reflective essay

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

RESIDENTIAL SEMINAR 2012 REFLECTION ESSAY – TONI BASTIAN
Last year was the first time I taught 7th grade History so I was very excited when I received the email about this residential seminar. I was eager to attend because I was looking for information that I could add to my curriculum when teaching about China and Japan. In 7th grade the students learn about lots of different ancient cultures. In order to fit everything in, the textbook reduces the history of those cultures and countries to just a few paragraphs. I really struggled in presenting the content to my students; the information seemed so disjointed. I knew I wasn't really giving my students the breadth and depth of the Asian cultures. And, of course, these were the cultures I knew the least about so I relied heavily on the textbook.
But now, because of the Institute, all of that has changed. I feel like I'll be the expert at my school site regarding this subject. I am especially eager to use the primary sources we were exposed to with my students. I didn't really know what to look for, but now they're right at my fingertips. It just never occurred to me to look for correspondence between countries as resources!
I also teach Language Arts and am taxed with the job of infusing as much Language Arts as I can into the History curriculum. At the end of the year, the other 7th grade teacher, the History teacher and our department head, were mapping out what things we were going to do to add English into the History curriculum. We came up with different things do to. However, an infinite number of authentic possibilities have opened up because of this Institute. For instance, the letters can be analyzed for persuasive messages, point of view, and style. Movies and plays can be analyzed for their political messages. I have shown movies in my classroom, but I have never thought to have my students analyze them politically.
Another resource I am so grateful for are all of the maps. Students never know where anything is in the world. So having several maps to show them, along with the information given to us about those maps, will help the students understand more about, not only where the countries are, but how geography plays a pivotal role in shaping the government, religion, trade, etc., of those countries.
As I’ve stated I teach 7th grade World History, so Asia is only a little part of what I teach. However, I’ve received so much information about Asia that I want to share as much of it as I can with my students. I believe my desire to do this is completely legitimate because of Riverside, California’s sister cities. They are: Sendai, Japan; Jiangmen, People’s Republic of China; and Gangnam, South Korea. I am inspired to create a timeline that will span my classroom walls which will outline what is going on in China, Japan and Korea when we’re studying about the other cultures. I can have the students do the research and add to the timeline.
The opportunity for students to conduct authentic research are endless, and also satisfies a Language Arts standard. As you will see in my lesson, my plan is to have students delve deeper into the mind of Genghis Khan, take a closer look at who and what traveled the Silk Road, and try to solve the mystery of Marco Polo’s alleged travels to China. And, although there is no money for field trips, I will definitely look for something local that perhaps we can walk to. (Our school is very close to the downtown/Mission Inn area). Or, perhaps there are speakers who can visit the classroom. Speaking of field trips, I loved ours. I plan on going back to both the Huntington and the museum.
I say without a doubt, that this was one of the best seminars I’ve ever been to. What was promised, was delivered a hundred times over and I know I am a better teacher for the experience. I have already told the other 7th grade teacher at my school that she MUST attend this next summer. She remembered receiving the email, but said she was too busy at the time to look at it closely. May I suggest perhaps sending the email at the middle or end of March – right before CST’s, and then again in the middle to the end of May – when CST’s are over.
Thank you very much for choosing me for the seminar, I look forward to sharing the information with my students and colleagues as well as using the resources that will be very generously available to me through the website.

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Essay

My experience with teaching Asian countries was very limited. My SS book has China in four lessons so that shows how limited I was in teaching it. I did have the wonderful opportunity to travel as a tourist to China, Australia, Thailand and Japan while working in Korea for two years. To say it was culture shock was an understatment. I learned bits and pieces of history and culture from my friends/collleagues there. So when I took this class it really opened my eyes to the deep and rich history that a tourist can not fully appreciate. There is so much depth in the culture of China, Japan and Korea that I did not know about. I did not know how to incorporate any resources such as videos, streaming clips or personal photos of my trips there. I have a great respect for Clay and the speakers we had for all the history and resources at my fingertips now. I already have talked about this class with my colleagues and will recommend it to them and others.
After taking this class I have so much information to sift through to which might be a challange, but the students will get so much more than the four lessons on China that I have used before. The philosophies, geography and history is what I want to concentrate on this year and add to that as I continue learning. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Clay D, and everyone else for a good experience during this class. It's something I will use for a long time not only in my teaching but in my personal life as welll; thank you.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the free associations... I'd make some excuse about being busy and temporarily disorganized, but the truth is, that I am always like this.

[Anonymous]

The USC/China Institute Summer Residential Seminar is one of the most valuable education experiences I have been privileged to attend. I truly appreciated the opportunity to hear distinguished professors from elite universities deliver lectures on their areas of expertise. It was wonderful to be the student again and be immersed in the history of East Asia. I am most grateful as an educator for the depth, breadth, and value of the material presented. As a fifth grade teacher, I have to be creative with how I integrate East Asia into my lessons, but the ideas just keep flowing.
The first unit of study I envisioned is integrating China’s water resource management into my 5th grade water unit. I have started the planning by putting together physical and population maps for California and China as well as pictures of the mammoth Chinese water projects that have been completed or are under construction. Students will use maps and data to compare and contrast water resources, and consumption between Los Angeles and Beijing. They will address important issues such as the pros and cons of redirecting water resources and the power struggle for resources that is going on between rural and urban communities.
As I reflected on the information and activities presented this summer I was struck by the power of looking at history through the lens of philosophy. Once Confucianism, Legalism, Daoism, and Mohism were introduced to us I internalized it, and began analyzing every piece of new information for philosophical influences. My own students can do this to, if I provide the opportunity. This epiphany sent me in a new direction for my project. I chose to do my unit on Confucian character traits in Japanese literature. Many Confucian values are similar to those held by Americans, so they will be very accessible to 5th Graders. In my experience friendship between individuals as well as nations begins with shared values. This lays the foundation for developing appreciation for cultural aspects that are unique. Giving my students time to engage with the character traits valued in Confucian philosophy will deepen and enrich their analysis of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, a core novel they will read this year.
My new focus on East Asian philosophy led my mind to philosophy of government and the U.S. Constitution. Our founding fathers spent years comparing philosophies of government before creating our constitution. Allowing my students a taste of that process by comparing the four great East Asian philosophies will only deepen their understanding and appreciation for their own government. So a new unit to address this is also taking shape.
Finally, I was impressed by the long standing trade relationship between Europe (and its colonies) and East Asia. Would Europe have flourished without this relationship? Would there be a United States without East Asian trade? On the flip side, where would East Asia be without its lucrative markets in the west? These are big important questions 5th graders would love to wrestle with. Thank-you! Thank-you, for the world of possibilities you have presented me!

[Anonymous]

How do we know if everything turned in is satisfactory and we have met the basic criteria for receiving CEU credits?

[Anonymous]

Apparently Daisy and I are finding out that Colton Joint Unified is not going to honor the CEU credits for this class...

[Anonymous]

In all truth, when I first got to USC, I was so excited. I thought the seminar was going to be so meaningful and I would be given materials that could help me better teach Chinese literature and culture in my English classes. I was very disappointed to have learned (as an English teacher) that it was more so history based then it was literature based.
Nonetheless, I learned so much when I put that aside. I learned how to interested my students and teach them about East Asia little by little. I realized a unit does not have to consist of a lesson that focuses merely on East Asia, but instead a unit could include activities that force students to become more aware and tolerant of others. With this, I could show students movies to jog their interest about writers in the Modern period who share ties to East Asia. Insomuch, students would get the exposure without the material feeling foreign or overbearing. For example, Professor Dube shared with us some war propaganda and various front page magazines. I thought I could use ideas like this to teach analysis or create research project. Although, I may be assessing the skill, the students are still increasing their background knowledge and the plus side is it is material that is unfamiliar, material they can enjoy a little differently.
I think having my eyes opened to some new approaches helped me not feel so overwhelmed by the idea of diversifying my the curriculum. It has become an exciting task to complete a curriculum unit and consider different avenues for bringing in other people’s culture and history. I am so excited overall about teaching about East Asia this year and I hope to use my new found confidence and some of the ideas I learned in the seminar to make it happen.

[Anonymous]

I am trying to attach my reflective essay with no luck at all!!!

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hi all,

Please post your reflective essay here. Please also include a hard copy of your essay together with your final lesson plan.

[Anonymous]

Here it is

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