Mr. Dube and Classmates:

Honestly, I started with very little historic knowledge of Asia, so everything I have picked up regarding history, philosophy, culture, and government has been helpful in filling the void between my ears.

My expectations were to leave the class with just such knowledge; hence, my expectations have been met. What would naturally help embellish the class presentations and the knowledge I've gained would be the time/opportunity to read through the textbooks we were generously provided. Time having been(and still being)at a premium, I can only hope to follow up on a piece-meal basis.

The last class was of greatest use to me. Mr. Dube pointed out various aspects of previous(and current) class meetings with suggestions on how the elements of information might be used as course material. This was helpful because assimilating the new material is one job; organizing and applying it is quite another, so suggestions to this end at least get the ball rolling.

What I found most effective was the type of presentation and delivery of the course material. Yes, I realize that in this day and age the idea of "socializing intelligence" is all the rage as far as teaching techniques go. However, being and "old horse"(and an old "plough horse" at that) I found the lecture and question/discussion format much more to my liking. The "socializing intelligence" technique can be too much like pooling ignorance in certain situations, so lecture format worked for me.

Respectfully submitted,
Walt Banta

Dear Clayton and Miranda,

I have really enjoyed this seminar, throughout. I expected to learn more regarding the history of East Asia in a broadly-based way, incorporating literature, art, architecture, etc., and my expectations were not disappointed. I will definitely be able to incorporate East Asian material more effectively in my classroom teaching, thanks to this experience, and I would enthusiastically recommend it to others.

My two suggestions on content would be more reading from the Ebrey text and more focused primary source readings. I had some difficulty getting through all the material, and often felt I was not doing it justice, consequently. However, it is there as a resource, and I know I will go back to it often.

Overall, I appreciated the well-organized and professional presentation of the seminars, the timely breaks, and the obvious dedication of the seminar organizers.

Best,

Becca[Edit by="rstrong on Dec 26, 1:00:48 PM"][/Edit]

Hi!

I totally agree with your discussion with a colleague regarding Greece/Rome vs. China! I have a doctorate in Greek/Roman history, and I still appreciate the importance of introducing young people to true world history. The time to specialize will come when they are older--but they need a foundation now on which to build.

Best,

Becca

I joined this class with the simple hope of improving my knowledge base so I can be the teacher that I want to be. I knew that my grasp of East Asian history was pathetic, so whatever I gained from this class would be appreciated. What I did not know was how immediately applicable this course would be to my classes. From America's number one export to China (trash) to a comparison of Chinese foot binding and L.A. plastic surgery, my students absolutely benefitted from my participation in this class. I am very grateful for all the Professors and how eager they were to share their enthusiasm with us. After a long day teaching and fighting traffic it was rewarding to be in the presence of people who really enjoyed learning for the sake of learning. As for suggestion, I think the seminar was very well run and, like Walt, I think the "old school" lecture format is best, especially considering the amount of material that has to be covered. Keep up the good work

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot to mention how much I enjoyed the online aspects of this seminar. I have my students use online journals because I tell them it is preparation for what colleges are evolving into, and this was complete validation for me! I have been able to show my students that the very things they are asked to do online -- answer prompts, promote questions and discussion, meet deadlines, attach essays and such -- are incorporated at all levels of college work. Thanks for helping me in that endeavor!

S. Rae’s Evaluation:

1. I really liked the lectures, the erudition, and passion of all the professors, especially appreciative of the professors who were open to students asking questions and allowing dialogue--where real learning occurs.

yes, the course met my expectations except for. . . . see #3.

2. I will use the reference books on Japan and my lesson plan to teach Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen this spring, which I look forward to.

3. IMPROVING__
a. I think the course should be divided into 2 seminars-- less is more.

b. The second half of the seminar had a different vibe with remaining students quite dedicated. The exception, which I still feel is important to critique, is those who used their cells to text during class and those who were on the web during class. The one young woman, whom I think she said she went to Berkeley, texted constantly in plain sight often with her phone right in front of her, which she would look at while professors were teaching.

Inequitably, she was never reprimanded in front of the entire class as I was. That happened after I whispered a comment about Tibet to Sophia, which I would have preferred to state aloud. I was censored and verbally cited by Mr. Dube. My heinous crime, which I was reprimanded for, was to ask a question or to try and clarify a point.

This discrimination will be a part of a letter I write to the Freeman Foundation. My claim is that Mr. Dube and Ms Ko were biased and favored some of the seminar’s students.

For example, during the final class, I tried to make a point about Tibet, which was cut short by Mr. Dube before I could finish. However, he never cut off any other students who shared, such as Manuel Mendoza. I’m pretty sure I was the only one singled-out for allegedly having disruptive behavior. [I had perfect attendance.]

Within an hour as I was responding to a comment Sophia had said to me about Korea and its invention of the printing press--Sophia started this conversation--Ms Ko had the audacity to verbally reprimand me in front of everyone, but she said nothing to Sophia. This was humiliating and unnecessary.

Furthermore, during the last session, the Berkeley woman and Mike from the Christian High School were looking at her/his laptop and were obviously not discussing their class notes but instead were being entertained by the web site. Mr. Dube nor Ms Ko did not discipline that disruptive behavior. This is a telling example of disparate treatment toward me, which I allege happened during the seminar.

Taking this course on “East Asia and New Media in My Classroom” has been a great learning experience. I would encourage all teachers who want to incorporate East Asia studies in their classrooms to take this seminar. The benefits aren’t too bad either.
I have learned as much from this class as any of the history courses that I took in college. There were a variety of topics covered and professors who lectured on them. Each professor brought his or her own unique experience and suggested reading selections that supported the topic covered in that session. This is a great way to provide students with a wealth of important information in a limited amount of time. This class also provided a good way for teachers to keep up to date on historical research and its ever-changing theories and ideas. The materials provided from the US-China Institute will be important classroom resources for years to come.
The material provided to teachers from the US-China Institute alone makes this class worth taking. Being that I teach 6th and 7th grade history, most of the sources could be applied to my classes in one way or another. The amount and diversity of the materials can be overwhelming when you look at them all at once. I can admit that I have not gone through all of them, but I would like to discuss a few that I have had a chance to use and evaluate.
The first source that I would like to discuss is the Chinese Civilizations sourcebook edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey. This text is a collection of primary sources from throughout Chinese history. This book has sources that could be used at any grade level when teaching about China. One of the sources that I intend to use already, I have only gone through a portion of the reading, is “Penal Servitude in Qin Law” (Buckley Ebrey Pg. 51-3). This short reading, which is appropriate for 6th grade readers, describes the laws that a person could be sentenced to “penal servitude” under the Qin. Students will use this primary source to analyze the policies enacted during the Qin Dynasty, such as a uniform set of laws, in order to unify the different warring states of China. This document can also be used in sixth grade to compare and contrast the early law systems of China and Mesopotamia, such as Hammurabi’s Code, which is also covered in 6th grade.
The other resource given to teachers who participate in the seminar are copies of all of the PowerPoint presentations given by the different professors who lectured during the course of the seminar. I am looking forward to being able to pick through them. The information presented is great but maybe a little too complicated for middle school students. The visuals in those lectures however can be valuable to a teacher teaching any level of East Asian History. I am especially interested in the slides of different geographic locations presented in our introductory lesson on East Asia Geography, but also throughout the presentations given in the course. I did a lesson on East Asian Geography this year, but the visuals I presented were difficult to find, challenging at best to fit into the presentation, or there were copyright problems where I simply could not use them. These types of visuals are extremely important when teaching history to my ESL students. These are only a small portion of the materials and resources provided to teachers who complete this seminar.
The lectures in this seminar covered a wide variety of topics in East Asian history. All of the lessons were informative and interesting. Each visiting professor was an expert in his or her field and did a commendable job in covering sometimes thousands of years of history in just a few short hours. Like I have mentioned earlier, many of the topics that were covered during this seminar apply to 6th and 7th grade social studies curriculum. I will discuss a few in this essay.
One of the topics covered in this seminar can be used in several different units that I am responsible for teaching. Clayton’s presentation on East Asian Geography, although brief due to time constraints, gave a great introduction and background to the history of the region through geography. The materials provided can help me to introduce and review the regions geography in the units on Ancient China, China in the Middle Ages, Medieval Japan, Ancient India, and, to a lesser extent, Mesopotamia.
“Women in East Asian History” was another topic covered during the seminar that I can use frequently in the courses I teach. Professor Pitelka’s presentation traced the role of women in East Asia from pre-modern times to the present. It is often difficult to focus on women when teaching courses on ancient history. The textbook provides biographies of many important men in world history, but there are few on women. The resources provided from this lecture will allow me to focus more on the role of women when teaching about Ancient China and Medieval Japan. One of the resources provided were excerpts from Lessons for Women written by Ban Zhao, China first woman historian. This primary source document will be great for studying about the role of women in Ancient China and how she argues for a woman’s right to education using old traditions. Students can also use this source to compare the role of women in Ancient China with that of their own culture today.
The Tale of Genji is another topic that is part of the required curriculum for 7th grade social studies students. With the resources provided, and some I researched on my own, I have already created a lesson on this topic and included it as part of my curriculum unit. This is a great topic to cover in middle school and professor Pitleka’s information and the readings he provided have made this a much easier task. There are many other topics covered in the seminar that I could use in the classroom, but discussing all of them would make for a very long essay.
Taking this seminar on East Asian history was both an educational and exciting experience. I feel that I am better prepared to teach units in East Asian history and after I go through the majority of sources provided, I will feel even more empowered. The resources and benefits provided are just some of the many reasons why this has been such a positive experience.