Rise of Empires in India

By about 500 BC kingdoms had emerged in the Ganges Valley and by 322 BC, Chandragupta Maurya gave birth to the first “true” empire in India. He became the first head of the Mauryan empire that covered the whole of Hindustan and most of the northwest.
[The image on the right shows Chandragupta Maurya being saluted by his women bodyguards]

Pataliputra became capital of the empire from which further consolidation of the Mauryan empire would ensue. When Chandragupta died in 297BC he was succeeded by his son Bindusara who continued with his father’s empire building activities in the Indian sub-continent. However, their accomplishments are often overshadowed by Ashoka (grandson of Chandragupta) who assumed the Mauryan throne in 269BC.

Ashoka embraced Buddhism after realizing the devastation and suffering his empire-building campaigns wrought on his people. Upon conversion he sought to spread Buddhism and advocated the indian ideal of non-violence. Consequently, his reign became known for its humanity and vision.

With Ashoka’s death in 232BC, the Mauryan empire disintegrated into the much more normal regionalistic patterns of the Indian subcontinent. By 180BC the Greeks again began invading the northwest, while other groups forayed into the north. It was one of the outsider groups – the Kushans – who would again unify most of the north into another empire.

The kushans restored much of what the Mauryans had established and even ruled from Pataliputra like the Mauryans. The Kushan dynasty lasted for about three centuries and by 200AD the north reverted to the regionalistic pattern.

The southern part of India had a different story though. With the north-south distinction that began at the time of the aryan invasion and the vedic period, the south went their own way. They had thriving and flourishing kingdoms as rich and sophisticated as the arya-influenced north. The three largest kindgoms in the south were: Chola, Pandya, and Pallava. The south was able to resist the early empire building efforts of the northerners, but by the third and second century BC, they already shared a common indian civilization.

There would be a last revival of the Mauryan model of empire in the north with the Gupta Dynasty (320AD to about 550). Pataliputra became the imperial capital again and cultural center of the empire. Gupta rule became a renaissance for the north as well as the south. Sanskrit literature flourished as well as indian sculpture and monumental building. Interestingly, it is only under the Gupta that Hinduism became a much more coherent and codified religion with the efforts of the Guptan kings at fusing elements of Buddhism with Hinduism.

The Gupta dynasty was destroyed by the White Huns in 550AD but another indigenous effort at unification began with Harsha from 606 to 648. Harsha died in 648 and with him his empire; India again dissolved into its regionalistic pattern.
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Origins of Civilization in India

Commonly when we refer to India we are describing the country as a political entity with distinct political boundaries from the rest of the Asian continent and the world. On the other hand if we consider Indian civilization it would be more in reference to the Indian sub-continent (which includes present day Pakista, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) rather than to the political entity. It is in this light that we approach the origins of civilization in India.

Historians (and anthropologists?) consider writing, metalworking and settlement in cities as major elements of civilization. If it is along these lines that we define civilization, then it appears that urban culture emerged along these lines in India by about 3000 B.C. This literate urban culture is known as Indus Civilization, which is roughly the area where present-day Pakistan is.

Its three major urban centers (so far discovered) were: Kalibangan in modern Rajasthan; Harappa in what is now the Pakistani part of Punjab; and, Mohenjo Daro on the lower course of the Indus river. These cities were remarkable for their planned layouts as well as a water and sewage system that had no equivalent in the ancient world.

Their chief food crop was wheat and they were (perhaps) the earliest to weave cotton into cloth. However, towards the end of the third millenium B.C. Indus civilization began to decline most likely due to continued irrigation. This hurt their agricultural production base rapidly depleting the population.

The Aryans

The decline of Indus civilization made it easy for another group of people (the Aryans) to dominate India when they arrived after 1800 B.C.. The Aryans had superior martial technology and strength compared to the now weakened (and peaceful) Indus civilization so that by 1000 B.C. they had conquered most of India north of the Vindhya range. They were unable to cross southwards resulting to a clear north-south distinction in Indian culture that persists even today.

Aryan domination evolved a new culture that was a mixture of harappan, Aryan and other indigenous practices. Thus, the period between c. 1000 B.C. to c.500 B.C. is referred to as the Vedic Period Culture. It is during this period that major elements and details of Indian culture evolved and from which a highly sophisticated culture emerged.

Vedic culture was exceptional for the times. Their engagement in philosophy and metaphysics was ahead of its time and they had the most advanced knowledge in several fields including medicine, mathematics, as well as in iron and steel work.

Check out this post on EnFourSi for a some more details, especially on the geography and people of India. On the other hand, "Lost Civilization" (N4B) is a deeper look into the nature of Indus civilization and more detailed on the emergence of major cultural elements of Indian civilization.
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Initial Blog Ratings

Over the past few days, i have taken the time to look at your blogs and give my initial assessment. Each of the blogs has a post on the rating that i gave you as well as some comments explaining the rating. Check out the blog rubric in the sharebox if you need a guide for improving your blog.

Here are the initial ratings:

BSN4-A-methystians = 10 out of 20
N4B = 9-11 out of 20
EnFourSi = 10-11 out of 20

Again, you still have time to review your blogs so that you can improve your ratings. Read through the blog rubric in the sharebox (its downloadable) so that you will have some idea of how you can improve your blogs. You can also check out other blogs for some tips (and tricks).

So far, the most common pitfall across the blogs are very long posts that are entire copies of other web pages. Only N4C has a couple of posts that are good content-wise (click here to see what i mean).

So far the most difficult blog to navigate is EnFourSi. It's hard to get back to your "home" page without having to scroll to the bottom of the post where you will find a "home" link below the "post comments" link.

You all have good layouts but still have to take advantage of them by presenting more concise and interesting content that keeps the reader on your blog longer.
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Asian Studies Exhibit

Today i had the opportunity to talk to our Dean of College. I asked permission from him if we could do the "Asian Extravaganza" exhibit for our culminating activity.

HE HAS GIVEN US TENTATIVE PERMISSION!

This means that Dr. Lim agrees with the idea (in general) but we have to present him with a much more complete proposal/plan for the exhibit. We can hammer out the details during class "face time" and hopefully, you have ideas to share already by next week. If this project is going to happen, then you must work hard on it especially on the planning.

I have blogged on this and the two concerns i have about it. It seems one concern is already addressed; the second one is now up to you (i.e. are you up to the task of doing the exhibit?)

This does not mean, however, that there will no longer be a major exam after the midterms. There will be one more; we are having a pre-final examination that we will schedule several weeks before our exhibit schedule.
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Midterm Asian Studies Learning Goals

I went through the class learning goals that were posted on the three blogs. I have tried to integrate all of your learning goals into just one that will be common to all sections. But I’m too lazy. So instead, I decided to create a PDF file (which is downloadable through the “box” below the “archives” section). All groups will abide by these learning goals since you were the ones who thought them up after reading through our reference material. Each class is not limited to the learning goals put up by classmates. Each group is responsible for accomplishing all the learning goals posted by the other groups from the other sections. For example: N4A-India Group should also be able to accomplish the learning goals posted by N4B’s and N4C’s India group. The same goes for the other groups.

I will leave it up to you to hammer out a plan (and implement it) for accomplishing these goals. Remember that we agreed to have these learning goals for the midterm; we have to abide by them! You may consult with me on the logistics i.e. if you need to play a video, bring some things, etc. Or check with me if I already have some content (e.g. videos, audio files, etc) relevant to a learning goal. But, as much as possible, you will be responsible for doing the work of accomplishing these learning goals.

Here’s a summary of the learning goals plus my thoughts on them. Take note, that we will follow what is written in the “Class Learning Goals” matrix. The following summary is only to give you a snapshot and is not meant to replace what is in the matrix.

Learning Goals for India

Geography - Take note that when we use the term “India” we are roughly referring to the entire Indian sub-continent of Asia (roughly South Asia). So for India Group, please include the rest of South Asia in whatever output and activities you line up for the class to accomplish these learning goals. The focus, however, is really Indian civilization because of its tremendous influence in South Asia.

History and Culture - This is a common learning goal accoross the three sections. N4A and N4C, however, included a wider scope compared to N4B. Thus, for history and culture, all the sections will have to cover the history of India (i.e. South Asia) until modern times. Noteworthy is the last learning goal of N4C’s India Group: a look at Indians (south asians) in the Philippines. This last learning goal is a good challenge for all the India Groups.

Modern India - N4A would like to find out about the “economic status” of India as well as the role of women in Indian society. These learning goals will be integrated into a much broader exploration into modern Indian society, especially its socio-economic status in modern times.

Learning Goals for China

Geography – Only N4A and N4B included this in their learning goals; N4B, in particular, wants to know the source of the term “China”.

History and culture - Again, all China groups would like for the class to learn about the history and culture of China. China group will cover all the dynasties until the collapse of dynastic rule as well as into the modern era. In particular, N4A wants to look at Mao’s cultural revolution which ties in neatly with N4C’s goal of looking at “China today”. In general, the learning goal, in terms of history and culture, shall cover topics from the origin of chinese civilization until modern china.

An important aspect of the challenge for the China group is to take up N4A’s goal to compare religious and philosophical systems that gained prominence in Chinese civilization. N4B includes contributions of Chinese civilization which would also cover N4A’s goal of looking at important chinese philosophers.

The Great Wall of China - N4A and N4B want to look at the history and significance of the Great Wall of China. I think I have this covered with a short film documentary on the “Secrets of the Great Wall”.

Learning Goals for Japan – Korea

I only found the learning goals of N4A for this region. Admittedly, I assumed that you would post it in your blogs after my instructions for you to “post” it instead of adding it as a “comment”. In any case, the goals from N4A are more than sufficient. After the midterm examinations, we will formulate more learning goals for Japan-Korea to cover the period from the arrival of westerners in Asia up to modern times.

Learning Goals for Southeast Asia

For Southeast Asia, only N4B’s and N4C’s learning goals could be found in the posts.

Geography - N4B pointed out an interesting tidbit about SEA, specifically its two “regions”: Indochina and the Malay archipelago.

History and Culture - N4B and N4A would like to cover history and culture until modern times, but N4B specifically identifies Southeast Asia’s experience with colonization. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about the “Golden Triangle” or even “SEA as economic rival and four origin tigers” – this will be interesting to learn about.

Religious practices, language and other aspects of culture will also be covered. What I’m looking forward to is N4C’s goal of looking at tourism and the “touristy” places to go in Southeast Asia. On tourism, I think I have a book on “Ubud” one of the great tourist places in Southeast Asia. There’s also a blog about “ubud” that you might want to look for.
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Class Requirements and Grading

I know that all of you are wondering how each of you will be graded in our class. Grading will be a mixture of individual and group grades. In general, your grade will be comprised of:

Major Examination (40%)
Tasks and others (30%)
Class Blog (30%)

There will be two major examinations: a midterm and finals. However, I am considering having a culminating activity instead of a final examination. Perhaps a two-day exhibit about Asia to show our class output and activities. I am hoping that the school administration will permit this (cross your fingers) and that (if ever they do) you are up to the task of putting up a two-day “Asian extravaganza” for the school.

The task part of your grade includes the activities (and output) that we will have in class. This will also cover everything else not covered by the other two criteria. Quizzes, writing assignments, class presentations, etc. will be included here as well with each item having equal weight as the others.

For the class blog you will be graded using a rubric that I will make available in our “sharebox” (the one below the “archives” section). Your class blog will be graded in four areas: content, interest, navigation, layout. There are a couple of websites and blogs that make it their business to rate blogs; I’m considering asking them to rate your blogs and base your grades on their rating and comments. Note that I’m just considering the idea and am not yet fully sold to it.

I hope this sufficiently clarifies the grade requirements for the class.
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About plagiarism and making myself clear

Maybe a some of you don't have the time to go through all the comments made in all of the class blogs so I'll repeat what i said in one of my comments in this post:

PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SOURCES WHEN YOU COPY SOMETHING AND POST IT IN YOUR BLOG! If its from hard-copy reference material say so. If its from another website, provide a link to that website and then write your input.

GO THROUGH THE RUBRIC FOR THE CLASS BLOG PROJECT! It's found (and downloadable) in the share box below the archive section. It would also be good for you to note the other criteria in the rubric so that you can review your class blog and align it with the rubric.

JUST TO EMPHASIZE MY OPINION ABOUT PLAGIARISM - IF I FIND THAT YOU HAVE POSTED SOMETHING IN YOUR CLASS BLOG THAT IS SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK BUT YOU CLAIM IT AS YOUR OWN ... YOUR ENTIRE CLASS WILL GET A FAILING GRADE FOR THE CLASS BLOG PROJECT.

I HOPE THIS IS UNDERSTOOD BY EVERYONE.

Why am i being particular about plagiarism in your blogs? There are many "netizens" who make a living looking for copied/plagiarized content in websites and reporting them to the authors of the copied/plagiarized content. What happens is that your blog might be shut down or attacked!

On the issue of posting versus commenting: note that long comments make it difficult for others to navigate your site. Non-sense comments also clutter up the comments section of your posts. A blog is not a forum so (at least) try to keep comments concise and relevant to the purpose or topic of the post.
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Great Work Everyone!

Finally, i got around to taking photos of the maps that you made. Everyone did a great job. Your maps are more than what i expected given the limitations particular to each section.

Here's a short media presentation of our past activities. Enjoy!


N4C deserves special mention for abiding with our agreement the week prior to our map making activity. They finished the map at least on the same day of the map making activity. Because N4A and N4B begged off on our agreement, i think it would be fair that the prize, whatever it may be (wink, wink!), should go to N4C.

Nevertheless, everyone gets high merit for excellent work not only on your maps but in our "Show and Tell Asia!" activity too.

Keep up the good work! Read more!

Of toponyms, demonyms, and etymology

Flo Adriano asked a very interesting question about the term "Asia". Specifically, she asks in her comment to "I got you thinking about the reason for the groupings...hahaha!":

why is the continent of Asia, called "ASIA"? what's the history behind it's name?
why is the continent of asia named as "ASIA"? who gave the name?

The term "Asia" may be traced to Ancient Greece when the Greek historian Herodotus first used it in reference to Anatolia and/or the Persian Empire in his account of the Persian Wars. The etymological roots of the word, however, might also be found in the Akkadian language.

Clicking here will bring you to the relevant information on Wikipedia.

More interesting is the common usage of "Asian". Colloquially, it is used to refer to people from a sub-region of Asia. In other words, people don't use it to refer to a person who comes from the Asian continent. Rather, it is used in reference to a person or persons from a culturally distinct sub-region of the Asian continent. In the United States the term is commonly associated with East Asians, while the British associate it with South Asians. Over time, it has also grown in scope to include Southeast Asians.

This reinforces the premise that the Asian continent can be separated into two distinct cultural realms. One part is obviously asian and the other is not.

Everyone is encouraged to do more research on this topic so we can add more information and sources. Read more!

I got you thinking about the reason for the groupings ... hahaha!

Mission accomplished!

To be honest, i wanted you to think about the reason for the class groupings. Yes! It has something to do with the population density. Yes! It has something to do with the rainfall and weather/climate (in general). And by implication, YES! That's what's so unique about the portion of the Asian continent that we are going to study this semester.

In a previous post i mentioned that Asia is usually divided into five realms that follow their general locational groupings on a map. In addition, we can also divide asia into two broad cultural realms: one that is distinctly asian in culture and character; another realm which is not. Simple!

Since this is an Asian studies course we will obviously explore the asian realm of the Asian continent. The four groupings coincide with what we may refer to as Monsoon Asia that includes the following realms: East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. But then, why only the civilizations of India, China, Japan, Korea and those that emerged in Southeast Asia? Not only did these civilizations achieve so much and accomplish so much over such a long period, we have to understand also that for thousands of years they had plenty of what westerners longed for. Ever wonder why westerners colonized so many areas in Asia?

You might also be wondering how this (some say sharp) cultural distinction emerged in one continent. Europe for instance, while composed of several nations (we all know the difference between nation and country, i hope), has what might be considered a wholeness in its history. For instance, one cannot study the history of France without touching upon the histories of other european nations. Inevitably the historical links will lead you to look at Europe with broader historical eyes.

The same historical connections and relationships can also be found in the Asian realm (but not throughout the Asian continent). Thus, we study Monsoon Asia not only as an area comprised of different nations but also as a larger unit of study with inter-related histories. Or at least we will try to for one semester (hoping that your teacher's laziness will not worsen ... is that a smile?)

What makes Monsoon Asia so distinct not only from the rest of the Asian continent but from the rest of the world? In "Where in the World is Asia?" i showed you two maps: population density and rainfall. The maps partly explain how the uniquely asian character of Monsoon Asia evolved.

3.73 billion people live in this part of the world! That's 3/5 of the world's population. Put together plenty of people in such a small space and for sure they will evolve their own ways of dealing with social pressure. But why didn't these people disperse all over the continent? Well, you might be surprised to know that Monsoon Asia is the most agriculturally productive region in the world. It has been this way for a long time and continues to be productive to this day. But the biggest problem in this part of the world is that the population is so huge and growing at such a fast rate that agricultural production really cant keep up with the demand - wonder why there are many who go hungry in asia?

Thus, we have two important features of Monsoon Asia: population density and agriculture. The former feeds off the productivity of the latter. The latter is productive not only because of the fertile soil but also because of the more than adequate rainfall. Everyone knows that water is important in agriculture.

What we have to realize is that because of population density and the requirements of an agriculture-based society, Asians have their own way of viewing and dealing with the world. And while there are differences that exist among the many Asian nations, the impact of population density and the agrarian base is common across all of Monsoon Asia. From here it is not difficult to see that Asians share common cultural patterns that are often fundamentally different from what you will find in the west.
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What others are saying? - "Alien nation"

This is an interesting look into an often unexplored facet of Philippine society (and culture?) . So many Filipinos want to leave and yet there are so many others who find the Philippines so attractive a destination. Some even forget about leaving. This "Alien Nation" i-report series by PCIJ promises to be interesting and provocative. More importantly, related to some class learning goals formulated by the N4C India group (just scroll to the bottom of the post to find out).

"Tisoy Kasi!" is a broad and informed look by Dr. Michael Tan at the hybrid Filipino culture and our syncretic religious practices.

This PCIJ series is a good starting point for asian studies. In part because it is a view from inside looking in, but mostly because it promises to bring us within ourselves as Asians and not as what westerners would want us to see ourselves. As we begin our discussions of the major civilizations, hopefully, you will realize one common thread in Asian culture - more often Asians have chosen to adopt from other cultures and practices what works instead of trying to subdue other cultures and impose our own on them.

Of note is the syncretic nature of religious practice in a lot of Asian civilizations notably hinduism in India. (ooops! India Group this is your area ... research?) or even the curious mixed practice of Taoism and Confucianism in China. Even Japan has its own syncretic fusion of religious practice.
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Where in the world is Asia?

Asia is a huge place! It covers an estimated 30% of the world's land area; roughly it is about 44,391,000 square kilometers. It's conventional geographical boundaries are:

On the north: the Arctic Ocean
On the east: the Bering Strait and the Pacific Ocean
On the southwest: the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea
On the west is: the Ural Mountains going south tracing the Ural River until you get to the Caspian Sea and then going west along the Caucasus Mountains until you get to the Black Sea

But that's only half of the story.

There are plenty of countries that belong to the Asian continent, which is why it is also divided into several realms: East Asia, South Asia, Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, "Russian"/Central Asia. Which countries are in the Asian continent? To which realm/sub-division does each country belong?

Our study of major asian civilizations will include only the following areas: East Asia (civilization in China, Japan, Korea), South Asia (civilization in India and those that it influenced and those that emerged in south asia), and Southeast Asia

Why? Well, that's one of the tasks i gave you this week. I expect that next meeting you will have an idea of why i chose only those four. Here are a few images to give you clues on how to approach the task.

This is a population density map of the world. The more red you see, the higher the population density.


This is a rainfall map of the world. Again, the deeper the blue, the more rainfall that place gets in a year.

These images should set your minds twirling. What's so distinct about the parts of the Asian continent that we are going to study in relation to these images?



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Reaction to your comments

Overall, this first week of our blogging has been uplifting and encouraging for me (and hopefully for you too). I appreciate so many of your comments. Perhaps the following best summarizes your comments and thoughts about our blogging approach


First, a lot of you are new to blogging and are therefore enthusiastic to learn about it. I am very pleased that you are eager to learn and are actually trying to learn how to blog. As Alan B. puts it in his comment:

an excellent idea for learning..!
something to do with computer orientaion in preparation to see, work, and live in a greener pasture

In some way, that was part of my reason for doing this too. I can't keep on dealing with you in the traditional way, when i myself believe that there is some other way of engaging you better. I hope this it. When you get into the real world, you will have to know a little about these things so you wont have a hard time catching up with the rest of your cohorts around the world.

Second, you are now interested in Asian Civ and hopefully, willing to do all my work for me (bwahahaha). This means you will look at the class learning goals and then work towards accomplishing them yourselves with only a little help from me (I hope no more help from me so i can continue with my lazy ways).

Third, your answers to the "doughnut" question are also interesting. Some are comical, some are serious, some are way off topic. I'm just glad that some of you took time to think up an answer to the question itself (instead of merely poking fun at the question). Flo Adriano merits special mention for her research on doughnut history, although next time if you're going to make that long a comment, post it instead. Comments, i think, ought to be short and concise ... oh well, to each their own.
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What others are saying

This article from Antonio Abaya is kind of getting ahead of our initial discussions on Asia, but nevertheless relevant to how we want to approach our study of Asia. I have always held the view that too many of us (Filipinos) look to the example of western models on development and modernization and industrialization as if it were an easy thing to do. We need not go far though, other Asian countries have outstripped us in this respect and, thus, deserve not only our admiration but careful consideration of how they did it.

Dare i say that there is an asian model to development? Maybe so. I'm pretty sure that our differences only mean that we have to see ourselves in the same light as other Asians see themselves. Western versus Asian models of development are different because of the fundamental differences in world view.

But this is getting too complicated. We'll take this up again at some point in the future ... we need to lay the groundwork first.
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Asian Civ Topic Groupings

I promised that the list of groupings would be available the same day that i got the official class list from the Registrar's office. So here it is. Just click on the "read more" link at the bottom to find out which group you belong to.

The groupings are based on the four major civilizations that have exerted tremendous influence on the rest of Asia. These are the civilizations of India, China, Japan-Korea, and civilization/s that emerged in Southeast Asia. Explanations for this topical division can be found in our main reference text.

N4A

INDIA
Barretto, Cabaltera, Dagami, Delis, Filamor,
Jamin, Maymay, Ramirez, Sula, Velunta

CHINA
Arcenas, Dabilbil, Doncillo, Gavan, Labro,
Morano, Pariña, Redoña, Severino, Yu

JAPAN-KOREA
Amor, Dacut, Endriano, Gerena, Lor,
Nidera, Pegano, Pulvera, Trecene

SOUTHEAST ASIA
Alegre, Caniga, De la Cruz, Estrelloso, Jacob,
Manlapas, Padagdag, Salvacion, Tegio

N4B

INDIA
Antonio, Corado, Ermino, Gelizon-Saboy, Jumagdao,
Margallo, Monleon, Penaranda, Reas, Sanchez, Villegas

CHINA
Algas, Bofill-Zorilla, Buntalilid, Dacurro, Doncillo,
Fuentes, Petilla, Quilaneta, Teraza, Uy

JAPAN-KOREA
Abril, Astilla, Bernadit, Centino, Evardone,
Golo, Luego, Pangue, Sillar, Supiengco

SOUTHEAST ASIA
Abing, Cabello, Delmo, Gloria, Lim, Ocsio,
Pascubillo, Rosales, Sevilla, Yu

N4C

INDIA
Adriano, Bernardes, Bustamante, Catugda,
Gonzaga, Monsale, Pedrosa, Radoc, Rudas, Tan

CHINA
Cajudo, Cunanan, Delima, Duallo, Hilvano,
Lugasan,Padagdag, Santos, Tolentino, Uy

JAPAN-KOREA
Amistoso, Daga, Dolor, Gabucan, Lopez,
Navidad, Pardilla, Songalia, Tomol, Ybanez

SOUTHEAST ASIA
Anano, Espinosa, Gemaol, Labaclado,
Martinez, Matela, Plimaco, Rebano, Yu

Take note of your topic group, the names of your group mates, and the names of the people in the other sections that belong to the same topic group. You might want to get together with them to unify the learning goals that you will set for the class. Click here to refresh your memory about your task as a group.

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A few words on blogging, the internet, our "safety"

Before we get further into our class blogging experiment we need to familiarize with the risk-reward trade-offs of the internet. It is a powerful tool not only for learning but for many other things (if not everything else). In the immortal words of "uncle ben": with great power comes great responsibility. We can't always assume that everyone on the internet will be responsible; we even have a hard time understanding what that is(i say "we" because i find it difficult too).

We need to explore our safety on the internet and blogging path and yet learn as much as we can from it too and have as much fun as we can along the way. So, let me be the "mother goose" (big smile) on this post (hopefully the last mothergoose post from me).

Over at Educational Origami is useful information on internet safety (and the like), specifically, cybersafety and the 3 i's of internet safety. I hope you read them.

It would be great to read about your thoughts on internet safety. That would give me indication if you would like to have a few blogging rules for bamboo grove and your class blogs just like what the Room 9 Nelson Central kids have(click here for their simple blog rules).

We will discuss this when we meet in class next week. Perhaps a short talk after "Show and Tell Asia!"

The Freakonomics blog posts about wikipedia and uncyclopedia (click here) will also give you an idea of why this important. Apparently, wikipedia has credibility issues, hence, the appearance of sites that poke fun at it. If you think wikipedia is really a great source of information, maybe this will make you think twice about what you get from there. Read more!

The first session ... five tasks! whew!

No matter how much experience i have built up over the years that i have been teaching, i always find myself having a moment of dread as i start my first class every semester. It does not matter if the students are familiar to me. At least, for first meetings, the one today was pretty straight forward, still with the usual anxiety on my part though. I gave them a brief introduction on the reference material and how the class will be administered (in general).

There are five tasks that the classes i'm handling will have to accomplish this week.

Task #1 - Creat a class blog

Each class will have to create its own class blog. We will then link up the class blogs to "The Bamboo Grove", which will serve as the blog hub for our subject. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the class blog. They can write on their class blog, create their own blogs and link those to the main blog/s - whatever they choose to do as long as they are able to contribute to the "blog output" of the class.

Task #2 - Which is more important in a doughnut, the "hole" or the "dough"

For their first post, students are asked to answer the question above. Answers may range from the smart ass to the philosophical. But their answers must be "answers" in the true sense of the word i.e. their must be a thinking process behind it.

Task #3 - Focus Groups and what they are supposed to do

I will be dividing each class into focus groups. Each group will handle one of the following specific topic areas: India, China, Japan-Korea, Southeast Asia. The rationale for this "arbitrary" division will become apparent as we move along in the semester.

The group assigned to a topic will be responsible for formulating goals for the class when it comes to their specific topic area. For example: The China group will go through the first ten chapters of our reference book, focusing only on discussions that are relevant to China. They will then come up with learning goals for the class on China.

Task #4 - Show and tell Asia!

They are going to bring something to class (next meeting) that is uniquely Asian. From chopsticks to "yaya's" (nursemaids) - the item, photo, audio clip, etc. must be something that is undeniably Asian. Bringing it to class is only half the task though. The other half is for them to do a little research about that "something" that they are going to bring so that they can explain to the class why it is Asian.

The class will decide whether to accomplish this task as a group or as individuals. They can do it through the group, but as individuals they are also encouraged to do the task.

For this task and class activity, everyone is encouraged to bring cameras, video recorders, etc. or whatever their preferred technology for documenting our "Show and Tell Asia!" classroom activity.

Task #5 - The Bamboo Grove

Finally, students are supposed to visit this blog and find out why it is called "The Bamboo Grove". Read more!

Helpful information on how we learn best

Looking for helpful information on how you can perform better in school? I found VARK over the summer break and, so far, it is the only one that offers tips for the individual. I've used it myself and it turns out that i have a preference for visual and kinesthetic when it comes to taking in information.

I can understand the uses for VARK in fidning out learning preferences of students. For teachers? Well, at the very least we must continually remind ourselves that we teach students who have different learning preferences lumped together into one class. So delivery has to be varied too, covering the VARK range when possible. At the same time, knowing our own learning preferences, we can also understand our limitations.

The main limitation (for me especially) is that we tend to deliver in the mode of our learning preference. If my learning preference is visual, i tend to think that most people prefer it that way too. Hence, i teach that way. This is where VARK is great ( i think), once you've gone through the questions on their website, you get your learning preference scores and then .... they have information on how you would like to take in information, how to do your notes, and how to prep for an exam.

Students - this is a useful tool for you too. Try out the questionnaire on VARK and then read through the rest of the info about your learning preferences. You might find it useful. Read more!

Why Bamboo Grove?

I agonized over what to call this blog for the course that i'm going to teach this semester. I started out with "SSCHS Asian Studies" but trying to search for it on Google meant that the blog had to compete for attention with the thousand-and-one sites relating to asian studies (all of them too academic for a teacher like me). All i wanted was a title that would be distinctly asian and yet not too academic-sounding. If there's one thing that i wanted to avoid its making the title sound too academic, limiting the scope of its potential audience.

Here's a list of some titles i considered:

Oriental Express
Orient Excess
Our Asia
SSCHS Asian Studies
Asia ini! (This is asia!)
Asiablog
Bamboo Grove
Asia: are you?

After a night's sleep, i knew that i wanted this blog to have a title that would immediately say "asian" to any reader. I narrowed it down to things that are asian and consequently found myself with the word "bamboo", something which almost immediately makes one think of asia.

I chose "Bamboo Grove" not only for its distinct asian flavor but also for it's significance in relation to asia as a community of nations. Each clump of bamboo having its own unique character but part of a larger bamboo grove. Each asian nation and civilization has its unique character but all inextricably linked in some way: history, culture, traditions, world-view.

Exploring the bamboo grove to understand how we are different but so related is the journey for us this semester. Read more!