Blog 10 Age and Chinese mothers

I enjoyed listening to the mothers speak about their experiences growing up with Chinese mothers and of being mothers. There is so much tradition and superstition surrounding the Chinese culture and we were able to hear how these traditions and beliefs affected each woman during their childhood and today with their own children.

After the guest speakers I looked up my Chinese zodiac animal and I am an Ox. Apparently I am dependable, hard worker and determined. I don't take shortcuts and I am tolerant of others. I agree with this information as it pertains to me, but I am sure this is true of many individuals who were not born in the year of the Ox. It feels like a self fulfilling profecy because now that I know the information I feel like I must abide by it, thus making it true.

The guest speakers described childhoods that were full of pressure and strict rules, but also high test scores and grades. I wonder if this is what some of our students need? Feeling constant pressure to succeed and always studying does not sound healthy or appealing, but that type of life style might help our students perform better on tests. The problem is the disconnect between support outside of school. Many of the parents of our students do not have the ability to be a tiger mom for one reason or another. Higher education is not seen as a high priority compared to the Chinese culture, and this is translated to our students.

The American and Chinese ways of child rearing both have their pros and cons. American parents typically allow for more individualality within their children, more freedom to express their passions. The Chinese culture emphasizes the importance of education and becoming a doctor or lawyer; there is less room for negogiating. While we want our children to grow up knowing how to express themselves and feel comfortable as individuals, we also need to put more pressure on succeeding at school. We need to mix the tiger parents and American parents.

Blog 9: Geography

The geography presentation discussed the many stereotypes that surround each region within the United States. It was enlightening to see what everyone else thought about the regions in the United States. Each region had a distinct reputation and it was easy to observe what regions were less well known, and which had a strong impact upon people. I know that I believe the assumptions of each region, except my own. I need to take into account the feelings of others when untrue statements are perpetuated because I take offense when people start talking about Montana and they have false statements.


I really enjoyed the geography presentation because of the technology demonstration within it. The CQ's were incorporated by having us vote on the answers through an online poll. I loved observing the comparisons of answers and seeing where my response fit in to the class population. It was a simple way to increase individual student participation while still keeping their affective filter low. The jeopardy game was also fun and displayed a variety of information about each region. I also loved the way the group formed the groups for the jeopardy. Each person was given a piece of the United States and we had to find our members with the same color of the United States. It was simple and effective.


This presentation was applicable to me not just for the geographical information, but because I can take back the technology ideas and integrate them into my lessons. Having technology within the classroom captures students attention and appeals to a range of diverse learners.

Blog 8: Religion Presentation

Our group presented this week and it was an invigorating experience. Each member of the group contributed equally to the presentation and the end product was a dynamic presentation that involved class discussion. I enjoyed reading through the CQ questions prior to class. The questions were insightful and thought provoking. They introduced ideas that I had never considered and they ignited conversations within the class. Religion is such a difficult topic to bring up in the classroom. Luckily, teaching math does not involve religion, so it is infrequently discussed and then only minimally. I feel uncomfortable because I do not want to say anything offensive and then have angry students, parents, and administrators. Some of the most successful conversations I have heard about from other teachers that they had about religion was when it happened suddenly and was initiated by the students. Then, the teacher is not creating an awkward environment by trying to make a big deal out of anything, instead, the teacher is there to guide and facilitate when needed and allow the students to be the main participants in the conversation. One group was discussing whether students should have the right the post the Ten Commandments outside their lockers. The group did not see the harm in this because it is the student's property. I do not believe it is the student's property. Students are liable for search and seizures of their personal belongings without probable cause because they are on school property and their locker is the same. It is not considered property of the student and therefore, students do not have the right to post whatever they want on them. Our country was founded on the basis of separation and state and we are so lucky because of this. Millions of people are persecuted and terrorized because of their ideals and religion. The beauty of the United States is the freedom and liberties that everyone is allowed to take advantage of no matter what they believe and this needs to be respected in the classroom.