thoughts about session 1 on 7/23 w/Dr. Dube

[clay dube]

Hi Diann and others,
Thanks for the comment - please latch on to something and explore it in a couple of sentences. You might focus on a particular topic (household spending and what it suggests about society/culture) or speculate on some ways that you could help students by providing context for events in the news (e.g., China's first female astronaut, about what is required to send someone to space and why some societies choose to do so). What made something puzzling or interesting? Any materials, ideas, or methods that came up that may be of use?

News and filters:
about the just returned astronaut
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0629/After-13-days-in-orbit-China-s-first-female-astronaut-returns-to-Earth-video

criticism of possibly doctored photo (by Chinese netizens)
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20120619000071

first astronaut photos required clean up
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/world/asia/04china.html

[Anonymous]

The significance of knowing more of the world and history of where you teach is more than I had thought prior to the discussion today. I had noticed different elements around my hometown of Bakersfield including Chinese families (old Chinatown), where a large part of our town's downtown was once a Chinatown. As for the school I mentioned in class named after a Chinese American, I ended up researching it and found the following article:

Kern County school named for Sing Lum
Wong, H K. Asian Week (1983-1989) [San Francisco, Calif] 17 Aug 1984: 5.

The article writes: " BAKERSFIELD -- For what is believed to be the first time in the history of Southern California a public elementary school has been named for a Chinese American pioneer.

The Sing Lum Elementary School will open this October in Kern County Sing Lum is an 80-year-old rancher who as noted in a resolution by the Board of Trustees of the Panama. Union School District, "gave wholeheartedly of his tremendous energy and talent to the many varied responsibilities of a school board member and distinguished community leader providing an inheritance of character and courage to all who followed in his footsteps."

Lum, a man of the soil, has been an athlete since his early . . . School days. After his 70th birthday he discovered the joys of senior foot racing and became a member of the U.S. Masters International Track and Field team. He competed in meets and once took second place in a field of 1500 at a World Masters meet in Toronto."

I had no idea he was considered to be the first Chinese American to have a school named after him. It was not something mentioned or talked about reallly, except that he was a farmer/athlete, and his family still sells pumpkins and vegetables. They are an older Chinese family in the city. This would have been something to draw students together and recognize the school's namesake.

Researching Bakersfield Chinatown, I found it is described as a "disappeared Chinatown." Library Receives Records Of Vanished Chinatown
Asian Week (1983-1989) [San Francisco, Calif] 25 Sep 1987: 6.

There is also an article about a book:
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/columnists/robert-price/x647995304/Kerns-vibrant-Chinese-past-comes-to-life

[Anonymous]

I was struck by how differently events are perceived by Americans, The spy plane, the bombing of the embassy, trollling for submarine data off China, what would American politicians have said if these were done on or by US soil.

[Anonymous]

It was very interesting to learn that John Adams actively advocated for trade with East Asia. In 1785 the route to Asia was long and arduous and our fledgling nation was competing with European states that had long established, if not exclusive, trade agreements with China, Japan, and Indonesia. Our founding fathers seemed to consider what was best not only for the present but the future as well. How prophetic! If John Adams could see the volume of trade between the U.S and China he would surely be very proud and satisfied. It would be very illuminating for students, to investigate the history of our trading relationship with China and chart its growth.

[Anonymous]

Great information on the morning session. Learning about the way China perceived spying and the need to gain respect is certainly key to promoting better understanding between the two nations. As we learn about their perspective and do a good job passing that information to the students in our classrooms, I believe that it will have a good impact on improving American Chinese relations.

[Anonymous]

I am looking forward to finding more primary resources that are grade level appropriate (6th grade). The information that we were given about the four philosophies is too dense for 6th graders, so I need to narrow down the information that I give them. I also like having them set up a debate for talking about the philosophies, since we alreay use debate in other areas for classroom discussion.

[Anonymous]

Funny how some people have the idea that China is going to 'take over' in a few years. I didn't realize all the serious problems this giant has to deal with in order to move forward in today's world.

[Anonymous]

I use a lot of visuals in my class, so I really liked the political cartoons and the cartoons of the incidents; I will most likely use it with my students when teaching the unit on China. I also appreciated Dr. Dube’s explanation of the program and the Freeman foundation.

[Anonymous]

So much has already been said here about China that I thought I'd mention my interest in Korea and that I was pleasantly surprised that we are including Japan and Korea in our studies this summer. I used to teach English to recent Korean immigrants when I lived in the greater L.A. area over a decade ago. I often visited them in their home and worked with many of their kids as well as adults. Now that I teach at- risk immigrant kids in the desert, I can bring in a great deal I learned from working so closely with high achieving Asian immigrant kids and their parents.
It was mentioned about how mountainous Korea is. I wanted to add that when I lived in LA, I sometimes did the Hollywood hike...the one where you park your car at the observatory, cut across the parking lot, and begin the hike up toward the Hollywood sign. I often saw very many Koreans on the hike and was often told that they learned to love hiking by having lived in such a mountainous country. Usually immigrant men love to talk soccer, but with Koreans, hiking is a sports talk I can throughly engage in.

[Anonymous]

When we talk about the "China Sea"... I just saw this article: http://news.yahoo.com/china-dubs-tiny-island-city-sea-claim-bid-100524879.html

[Anonymous]

What facinating information! I lived in the Philippines for a year and a half and attended 6th grade at Holy Family Academy in Angeles near the former Clark AFB. I knew the Moros were traditional pirates but slavery was never mentioned in my history of the Philippines class. I can't wait to read more about it. Thank-you for the information.

[Anonymous]

I have always believed that one of the most important steps toward building a civilization is shifting from human sacrifice to symbolic sacrifice. The Ancient Egyptians did this when ushabti, symbolic servants, and painted images replaced loyal retainers in burial rites. During the Qin Dynasty this shift was taking place. The burial of Emperor Qinshihuang presents symbolic sacrifice in a monumental way. The Emperor is accompanied into the afterlife by an entire symbolic army. Another sign of civilization is great public work projects. The Qin dynasty is responsible for building one of the greatest public works in history, the great wall of China. Thousands of workers were mobilized to build a structure that benefits all citizens of the realm.

[Anonymous]

As a Ancient Civilizations teacher, 6th Grade I was excited to learn about the different cultures, their people, and their history. I love history! I noticed right away that Clay teaches with a passion so as to bring history to life. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Well it was John Adams that said 'Send US merchants to Asia' since this had been a western goal since the 1400s. We were also informed of the Freeman Foundation and how and why it came into being. One of the very humorous stories we heard in session 1 was the cook-off involving the wives of the 2 main candidates in a recent election. I can use that bit for my gov't. class.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Dear all,

Please share your thoughts about the first session here.

-Xin

[Author]

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