Ebola Virus & Geo-Literacy

Please read and/or watch the video for this news story: News9 Link.

The absolutely irrational and erroneous fears associated with the Ebola virus are driving me crazy. It is clear that the following are lacking in our country:

1. basic geography comprehension or "geo-literacry"; knowledge beyond simplistically knowing that "Africa exists",
2. understanding of who is at risk of catching Ebola (or other diseases) based on where current cases have been documented, and
3. over logic and critical thinking skills.

Current documented cases of Ebola (source: US Center for Disease Control)

1. Guinea (west Africa): 1553
2. Liberia (west Africa): 4665 ... epicenter of outbreak
3. Mali (west Africa): 1
4. Sierra Leone (west Africa): 3896
5. United States (North America): 4
6. Nigeria, Senegal, and Spain have been declared "Ebola free"

Distance between Blackwell, Oklahoma and Dallas, Texas (location of closest confirmed case) is 304 miles. Distance between the location of the Blackwell teacher's location in Rwanda to Harper, Liberia (location of closest confirmed case) is 6862 miles. By traveling to Rwanda, the Blackwell teacher was actually 22.57 times further away from the closest Ebola case than her students are staying at home in Blackwell, Oklahoma.

Americans, and many within the western and/or developed world, have so many erroneous misconceptions of "Africa". Africa is the world's second largest continent (behind Asia). Africa has 54 countries recognized world-wide, with another 2 whose independence is partially recognized by a limited number of other countries. There are significant cultural, economic, language, religious, political differences between each of these countries and, often, within countries (reason for so many civil wars in the based few decades). Yet, despite this, so many Americans have too simplistic of an image in their minds when they think "Africa"...the comments in the news report bare this.

“This just concerns me, they would want to take the risk of allowing the teacher to go over there and then come back and come in not knowing if she is infected for not and put other kids at risk,” added Reba Newton.

I don't know Ms. Newton. While I feel like her heart is prompting her comments, I can tell that her mind is devoid of the true complexities of the situation. If she fears "proximity" then she needs to realize that the risk of this teacher catching Ebola in Rwanda is BY FAR less than the risk of her children, even 304 miles away from Dallas, getting Ebola right there in Blackwell; yet such risk would be near impossible even if her children were actually in Dallas. I'm ashamed that the administration of Blackwell Public Schools even entertained the idea of asking the teacher to quarantine herself upon her return; they should have used FACTS to educate their local population. It's sad when school willfully choose to not support education.

Please, please, please people...think, think, think before acting and speaking. Reality depends on it.

Respectfully,
One who does not fear traveling the roads of land remote in an effort to learn and explore.

Learning...and...Teaching

The Learning

This morning our group headed off to Korea University for the first three sessions of our lecture series while here in Seoul.  Various professors from both KU as well as other colleges/universities in Korea and the U.S. are sharing their expertise on a variety of Korean social, political, and economic issues.  Today our lectures where over "Language", "Economy", and "Education" in Korea.

Language: The Korean alphabet, better known as Hangeul, was created in the mid-1400s under the leadership of King Sejung.  The Korean people had been heavily influenced by the Chinese for centuries, and while they spoke a distinct language the Chinese alphabet had been used for the written version of Korean.  Sejung felt that the Chinese characters were too complicated for the common people and wanted something more simple in hopes that they could learn to read.  It is estimated that today there are 79 million speakers of Korean world-wide: 60% in South Korea, 31% in North Korea, and 9% elsewhere (China, Russia, USA, etc.).

David = 데이비드 (pronounced: deibideu)

Oklahoma = 오클라호마 (pronounced: okeullahoma

Professor Mikyung Chang

Economy: A very intriguing discussion regarding South Korea's economic development growth.  In the aftermath of the Korean War South Korea was the poorest country in Southeast Asia (even below North Korea).  Due to multiple five-year plans and lots of regulations from a strong "dictatorial" government the economy rapidly developed.  As of 2012, South Korea joined an economic group which their media calls the "20-50 Club", those countries who have an annual per capita income of $20,000 or more AND a population of at least 50 million people.  There are currently only seven total countries that meet both qualifications: Japan (joined in 1987), USA (1988), France (1990), Italy (1990), Germany (1991), UK (1996), and South Korea (2012).  One interesting point raised was that the government understood that the fertility rate (average number of children born per woman) is linked to economic development and thus a policy was enacted to discourage couples from having more than two children each: any government based economic incentives, like health insurance, was denied to the 3rd or subsequent child.  However, significant concerns developed in the 1990s with the economic advancement combined with declining population growth that there would eventually not be enough workers paying taxes so as to help finance government-based elder care programs (like our Social Security) so now there are cash bonus plus the other benefits if couple will have more than two children--it is too early to tell how much long-term success will come from these programs.

Professor Innwon Park

Education:  Following a brief video created by the Korean Ministry of Education, the discussion noted that Korean education was much of the driving force behind the economic growth.  The government wanted to profit from its human capital so it tried to provide the best quality education possible.  So much in Korean society has been linked with the "best" education that many parents place a large amount of pressure on their students to earn the highest possible grades and national standardized test scores.  So important is this quest for high grades, many families hire tutors for their children's after school hours.  It was "claimed" that the most influential indicator of a couple's marital happiness is(are) the score(s) of their child(ren) on standardized tests.  With her blessing, the discussion ventured away from the presenters pre-planned PowerPoint presentation to a discussion on the importance of educational systems which place so much emphasis on standardized test scores, an issue of concern to many educators and parents within the United States.

Professor Mimi Bong

The Teaching

Following the morning of being "students" and our special lunch meeting at Korea University, we traveled across Seoul to Goyang Foreign Language High School.  As we entered the meeting hall we were welcomed by thunderous applause from the pre-selected student guides for the afternoon.  Word of greeting were given by the school's principal and two student leaders.  GFLHS is a private Christian school in which most of the students live on campus due to the distance from their families' homes.  The nearly 1400 students are involved in school-related studies (classes and co-curricular activities) from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM Monday through Friday and until 1:00 PM on Saturdays (yes, that's 18 hours of school per day!!!).

washing up after PE class

The students then broke up into small groups to accompany pairs of teachers from our team on a campus tour which would concluded at their home room class.  Once at the classrooms we were able to spend about 15 minutes on a lesson we had previously prepared (originally we were told 25 minute lessons...but hey, things change, right?).  I quickly passed out some bookmarks of Sequoya and Clara Luper I had taken as gifts and briefly explained each person's significance in Oklahoma's history.  It was cool to be able to connect Sequoya's Cherokee story with that of King Sejung and the Korean alphabet.

lesson handouts and Sequoya bookmark 

I then passed out the handouts I had made for my lesson/discussion on "Natural Disasters and Community Response".  Due to the time changes, I wasn't able to provide the time for individual writing and small group discussions for which I had planned.  I was able to, however, briefly discuss the recent May 20 tornado in Moore and SW Oklahoma City and show them pictures of the tornado with Southmoore in the foreground as well as before/after pictures of the overall tornado path and Plaza Towers Elementary School.  Students enjoyed the fact that my handouts included pictures of the front pages of two Korean newspapers with headlines/pictures of the tornado event.  I then drew their attention to recent natural disasters in Korea and we briefly discussed how a community might react in the aftermath...one young lady had a great word for it: "help!".

my student guides for the afternoon

We then headed back to the hotel to be dropped off for dinner and running around on our own.  It was great to do some remote road roaming today in the forums of each a student and a teacher.

Community Spirit in Face of Tragedy

As part of my upcoming trip to South Korea I am supposed to prepare a lesson to teach in an English speaking class at a local high school.  The topics of our lessons was left open for each individual U.S. teacher.  Something hit me that perhaps the recent events in the community of my school & students would provide an ideal platform for a lesson.

I began thinking about natural disasters and the way that communities respond and help each other to overcome the disaster.  "Community" can be a very broad term to include just those in the immediate vicinity all the way to interpreting "community" as a common bond of human spirit across the planet.  So that the lesson is relevant to my Korean students I don't want this lesson to solely focus on the F5 tornado which hit Moore, OK on May 20th.  I've already begun researching natural disasters which have impacted the Korean Peninsula over the last decade or so: events which include a few typhoons (we call them hurricanes) and a massive flood in Seoul in 2011.  I hope to work these events into the lesson so as to help my Korean students make local connection with international events; I also hope to refine and replicate this lesson for my students back at Southmoore.

In preparation, I've found these images of front pages from newspapers in the aftermath of the May 20th tornado.  The Newseum, my current favorite museum in Washington, DC, has archived these images on their website.  I'm working on the best way to incorporate them into my lesson.  If you have any constructive ideas to help flush out this lesson please leave them in the comments section below; honestly, your insight is greatly appreciated

Korean Homework: Part Four

Pereltsvaig, Asya.  "The Deportation of Soviet Koreans and Its Reverberation in the Lyrics of Korean Songwriters."  GeoCurrents.  29 May 2013.  Web.  3 June 2013.  Click Here for Article Link.
(a special "thanks" to Robin Manning, a personal friend and a fellow on my upcoming Korea trip, who shared this article in our traveling team's Facebook group)

Summary:
By the outbreak of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, approximately 85,000 Koreans were already living in eastern Russia.  Such immigration had been encouraged so as to help populate and develop this region; an encouragement initially continued by the new Soviet regime.  The thriving Korean community submitted an application for an autonomous region, similar to what had recently been granted to a Jewish community, but were denied.  Due to suspicions of disloyalty, the Soviets created a plan to relocate this Korean population; by 1937 100,000 had been deported to Kazakhstan and another 74,000 were deported to Uzbekistan.  With no food/shelter provided, thousands died in the extremely cold weather in the first three years of relocation.  During World War II, arguing that they were really Japanese spies, many Koreans were forced into hard labor in mines and factories.  Additionally, all forms of traditional Korean cultural, linguistic, and religious expression were forbidden.  In the 1950s, Nikita Khrushchev allowed the Koreans to migrate at will within the Soviet Union. While many remained in central Asia, most migrated to urban areas; more than 80% of ethnic Koreans in Russia today live in cities.  During this new policy of openness Koreans once again began to economically and culturally thrive.  While most of the decedents of the initial Korean deportees are assimilated into Russia culture, there is still a strong resentment to the Soviet policies.

Today, two of the most well-known Russian Koreans are musicians who have made a name for themselves as the anti-establishment voices of their respective generations.

Yulyi Kim, his father was executed in 1937 as "an enemy of the people".

The judge at one with the prosecutor

Don't give a damn about detailed analysis,

All they need is to cover by talking

Their ready-made conviction.

Viktor Tsoi, paternal grandparents were original deportees

Changes! -- our hearts demand.

Changes! -- our eyes demand.

In our laughter and in our tears,

And in the pulsation of our veins:

"Changes!  We wait for changes!"

Response:
Much of this deportation story makes me reflect upon a part of the larger American story, especially it's specific connection to the story of my home state of Oklahoma: Indian Removal.  While the title "Trail of Tears" originated in the experience of the Cherokee Nation's forced removal to Indian Territory it is often used as the identifier of the larger story of relocation for all of the Southeastern tribes and is closely connection to the post-Civil War relocation of numerous other tribes, especially those of the Great Plains.  Even with almost two centuries having passed since this initial round of forced relation, the pain and bitterness which is felt by decedents is just as strong as the that which is expressed by the two decedents noted here of the Korean relocation in the Soviet Union.

For me and the focus of "Global Education" which I place in my classroom, I see this story as another way to make historic and cultural connections between the stories of the "here" and the "there".  While there are so many differences between the peoples of this great planet there are also a whole host of connections which truly link us into a more significant sense of community and unity than we often wish to admit.