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Traditional Values vs. Modern Culture in the Asian Community: Guided Lessons for Grades 6-9

By Bonnelyn Cole, Jan Richards, Janis Rowland, Jill Zavidowsky

Introduction

As teachers, we see our students making choices everyday. Some lead to success while others take them down paths that could lead to jail or death. We see some of our Asian students choose to follow the traditional values of their parents and their parents before them. Others adopt some of their family traditions while adding some new, American-style ones like wearing baggy jeans and sporting cool Nikes. We are concerned primarily with those that make dangerous decisions, those teens that in their search for identity may reject their parents' values and join gangs.

This project is two-fold and may be utilized by teachers in the fashion that serves them best. It begins by offering some background into Chinese culture and values, presenting some standards by which many, Eastern and Western, have modeled their lives. Secondly, it investigates the alarming and growing trend of Asian teens who choose gangs over tradition. This second section includes a history of Asian gangs as well as current police statistics and research culled from the Internet.

The cultural clash that Asian teens deal with is real whether they are new immigrants or have been here even longer than some of our "all-American" ancestors. This project looks at the adolescent "need to belong" and the difficulties with assimilatio nand acculturation.

The end product, we hope, will be of value to both students and their teachers. We believe that if students are given the facts, they will be better able to make educated, individual decisions about whether to join gangs or not. Perhaps we may even be able to save a child or two from a lifetime of pain, disgrace, and even death.

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The Teachings of Confucius

China's greatest teacher, Confucius, lived 2,000 years ago. He was very concerned about how people should get along with each other. One of his famous sayings was "Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you." Maybe you have heard this advice in another form: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (New Testament) or "What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your neighbor" (20 B.C. Hillel, a Jewish teacher).

Confucius felt that we could all get along peacefully if only we follow the rules of good behavior. He lived during a time of great chaos and change. Nobles were fighting each other for power and control. Each wanted to rule as emperor. Many wars were going on between city states, and people were killed needlessly. Confucius longed for order andn mutual respect among people. He traveled around teaching people his ideas. These ideas, later called Confucianism, still influence Chinese thought after 2500 years. Confucianism isn't a religion but a Code of Behavior. Here are some of his ideas:

A central idea of confucianism is "jen." The first part of this character represents "man." The second part represents "two." The two parts of this character, when written together, form "jen" - one person existing in harmony with another.

The relationship between two people is central to Confucius. He taught people that there are five basic relationships: husband-wife, father-son, older-and-younger-brother, friend-friend, and ruler-subject. The foundation for each relationship should be sincerity, loyalty, and mutual respect. Children should respect their parents at all times. These are his words: "In serving his parents, a child may gently disagree with them. If they refuse to listen to his argument, he should remain reverent and obedient." Parents today would probably agree with Confucius' words!

Traditionally, the family shared their homes with several generations. At age 15 or 16, a son might bring his new wife into the family home. With many people living together in limited space, you can imagine how important it would be to know how to get along peacefully with each other!

Confucius used the family as a model of how rulers should behave. A ruler, he believed, should act like a good father to his people. If a ruler was wise and good, people would follow that example and be wise and good themselves. He believed that Government should be based on virtue or goodness, not on laws and punishment. He said, "If the ruler himself is upright, all will be well, even thought he does not give orders. But if he himself is not upright, even though he gives orders, they will not be obeyed." Truly Confucius had wise advice for everyone - rulers and commoners alike!

Activities for the Teachings of Confucius

  1. Mini-poster: after reading through and discussing the information on Confucius, make a mini-poster of five possible rules for getting along better in our class. Individually, pairs, or groups. Discuss opinions. Hang up posters.
  2. Use the Open Mind to compare a parent's view of Confucius' words with that of the student.
  3. Cartoon Strip: Make a cartoon strip showing a situation in school or family that demonstrates Confucius' admonition, "Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you."
  4. Write an original short story: Use Confucius' words about the importance of sincerity, loyalty, and mutual respect to evaluate two short stories as well as to write an original short story or skit.
    1. Discuss the story of "The Devoted Friend," by Oscar Wilde. Decide whether it tells of a great relationship or not. Give at least five examples from the story that demonstrates your group's opinion. You have 10 minutes. Choose someone from your group to share your thoughts with the class.
    2. Read the story "The All-American Slurp," by Lensey Namioka. Give at least 5 examples that demonstrate sincerity, loyalty, and mutual respect. How does this story compare with "The Devoted Friend"? You have 10 minutes. Choose a presenter to share your conclusions.
    3. Compare the two stories. You may use a Venn diagram or any other graphic form you wish to use.
    4. Write an original short story that demonstrates Confucius' idea of a good relationship. You may use animals or people as your characters. Maybe you have had an experience in your own life that comes to mind and you would like to write it in story form. Or you may wish to write your story in skit form to be performed in class. Your original short story may be no longer than two pages and must include an illustration.

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China: Independent Research Projects

Please note: The following activities are adapted from an interdisciplinary, integrated unit created for the Roger Taylor Workshop. At the end of this list of projects, suitable for grades 6-12, is information about accessing a complete 42 page unit on China as well as comprehensive units on a plethora of additional topics.

  1. Paradoxes: The Chinese people have often been perceived as a peaceful culture striving for harmony, yet historically have been a violent people. Create a photo essay of two other cultures which were perceived as peaceful, but in fact were not.
  2. Attributes: After investigating the qualities of the Chinese culture during the "Golden Age," create a clay sculpture, paper mache project, or etching to be included in a class art gallery or museum exhibit.
  3. Analogies: Research and compare the incidents at Kent State University in 1970 with Tiananmen Square. Create an illustrated story or television documentary showing the comparisons.
  4. Discrepancies: Confucius and Siddhartha Guatama were real men. However, the stories of the lives of these men contain many gaps or myth. Dress and speak as one of these men. Fill in the gaps in your life and dispel any myths that have developed about it.
  5. Provocative Questions: Confucius wrote, "If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake." Using this phrase as a theme, design a collage from your life or from the life of a famous person which will illustrate this concept.
  6. Examples of Change: China has gone through many cultural changes from the "Golden Age" to communism. Create a mural which depicts these changes.
  7. Skills of Search: Research the foods of traditional China. Develop a menu which includes these foods and includes the recipes you will use to prepare the foods on the menu.
  8. Intuitive Expression: Imagine that you are the individual facing the army tank in Tiananmen Square. Create a slide show with sound track expressing the emotions of that moment.
  9. Evaluate Situations: Review the values, attitudes and behaviors that the Chinese have toward population control. Take a stand, pro or con, and write a law, including consequences, which reflects your position.
  10. Study Creative People and Process: Select a well-known Chinese leader, philosopher, artist, poet, or inventor. Write a letter to the Nobel Prize committee nominating this person for the Nobel Prize in his/her area. Cite his/her unique creative traits including problem solving, inventiveness, and insight.
  11. Creative Listening Skill: While listening to Chinese music, convey the mood of the music by creating a watercolor painting or composing a creative movement piece.
  12. Creative Writing Skill: Pretend you are Emperor Qin, and that you are recruiting for your army. Create a pamphlet or brochure that will help you obtain the very best personnel.
  13. Visualization Skill: Visualize a Buddhist Temple based on class readings and field trip. Create a blueprint depicting the layout, including dimensions and feng shui, of the temple.

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Gang Prevention Unit

Additional Sources:

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Modern Gang Culture

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Published Resources on Gangs

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Newspaper Articles on Gang Members

Mini-Law: Article Activity

Should Teenage Lawbreakers Be Treated As Adults?

  1. Why do many Americans believe that teenage crime is on the rise?
  2. What type of crimes are most often committed by juveniles?
  3. According to the article, people are very concerned about juvenile crime. Which of the following is not a concern about juvenile crime.
  4. Juveniles do not appear in the same court as adults. Juveniles appear in a special _____ _____.
  5. Treatment of juveniles has usually been lenient or easy going when compared to treatment of adults. What type of treatment or sentence might juveniles get for committing crimes?
  6. More and more courts are ordering teens charged with violent crimes to stand _____ _____ _____ and be _____ more severely.
  7. Give two reasons why some people believe juveniles should be treated as adults?
  8. Give two reasons why some people believe juveniles should be treated differently from adults?
  9. Do you think juveniles should be treated like adults or differently from adults when they are accused of crimes? Should they be treated as adults for all crimes or serious crimes? When should they be treated as adults? When should they be treated differently?
  10. More and more kids are getting in trouble. Why do you think this is so? What can law enforcement and society do to keep teenagers from committing crimes, especially serious crimes involving guns and other weapons?

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