Thoughts on Session #1

[Anonymous]

I found it to be an interesting sneak peek into what we are going to be talking about over the next few weeks. I am just hoping I can allot the course/homework a proper amount of time and energy amidst everything else going on!
I started talking about post WWII China with my World History classes. I was happy to be able to say I was discussing this stuff last night! I'm excited to see the connections being made between the past and present, East and West. I just printed next week's readings, will be working on those during SSR this week!

[Anonymous]

I know what you mean about fitting in the homework/readings into an already busy schedule. I am finding myself reading more at lunchtime, and trying to allot time before bed every night to get all the readings done... of course the more we put into the course the more we get out of it! I think it will be well worth it, to prepare both ourselves and our students for the future. Good luck with the course!
edited by dmedina on 4/10/2012
edited by dmedina on 4/10/2012

[Anonymous]

I am excited to continue learning about East Asia and went home to preview the two movie trailers (on "youtube") for the movies we talked about in class. Both looked interesting so I may have to find the time to watch both! I thought it was valuable yesterday to hear about the Freeman Foundation's history. I am glad to be part of their goal and dream of educating teachers in order to reach the youth. I want to be aware of what is happening in all parts of the world and expand my global outlook.

[Anonymous]

It was nice meeting all of you. After listening to Clay's presentation on why we all need to pay more attention to Asia, I am more convinced than ever Asia is and will be the "above-the-fold" story of many newspaper headlines. I'm looking forward to the next session on philosophies; to understand a little bit about what makes Asians tick, and perhaps a little about myself

[Anonymous]

I was intrigued by the talk on Asia however, I find myself at a bit of a loss when it comes to political outlooks, I'm excited about the upcoming philosopies and to open my mind too.

[Anonymous]

I was intrigued by the idea of a China with a growing consumer base; obviously, China's population is huge, but I tend to think of the Chinese as producers rather than consumers. The west is usually highligted as a materialistic consumer, and it will be interested to see what happens to the global economy over the next couple of decades as the consumer markets in South and East Asia continue to grow, particularly in terms of fuel costs!

[Anonymous]

After hearing Clay’s introduction about Fukuzawa Yukichi, I decided to read about this famous Japanese author, educator and publisher. There is a lot of information about Fukuzawa online. He was probably the most influential man outside government service during the Meiji Restoration. He introduced Western ideas to Japanese people and firmly believed that Western education surpassed Japan's. In 1860 Fukuzawa came to the United States with the first Japanese missions. He wrote more than 100 books. Although he was often invited to serve the government, he refused.

Fukuzawa was criticized as a supporter of Japanese imperialism because he supported the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) which Japan defeated China.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed the first session and thought there was a lot of useful and helpful information. In fact I was able to use some of the information this week when I was teaching my 8th graders. Although, I teach US history, we talked about importing and exporting and a student brought up the fact that many of our products come from China and we all looked at our clothes and checked the countries. All the clothes were from Asian countries. We talked about how China was becoming a global leader. I was able to share some of the info we learned and the kids were interested. Hope to share more soon.

[Anonymous]

I spoke to my principal about the possibility of teaching an Asian Literature course next year. With budget cuts we may not have too many elective offerings next year, but she said she certainly would consider my request.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I am happy my school has a 15 minute SSR session each day--although I usually spend it making sure my kids have books open, I am definitely trying to get my reading done then!

[Anonymous]

Yeah, it was neat to know where the funding is coming from and to learn that they have a genuine interest in the future and education--that it's not a politically-motivated decision, rather one that's focused on the kids and the world we live in.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry I missed out on last week's meeting, but think I have a general sense of the class with the readings. As I was reading the article, I was constantly reminded of just how globally inter-dependent we are at the same time how many similarities there are between the US and Asia, depsite the cultural differences. Looking forward to meeting everyone this week.

[Anonymous]

I am grateful for the incredible opportunity this institute presents. My fellow attendees seem interesting and vibrant. I feel so fortunate to be able to take advantage of this learning experience. One of the things Clay said that resonated with me was that teachers should be optimistic about their students and the future. I agree! This program is an example of that philosophy. The Freeman Foundation sees value in teachers, and teachers pass on that investment to their students. I am glad to be part of it!

[Anonymous]

The last parts of week 1’s readings are four stories from “24 stories of Filial Devotion.” I read about some of those stories while growing up in Taiwan and I never questioned them. However, as I reread those stories, I thought about my fellow seminar participants who might have never heard of them before. What are your thoughts about them? Just look at the story titles: burying son to save mother, feeding mosquitoes to spare parents, selling self to bury father. From a western point of view, these acts may be incomprehensible whereas Chinese people have been indoctrinated to follow these beliefs as unspoken social law.

[Anonymous]

Attending Professor Clay's class is very interesting, it is like going back to history to see what was happening. The pace was great, the way he lectured was like telling us stories. I enjoy the class, there are lots of reading that I am very excited to learn more, I am squeezing break time, computer class time, and before bed time to read the articles.

In this class I have learned that:

* Faces on the money does not mean that the individuals are president of that country.
* There are 600 million email users in China that are called netizens.
*China demanded 3 days of black and white griefing after the Shri Chuan earthquake, it is an eye opening to know the Chinese need to demand for their griefing period.
* It takes 13 years to build Yuanmingyuan from 1747-1760. but it was destroyed in1860 by Anglo-French war.
*To distinguish the writing between the South and North Korea: the South Korea has some Chinese words in their writing, but the North Korea does not have any Chinese writing.
*U.S. has the largest economy in the world, it has 6 trillion dollars, China is the world's 2nd largest economy, it has 3 trillion dollars, and Japan is the 3rd largest economy in the world.

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