General Themes
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Implications
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Idea 1
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History of Confucianism
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Confucianism was founded in
ancient Zhou religion as a means to bring about social order among the Chinese
society. Order is created by developing sound moral character. The highest
level of Confucianism is “Ren”, meaning morality/humanity.
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Idea 2
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Learning is for the sake of
others.
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“Ren is developed out of fulfilling
one’s roles to others, family, the community, and the state.” (Zhao, Biesta,
2011)
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Idea 3
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Learning is for the sake of the self.
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Learning for yourself helps you
to accomplish Ren.
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Idea 4
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Learning is for the sake of the
self but benefits others.
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You cannot help others unless you
help yourself first.
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Idea 5
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American teaching practices are
opposite to Confucianism.
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Students from Confucian-heritage
backgrounds are not accustomed to American teaching methods and do not gain
as much as they could if American professors were aware of their students’
cultural background.
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Name
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Commented On
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Angela McGee
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Alyssa McGrath (Group 5)
Claire Maxon’s comment to my post (Group 4)
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Angela,
ReplyDeleteI must admit this isn't an area I have a lot of knowledge in so I learned a lot from this! I was very interesting to read about why Confucianism was founded and how it differs from a religion. The difference between Confucian and Western teaching and learning reminded me of individualistic vs. collectivistic culture and the differences these approaches have in learning. You may want to add in the table from the syllabus and highlight your theme ideas throughout the paper.
Claire
Hey Claire,
DeleteThanks for the response and reminder about the table. I didn't consider individualistic vs. collectivistic culture but I suppose that's just it. America is individualistic, while countries that practice Confucianism are collectivistic. I believe both cultures have things to offer that we can learn from.
Angela,
ReplyDeleteYour paper is well researched and does a good job educating about the values of Confucianism. Based on our program design of self-esteem and adult learning I can definitely see how a person from a Confucianism background could struggle with self-esteem issues in Western Civilization education. I can see where your research is leading to this idea, however I also agree that it would be beneficial to add the table from the syllabus to summarize the four themes from your research going forward in the project.
I agree with Claire that situating this kind of learning within the historical context of Confucianism was helpful for people who aren't very familiar with it. Throughout your review, I kept wondering how western instructors working with primarily western students might incorporate some of these principles. I liked that you noted that "students with Confucian-heritage cultural background are used to learning in the context of their relationships. They learn better with educators with which they have a personal relationship." This made me think about the ways we can work to build more personal relationships with students to build trust and to create a greater sense of care in the classroom. This might be difficult for programs with many students but depending on the program you develop for this project, you might think about ways to emphasize relationship-building.
ReplyDeleteI liked that you noted that "students with Confucian-heritage cultural background are used to learning in the context of their relationships. They learn better with educators with which they have a personal relationship." This made me think about the ways we can work to build more personal relationships with students to build trust and to create a greater sense of care in the classroom.
ReplyDelete---- Good point!
I think that the relationship between advisors and graduate students in China are more like parents and children. Advisors not only care about graduate students' academic work, but their life too. If you don't have boy friend or girlfriend, they would even help you to find one so that you will not be distracted by that and can concentrate on your work. But in America, relationship between students and advisors are more professional/academic driven, and advisors usually will not be involved in students' personal life.
Bo
Angelia,
ReplyDeleteYour paper flows quite well, and you used simple language to explain complicated concepts quite well, and you captured some major ideas of Confucianism. You also provided concrete suggestions about how to support students influenced by Confucianism.
Suggestions:
1. Use headings to differentiate different sections of the paper.
2. You cited big chunks of the ideas from literature. You may rephrase them in your own words, or avoid directly citing big chunks of the ideas frequently.
3. Move the contents from the right side of the table to the left side of the table. Tells us the strategies of how to apply the theories into practice at the right side of the table.
4. Revise your APA format. For example:
Confucianism is not a religion, but an ethical and philosophical system. (Ryu, 2010)
--- Move period after (Rvu, 2010).
“For Confucius, learning is both a conscious reflection upon one’s life and one’s manner of living and a search for gradual improvement of both” (Kim, 2004).
--- Check APA about direct citation. You need page number.
Qi Sun argues that … create a harmonious society (Sun, 2013).
--- Check APA about indirect citation. It should be: Sun (2013) argues that … create a harmonious society.
Zhao, K., & Biesta, G. J. (2011). Lifelong Learning between "East" and "West": Confucianism and the Reflexive Project of the Self. Interchange: A Quarterly Review Of Education, 42(1), 1-20.
— Check APA about journal article.
Check APA about books and book chapters.
Bo