THANK YOU ALL!!

XIN, Words can't express how much thanks and gratefulness I have in my heart for having been part of this experience. I have been, I am, and always will be forever changed as a result of this experience. Whenever I see an Asian I look at them in a much different way than before. It has informed my teaching practice at the secondary and graduate school level. While I have been gone a short time it feels as if the Institute took place in a distant Place & Time. Despite that I am back in San Diego with many tasks at hand I can't help but to be continually reflecting on the last two weeks. I need you to know Xin, that you may be in fact solely responsible for my attendance. When I first called in early June you encouraged me to apply. Hence I took your advice and the rest is history. I have a number of ideas for promoting the Institute which I will share in a new strand titled "profound effect and robust infection". As a fellow Trojan I hoped you notice the "V" for Victory hand gesture that I made sure was in the photo.
With Thanks,
Together WE Can Do Anything,
Rand

Hi Rand,

Thanks for your participation again! I'm glad that my marketing strategy actually worked... Please help us reach out to your colleagues, teachers or administrators who might be interested in participating or supporting our program. I believe in the power of word-of-mouth.

Reflecting on USC-China Institute

To be honest, I was not sure how important the seminar would be to my career.When I applied, I knew that it would be educational but was wondering if it would translate well on the résumé.In reflection, the course has been educational, professionally developing, and a perspective changer in regards to my view of the world.In the classroom, or professionally, I can now take the values ofAsia’s importance of technological advancement, economic importance, and the value of having students study abroad if possible.
In regards to technology, I knew of brands like Sony, Nintendo, Honda, Hyundai, and others, but I did not expect the level of advancement inEast Asiaas I was exposed to.In Japan, Korea, and China I hear it’s crowded and there is a good amount of money in the major cities but never considered the level of advanced each country has undergone within the last fifty years or so.
Korean facts that blew my mind included the level of cell phone use which included a good amount of first graders having their own cell phones.A statistic from the seminar showed thatNorth Koreahad 47 million people with cell phones in a country with 49 million people.InNorth Korea, if you need to catch the railway you may go online at any “light post” looking thing and have access to two screens to check arrival times, movie schedulesand other things for free.In theU.S., a big issue is the “dead zone”; while inNorth Koreathe seminar claimed that there are virtually no “dead zones.”
In regards to economy,Japanhad the second largest economy in the world until this last year whenChinatook that title.This means that besides the E.U.,Asiais a true powerhouse as far as a collection of countries and population to go with its consumer spending.ThoughChina’s per capita income still hovers around $4,600 per person per year and we hold a $46,000 a year level, their overall consumer spending will no doubt carrya lot of clout in the coming years. (Yahoo News)
In regards to education, I was recently asked, “if you were given $50 million dollars to put into education, how do you improve production?”After months of fumbling through ideas of my own as well as asking others the same question, my trip to USC made me feel as though the outside world may hold those answers.My answer to that question would be to use the money for grants for students who apply to study abroad.
Because of the advancement in communication technology, the world is a lot smaller than it used to be.By getting students grant money to study in other countries, we could bring back worldwide perspectives and ideas to “Keep up with the Jones’”.
In conclusion, even though I have not visited other countries, the USC-China program gave me a small window into the world that is developing out there.Many years ago a little country calledJapandid not want to change their ways until they found that the outside world was dominating them.
As our economic power and reputation begins to dwindle, we need to realize that there are great ideas and valuable cultures out there and we can always steal ideas from them, then try to improve on those ideas.Recently, the Huffington Post came out with this article concerning the best countries to live in the world based on, “Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy,Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate.” The United States came in 11th.