9th Grade Main Lesson: Modern World II: China in Transition

February 27-March 16, 2012

Nancy Bowman, Instructor

nlbowman89@hotmail.com

This is the second of two modern history blocks presented in the 9th grade at Emerson Waldorf School. We began in the fall by reviewing the American and industrial revolutions; we concluded with a discussion of Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto, a document that stood in stark opposition to the capitalist and democratic tendencies of the American and industrial revolutions in the 19th century, and one that would inspire numerous revolutions and transformations in the 20th century. This semester we will renew our consideration of revolution, democracy, nationalism, and communism through a study of China. This vast and populous nation has seen great dynasties, and has been an imperialized subject; it has been an incubator of communism, and is now experimenting with capitalism. And, of course, it is fast becoming one of the world’s “superpowers.”

We will continue to work with primary sources as a means of studying history, including two literary treatments of 20th century revolutions. We will begin with Lu Hsun’s 1921 satirical novella, The True Story of Ah Q, set during the 1911 revolution that saw the end of the Qing dynasty; students will also read Dai Sijie’s 2001 novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress as a window onto the Cultural Revolution that engulfed China in the 1960s and early 1970s. By the end, however, we will be relying on very contemporary

news sources as we will really be considering current events rather than history.

Main Lesson Book – 30%

Participation – 30%

Quiz – 10%

Test – 15%

Notebook/Homework –10%

Presentation/recitation – 5%

Note 1: Lateness with assignments will result in a loss of points – roughly 1/3 of a grade for each day late.

Note 2: The Main Lesson book will be bound and its contents will be neat, proofread, handwritten, and appropriately artistic. There will be time set aside in class for the binding of the book, and some time allotted for work on the contents of the book. Students should expect to have to work on this outside of class as well.

Note 3: The reading in this class is not overwhelming in its length, but is often challenging in style and content. I understand this and do not expect that students will come in with perfect comprehension. (That’s what discussion is or.) I do expect, though, that they will have grappled with the material to the best of their ability before coming to

class.

Note 4: Students MUST retain an organized notebook for this class. In this notebook will be class notes, handouts, and drafts of essays for the main lesson book. Students need to accustom themselves to note-taking and the organized retention of all class materials as a requirement for success in high school courses.

THE MEANING OF GRADES:

Represents excellence. An “A” is awarded for work that demonstrates an excellent command of the ideas and information that we have been discussing, and a good measure of sophistication in the presentation of those ideas and that information.

The work also demonstrates great care in presentation: there are few if any careless errors; the work is neat; margins have been observed; the demands of the assignment have been understood, met, and perhaps in some areas exceeded.

With respect to participation in class, an A indicates that the student has been consistently

prepared and willing to enter into a discussion of the material, sharing his/her perspective with the rest of the class. It doesn’t mean that one is talking all of the time, but that one is contributing to the exploration and discoveries undertaken each day.

Represents good – perhaps very good – work, but short of excellence. There may be good content, but more careless errors. Or there may be few errors, but not the same clarity, depth of thought, inquiry, or thoroughness that is awarded an A.

In terms of participation, the student is usually prepared but perhaps not as willing to speak up, or as able to articulate his or her thoughts.

Represents a bare meeting of the requirements. The work done is adequate, but probably does not demonstrate strong comprehension, great care, or deep interest.

In discussion, a C represents minimal participation. When there is minimal participation, it is hard for me to know what the level of preparation is each day, and the student is not sharing ideas with others and thus enriching the class.

Represents a frequent failure to meet basic requirements of the class or to take any real care with one’s work.

Represents an utter failure to meet the basic requirements of the class. Indeed, one’s lack of engagement may have become damaging to the class. (It is hard and unusual for anyone to get an F in my class, although it is possible to fail an individual assignment.)