HW #47 Class Film Preparation 1

*1. I think we should have a teacher that is funny but a caring teacher that doesn't worry about getting into trouble by the higher status teachers even if it is to save the children from trouble. (I like the teacher, Yamaguchi-sensei in Gokusen, funny teacher but strong sense of caring for her students).

2. Trope: Having different cliques/groups and the teacher tries to bring all the kids together by some method of similarity or having the groups trust each other, like Freedom Writers, for the kids to learn.

*3. I think we should have some leader(s) of the class/group and that leader is protecting the rest of the class from getting "bullied" by the teachers who think they are bad students.

4. A funny teacher who gets serious, changes personality fast when the students does something and then both the teacher and students get along well.

5. We should get a lot of the teacher's expressions at first and when he "saves" the students to show the changes the teacher had from the beginning to the end.

*6. There should be a outsider or two and they are by themselves, not caring about the other people. (Maybe: But really, they do care, though not the class but in their own lives).

7. Dialogue for teacher: "I have enough of this!"
"It's not the students fault, it's us, the teachers' faults."
"If you don't regret it, then do what you want. But don't come crying to me when you did something bad."

8. If there are more teachers, we should have the trope that one of the teacher, the head teacher, who have been there for long always tell the main character teacher that he should leave the kids alone and not make any trouble for the head teacher.

9. The class should have a class clown or a person who listens to music all the time and doesn't listen to the teacher.

*10. The teacher should listen to the students before giving his ideas. Or the teacher doesn't listen to the students, so the students don't listen to him and the teacher and the students both fight against each other. Not really fight but both hate each other until someone like the very good teacher that everybody likes, and tells the both parties to make up to each other. In some ways and both the teacher and the students learn something and both work together in the end. (I think it will be fun when we do the hating scene).

HW #46 Research and Writing

Pressure from China's College Entrance Exam Leads to Suicide

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-6-17/42856.html

National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) is where Chinese students go there to take a test to see if they can get a place in college. However, with the students shouldering a huge amount of pressure, some of them suicide because China's education system says "one exam can determine a student's fate". A professor called Lan talked about how it was easier in America than in China because in America, they can take the SAT more than once, but in China, there is only one chance for the students to get a place in the colleges. There's only a little amount of seats in colleges available for the whole country's students.

This article shows how the educational system in China puts large pressure on the students and that relate to my topic of interest in China's educational system. It also show how China's culture of having one chance determines the student's fate have created such large problem in the suicidal rate.

I think it is because of the pressure thrown on the students and the one chance to take the test takes a huge toll on the students to study as much as possible. But if they keep thinking that they can't take the test, then they would feel that they would have a bad position in society, which then could lead to suicide. In the article it said that our ability to endure psychological pressure is quite low and in China, it is hard for the students to relieve their stress. That's why there should be more psychological counseling for the students and a change in the way the government should put the national test out. It also show how (quite) extreme the Chinese culture has on testing and the "future" paths. When I read the article, I feel that I am more lucky that I can have three tries in the SAT and I don't really feel pressure if I didn't do that well. It shows the student pressure difference between China and America and it relates to half of my topic about the students' lives in China and how the China education affects heavily on the students future.

In Japan, Even Toddlers Feel the Pressure to Excel

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/23/world/in-japan-even-toddlers-feel-the-pressure-to-excel.html?pagewanted=1

The article talks about how parents are putting their kids, even though they are less than six years old into cram classes/intense schooling to get into a prestigious, great kindergarten school. Japan believed that nurturing should be start on the early age and parents fuss about how to have their children go into the greatest school so their future would be good. Though this puts a lot of pressure to the children because they have classes everyday, and when they get home, they would sit on their desks to study. In Japan, there's "examination hell" where kids who want to enroll into a good school have to take the examination and its quite harsh for the young kids.

However, if they do get in, then they can rest at ease until they get into colleges/universities.

This article relates similar to the article above how both China and Japan education systems are quite gruesome and putting a lot of pressure onto the kids. It also relates to my topic of searching about the two countries educational system and how that affects the students/kids. How does being in cram school and having an all day schedule affect the kids' youth and maybe their happiness. It might be fun to be playing when they are young but as they get old and reaching for a higher school, it seems their fun times are disappearing because of the studying and pressure. It can be compare how China and Japan have the same problem in dealing with how testings affect strongly on both the parents and children.

Exploration of the Learning Expectations Related to Grades 1-8 Algebra in Some Countries

by: Chen Jung-chih, Cai Wang-ting [Eric]

This essay is about a study that analyzes the learning expectations of algebra from grades 1-8 in U.S: Minnesota, Missouri, and California, and Asian countries: Singapore, Taiwan and Japan and see how they differ from each other. It also compares the curriculum to the learning expectations. I think this essay can be used as evidence in my paper to show how the mathematical level that the Asian countries have and compare them (though the evidences and comparisons in tables and graphs were quite confusing, I hope it will be understandable).

Through this essay, I can see that the math curriculum from the official documents compared to the learning expectations are quite different because all the students are not the same and that with different countries, different level of math topics are included. Because the field is algebra, the grades that the countries that were compared was in elementary and middle school. Additionally, when I look at the evidences, I see that different topics within the algebra unit are separated throughout the grades and repeated back and forth. Even though this essay is comparison between America and Asian countries, there are evidences in which Singapore and Taiwan versus Japan has such as that Singapore and Taiwan's learning expectations are larger than Japan. It could be comparison and similarity between China and Japan and how their curricula work.

Goals of Education in Asian and American Cultures

by Alexandra Cummings [Eric]

Alexandra Cummings talks about the education that Asian countries, typically China versus the education in America and how they can learn from each other and use each other to provide, thus grow a better environment/learnings for the students. Although Cummings does not give a definite answer in how they should learn but through reading the essay, one can see that both Asian and America cultures can built from one another.

The essay emphasize a lot on how Chinese cultures and other Asian cultures go by the motto of "hard work" and to have diligence. Additionally the Chinese education and teachers give a lot of work for the students to memorize and in the conclusion, Cummings wrote about Confucius who said, "The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar". This relates to my topic of China educations and how with the work constantly assigned to the students, how would that affect their mind. The essay also talks about how the Asian countries does better in the mathematical level than America but America's education provides more nurturing for the students than having the students memorize almost everything like the Chinese teachers make the students memorize each chapter of the book they read.

Culture has a lot to do with how the education of that country works and China and Japan is a good example. They follow more of what Hirsch is saying, to know the basic knowledge but the students there put a lot of time into doing the problems/assignments given and that made them score better in subjects such as math and science. Even though I agree that the Asian's education is better but like Cummings said, it would be much more better if there was something nurturing involve with the China education and that would create more developed thinkers. This gives me the idea that China gives knowledge to the students but as for developing deeper or making inquiries, they should make more of that.

Values - A Study of Teacher and Student Perceptions in Four Countries [Bangladesh, Japan, USA and Germany]

Shamsul H. Mahmud, Judith R. Warchal, Ayumi Masuchi, Rafiq Ahmed, and Axel Schoelmerich [Eric]

The paper was comparing about the values that the four countries give and using students and teachers as surveys/evidences to show what kind of values that these four countries have in common (more common than different). The paper first address how judging and the way we appeal to others are important because it is human condition and values are part of the many aspects that affect our lives and give us to evaluate the situations/goals. It connects to my topic about Japan and in the paper, it expresses about how Japanese students are like with their values such as "Japanese place a higher value on a well organized and routinized life and on systematic approaches to relatively well-defined goals". The Japanese students have functional values such as fatalism, self-direction, security, pro-social and etc rather than dysfunctional values such as narcissism (especially), conservative, power over others, achievement and other worldliness.

Unlike the article above, Japanese students have a high value for self-direction which is independently thinking for themselves about the situations, analyzing it and reaching decisions. Because of that value, it can be shown that thats how the Japanese have "well organized and reutilized life". This connects to my topic as it shows how Japanese way of educating themselves and how their cultural values affect how the students live their lives. Additionally, it can be seen that the Japanese, after self-direction, that it is followed by narcissism, to fulfill personal gratification. Rather than "fulfillment of the basic needs", they go for personal gratification and "positive approach for national development". I'm not sure if it is a similarity or difference if I compare the narcissism percent in Japan and China but reading this paper (even though there's no China) has help me to see that there are more similarities in both of the countries. As well as their values are quite similar. It is also seen that culture, the environment and economy have a lot to do with how the education works and the values that are given to the students that led them to how the country's education is and how that affect their lives.

HW #45 More Big Thoughts on Schools

I think what E.D. Hirsch is mainly saying is that students should learn about the background knowledge and created a curriculum to ensure the students to get the knowledge they should know to raise up their comprehension skills. The grade that he mostly talked about is the elementary school because the children are younger and basic background knowledge should be learned earlier. He also thinks that "teaching facts was unimportant" but that students should learn "how to" skills (E.D. Hirsch's Curriculum for Democracy). However, if there are knowledgeable teachers that are really good at teaching their knowledge to the students, then that's what's best for the students because if they know the basic knowledge, they can read better and understand better.

On the other hand, Pub Ted Sizer thinks that students should be growing and learning from the values that teachers and parents give. Additionally, by being in the school with smart and devoted teachers, the students can succeed and to have the students grow up intellectually and think hard about important things. Though unlike Hirsch, Sizer thinks its much better if the structure is simple and flexible and the teachers are able to use their own ways to teach the students. I think Hirsch is more transcend and Sizer is more immanence about education.

I find both Sizer and Hirsch theories resonant in my own experience because the teachers in S.O.F. are trying to have the students think for themselves and develop/think harder on aspects but also we need to know the basic knowledge of things such as English writing/grammar, historical information, mathematics and science. In the Pub Ted Sizer Speech, the central "imperatives" that Sizer talks about is "the ways students use their minds... to provoke young people to grow up intellectually, to think hard and resourcefully and imaginatively about important things". I think social studies class, taught by Andy Synder is one of the teachers that connects with Sizer but also with Hirsch because I think he teaches us to think harder about life and society but he tells us background knowledge and learning "how to" skills. I find that subjects of English and History/Social studies categories are more of Sizer's theories because students have to think through about what the texts are saying and how it connects to the world. Although history and social studies subjects are are about knowing the basic background knowledge of "history" or what the curriculum said too.

I think Hirsch theory applies more to mathematics and science subjects because we need to learn the basic knowledge of the topics before we can go anywhere with it. We can think deeper about the problems but without the basic knowledge, we cannot figure it out and the teachers have to teach us the basic knowledge to get us going. It's both thinking deeper into the knowledge but the knowledge has to be known to think deeper. I think Sizer/S.O.F. did and did not let my mind to be intellectually alert but I am able to think about important aspects of my life and society. For mathematics and science, the knowledge is already there, and cannot really ask "why" when the basics are already glued to the table and can't be taken off. I think it has a lot to do with the students choices when its concern with Sizer's theory because if the students do not choose to do the work, then it is hard to make them work. But unless there are exceptionally good and smart teachers to get the students to do the work, then they can think deeper.

As for Hirsch theory, I think its more strict and follows similarly to China's curriculum where the students are giving problems after problems to learn about the topics and sometimes the teachers only say it once. I think its more of children's factories when I read about Hirsch because we just need to learn about the basics and the curriculum should be the same in all the countries, the national curriculum/standards (Doing Our Homework) .

Even though I said that Hirsch is transcend and Sizer is immanence, I find that they both have adaptations and they both are intertwine with one another because when I think about the curriculum that I have in school, it is a balance of both and both of them are focusing on having the children's mind to expand more.

HW #44 Big Expectations for School

I find that in education it is up to the students to decide whether they want the learning or not. Like Obama said in his speech that kids have to make their goals, meet them and hold responsibilities all the way through. I think having education is good but it is most important that we have the heart to do go through the learning. I think it is the hard work that we put forth counts more but in this society, it is when we get good education that we would get a good job. puts a lot of power in the word in education but I feel that it is like putting boxes around the kids and I don't think that education is everything for the kids' lives. Education is for the future because society had made it like that, that to get success is to go through a good education and then they can get the job they want. However, I think that school should encourage children to set their goals and to hold up their responsibilities for themselves and not sometimes blaming others. I think school should help kids to find more of themselves, to find their talents, rather than giving them grades and making them into machines. I think saying the word "success" or "successful" give some pressure to the kids' learning’s because even Obama said "being successful is hard" so what is this success that all the adults are saying and stamping that into the children's minds?

I don't think the school can change much now because of the economic crisis and with the country's money doing this and that, I find that we are getting not much anywhere. In Thomas Friedman's article, he said that China "save, invest and build" and America "spend, borrow and patch". I think that America is spending and borrowing a lot but the patching up is taking up a long time and therefore, there is not much money going into education as well as building up the students talents so they can become the next generation with the smarter minds to make money. In the article, it also said that Obama is only going in one direction that they are listening but not responding to the Silicon Valley. Does that mean Obama is going in one direction with education too? I think that education in America has slipped, not only because of the economic issues but I think the teachers or the curriculum are spending too much time nurturing the kids' minds slowly and not fast enough? Or that they are partially going in the right direction but not fully? I think in schools in America, we should spend and invest more time in the children's minds and bring out their talents more than they can build up themselves but also making money.

I think the some of ideas that Ms. Deborah Kenny talks about for her charter schools should be applied to other schools because I think it would make the schools better in the academic levels and to build the students characters more. If the teachers have the passion to teach and share their ideas to the children, then that would make the children feel more that they want to learn. But I think it is very important that the teachers are able to connect with the students but also sharing their experiences and do as good of a job at teaching to the students. I find that tests and grades don't show as much potential or talents that the students have but I find that their grades act as the tickets to entering college and society. Then, I also thought how many teachers teach us things but want us to become independent, but I find that the teachers alway have to give more explaining to give the students the idea that they can do the things by themselves. It is like we are learning this and the teacher gives us a harder problem but we are unable to figure out and the teacher ends up explaining the whole thing again. I just think that we should fix that problem and change the way the students are thinking about how the way the solving works. Like I said, teachers have to connect with students and students have to connect with teachers and if not, it is hard to communicate with each other and most importantly, the teaching.

HW #42 Significance

Part B:

I think the subject that I am trying to focus on is the similarities and differences between China and Japan curriculums and how that affect the students learnings.

I think this topic matters to me because I am interest and want to see how high their education is or how does parents and the education's high standards put pressure on the children affect their learning. At first I thought America has the most opportunities but when I look at China and Japan, it is different. I think it is because China and Japan school curriculum is very strict and harder than America that the opportunities are less. And since I haven't been back to China or was enroll in the school that I want to see what is like in the schools in China and how strict their curriculum can be. Additionally, it feels rather weird to me that I am Chinese but I am in America and that I'm not taking any Chinese classes. I want to know more about my culture and improve Chinese but having the America classes are already replacing the Chinese classes. I think it deals with who I am in terms of my race and many times in the past, I have wonder what it would be like if I was in China and taken the courses.

Rather than focusing schools/curriculum between America and China, I wanted to focus on China and Japan because they have a lot of similarities (besides that they are both asian countries). I have taken an interest in Japan ever since I started watching anime and learning the language bit by bit. And Japan and China school is all seen base on how well you can do with the textbooks and memorizing the materials that can get yourself in a good position in society. I remember hearing my mom said that it is very hard to go to college in China because the test is hard so I would start imagining about China's society and how they work. When I watch the Chinese news, the students would be smart in the school but when I look at the society, it doesn't seem that way. As well as in Japan, if the students does not do well, they would already have a bad reputation in society. The way the students in both the countries have to dress for society is also very important because the both countries seem to carry a lot about appearances and backgrounds.

Another point that I want to find out about is why does China and Japan's teachings, especially in math and science, very high? Or simply, why are they smarter in those fields? I think I am still not sure which area I should focus on between China and Japan but maybe the differences on both the countries schooling or curriculum. Or the way they dress so uniformly that affects the environment of the school. It seems very interesting investigating the similarities and differences between China and Japan schools and for me, to know more about my own countries teachings and other countries so when I go visit the countries, I would feel like I know more things than I would have felt I wouldn't.