reaction/discussion -- monday am

[Anonymous]

One topic that stuck with me was that of the spying task forces. The question of "How?" is of great importance. In China, students are taught that the ability to protect themselves is dependent on their economy. Teaching students the relationship between the economy and "protection" can help them understand the strength and power of the US and how it can allocate money to fund such task forces. The students may be able to answer the "Why," but we want them to know the "How."

[Anonymous]

I too was not aware Indonesia was the largest Muslim country.

[Anonymous]

I agree. There was quite a lot that I didn't know about Asia. As a teacher of history, and now English, it's important for me to go beyond the textbook and compare past to present if my students are going to really get something from the class other than names and dates. I want them to be able to answer those "How?" and "Why?" questions, and then ask some of those themselves.

[Anonymous]

USC loves to trumpet its international student population, and with good reason (though in my own undergrad experience there, those students were largely confined to a few specific majors, mostly in the sciences, and their population was a little more homogenous/separated than they and the university would probably think ideal). I didn't realize that China had passed India as the largest "exporter" of foreign students, but either way it made me a little regretful that I hadn't reached out more to this segment of the campus during my time there, as I now see I missed out on a chance to open myself to some fascinating and useful perspectives.

[Anonymous]

I am interested in how the relationship will evolve over the next few years, especially after the 2016 election, because a lot of US companies want to do business with China while at the same time the US government is concerned about China's global influence politically.

[Anonymous]

Please post your thoughts on why it might be useful to bring EA into your classes. Please share ideas stimulated by our discussion about links between EA and the US. Was there anything you found surprising? Anything we could add to the list?
edited by Clay Dube on 7/28/2014

History reveals the ways Western nations rose in power. Nationalism, exploitation, coercion, conquest, and domination were elements in their rise in power. Now China and several East Asian countries are rising in power. It will be interesting to see if history repeats itself.

[Anonymous]

I currently bring in EA in the my unit on industrialization and the environmental issues facing China.

[Anonymous]

That is a great idea! Especially with all the recent news on water shortages and the fines being imposed in San Diego County for "overuse" or use during the wrong times. It would be a great debate I think as well as an eye opener for many of the students who still waste water thinking resources are unlimited.

[Anonymous]

Since I am teaching US History for the first time, I think it would be possible to make a lot of connections between the Japanese & Korean democracies and that of early America.

[Anonymous]

My students would be very interested to know that China is not our largest trade partner. I would start off by asking them where most of our products come from. They will likely say China. I would then show them the statistics and ask them what products they think we trade with Canada, Mexico, China and the other top countries. I would try to come up with a list to show them what we trade with them .

[Anonymous]

Not being a history teacher or particularly fluent in geography, I enjoyed learning about what countries actually constitute "East Asia". The connection the professor made to current world issues is something all students can enjoy learning about as I did. Even in my math class I can see applying some of the things I learned about the links between the US and East Asia.

[Anonymous]

I think the kids know that there is a lot to know between Asia and the US. For my class particularly, I will use the Bi-National Commission report and its plethora of graphs and data to help the students understand just how powerful these connections are. They are fairly easy to read and the contextual information is very revelant. In addition, mainly with my Algebra 1 class, I can bring this up at various points during the semester. It is a shame, however, that our students do not take any history at our school until 10th grade.

[Anonymous]

After processing everything that we've learned over the past few days, I think that I most definitely see a connection to East Asia for my students through issue of water scarcity. As part of their year-end district-wide assessment, all of the children in our school (K-5) had to read and view videos about water scarcity and water conservation. They then had to write essays to promote and defend the need for water conservation. For my youngsters, the whole concept was difficult to fathom since the water still gushed out as readily as ever whenever they turned the faucet handle. The idea of a limited water supply for the planet just doesn't seem to compute. Looking at drought conditions in China and the their struggle to keep the water flowing to the growing cities as well as to provide enough water for agriculture and then comparing it to California's dry conditions will help students become aware of the global nature of water scarcity.

[clay dube]

Please post your thoughts on why it might be useful to bring EA into your classes. Please share ideas stimulated by our discussion about links between EA and the US. Was there anything you found surprising? Anything we could add to the list?
edited by Clay Dube on 7/28/2014

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