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clay dubeSarah and others, there is quite a lot on bound feet in the Asia in my Classroom forum. I've recommended a few books there as well. D. KO has a famous study, but you may find Splendid Slippers useful as well. It is important to note that perhaps only half of Chinese women ever bound their feet. Geography, social class, and ethnicity were major factors in who bound their daughters feet. Remember that while we see it as cruel, the mother's, aunts, and sisters who did this did so out of love and social expectation. They usually wanted a girl to have the best possible marriage opportunities and in some communities that meant having bound feet.
clay dubeI agree with Cynthia. I think we need to include more math in classes besides math. It is useful, but it also reinforces the utility of understanding a bit of math. One reason we make dumb choices as a society, I think, is because of a fear of big numbers and statistics. Go for it. Use that rule of 72.
clay dubeI'm a big fan of using quotes our factoids to launch discussions. Could you come up with a set of quotes, one for each session?
clay dubeChen reminds us of how hard it is to lose a child, especially when you can only have one. A NYT article this week looks at surrogacy. That's an answer but only for the rich. For most, there aren't many options. This came up after the big 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. And it has come up in discussions about the 2012 and 2014 murders of USC students from China.
AnonymousCorrelations and then some. A lot of great data to show the students. This is great for the algebra 1 kids because data is now heavily emphasized as well as data interpretation. Birth rate and life expectancy between Asia and the US are going to be good discussion points for our classes. I think I am just going to throw it out there and ask what the students think of know beforehand. I might start by showing the US data first and them have them quickwrite about their ideas on the Asian countries to see how much they think they know. Then I can scaffold the information.
AnonymousAh, thank you Clay for the posting on including more math in other classes (although I fear it is hard to integrate more history or English with some math classes due to resistance!). I try to bring context to the numbers in my class because I have seen that is how some of the concepts make sense. The students usually see "Made in China" or mostly other Asian countries and don't really know why, except they think it is only because of "Cheap Labor." We know there are other reasons.
AnonymousIt would have been great to be able to discuss Marco Polo and his activities in East Asia. A great lesson idea for 7th grade history, would be to analyze multiple perspectives and have students determine whether Marco Polo went to China or not. This type of critical historical analysis is important for students to engage in before they reach high school
AnonymousYou are absolutely right Antonio Nunez! Next year is my first time teaching history, and I can see all the ways that math can be applied to the lessons whether it is population charts, statistics, or other real life models that I think get overlooked as a "math teaching moment". I hope more teachers start thinking that all the subjects can be taught in every class, and not just "oh no, I teach history not math" kind of thinking that has been going on for so long.
AnonymousThe information presented about family planning and abortion in East Asia was fascinating. I believe that using this information in a high school classroom would add a new dynamic to the debate and push students to think globally. I know many teachers do not like to touch controversial topics with a 'ten-foot pole.' But may I suggest the book 'Controversy in the Classroom' by Diana Hess. This book teaches teachers how to navigate the sometimes treacherous practice of classroom discussions. The teachers I have worked with have told that this has really changed the way they teach
AnonymousI, like many others, only knew it as the one child policy, so it was interesting to see how exceptions are used and what the government does and it's effect on the demographic. I can use the tables and statistics the professor put up in my math class as a way to give students a better idea of when and where to use certain charts and to give them a more worldly view of how many people live on this Earth.
Arno Madathian
AnonymousI really want to learn more about Fenjia and the historical context as well as cultural norms (wheels, watch, sewing machine). I'm still concerned that in this case a little knowledge is NOT enough to bring into the classroom as it may lead to perpetuating misinformation from a western perspective.
I would rather focus on the need of understanding facts/statistics and then critically analyzing the source.
Anonymousit is extremely disappointing to know that people are ok with female infanticide. It breaks my heart that people can't just put the females up for adoption and let them live.