feedback sought - overall evaluation

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,

Below is an exchange that began when an unnamed seminar participant wrote to Miranda. The correspondent suggested the seminar was meaningless and recommended several improvements. I responded to those and the participant replied to that response. I've not included the address of the participant below. Please take a minute to read through the correspondence. If you'd like to reply here, you are, of course welcome to do so. If you'd like to do so privately, you may write to me at [email protected] and to Miranda at [email protected]. If you would like to preserve your anonymity, you may do so by writing to us using a different email account (as the participant in question did) or by regular mail:

Clayton Dube
USC U.S.-China Institute
3535 S. Figueroa Street, FIG 202
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1262

The original message had formatting features that disappear when copied into the message form. They included bold, large type, and color. I apologize for not being able to replicate them.

We do welcome your feedback as it's our aim to strengthen your ability to work with students.

******
From: ----------- @aol.com
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 9:29 am
Subject: the classes on Tuesdays
Dear Miranda,

I am typing this to you from a friend’s email address so that I am able to remain anonymous. Here is my message:

I am finding the classes really frustrating because they are straight lecture. It is really disappointing. All of us agree, but I don’t know that anyone else will have the nerve to say it. Most of us drive a very long distance to get to Sherman Oaks. All of us have put in a long day of teaching only to sit and listen for 3 hours and then drive home and teach again the next day. The class IS REALLY MEANINGLESS FOR US, EVEN THOUGH THE LECTURES ARE EXCELLENT. We are not undergrads worki ng on a degree. We are teachers. We have “done that; been there”.

What would be more enjoyable, and more meaningful, is if:
• We were able to dialogue amongst ourselves as to how to implement lessons about Japan with our students and share our ideas and lesson plans. I thought20that the purpose of the class is to teach about Japan.

Perhaps I am incorrect. We could divide into groups and rotate each week. I don’t feel that I even know anyone in the class. We introduced ourselves the first week and then that was it!=2 0
• We interacted with the lecturer. Why must “they” simply talk at us for three hours, minus ten entire minutes to use the restroom? We area NOT undergrads getting degrees and trying to amass huge amounts of information. The purpose of the class is to teach teenagers about Japan, and yet we are simply being lectured to. At 7:45 P.M. we were finally given a chance to ask questions. Do I even remember what was said at 5 to ask a question?
• We could have had a deadline to have our movie review and each of us could have shared it. I would have loved to hear about everyone else’s movies. I would be happy to go out and rent them. We could have printed a copy out for each teacher. Many credential classes were formatted like that. I realize that this is not a creden tial class, but it is an effective format.

In conclusion, the class is hard to sit through. The 6 hour Saturdays were killers. There is no need for us to be lectured to like this. Please change the format for spring. As it now stands, I would not refer any colleagues to this class because of the constant lectures, without giving us a chance to talk at all. The only time we got to interact was the Saturday when Clayton divided us into groups.
So, please change the format of the class!!!!!

**********
From: ----------- @aol.com
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 9:09 AM
To: Miranda Ko
Subject: Fwd: the classes on Tuesdays

[email protected] am really disappointed that I did not hear back from you regarding my suggestions to have the class more interactive and less lectured to for we teachers! Please answer my suggestiions.

**********
From: Miranda Ko
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 1:07 PM
To: ------------ @aol.com
Cc: Clayton Dube
Subject: USCI East Asia seminar concerns
Importance: High

Had you used the correct e-mail address in your initial e-mail, I would have responded upon receipt. As it is, I have shared your concerns with Clayton Dube and we both agree that it would be best if he were to address your suggestions directly, so please expect an e-mail from him.

-Miranda

***********
From: Clayton Dube
To: Miranda Ko ; ------------- @aol.com
Sent: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 5:33 pm
Subject: RE: USCI East Asia seminar concerns
Dear Mystery Commentator:

Thank you for writing. As will be clear below, I don’t share your assessment, but I do welcome it. And let me start by acknowledging that we could and hope to do better.

I don’t comprehend the need for secrecy on this. We’ve always been quite open to feedback on the content and structure of the seminar.

These seminars are content rich for a reason. We want teachers to know a good deal more than what they glean from the textbook they use and the teacher’s manual that accompanies it. We wish to engage teachers as scholars. This is why we provide a wealth of textual materials. It’s too much, certainly, to read, but we hope that you’ll dive in, get as much as you can, and then come ready to interact with the instructors. Each of them is quite eager to respond to questions. I did not attend Prof. Pitelka’s session on Tuesday, but I’ve listened in many times and have always heard him welcome and respond to questions throughout the discussion. It’s a rare opportunity to be able to focus on a topic such as this with someone as well-read in the subject and as eager to share his expertise.

It’s definitely true that teachers can benefit from sharing opinions on how these topics can be taken up with students. Some of this happens in most sessions and I’d like to increase the amount of methodological discussions in each session a bit and to review the windows of opportunity permitted by the standards a bit more. In most instances, however, the challenge is less in the kind of activities that could be undertaken with students, but the content itself. You say you’ve “been there and done that.” If you are already quite knowledgeable about East Asia’s past and present, then it was a mistake for you to enroll in the seminar. The vast majority of teachers of world history or literature, for example, know a great deal about American history and literature and Western Civilization. The seminar is an attempt (and a far from perfect one, I’ll readily concede) to address that deficiency. Most of our instructors are model lecturers, raising questions for the audience, utilizing primary sources, and visual aids. You insist that all members of the seminar feel as you do – my guess is that your opinion is not universal. Previously we used anonymous paper evaluations. You’re welcome to visit our offices to read these and see how consistently these instructors (granted, speaking to a different but similar audience on the same topic) received marks of 4 or 5 out of 5 and the comments added.

One reason we don’t feel compelled to devote a lot of time each session to methodological discussions is that this can be quite readily done via the discussion forum. The best posts are focused on just the question you raise – what am I to do with this? Which texts might work? What activities would allow our students to grasp this concept, and so on? We mandate a certain number of posts and that you post for each session just to accomplish that aim. It forces one to think concretely about the topic being discussed and how it might be brought into your own classroom. Obviously not all topics are of equal relevance to all teachers and not everyone is able to get online right away after a session. But most of our teachers are remarkably thoughtful about the topics raised in the seminar and many like the forum as it is an equal access venue. If you’ve got something to say, you can say it. You don’t need to be called upon and time doesn’t run out. You can draw more easily on readings, the standards, and other resources. You mention how eager you are to share your lessons on Japan. Please do as I hope others will draw upon them and be encouraged to share their own ideas.

Please feel free to copy and post your comment and my response to the seminar discussion forum. It’s possible that I’m misreading the group entirely, but I doubt it. If you’d like to maintain your anonymity but want to add this to the seminar forum to see what others think, just reply telling us that and Miranda and I will add it to the forum as soon as we are able.

Finally, we do understand that you give of your time to participate in the seminar. We appreciate that. We also know that if you are able to strengthen your knowledge of East Asia and spend some time thinking about your own curriculum and the particular skills and needs of your students and brainstorming online with your colleagues, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to come up with some interesting lessons that will help your students broaden their horizons. And that is why you’ve been provided with top flight materials and sessions with award winning experts – so that you can do a better job for your students and thereby for all of us. In our increasingly interconnected world, it’s vital that we move past easy stereotypes and our comfort zones and really wrestle with the priorities, the values, and the experiences of others.

We do think it’s important for teachers to know each other and to exchange ideas. Being forced by the maintenance and other issues at the middle school to use the computer lab so frequently is hardly ideal. But as you've probably guessed, that’s out of our control and like other teachers, we just have to make do as best we can. I apologize that the physical conditions are not what we’d like and I’m sorry that you’re often worn out by the time you arrive. It might be worth spending a bit of time remembering how many university programs go to you, rather than having you go to the university. And then remembering how many of those compensate teachers rather than asking them to pay? And how many hold out the possibility of a subsidized trip overseas?

We do ask a lot of participants. We think the topic and the benefits available are worth it.

Finally, I appreciate the idea of moving up the deadline for the movie review submission. I think that’s great and plan to utilize this in the next seminar. In the meantime, please do visit the film festival thread in the forum (http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/showpost.aspx?PostID=389) and read a few of the 482 posts offered by your colleagues. There are some great films suggested there and some stinkers to avoid. Please don’t hesitate to post your own review or to discuss the comments others have made.

Smiling,
clay

************
From: ---------------- @aol.com
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 9:07 AM
To: Clayton Dube
Subject: Re: USCI East Asia seminar concerns

Hello Clay,
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
You did indeed make some good points.
As for the evaluations, I do think that folks have not been honest because they want to go to China. There is a lot of lecture, trust me. Folks were saying that they are eating just to keep awake. Then again, I am sure there are some folks who love to just sit and listen. It is relaxing. I feel that the class would be best if it were a mix of listening and interacting.
I guess that we simply don’t agree, and that is fine.
See you on Tuesday

**************
From: Clayton Dube
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 11:09 AM
To: -------------- @aol.com'
Cc: Miranda Ko
Subject: RE: USCI East Asia seminar concerns

Hi ?,

It’s entirely possible that you’re right and that people bite their tongues with their public posts. But in about 15 previous seminars where the evaluations were immediate and anonymous, we received the results I described. It may be that the experience of your group is significantly different.

Smiling,
clay

[Anonymous]

I must say that these comments are utterly appalling! Please DO NOT change the format of the class! I will attempt to share my thoughts on why the format works:

First of all, the student complained that there is not a chance to interact with other participants. Is that not the purpose of the forum? This works because the forum provides an unlimited amount of time to comment on the lectures and share lesson plan ideas. We are not limited to time in class. We are free to post the night of the lecture or even weeks later when something comes to us.

Secondly, the concerned participant also expressed that he or she believed seminar was focused teaching about Japan, and was disappointed when learning that it wasn't. The Seminar is titled "East Asia and New Media in My Class Room," right? This works because this is a grossly underrepresented subject in most school curriculums. The more we know, the more we can incorporate into our curriculums. This is after all, about half of the world's population. In this ever-shrinking world, we do a disservice to our students by not educating them about international affairs and the histories and literatures of other cultures.

This participant also mentioned that they would like to see more group work and group interaction at each seminar. PLEASE NO! It has been said that teachers make the worst students. This very often holds true. I have observed that when a group of teachers get together, especially after a hard day's work, the conversation tends to veer towards complaining about the day. By limiting the in-class interaction, you also limit the possibility of "rabbit trails" that really do waste time.

Finally, the participant above voiced his/her concern about the lecture-style format of the class, complaining that we are not undergrads. I hope that other educators would agree with me when I say that education is not merely a means to an end, but rather an end in and of itself. I hope that as educators that is something that we preach in our classrooms and also model. In this seminar we have the opportunity to listen to a number of college professors lecture on their area of expertise FOR FREE! I don't understand why anyone would want to impede on this time by doing group work that may not suit all the members of the group. Through the lecture style format, participants are allowed to listen and discriminate what may be most useful to them in their classroom. The web-forum allows for a very economic and practical way to interact with fellow participants.

The seminar's format works well.

[Anonymous]

This anonymous person most certainly DOES NOT speak for me. Trust me - I am not suffering in silence. I think there is value in working in groups, but in this class, I am glad we are not. I teach English, so how I am going to use what I learned in this class will look very different from how a social studies teacher will use it. It will even look different from other English teachers because we teach different classes. By posting teaching ideas on the forum, I can read the posts I want and ignore the ones that don't apply to me.

In every session, participants have asked the presenters questions during their presentations, and I can't remember even one time when his/her question wasn't welcomed and answered. All of the presenters were exceptional, and seeing as I knew basically nothing about Asia before this class, I learned a lot. My only complaint is that the class went too quickly for me, and I'm planning on spending some of my winter break reading through the wonderful resources I received. But that's my problem, not a flaw in the class.

Clay and Miranda, I'm sure you're tired after a long day of working, and I appreciate your willingness to drive to Sherman Oaks to make sure this important class is available for teachers like me who love learning.

Not afraid to sign my name,
Stacy Hartmann

[Anonymous]

I feel the way the class is run is the best it can be with all the knowledge we are gaining. It would very difficult to fit in all the information we get plus break into groups. As much as I enjoy group interaction as much as the next, I feel we are adults and professional who if we want, can discuss these lectures here on the forum or ask the questions in class. Every lecture we've had the presenters have welcomed questions or asked how we will use this in our classrooms. We have so many different subjects and grade levels I fell it would be difficult and a waste of time to break into groups to discuss those kind of things during class. I've enjoyed the class.

Thanks
Maggie Burr

[Anonymous]

Allow me to be Switzerland for a moment.

As for the anonymous contributor, there is a valid point. Direct Instruction is tough to take after a full day of teaching. But I have found this for all classes I have to take. Did my eyelids occasionally droop in a half-lit room -- yes. Yet, there was some variety and Clay, your small group session helped contribute to that.

For Clayton and Miranda, you pulled no punches. You told us this was going to be a slam dunk intensive and you have certainly carried through on that promise. From the get-go we were told there would be a massive amount of history, culture, literature and films covered in a brief period. The variety of instructors kept the proceedings varied and interesting. As for not remembering what happened at 5 pm to ask a question at 7:30 -- well isn't that the same issue we have with our kids. If you take good notes and jot down your questions, then the interrogative can be addressed.

Now to my soapbox.

Does it seem like there is not enough time to interact amongst each other in the group, yes. But this was not intended for that to occur. With the forums I have enjoyed the comments, insights, ideas and tips of this varied and interesting collection of teachers. Would I love to have the time to have an extra session for such group work, sure. Maybe it would be nice to have us get into groups, spend time comparing notes on the forum and then in pairs (or trios) teach back to the group a five-minute review and summary of the highlights of a seminar. It would offer interaction, dust off any early fall cobwebs and would serve as a perfect capper to a wonderful and enriching experience. Sure, it would mean another class and a long drive (as the anonymous scribe noted) but it could serve to fulfill that exploring and questioning phase that we teachers value in our class.

As for the swipe that we are being quiet so we can go to China, that's a low blow. The China trip is a "possibility" and given the large number of folks who partake in this program I hope I am blessed to be one of the participants. That will add to the insight that I could bring back to the classroom.

But my overarching goal in taking on this workload, reading (almost) all of these texts and taking copious notes (Yes, Miranda, I know we will be given copies of the lectures later, but I wanted the notes in my hand to spark me) is to help the students in my classroom today. Friday night at an English Department party, we were bemoaning the fact that our students have to read texts that put down African Americans and there is minimal representation of other cultures. I shared the stories and ideas I have learned in this short period of time and the fires were lit as others were coming to the table with their two cents in order to design a mini-Asian section in the English curriculum for the next school year.

Sometimes, I have felt the time was too short and I wanted more time to explore. Certainly, I was exhausted from grading, taking parent phone calls, writing college recs, and serving as the parent, counselor, advisor to troubled kids for almost ten hours in the day. But this series of classes was voluntary. No one forced any of us to take on the work. And after being apprised of the tasks involved, I did take measure of my schedule, workload and consider if I could commit. Happily, I think I am better, wiser and a smarter teacher now than at the start of the semester. My Korean and Chinese students have loved the briefest mention of their culture that I have slipped into classes -- information that I was unaware of until this institute's instruction.

These classes are not for the people who want to be anonymous. I love the complaints, questions and ideas I have heard from named people who stand behind their convictions and choose to help our children and work to bridge cultures.

After all, if we are not doing this to better our school and connect to our kids, then our time and Clayton's and Miranda's has been wasted.

Signed,

Kyle Kulish

[Edit by="kkulish on Dec 14, 3:36:19 PM"][/Edit]

[clay dube]

Dear Participants:

We welcome your assessment of our efforts these past months. Hopefully you've found the seminar useful. We welcome your comments, either here or anonymously via ordinary mail:

Miranda Ko/Clayton Dube
USC U.S.-China Institute
3535 S. Figueroa Street FIG 202
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1262

Below are some questions we'd like you to consider. Please be specific whenever possible.

1. What were your expectations for the seminar?

To what extent were they met?

2. In what ways (if any) has the seminar affected what you can (and will?) do with students?

3. What about the seminar was particularly effective?

What should be improved?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

To follow please find the continued exchange between us and the anonymous commentator.

We are posting these subsequent messages because we want everyone in the seminar to know that we welcome your opinions and suggestions - dissenting or otherwise; anonymous or otherwise. The goal of the seminar is to bring East Asia to more students through educators, and if there are ways you feel we can improve in that respect, you are welcome to let us know.

-Miranda

**************

From: Clayton Dube
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 11:09 AM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Miranda Ko
Subject: RE: USCI East Asia seminar concerns

Hi ?,

It’s entirely possible that you’re right and that people bite their tongues with their public posts. But in about 15 previous seminars where the evaluations were immediate and anonymous, we received the results I described. It may be that the experience of your group is significantly different.

Smiling,
clay

**************

From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 6:40 PM
To: Clayton Dube
Subject: Re: USCI East Asia seminar concerns

Good Morning,
I do appreciate your kind replys. I don't know what to say other than in our
group, nobody really enjoys listening to someone else speak for 6 hours
straight. It is actually quite brutal. It is not the way college should be. I
think you are a great guy and very up-beat and have really tried hard to get
wonderful professors, but I actually think that more interaction and less
information is the way to go. Please remember that we are not getting M.A.
degrees in East Asia at USC, we are simply teachers working on pay paypoints. I
do hope that the next session will be designed with that in mind; it is
obviously too late for the group I am in, as we only hve one more meeting. But
of course, it is your call.
See you tomorrow night.

**************

From: Clayton Dube
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 8:24 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Miranda Ko
Subject: RE: USCI East Asia seminar concerns

Hi ?,

Thanks for writing back. I posted your earlier notes to the discussion forum. You may find the responses of some of your seminar mates of interest.

Thanks, too, for the kind comments about me. I should tell you, though, that while some members of the group may just be going through the motions in order to get the salary points, more money, and to earn the chance to apply for a trip to East Asia, that I think many are intellectually engaged. We take pride in not treating our teacher participants as though they are middle schoolers. I know this is not always the case in professional development programs. We respect our teacher participants as colleagues interested in exploring this important subject.

But again, I readily concede our program can and must improve. Finding ways to increase interaction while maintaining the depth of coverage is a challenge we’ll continue to work on.

See you tomorrow.

Smiling,
clay

**************

From: Miranda Ko
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 11:00 AM
To: Clayton Dube; [email protected]
Subject: RE: USCI East Asia seminar concerns

Dear anonymous commentator,

As you had directed your initial e-mail to me and as I have been present at all of the seminar sessions, I feel that I need to make the following points concerning the continued exchanges between yourself and Professor Dube:

1. You make broad generalizations concerning all members of this seminar group and that is not fair. Any and all comments/suggestions you make as an individual (even if you choose to do it anonymously), we take into serious consideration. However, it is clear from others’ forum posts that they do not agree with your critical assessment, and I think that you are doing your classmates a disservice by speaking in the collective.

2. This seminar is not designed, and was not advertised, as a USC undergraduate or graduate course. This is a unique professional development opportunity for K-12 educators seeking to enrich their knowledge of East Asia. From the first session it was emphasized that the seminar would be content-intensive and focused around speaker presentations.

3. It seems to me that your chief complaint is the length of the seminar presentations and your unease in remaining attentive for a three-hour period. Pardon me for being direct, but as an educator, do you not find listening and comprehension to be aspects of learning that are so lacking in the classroom these days?

If your intent for joining this seminar was to learn about East Asia and you feel that we have failed in that regard, then I embrace all of your criticisms as suggestions for improvement. However, if you are indeed putting in the time for salary points and a potential trip to East Asia, then I am afraid that you have failed all of us involved who work hard towards bringing more of East Asia into the classroom.

-Miranda

**************

From: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 9:50 AM
To: Miranda Ko
Subject:

Hi Miranda,
Thank you for taking the time to reply to me.
I apprerciate it.
You are correct in that I spoke forthe entire group, and I have not taken a survey. However, I know that many do not like to be lectured to. Why not change it for less information, or half of the evening, and the other half we could share our ideas and lessons. Simple solution if you ask me, which you did not.
Yes, the course was emphasized as "content intensive," but I have to tell you that it is extremely content intensive. Since everyone in the class is a teacher, why not simply have some teacher time and lesson plan sharing?
Yes, students have a difficult sitting and listening these days, there is no questions about that, but three hours is a long time for anyone, anywhere. Even a three hour movie is a long time.
Now that I think about it, it has been several teachers at my location tht have stated that they would not want to be involved in a three hour lecture on a weekeday and a six hour lecture on a Sat.
Everyone that I have spoken to said they would enjoy some lesson sharing.
Last night was the last night, and I was waiting for an evaluation form.
Please share this with Clayton for me.

**************

From: Clayton Dube
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 3:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Miranda Ko
Subject: more on ncta / san fernando valley

Dear Mystery Correspondent:

I'm impressed. You are writing from another address. Your friends are extremely generous with their accounts.

Thank you for your suggestion to increase the amount of interaction in the seminar. It is great that you would like to share teaching suggestions on all these topics. I hope you'll do so right away. Please share your brainstorming on our the subjects that most interest you via our discussion forum. You could start by discussing ways you might teach about the importance of the Pacific War to shaping East Asia today. Hopefully your ideas will get others thinking about these challenges as well.

Of course, you could also elect to continue complaining to Miranda and me about how miserable the experience has been. You can write to us about how anxious you are to share ideas and to engage your fellow teachers in discussion. It would be far better though to actually exchange ideas. Skip drafting a response to this message and instead work on putting forward your thoughts on how to best help adolescents in learning about East Asia. Post those ideas in the forum. Let others profit from your insights and hopefully you can also profit from theirs.

Best wishes,
clay

[Anonymous]

I have ALWAYS resented going to workshops/trainings/classes where we are treated like children and made to do activities. I appreciate the direct instruction; I like being taught the material in a straightforward, intelligent manner. I think the quality of professors has been outstanding, the amount of materials we've received has been very generous, and the quality of the classes has been excellent. I admit I've been bored a time or two, but I chalk that up to me not doing the readings beforehand.

[Anonymous]

I actually talked about this in a post to the forum. I enjoy the classes very much because I am a knowledge junkie. I love listening to lectures for my own enrichment. I would, however, have liked to have more interaction in class. I love hearing other people's ideas about how to use the information we have been given. Sometimes hearing how someone else is thinking about the materials helps me to formulate my own ideas as well!

Susan Dubin

[Anonymous]

Of course, no one likes to hear criticism that is not connected to positive suggestions. Unfortunately, I did not understand the positive contributions of the anonymous person who didn’t appreciate the methodology of the classes. I, for one, learn better by doing rather than by listening. That is my preferred learning modality. But this doesn’t mean I receive no benefit from other, less favorite encounters. Indeed, the lecture format, combined with my note taking, has given me much new knowledge on East Asia. While I am not the best student in lecture, I am capable of earning “A’s” as my academic record would indicate. The class is not a cakewalk in the sense it requires students to listen attentively, pose thoughtful questions, and respond to unfamiliar points of view. I have learned and benefited from the class. My knowledge base for China, Japan, and Korea has been drastically increased. The teachers we were exposed to were truly experts in their field and invigorating to have experienced. In a best of all worlds scenario, I believe the class lived up to its promise and in many cases surpassed my expectations. I feel fortunate that I was able to participate in the classes, I feel strengthened intellectually by the acquisition of new knowledge, and I think the movers and shakers of the US-China Institute should feel vindicated that they have provide us a positive, thorough, and worthwhile learning experience. Thanks to Clay and Miranda and the many wonderful teachers we met.

[Anonymous]

In an overall sense, I came to these classes thinking that more than 30 hours of class, after work, when I was tired from teaching all day, would be a difficult thing to do. I actually dreaded that I might fall asleep in class. Last Tuesday, when we had our last academic class, I have to admit I really was sad to see it end. I enjoyed every minute and every second of the classes. When I left Tuesday night I still wanted to experience more. In every class, I felt enriched and contented with the acquisition of fascinating knowledge, The teachers were so good at what they were doing that I was inspired and wished I could be like them. Learning how to use literature and poetry, how to use movies, how to tell the rich history of China, what led to the next action in history as the stories unfolded, the causes and effects of historical incidents, what a great variety of classes. When the classes ended I was left with the wonder of wanting to learn even more. Every time I went back to my classes, I used some of the things I had learned from previous sessions. I have many Asian students, and when I went back to my classes and shared new information about their ancestral countries with them, they were thrilled and excited, as were my other students. Myself, I am looking forward to continuing to take some classes with the outstanding instructors the Institute introduced me to when I have the opportunity. I have talked about the great experience the Institute has given me, and some of my teacher friends at school want to attend an upcoming session. Thanks, I enjoyed the experience immensely. The kindness, softness, and generosity of Miranda was inviting, and made me want to come back each week. I really enjoyed Clayton’s classes and have used his methods of teaching Chinese philosophy to my classes. Thanks for a lovely experience.

[Anonymous]

My initial response is . . . wow . . . so much to say! I wish I had checked the forum earlier! I agree with many of the statements that have already been posted, so I will try to not repeat the same ideas.

First of all, I believe that the format, expectations, and goals of the seminar were clearly stated when we began and I believe that they have been carried out effectively. We knew from the beginning that we were to cover a tremendous amount of material and that the online forum would be our may avenue for digesting and discussing this information. This has been the case. I think we know from our own teaching, too, that direct instruction is the most efficient way to cover large amounts of material and that we as scholars and professionals should be able to handle this.

Also, it is important to recognize that the seminar is open to so many teachers and that spending a tremendous amount of time addressing lesson plans, etc. might be a waste for those teachers whose content or grade level is not well represented. I know that I have attended many professional development workshops where I only got elementary school ideas and felt that I had wasted my time.

Overall, I feel that in terms of knowledge and ideas I gained a tremendous amount from these sessions, not to mention the very generous benefits that we are receiving and/or have the potential to receive in the future. I think this is important to recognize as well. This seminar is basically a gift. I know Clay and Miranda are very open to feedback and will take proactive steps to address whatever comments they receive.

I want to say thank you again to all of the speakers who were interesting, engaging, and informative in their own unique styles. Also, thank you to Clay and Miranda for organizing, energizing, speaking to, and feeding us! Finally, thank you fellow participants. Although I am often a quiet student, I have learned a tremendous amount just from listening to and absorbing others' comments - so that you active participants!

Here's to recognizing that none of us are perfect and that we are professionals in the most challenging and evolving "industry" there is - education.

Stephanie Howe

[Anonymous]

First of all, I'd just like to take the time to wish you, Clay, Miranda and all the other guest lecturers a happy and prosperous 2009. You did a wonderful job with the classes and got me personally educated about an area of the world I had for so long ignored, but to which the students that I teach are highly responding in whatever gadgets or movies, art, etc., appeal to them. I like to be aware of things - because, where does it say "ignorance is a crime"'? So I for one got educated in an atmosphere that was very relaxed and inviting. And as I sharpened my brain, I got my totally fed all kinds of exotic snacks that were every bit tantilizing to my palate. I would be amiss to fuss when so many of my senses are being appealed to in one session..I thought the purpose of these sessions was also to see how we could improve on our reaching our students at their level with what they enjoy - anime/ video games, the history of haiku, the samurai...One could go on and on, but suffice to say, you all did a formidable job! One of the skills I teach is how to appropriately give ciriticism and how to accept it appropriately. I guess this skill is being visited by the teacher who wrote to you. Anyway. Great job, keep up the good work. Can you imagine, nowadays when I read an article, I check different sites to see how the East Asian cultures respond to the situation-like Chistmas and New year celebrations. I actually visited sites to learn how Japan, China and other East Asians deal with it- now for Elizabeth, that's a first. So if nothing else, at least you have this teacher researching a broader base and sharing the information with her students. Kudos, guys![Edit by="lizatieno1 on Jan 1, 9:19:53 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="lizatieno1 on Jan 1, 9:22:46 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

So...I was curious to find out if, after all the information I have learned from my East Asian classes, China and Japan celebrate Christmas and how they do it. I was curious because the celebrations, in my view, seem to be originally religious- based and I was curious to find out how buddhists and other religions react to Christmas. As I was browsing through AOL pictures of the year, I saw pictures that showed Japanese, Chines and even Thailandese nationals celebrating especially New Year in much the same way as the western cultures do - with crowds gathering at a square, the mayor or somebody else counting down the minutes to usher in the New Year and people celebrating with each other at the stroke of midnight. It is quite different from what happens in the 3rd world countries. Most of us gather in churches to thank God for the old year and to present Him, through petitions, prayers and song and dance, requests for the New Year. This is especially typical in Chrisitian churches which hold New Year vigils from about 9:00p.m. up until 6:00a.m the following morning. Everybody then trudges back home on foot or by bus after a spiritual encounter with God. In Bangkok, about 59 people lost their lives at a night club due to a fire. In Tokyo and Hongkong I saw quite a lot of opulence which seemed to suggest to me that money doesn't seem to be an issue in other worlds except in Africa. Anyway, Happy New Year to all...

[Anonymous]

As I am working on my class assignments and getting ready to turn them in, I have to first say that I thorouroghly enjoyed the class and all of the presenters. Many of the college professors were very open and available via email for further understanding of the questions that I need answered. I liked the class very much except for two things, it always seemed like we ran out of time and Clay usually expressed the same sentiment (most of these c discussions could have taken a whole semester) and because my school had a block on the forum, it was difficult to log on.
My expectations were to learn more about east Asia than I previous knew, in addition to know more about the literature aspects of the different cultures which I had very little knowledge. And I accomplished that and used some of the information directly in my classes and discussions with my collegues.
The seminar effected me greatly-I have read books and taken notes that would apply directly to the programs. I learned more about Confucianism than ever before, This and the other religious aspects besides Buddhism will definitely be used in my World Religion classes.
The guest lectureres were the most effective. I liked when they presesented there own perceptions and experiences into the lectures. David Schaberg and Dr. Li were two of my favorites. More time about each country would have been nice. The seminar could have been more direct if it concentrated on one area specifically, but I am fascinated with Chian and Japan so it was beneficial.
M. Herrera

[Author]

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