geography

[Anonymous]

As we discussed today, it can be hard for teachers to incorporate more on East Asia into their curriculum because they have so much to cover already in order to meet state standards. Because of this and the fact that there aren't any 9th grade CA social science standards, I think that my World Geography class will be the best place for me to incorporate a great deal of information on East Asia. For each region we study, the students learn about physical geography (landforms, climates, etc.) and cultural geography (gov't, culture, religion, lifestyles, history, economics, human-environment interaction, etc.). I usually begin this class with a discussion of what culture is. I first ask students what their culture is as Southern California teenagers and then ask them what they think the culture is for a teenager from a place like Boston. It helps them understand that culture can defined by country and region, and that history, physical features, climate, religion, etc. all play a huge role in culture. After today's lessons on geography, I want to show the map overlays of the different East Asian countries and ask them to think about the similarities they may have with teenagers in East Asia that live by the water, along similar latitudes, etc. They may find that they have just as many or more things in common with a teenager from East Asia as they have with a teenager from Boston. Any connections that we can make between our culture, lifestyles, economies, etc., the more likely it is that our students will be engaged in what they are learning.

[Anonymous]

After reading the articles on geography/demography, I was struck by the theme of the worker's plight in East Asia. Japan, looking at a shrinking work force which will have to support a disproportionate amount of elderly, is studying the ramifications of immigrant labor. South Korean white-collar workers who have lost their jobs are secretly taking work on crab boats, pretending to their families that they have not fallen in status. Even robots are losing their jobs as the need for expensive toys and industrial mechanization has dried up along with the factories that once produced them. Perhaps it is because I spend so much time reading and listening to the news about the U.S. economy, I did not realize these countries had problems so similar to ours. Yet like us, their population is aging and requiring more money budgeted for its care, and more people are out of work. And like us, they see no easy answers or quick fixes on the horizon.

[Anonymous]

Chinese culture, history, and geography are integrated parts of Chinese language teaching and learning. However, how to make learning geography fun and engaging can be challenging. I learned that using superimposed maps can be very helpful in leading students to compare and contrast. Moreover, the superimposed maps can help students build up connections between their prior knowledge and the new materials.

[Anonymous]

Here's an article I found on unemployment in Asia. The numbers are surely off since it is from 2009. Still, it supports the theme I spoke of in an earlier post about the plight of the working man in Asia.

[Anonymous]

A very important point that Clay shared in the presentation was that the geographic of a country matters. The landform, climate, and population effect the culture, economics, and lifestyle of a country. Because of the geographic distinctions, the Japanese culture differs than Chinese culture. And the Chinese culture is different than the Korean culture. The example that Clay had us stand on newspaper reminds me about the subways in Beijing during peak hours. The passengers have to squeeze in and out.

I will borrow the idea of the map overlaps and incorporate it into my instructions. For my students (9-12th grade), the cities like Shenzhen, Lanzhou, or Zhaoqing may not make sense to them. However, using this kind of map and having them compare and contrast the U.S. and China’s geographic features would be one way to motivate them. Thanks to Clay for the idea and all the online articles about East Asia. Great resource. I would say, these online websites would save me a lot of prep time.
edited by vding on 8/2/2011

[Anonymous]

I liked Clay's News Paper demo in the class room: having 7 people stand on one sq meter side by side, it gave us instant reality check. It shown in different city or county, people have difference perspective view of their living environment. In the future, I would like to use this example in the class or workshop to our learners.
A Picture is worth a thousand words, by looking the Bird's eye view of the Shanghai delta map, knowing that there is 25%+ of the water can not be reused for industrial purpose, going forward, there are more challenges for all of us on the Global issues, such as drinkable water, air/noise pollution, traffic congestion,
sustainable farming. I would love to use this idea and the Shanghai Delta picture to show it to our class of International Leadership Class at Escondido Charter High School.

edited by wchu on 8/2/2011

[Anonymous]

The geography intro reminds me of the importance of location in shaping the cultures of civilizations. For example, the fact China has so many neighbors and bordering the ocean on the other side influenced the priorities of the dynastic rulers. The concerns were the nomads in the north and northwest. It’s also interesting looking at how different countries name the geography. It reflects their biases and competing territorial claims. Studying different versions of maps will be a good lesson to get students thinking about point of view and historiography.

[Anonymous]

I have always had a good understanding about the connection between Japanese geography and Japanese culture. Preople in Japan are exceptionally considerate and connected as a group due to their island culture, especially the frenquence of earthquakes. They love nature because they do have many mountains and greens. I did not know much about Korea at all. I especially lack of knowledge of their geography and history. I do love to watch Korean shows and listen to korean musics. It is nice to fill in some knowledge I have been lack of

[Anonymous]

I was one of the students asked to stand on the newspaper to demonstrate a dense population. I was very conscious that I had to stand quietly could not turn about or even raise my arms. Overwhelmingly, my encounters with people of Japanese decent have been that they are soft spoken and very polite. The crowded newspaper demonstration made it clear to me how imperative it would be for everyone to be patient and consider the good of the group. Geography does matter. While our country land mass is large in contrast to Japan we share many of the same challenges with aging populations and lack of jobs for the shrinking workforce

[Anonymous]

It's hard to believe the statistic that back in 2009, "a third of Asia's population lived on 30 dollars a month". I wonder if it's higher now. As I was reading this article, the news mentioned that the U.S. stock market plummeted again for fear of another recession. I find this interesting that reports even consider the U.S. out of a recession. I know that if you're a carpentar in the Union, they haven't called anyone in to work in Ventura County for over a year.

[clay dube]

Please comment on the ideas discussed and the readings for this session.

[Anonymous]

I personally love looking at maps. The map overlays are a great way to compare the size of a foreign country to a place here in the U.S. that makes it more understandable to my students. Standing on the newspaper is a great kinesthetic way to show population density, overcrowding, and people per square mile. How countries view themselves in relation to the rest of the world is fun to hear. For example, Korea would like to rename the Sea of Japan as the East Sea and the Yellow Sea as the West Sea. Geography shapes a nation's economics and determines many of its trade items.

[Author]

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