Week Thirty One - Modern China

This Week

We began our studies of Modern China this week by looking at a brief overview of Dynastic China and Chinese geography. If you're looking for a way to deepen your understanding of Chinese history, I'd definitely recommend checking out the Dayton Art Institute, which has a nice collection of Chinese art and artifacts that are very cool. Below are a few that we took last year when we rode our bikes there for our STEM On Wheels course.

A bit about the exhibit

A Watchtower from the Han Dynasty

More about the Watchtower

Figurines from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1544)

Also this week, a big shout out to Joel Baker, whose logo design for the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords was selected by Culture Works of Dayton as the winner of their logo contest! Look out for his logo next November as the anniversary events are advertised. The event is likely to bring dignitaries from around the world to Dayton, all of whom will be reading programs with Joel's logo. Great job, Joel!

We had two more students receive good news as well - Edward Love and Ray Hampton, whose poster Was it Really "Never Again"? won 2nd place in the Max May Memorial Art competition this year! Congratulations to both of them as well!

The 2nd Place Poster for the 2015 Max May Memorial Art Competition - Edward Love and Ray Hampton

Upcoming Week

Obviously next week is spring break! When we get back from that, though, we'll continue with our studies of Modern China by watching the movie, To Live, which is a Chinese movie by the famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. I use this film to teach the different stages of Modern China up through the Cultural Revolution, as it's a good look at China from a Chinese perspective. It's also important to remember that much of it is simultaneously propaganda, so understanding the difference between how events are depicted and what actually happened is also a good way for us to become familiar with the progress and challenges Modern China has faced since adopting Communism.

I hope you and your family have a great spring break and that you make it out to the Dayton Art Institute at some point this break! If a student goes to the museum and brings back a ticket stub (or, better yet, gets a picture of him or herself with one of the artifacts in the Chinese Art exhibit!) I will give them extra credit, so there's a good reason for a family trip to the museum!

~Mr. Grieve