely different note, the notion of culture heroes was very interesting. The purpose of such heroes could vary. For China, perhaps it was helpful to create unity and pride among what may have included various factions living within the same geographic area. If we had these in the United States, I don't know that it would be easy to create these figures, given that our country is all made up of various ethnic and racial groups. China is currently facing a demographics turning point, in that their fertility rate is declining despite the overturn of the one child policy. I didn't know that China's population is about to be surpassed by India's, and this is poised to create various issues for China, including supporting an aging population and workforce. The are problems that many early industrialized nations are dealing with, and now China has joined the club. South Korea and Japan, largely due to its reluctance to open its doors to immigrants, are also beginning to feel the hit from an aging population. Particularly at risk at rural villages, which raises a question of equity, and I wonder if the governments in these nations are going to address the inequities in future proposals to combat the impacts of industrialized population decline. So far, "womenotics" and robot use seems to mainly address the needs of the larger cities, leaving behind the most affected areas. 

[Mishna Erana Hernandez]

Hello everyone! My name is Mishna and I'm currently teaching Geology and Physics at the high school level. Ever since I took AP World History as a 10th grader, my interest in East Asian culture and religion grew and continues to be something about which I'm always curious. As an immigrant myself, I enjoy learning about the world as well as different perspectives and ideas. I really look forward to learning about how modern East Asian traditions and culture has developed into what it is today. Excited to discuss with everyone!

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