This week the students continued their study of Chinese culture and history. For contemporary study, we examined the “one child policy”(http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iPY5di7Ht_CpKlIUbkwUohZXp9zgD8VAL9CG5) and looked at the influence of media on the situation in Tibet and the upcoming Olympic games. Students were exposed to stories from CNN, MSNBC and also Asian media such as China Daily (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/). They were able to annalize varying perspectives on the same topic and draw conclusions through discussions and debates.

Our historic time period this week was the Qing and Ming eras. This slice of history saw the growth of China in the arts and rise of demand from Europe. Students examined the influence of Europe and the significance of China’s refusal to trade.

This week my classes were also exposed to the historic art of calligraphy. This form of writing dates back almost 5000 years. We are lucky that Max is an expert at this form and is able to convey that skill to the students. The students first begin by learning to hold the brush or maobi, since this is a new technique it takes some people a bit to get used to. Next comes the time to put maobi to paper. Kids find quickly that they need to be meaningful in their strokes, as there is no white out or delete button. However, by the end of class, everyone has “got it” and can sit back and admire a true piece of Chinese artwork.