Culture Clash: Embracing Global Perspectives

1. WCTE Convention--October 3, 2008 Culture Clash: Embracing Global Perspectives

2. Introductions • Kate Gay: US English, 9th and 12th grade • Elaine Griffin: US English, AP English and electives • Laurie Barth: MS English, 8th grade

3. University School of Milwaukee • PK-12th grade • 1055 students • Co-educational • College preparatory • Suburban campus • Global Scholars Certificate

4. Teetering between old and new. China

5. China, 2007Temple of Heaven

6. The Great Wall of China

7. Terra Cotta Warriors of Xian

8. Forbidden City, Beijing

9. Chinese Medicine Museum

10. Hutong in Beijing

11. Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing

12. McDonalds, Beijing

13. Starbucks, Hangzhou

14. Shanghai

15. Shanghai

16. School Visit

17. Nurturing the right brain. 21st Century Learner

18. The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman

19. The World is Flat • “If you are an American, you better be good at the touchy-feely stuff, because anything that can be digitized can be outsourced to either the smartest or the cheapest producer.”

20. The World is Flat • “[C]ontrary to what we have come to believe in recent years, people skills will become more valuable than computer skills.”

21. A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink

22. A Whole New Mind • “High touch involves the capacity to empathize, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in oneself and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.” • “High concept involves the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, to detect patterns and opportunities, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to come up with inventions the world didn’t know it was missing.”

23. A Whole New Mind • “[O]nly the human mind can think metaphorically and see relationships that computers could never detect.”

24. A Whole New Mind • “When facts become so widely available and instantly accessible, each one becomes less valuable. What begins to matter more is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with emotional impact.”

25. NCTE Standards for English Language Arts • Standards 1, 2, and 3. • Students reading from a variety of literature traditions and time periods. • Students encountering a variety of cultural perspectives. • Students learning strategies and skills for interpreting and analyzing such literature.

26. NCTE Definition of 21st-Century Learning Twenty-first century readers and writers need to: • Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally.

27. Traditional Chinese Literature Tang Dynasty Poetry

28. Li Po (or Li Bai)

29. Tang Dynasty Poetry • Eighth Century • “Age of Great Cultural Glory” • Daoism • Yi jing or “meaningscape”

30. “In the Quiet Night” by Li Po So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed— Could there have been a frost already? Lifting myself to look, I found that it was moonlight. Sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home.

31. Poetry Activities • Favorite Poem Project • Blog • Art cards • Other Tang Dynasty Poets: • Wang Wei and Du Fu

32. Demonstration: Translation Activity

33. “Favorite Poem Project”

34. Blogging with Chinese Students

35. Cross-Cultural Connections • Romanticism • Ezra Pound’s imagist poetry • “River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter” • Carpe Diem tradition • “Bring the Wine!”

36. East Asian Studies Center at Indiana University

37. Contemporary Chinese and Chinese-American Literature Ha Jin, Amy Tan, & Wang Ping

38. The Bridegroom by Ha Jin

39. The Bridegroom by Ha Jin The Lives of the Chinese in China: The Study of a Different Culture • “In the Kindergarten” • “Saboteur” • “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town”

40. “After Cowboy Chicken Came To Town” by Ha Jin COMPARE AND CONTRAST… “OLD” AND “NEW” CHINA NEW Fast Food Ice cream American Owned Individual Worker OLD Street Vendors Traditional Food State Owned Community

41. “A Pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan

42. “A Pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan SAN FRANCISCO VS. GUANGZHOU, CHINA “American Born Chinese” vs. “True Chinese”: A Culture of Growing Similarities • Stature of People • Behavior of Crowds • Western Hotels • Skyscrapers

43. Student Journal on “Pair of Tickets” Show Jandele’s gradual transformation from a rejecting her Chinese roots to connecting with them. Use specific textual references to support your answer.

44. The Magic Whip by Wang Ping

45. “Mixed Blood” by Wang Ping • Idea of “home” forges connections. • America, Vietnam, Japan, Beijing, Shanghai, Weihai • Home as roof, a place, a destination, a family, a dream.

46. “Mixed-Blood” Assignment Students write a creative essay in which they define home for themselves, after considering Ping’s definition.

47. Contemporary American Graphic Novel American Born Chinese by Gene Yang

48. American Born Chinese by Gene Yang

49. Awards and Honors • Winner of 2007 Michael A. Printz Award. • Finalist for 2006 National Book Award—first graphic novel ever to be nominated. • Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2006, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Booklist Editor's Choice Book, and Best Graphic Novel/Comic of the year by Amazon.com.

50. The cast of characters THE MONKEY KING… JIN…