Thoughts about session 2

I enjoyed the second session of our seminar and that is saying alot because I was exhausted after teaching all day and dealing with the common dramas of my 150 eleven and twelve year old students. I was enlightened by the maps being placed over other maps so we could get a clear comparison of the size of China (placed over the U.S.A.) and of Japan (placed over the East Coast of the U.S.A.). Realizing that having "fifteen neighbors", China is quite a different environment from the U.S.A's only having two neighbors. I liked seeing the rivers; the Songhua, the Yellow River, the Yangzi, and the Pearl. Understanding the difficulty with the water supply because most of the water is "undrinkable" and polluted. Also hearing about the 3 Gorges Dam and about all the people who had to be moved because of it. I found it interesting also that there are SIXTY Confucious Institutes in the U.S.A. and that they are funded by the Chinese Government. Confucious Classrooms in LAUSD??? I had no idea! Our professor is lively and animated and has a voice that projects very well. He moves around alot and provides alot of visuals thus making it easy to pay attention. He modeled for us how to lead the debate (The lesson plan with the Legalists, the Daoists, the Moists, and the Confuciousts) - that was really fun for me and I will have the opportunity to do the lesson with my classes very soon as we are almost to our China unit!
edited by mfraser on 3/9/2011

Hi Folks,
Our students have prepared a map of the Confucius Institutes in the US and a map of the Chinese universities tied to those institutes. Check it out (mouse over the states to see the institutes that have been established).
http://www.uschina.usc.edu/article@usct?map_of_confucius_institutes_in_the_u_s_14774.aspx

As with the first session, the second was very interesting and informative. Some key points for me were the readings and discussion on the water problems of China. This may have troubling consequences for other nations in the region, especially for some of the South Asian nations (Nepal, Bhutan, India and Bangladesh). If the natural melt and run-off from the Himalayas is diverted to help fuel China's growing demand for water, these other nations may suffer. It was interesting from a classroom point of view to see how the debate was managed. It seemed like a workable technique for the classroom, start out as focused and directed questions but let the groups start to run with it. Having never had a formal debate in class, I feel much more comfortable trying one now.

Perhaps because I teach Human Geography, perhaps because I may spend too much time teaching about the forces of globalization and other big themes, I found it really refreshing to study the maps of China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula and to make the useful comparisons between the latitude of these countries and the US. Giving the students a concrete point of reference really helps them (and me!) understand and remember the significance of physical geography. The statistics about China's population concentration in the southeastern half of the country and the extent of forested and mountainous land in Japan were also helpful in thinking about the processes of urbanization in those countries. The satellite photos of North and South Korea at night would spark great discussion in class, too, and perfectly illustrated the differences in development between these states. Excellent resources -- I look forward to using them with my students.

I learned a lot of new information regarding the geography of east Asia in comparison with that of the U.S. The maps certainly more things in perspective. I've traveled to a couple of places in Asia, but seeing the maps overlapped with parts of the U.S. gave me a better point of reference, and I'm sure that my students would appreciate it as well.

The population issue is relevant to everyone. In many more developed nations, the older popular is increasing, and the birth rate is decreasing. With longer life expectancies and fewer workers to support the aging population, the global market is going to be affected by this decrease in the workforce. This is definitely going to be a larger issue in the future and we address it.

I enjoyed the 2nd seminar, as I find myself learning more and more about these Asian countries. I had no idea about the population density in China (94% of population living in the East, yet 55% of "land" being in the west), nor did I know that China had 56 different ethnicities. I could only assume that there was some diversity in population/ethnicity and language, but never knew that it varied that much. I am certainly looking forward to our discussion about the China's One Child Policy, as it will be a topic of discussion in my own World History class. It was also interesting to learn that Japan is a "Nation of Savers," but a "Government of Spenders". I'd certainly like to learn a bit more about North Korea since I feel my knowledge of the region is limited to their politics and their possession of Nuclear weapons. Lastly, I really enjoyed seeing the maps (i.e. Japan being superimposed on the East coast of the U.S.) because it really drove home the size of these countries and does make for an effective reference point for both me and my students.

The debate started off pretty well and undoubtedly would've picked up even further had we had more time for people to get more into it

I teach Geography, so I found this session very informative. I especially enjoyed the discussion on water and was interested to learn about the limited amount that the large population living in East China has access to. In addition to our discussion on water and limited resources in China, I also enjoyed the comparisons that were made between North and South Korea. What opened my eyes most to the differences between both countries was the map that showed the little light that was produced in North Korea when looking at it from a distance. This map illustrated the lack of technology that separates North Korea from the rest of East Asia, and would be a great visual for students to see.