[Zoey McKinney]

I thought the readings on radio and BTS fandom complemented each other really well in that they both talked about the impact of technology on the creation of communities. The Kim article discussed how radio "gave rise to new everyday spatial practices, leading to formations of new imagined communities," while the McLaren said that "social media plays a central role in connecting BTS and their content to fans - and vice versa." When I taught fifth grade, I had many students who were fans of BTS and Kpop in general, and I always thought it was so interesting to see how deeply the connected with this genre, much of which is in a language unknown to them. This phenomenon would not be possible without the technological developments that allow us to connect to the other side of the globe instantaneously, and while this is pretty obvious to me, I feel like our students take this for granted. They have never known a world without the internet, and this is something I plan to touch on when we get into "How is life different in other times and places?" in first grade Social Studies. I thought the comparison of the radio to the smart phone with regards to rise in popularity was a great way to show students what an impact the development of radio had. I doubt many of my students spend a lot of time listening to radio now, not when they have Google Homes in their bedrooms that will play any song they want if they ask it. But if we talk about how smart phones have affected so many aspects of our lives, and compare that to radio as another transformative technology, it might help them see how important it was. To go back to the idea of creating communities through technology, we can also compare it to video calls. The fact that my six-year-olds have formed a class community without ever having met in person is amazing, and something that can only be attributed to technological advancement.

[Zoey McKinney]

I found the lecture and reading on firefighting and arson in Edo particularly interesting. For me, spanning large periods of time or looking at very big picture historical trends can be overwhelming or harder to connect to. As a student, I love to read about some of the very specific topics such as this that historians specialize in. The fact that the people of Edo had to consider fire safety just as we do in Southern California makes the history more easily accessible, and I try to include details like this when teaching history to hopefully draw my students in. I thought the section on punishment for arson was especially interesting, as there are parallels to our modern conception of an "insanity defense." There is also the idea of "intent," since one of the arsonists received an easier sentence because he "had not set the fire for any 'cunning purpose." I also thought the idea of arson threats as blackmail was really interesting. I wonder if anyone was ever caught using that method, and how such a case might have been handled. It really emphasizes the point that fires spread so easily, since a threat to a neighbor could be enough to put you on your guard. Reading about such conflicts between neighbors really helps bring the city to life in a way that a general overview of its history does not, for me.

[Zoey McKinney]

The New Culture Movement challenged the status quo by embracing Western ideals over Chinese traditions, including democracy and science. There was movement away from traditional literary language and increased interest in individual freedom. The May 4th Movement similarly rejected traditional Chinese values in favor of Western ones. They saw democracy and science as ways to strengthen China and move it into the future. 

Lenin appealed to Chinese Nationalists and Communists because he was successfully leading reform in Russia, also an agrarian country, with the Bolshevik Revolution. I think both parties were worried about foreign imperialism, which Lenin saw as exploitation.

[Zoey McKinney]

Some Chinese concluded that their culture and systems needed to change as they observed many of the tensions we have already talked about - humiliating defeats by other countries, economic struggles, administrative issues, etc. Meanwhile, technological, agricultural, military, and political developments seen in other countries were not being adopted by China quickly enough. There was no unified approach to solving these problems. 

In my class, we have recently been discussing "Who makes the rules?" and why it is important for people to vote. We can compare a democratic system with a monarchical system. If people cannot express their opinions through voting, what are other ways that they can express themselves? What are some of the pros and cons of having a democracy instead of a monarchy when the country is facing serious problems?

[Zoey McKinney]

China's defeat by Japan was traumatic because of the relationship that previously existed between them. Japan was not seen as a powerful country, particularly in comparison to China, from which it had borrowed and adapted many parts of its culture. I like the comparison to the "little brother" in the lecture - a weaker entity that looked up to China, should admire China and follow in its footsteps, not fight with it and certainly not defeat it. Any student with a younger sibling can understand that analogy easily. It might come as a surprise if your younger sibling challenges you to a game of basketball, but it will be embarrassing and deeply upsetting if they win!

This brings to mind the lessons on the British and colonial forces during the Revolutionary War when I taught 5th grade. One activity we did to illustrate the power imbalance was to play a tug-of-war game with more students and taller students on one side to represent the might of the British military. The "British" team won easily, as they expected. We then made some changes to simulate some of the advantages the colonists had - the British had to pull the rope all the way to their side, while the colonists only had to prevent the British from doing so. The colonists were incentivized with an extra reward while the British were not. The colonists finally received aid from another team (the French) to help them win. This was a really powerful activity that made the students understand that there is more to winning a war than having a bigger army.

[Zoey McKinney]

I think family dynamics can help students think about the various forces at play in 19th century China. For younger students, economic factors can be understood in terms of a family's resources, such as money, food, or clothes. What if prices went up while the family's income stayed the same? For social tensions, what if someone from the extended family or even a stranger came to stay in the student's home? How would it make them feel if a visitor came and refused to follow the rules in their home? For administrative issues, how would their family be affected if one of their parents was sick, or if the number of children in the family increased? External shocks can be compared to fights with people outside of the family, while civil war can be compared to fights within the family. What if all of these tensions existed at the same time? I think students can also understand these issues in the context of the classroom, as it is allows for discussions of shared experiences. This can also help students understand some of the complexities facing our country, from internal political division to economic downturn.

[Zoey McKinney]

For students who are old enough, I think reading the primary sources, the treaties themselves, is the most effective way to teach about unequal treaties. If students are reading the actual language (or translated language) of the document they are studying, they can imagine themselves on the receiving end of the treaty and discuss how they would feel if presented with those terms. They can think about how the terms of the treaties would have affected different areas of society and how various people would have been affected in their daily lives. I think it is always effective to draw parallels to students' own lives. Have they ever been treated unfairly by someone with more power or authority than them? Did that affect how they felt about that person, even after the situation was over? 

The perception of missionaries is often colored by their status as outsiders entering a community. When missionaries specifically belong to a group that has historically been aggressive to the community, it is understandably more likely that they will be met with distrust. When missionaries take an approach of imposing their beliefs or attitudes as the "correct" way of thinking, they are, in a way, exerting force over the community. Their messages might be seen as further attempts to dominate or subdue the community as they remove or supercede traditional ways of thinking. 

[Zoey McKinney]

The arrangements of the Treaty of Nanjing heavily favor the British over the Chinese. The treaty opened China to British traders in a way that it had not been previously. Financially, the Chinese had to pay 21 million dollars to the British government. This includes the debt of Chinese merchants, the costs incurred by British expeditions during this period, and ransom for the lives of British citizens who had been imprisoned. Britain also gained control over Hong Kong in this treaty, as well as the release of all British prisoners in China. China may have benefited from increased trade with Britain as well as the withdrawal of British troops in areas such as Nanking, but overall China had to give up much more than Britain. For this reason, it is labeled an "unequal treaty."

[Zoey McKinney]

I think the possible pressure and opportunities arising from population growth can be taught in an engaging way through simulations. For example, you could start with a couple student "farmers" who can produce x amount of food and need to eat y amount. By adding more farmers, they can produce more even though they need to eat more too. But what happens when you add members to the population that can't contribute economically, like children, people who are sick, or the elderly? You can add students representing those groups to try it out. You can also talk about the needs of those people, and all people, beyond food. If there are sick people in the society, who will take care of them? As more people are added to the population, you can show students that there are increased needs, but there are more people to enter specialized roles, including roles focused on further development. When people are able to work on developing new technologies because there is a surplus of resources, economic development can occur.

If the Manchu Qing rulers are not able to expand their government, they will experience difficulty in controlling their growing population. There will be no way to enforce laws or keep the country united if the government does not expand. Instead, the country will become more disjointed. 

[Zoey McKinney]

When China and Japan limited access of foreign traders to their countries, they were doing so to protect themselves from military force, as well as cultural influence. This can be seen especially in the letter from Emperor Qianlong and the excerpts from Shinron. Qianlong discusses the "inevitable" friction that would occur if foreign people were allowed to move freely around China, as well as their disinterest in learning more about Christianity. He makes it clear the European values are vastly different from Chinese values, and for this reason, King George's request for more access to the counry must be denied. Aizawa Seishisai explicitly refers to foreign powers as "predators," showing the fear that the Japanese had of opening their country. Closing a country to foreign people may decrease cultural exchange or the risk of conflict for a time, but it also cuts the country off from the rest of the world. It cannot reap the benefits of cultural exchange, such as the adoption of new technology from other countries and the economic gain that comes from the increased trade. A modern day comparison would be North Korea, which severely limits access to the country for many reasons, among them to diminish the influence of Western culture on its population.

[Zoey McKinney]

Going back to the topic of learning how people's lives were different in other time periods and places, I think my students would be fascinated to learn more about life in the United States before the industrial revolution. So many of the things that make their lives more convenient would be gone and life would be very different. We can talk about how most of our clothes, toys, books, etc. are mass produced, and how many of those things might be home made in different time periods. In relating it to their personal lives, I think I can give students a basic idea of the impact of the industrial revolution. Having grown up in the United States, it is really easy to forget what a relatively young country it is. When I taught 5th grade, it was always interesting to talk about how the country was born, and how all the elements of our government that we take as a given, like the First Amendment freedoms, didn't exist yet. I think comparing it to China can help students gain perspective on our place in world history, which is important when so many of our discussions are centered on the U.S.

[Zoey McKinney]

One of the first grade Social Studies standards is "understand basic economic concepts and the role of individual choice in a free-market economy." These charts demonstrate perfectly how those choices can vary from country to country. Related to the money scarcity discussion we had previously, we can review how people and governments need to choose how best to spend their money when there are more choices than they can afford. Students might be surprised to learn that in countries like China, people spend a much bigger part of their income on food. We can talk about why that might be (e.g. living in California, we have easy access to a lot of different produce items, while in other parts of the world, those items need to be shipped in). We can talk about how different countries have different economic strengths - for example, some students know that many tech items and video game franchises come from Japan. We can also look at the amount of farm land available in different countries, which connects to the standard in which students describe how the physical environment affects the way people live.

[Zoey McKinney]

My class is doing a lot of learning revolving around our community, which is certainly different to teach when we cannot even be together physically as a school or class community. One thing we have talked about is how people in our community have different types of families. I have multiple students who are living with their grandparents right now, or who like to tell me about their grandparents living in other countries. I could easily tie in family structures in other cultures, including East Asian cultures, and how it is traditionally more common for grandparents to live with their children than it is in the U.S. We are also starting to think about how life is different in various places and time periods. For example, we look at how school or transportation can vary depending on where or when you're living. Having an aging population can affect many aspects of daily life - students might be interested in Japan's embrace of robotics to supplement the work force, for example. 

[Zoey McKinney]

One of the topics we are discussing in 1st grade Social Studies is the function of government. What does a government do? How do (or should) governments serve their communities? We've discussed the concept of scarcity in the context of money, specifically that governments don't have enough money to do everything they want to do, so there are usually votes, meetings, committees, etc. to make decisions about how to use what they have. We can extend this thinking to water scarcity, which is certainly something that affects us in Southern California. Especially when students are growing up in urban areas like Los Angeles, they do not necessarily think about the water that comes out of their faucets. Where does it come from? Who decides how it is distributed? This can get students thinking about functions of government they may not have considered. It also connects to our first unit in ELA, Community Helpers. What are some ways we can make a difference in our community? Making sure you are conserving water, or even advocating for water conservation among your family and friends, is one way to start.

[Zoey McKinney]

Hi! My name is Zoey, and this is my third seminar with the institute. I taught 4th-5th grade for 4 years in Los Angeles, but over the past year I have gotten married, moved to a new house, and transitioned to a new school and grade level. I'm now teaching 1st grade and it's been an adventure on Zoom, but I am really enjoying getting to know my students. 

Pre-covid, I loved going to Disneyland and watching musical theater with my husband. During quarantine, I have been doing a lot of reading and video gaming, especially on my Nintendo Switch. I have been taking Chinese lessons for the past year, and have been continuing them on Zoom. I also started learning some really basic coding. I've worked on a little bit of C, and done a lot with Scratch. I'd love to bring it into my class once I have more than two hours of instruction per day!

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