[Zoey McKinney]

This seminar has benefitted me most by expanding my own horizons and reminding me of how much I don’t know! Even though I consider myself to have mastered my own curriculum, during this course I was struck by how much information I had never come across before, as it isn’t part of my curriculum or any curriculum that was presented to me while I was growing up. For example, I know cursory details about the Korean War, particularly the United States’ involvement in it, but never in my school career did we dig more deeply into Korean perspectives on the war and the division of the country, or the effects on the Korean people apart from lives lost. Although it makes sense that we want students to be particularly knowledgeable about the history and workings of their own country, I think when it comes to developing global awareness, we (and our curriculums) have a lot of work to do. That said, I found it challenging this year to connect my 1^st grade content to the content of the seminar. We have covered such a large period of history in three major countries, and most of it as presented would go over the heads of my young students. However, I was inspired by Professor Dube’s approach in asking discussion questions, particularly in his first lecture about China’s geography and demography. One question was “How might resource scarcity and utilization fit into your course?” What struck me was that water scarcity is such a familiar and vital topic in Southern California, and that easily helped me relate to the new information about water scarcity in China. One of the first-grade standards in Social Studies is “Students compare and contrast everyday life in different times and places around the world and recognize that some aspects of people, places, and things change over time while others stay the same.” I will use this approach to incorporate teaching about Asia into my lessons this year. Learning about a new and unfamiliar place can be challenging, especially for young students who might have little exposure to East Asia or find it difficult to conceptualize how far away it is or how different some parts of society might be. I plan to focus on what we have in common, so for this reason my lesson unit centers around school life in other countries. Students recognize all the pieces of school life from their own lives – classes, friends, extracurriculars, homework. Having that as an anchor can allow them to explore the many differences between cultures without being overwhelmed. With a stronger background in East Asian history, I now feel more confident in expanding my students’ views beyond our textbook curriculums so they can start thinking like global citizens.

[Zoey McKinney]

I have been thinking about this a lot, especially in light of Columbus Day / Indigenous People's Day, Thanksgiving, and Native American Heritage Month. I absolutely agree that students need to be exposed to the good and bad of US history. I think looking at both perspectives helps develop critical thinking skills - students learn that no country is perfect, as you said, and that it is important for problems to be addressed, not shied away from. This also makes me think of our discussion about comfort women, and Japan's lackluster attempt to address its role historically or make amends. However, I am still struggling with how to begin addressing these ideas age-appropriately for primary grades. I think it is really important that we do not sanitize history for young students, but at the same time we don't want to focus on the more upsetting or disturbing facts, so a balance must be struck.

[Zoey McKinney]

I thought this article was really interesting because it is a perspective on machine labor that we don't really have in the United States. I think we could survey students' opinions on machine labor to see what points of view they are bringing into the classroom. I would guess some students would be excited about futuristic technology while others might have been exposed to the idea that machines take the place of human workers and leave people jobless. Our country certainly does not have a labor shortage, so students may not have considered the viewpoint expressed in the article. We could talk about why the situation in Japan is drastically different than the situation in the United States. Students could come up with solutions as if they were government officials, working to solve the labor shortage problem in Japan or the issue of unemployment in the United States. Then they could research what is actually being done to address these problems.

[Zoey McKinney]

I found this story very moving, and I think it would be a great addition to the curriculum for older students. It does a wonderful job of humanizing the conflict and showing how wars can turn "brother against brother." Songsam realizes that Tokchae only stayed in the village because of his attachment to the land he farmed and the family he had there. Even though Songsam made a different choice, he can relate to this, as his father had had the same feelings about leaving. The story shows that underneath the ideological differences, the two sides have shared experiences and shared history, which is both tragic and hopeful. There is a lot to explore here, and I think this story can be an impactful and memorable lesson about the Korean War. 

[Zoey McKinney]

Red Scarf Girl is a fantastic book for middle school and up! I first learned about it at a Facing History and Ourselves PD throug the Museum of Tolerance. You can download their teaching guide here: https://www.facinghistory.org/books-borrowing/teaching-red-scarf-girl 

As you said, one of the things that makes this book an effective teaching tool is that it is told from the point of view of a young girl, someone students can relate to. They might be able to put themselves in her shoes and see how pressure from school, friends, and the government could shape their views. It makes me as a teacher think about how teaching is an inherently political act. Many times we try to stay "neutral," but the topics we choose to cover, the stories we choose to tell, the attitudes we promote are going to influence how our students see the world. I think that is why it is so important for us to keep learning and evaluating our own curriculum (as we do in this seminar) to see what we might be missing and how we can better incorporate it into our classes.

[Zoey McKinney]

I love the idea of using playing cards, not just these specific ones, but from different times and cultures. The design of traditional playing cards that we use today is a given, so it could be almost shocking for students to see other images used as playing cards. This is a great example of daily life changing across time and place - this kind of paper good is such a small aspect of our lives that we almost take it for granted. It would be great to do a lesson comparing playing cards from different times and places to see what we can learn about these societies from them. It can be framed as a mystery, or compared to the work of historians who study material culture, learning what they can about people based only on the things they use in their daily lives. You can do a similar activity with stamps, since the images chosen for those are very intentional, trying to convey a particular message. This also reminds me of the article "Locally Ancient and Globally Modern," which talked about Japanese money and the images that were chosen for it. What message is being conveyed on these objects that are going to be looked at use every single day?

[Zoey McKinney]

Last summer I did my final curriculum project on gender roles and beauty standards in different times and cultures (I think it's still posted here). It is so interesting to look at the differences in male and female ideals in different cultures. I used Kpop stars as one example - Kpop embraces androgyny, especially in their male stars, in a way that American pop culture does not typically. I watched some NCT music videos this week and was surprised at how much makeup they were wearing! I thought it was interesting that the article pointed out how social media allows fans to form communities and interact with celebrities more easily, so that Kpop fans can be found around the world. I'm sure high school or even middle school students have personal experienece with online fandoms, and that can be a great way to engage them in learning about Korea. 

[Zoey McKinney]

It is always interesting to discuss gender roles with students, especially young students, to see how they view them in our society. I have taught about gender roles in other contexts (e.g. in native cultures in California in 4th grade, in colonial times in 5th grade), and students are often surprised and unhappy to learn that roles were so restrictive. Japan's situation of being progressive on paper (gender equality explicitly mentioned in the constitution) but very patriarchal in practice is an interesting case to study with students. It shows that coming up with policies and enacting laws does not automatically solve problems. Different countries have vastly different cultures, which will respond in different ways. While the US has not achieved perfect gender equality and the Equal Rights Amendment has never been passed, in practice women do have more choices and morr opportunities here than they might in Japan. This seems paradoxical, and I think it would be valuable for older students to explore this. 

[Zoey McKinney]

I agree that the one child policy is an interesting topic for students to learn about. Last year, my students were studying water use and water waste, and one student became very impassioned about the destruction to the environment! He proposed an idea very similar to the one child policy in order to stop resource depletion and protect the environment. I mentioned that it had been enforced in China, and he did some research on how it played out historically. We were able to have a class discussion about it the next day, talking about why it might sound like a good idea, but in practice actually had several harmful effects. I thought it was really helpful for students to see how many considerations there must be before enacting policy. I was glad that the student was passionate enough about environmental issues to start thinking of solutions, and I felt that studying the one child policy taught him that ideas must be nuanced and well thought out in order to make a difference.

[Zoey McKinney]

This has me thinking again about comparing the US system of government with those from other countries. In another discussion I talked about the value of looking at other democratic systems, like Japan, so that students can see that there is more than one way to do things. China's system is very different than ours - Thomas pointed out the top down structure vs. our checks and balances. It is also a one-party system instead of our two-party system. It would be interesting to have students argue the pros and cons of different systems to figure out why each one exists. Who do they benefit? Which ones are more efficient? More equitable? Offer the most opportunity? It is very easy to point out the flaws in other countries' government systems, especially those that are extremely different from our own democracy, so I think looking for nuance and taking different perspectives to examine the reasons these systems came to be and have been perpetuated would be a valuable lesson.

[Zoey McKinney]

The playing card I chose is the one of clubs on the second page. It shows Mao standing in a field with a line of followers stretching behind him. This image shows Mao as the leader of a prosperous society. The field is lush and flowering and he is holding what might be something grown in it (rice?) His followers are peasants and farmers. The card is promoting a lifestyle of simplicity, hard work, and dedication to the party. All of them look happy and well fed, including the women and the child holding Mao's hand. The card is showing that people are equals. Even Mao, who is the great leader of the party, is dressed very simply and is standing in the field among his followers. He is leading the way forward towards a stronger and more productive China.

[Zoey McKinney]

The Nationalists and the Communists in China were both educated by the Soviets and borrowed ideology from them. Both groups also benefited from Soviet material support, such as money and munitions. They both aimed to unify China and rid the country of the warlords that had divided it, while also defeating the Japanese exterior threat. Once the Communists successfully drove the Nationalists to Taiwan, I think their priority will be to establish a socialist state. I think they will turn to ousting the "local tyrants and evil gentry." They will also want to bolster China's economy by industrializing so that China is seen as a global superpower.

[Zoey McKinney]

The readings and discussion on women in the workplace in Japan were very interesting because the work culture is very different from American work culture. It seems clear to me that there needs to be a cultural shift when it comes to expectations of employees in the workplace as well as expectations of women in the home before women can really gain equal social status in Japan. I think the womenomics initiatives outlined in the article did not really address the root of the issue. For example, increasing availaiblity of child care is a very important step in allowing women to work after having children. However, if the culture continues to frown on women who work less than 15 hours each day, it is not enough. The question is how to go about shifting those cultural expectations. 

[Zoey McKinney]

One thing that stuck with me from our discussion last week was Professor Strausz's comment on teaching students about other countries' government systems, particularly democratic systems. He said that it can be eye-opening for students to learn that the American system is not the only system, and may not necessarily be the best system. This resonated with me, as someone who never had much exposure to other countries' modern governments. I learned so much about Japan's current government from Professor Strausz's lecture, and I think I would have benefited from learning about it earlier. We focus very heavily on educating our students about the American system, which makes sense given that we want them to be informed citizens who participate in this system. However, I do think it is easy for this to encourage a more narrow worldview. One of my Social Studies standards in first grade is to teach "symbols, icons, and traditions of the United States," and I have been very conscious of doing so without promoting blind patriotism. Another reason this point stuck out to me is that, as we near the election, I have seen many expressions of distrust in our democratic system. As Professor Strausz suggested, learning about other countries' governments can help students consider ways in which ours can be improved.

[Zoey McKinney]

I love the idea of having students observe and record evidence of foreign cultures' impact on our own society, whether that's American society or Los Angeles' society or even within a certain neighborhood. It's so interesting to think about how popular Korean culture has become, especially compared with how little Korean history is addressed in the typical curriculum, especially compared to China and Japan. Students probably are consuming Korean culture through music, TV, movies, skin care, etc. as you said, but what can they tell you about the Korean War? Probably not much. I think your idea would be a great hook to get kids more interested in learning about Korean history as well.

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