[Valerie Doby]

We were supposed to post at the last session what films we were going to watch here are the ones I am thinking about.  I want to watch an Anime because my students really love them and I want to find one that we can watch that will also teach some history.

Films

Princess Mononoke - (Anime) On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.

 

Twilight Samurai - As the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing 2 young daughters, an aged mother, clan loyalties, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.

 

Shaolin - In a land torn by strife, the righteous monks of Shaolin stand as a beacon of hope for the oppressed masses.

 

The Legend of Silk Boy (Anime) - The Legend of Silk Boy is a story about an ambitious little boy who stumbles into a magical world filled with fun, laughter, adventure, danger and the most amazing and colorful characters you've ever seen. Along his journey, Silk Boy discovers the history of his country and becomes a hero by fighting against the evil Filthington The Fourth who will stop at nothing to obtain all the riches of the world - especially the control of the rarest silk on earth made by the beautiful Goddess of Silk.

 

[Valerie Doby]

I was surprised at the names for the WW2.  China calls it the Anti-Japanese War and Japan calls it the war of the Pacific.  I truly never thought about what other countries would call WW2.  I assumed everyone referred to both world wars the same.  Now I am curious to research what other countries call each war.  I think this is a great project every time you discuss a war or conflict to have the students as groups research it from the perspective of a different country.  For every discussion they should bring in the thoughts and feelings from the perspective of the country they represent.  This will bring about rigor, GATE standards, and help the students understand how everyone can see the same thing differently.

[Valerie Doby]

The More or Less story reminded me that stories can help students remember parts of history and give them historical context.  I use stories in English that tell about history but forget to use them in history.

 

“China Deploys Amnesia” is a very interesting article.  It can be used in my English class to compare and contrast to other countries and what they want to forget about their historical past.  It can be used to compare to what is happening in America today with the Civil War statues.  I think this article can be the basis for a class debate about history: What a country wants to forget their history vs Why we need to remember our history.

 

[Valerie Doby]

I forget the impact cartoons can have on a lesson.  I wish I could find some that deal with medieval China or Japan.  They can help with class discussions and lead to a deeper level of understanding and help students with perspective.  Which reminds me about the sea on the map that changes names based on perspective.  I really want to incorporate more perspective in my history lessons.  If someone knows a place to find political cartoons please let me know.

[Valerie Doby]

This was a part of history that I really didn’t have a great knowledge of before this session.  Since I teach medieval China, I haven’t studied as much on this part of China’s history.  

 

It is funny that most of my students when we get to China ask about foot binding.  I remember a little about it from history in high school but it wasn’t emphasized.  The fact that students ask about that first is amazing how a tiny part of Chinese history is blown up.  

 

This helps me to remember to balance the history that I teach and the impact it had on a society.  If I overemphasize or undervalue something in history my students will be greatly impacted.  I appreciate Prof. Dube reminding us about our responsibility as educators to be as balanced as we can.

 

[Valerie Doby]

“We the Workers” was a great film.  We have heard about low wages and poor working conditions in factories around the world that make products we consume in America.  This film help me see the impact on the lives of the workers and how they are fighting for rights that should be basic rights given to all workers.  I think all Americans need to see this film.  If we push companies we can ensure that products that we buy are made in factories that treat their workers in any country with respect, decent wages, and keep their promises to those workers.  

 

The debate was good.  This is something I use in my class regularly and my students like it.  It gives them a chance to do research and see what happened in history from multiple sides.  It helps them remember much better than a lecture, reading, or a slideshow.

 

[Valerie Doby]

Racism is a difficult subject to approach.  I enjoyed this lesson because it broaden my thinking about racism in our society.  How some people’s hearts and can change and how sometimes politics can change your mind and maybe not your heart.  Since I work with students of color and we talk about racism a lot I realize with this lesson that I have forgotten about the Asian community.  I need to broaden my outlook so I can boraden my students outlook.  Since I don’t really teach Asia in America I can use this in my English class in some books that I select that help students see that racism as an affect on many different people in America and we need to be aware of our own bias and if need be do like the people the professor spoke of and change.

[Valerie Doby]

The Korean Museum is a great field trip.  I took my class there and even though it isn't a part of our curriculum they loved it.  We learned so much about Korea that day that when we left most of my students said that they would love to visit Korea one day.  The opening movie talking about the internet in Korea blew my students away.  It is a small museum you can finish in about and hour maybe two then we ate at a park nearby.  Enjoy the day.

 

[Valerie Doby]

This session gave a much better insight into the Korean War. It also helped me to understand the impact of all the things that led up to the war and how it still affects what is happening in Korean now.  This session helped me to better understand how North Koreans look at the US and their negative feelings about our part in their history.

 

Also, when we talked about the impact of Korean culture on the world, I immediately thought about my students and their love of K-pop and Korean culture. Even though my part of history doesn’t really extend to Korea I want to figure out a way to incorporate their love of all things Korea into their history lessons.

 

[Valerie Doby]

I think different translations are based on the translator’s bias.  I almost wrote motherland just based on what I would normally say. Also, translators may want to make the translation more broad as well to include more people.

[Valerie Doby]

My card displays and military man holding Mao Zedong’s little red book.

The translation on the card says, “Increase vigilance and defend the fatherland”.  One reading said that the picture was used to display to all that even though the military was defending the fatherland they still had time to study the words in the little red book.

I liked this exercise.  I want to find something similar for my students. It is quick way to assign a task and give them a chance to do some quick research on a cartoon, propaganda poster, etc.  I would have them create a slide and merge them into one presentation for them all to review as a class and make it a learning slideshow for each student.

 

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[Valerie Doby]

When I was 13 years old I visited Pearl Harbor with my grandmother.  I didn’t know about Pearl Harbor until I arrived and when I left I had a very lasting impression and a very real connection to history.  The discussions about Japan in the war gave me such great insight to this part of Japanese and American history and how we have come to be allies.  The best part of this lecture was Prof. Yamashita’s personal connections.  It also helped me realize that when I make those personal connections in my class how the interest rises.  Also, it reminds me when my students can make those same connections they are more engaged.

[Valerie Doby]

There were two points that really stuck with me from the lecture and the readings that I really think would enhance my lessons to my students.  First, battles with head bags.  My students always seem to connect to the battles.  They will have many discussion about what this could mean to the victor and what it would mean to those who were defeated.

The alternate attendance system is another thing I think my students will find interesting.  I can’t wait to have debates about this system or have students create alternatives to this system.  Why did this system work? Could something like this work today?

 

[Valerie Doby]

The information we learned about Korea, China, & Japan was so valuable. While I know I learned some of this in school it seemed like it was new information. It also gave us so much clarity on the current situation now. I want to use this information to help my student understand how the past can affect the present and impact the further. Also, how important it is for them o be students of history. 

[Valerie Doby]

The China portion of the session was truly engaging.  Hearing how to pronounce the places correctly and making the connections to some of the things I teach made today especially impactful.  The new information I learned today will impact my teaching because the more I larn the more I will be able to impart to my students.  I gained a better understanding of the yellow river and look forward to doing more research.

Also, I can't wait to look in my history book to see if it says the Sea of Japan or the East sea and incorporate this discussion of perspectives in my class.

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