Netters,
I thought at first I would frame a response to David's post myself, but felt
that, having had a conversation with my son on the topic (for reasons which
will be obvious), the following response from him was not only much more
eloquent but, more importantly, a much more well-informed one than I could
have composed.
I am hoping Brendan's response will be taken in the spirit in which it was
offered - that is, not as a personal attack, but rather, a plea that might
in some small way advance the cause of international understanding, a cause
which I feel will become more and more crucial for Brendan's generation. We
as librarians and educators can help in further advancing this cause not
only by having resources on our shelves which represent a variety of
viewpoints (as David himself suggests), but also by ensuring that our own
teaching is informed by a true desire to understand other cultures from
³[their] point of view, not ours.²
"This e-mail is factually misinformed and the conclusions the author draws
are, in my opinion, outrageous. Over the past few years, as I have studied
Chinese language and culture, and over the past month and a half living in
China, I have become aware of how far our "open-mindedness" - on which we
Americans pride ourselves - actually extends. It is embarrassingly shallow.
For most Americans, our idea of accepting other cultures is simply to take
an interest in exotic clothes and quaint dances, but we cannot actually
encounter a fundamentally different world view without writing it off.
Perhaps this is partly because we are rarely faced with such a fundamental
difference, since a large part of the world today believes in the
Greco-Roman world order that was brought to it by the Roman Empire. It is
also true that there are ruthless dictators in some countries whose actions
are based solely on their leaders' thirst for power and personal wealth,
with no connection to any long-standing belief structure. While China did
have a dark period during the Cultural Revolution with Mao at the helm, the
"ruthless dictator" description does not fit China today. The Chinese view
of what a government should provide and how a government should act is not
the same as the Western view. (The two parties in the United States cannot
agree on what a government should provide and how a government should act,
so why shouldn't we expect an even greater difference from a culture that
was isolated from Western influence for thousands of years?)
What is the Chinese view, then? Based on my observations, the prevailing
Chinese view is that the government has two fundamental responsibilities to
its people: maintain order, and provide for economic prosperity. These two
objectives do not only serve as the goals of the government; the
government's success in achieving them serves as the measure of the
government's legitimacy. Therefore, free speech in China is doled out with
caution, since too much free speech does not maintain the desired level of
order. Westerners, whose cultural tradition mandates much more emphasis on
free speech, believe that criticism of the government and public competition
for government offices is necessary as a healthy dialogue; the Chinese see
this as chaos (see the Democratic primaries).
I do not offer this explanation as a promotion or defense of the Chinese
system, but rather to highlight the pervasive nature of the influence of
culture. Every part of how we view the world is determined by the culture
in which we form that view: philosophy, religion, and life experience all
vary by culture, and these are the foundations from which our beliefs stem.
If these foundations are different from ours, there is a limit to the
effectiveness of our system of government, there is a limit to the
appropriateness of our political ideals, and there is a limit to the the
extent to which it is any of our business.
Finally, to address some specific issues from the original e-mail:
*I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I think if you were to more
closely examine the nature of the Taiwanese government, their "baseball
loving democracy" is still very much in development, and not a system we
would be particularly pleased to have in the United States.
*The author of the e-mail answers, in part, his own question, with his
reference to "Chinese Communism." Neither the USSR nor Cuba has or ever had
a government based on the principles of Chinese Communism. Nuclear war with
China is not staved off by MAD (mutually assured destruction); rather,
neither country has any interest in attacking the other, particularly when
their economic relationship is so favorable. Finally, it is rather arrogant
to assume that the United States itself has no room for development, as was
implied by the complaint that the United States has changed its position on
communism in general. Consider that a degree of tolerance and a channel for
dialog may represent progress from the isolationist fear that arises out of
rigid moral self-righteousness.
*Mao did not simplify the Chinese language. "Simplified Chinese" refers to
the writing system only, where a subset of commonly-used Chinese characters
have reduced forms in an effort to increase literacy. As a second-language
learner of Chinese, I can safely say that I am glad that I did not have to
grapple with the traditional forms, if only for the reason that I would be
unable to communicate in writing with the 1.3 billion people who use
simplified characters. If I were to go to Taiwan, I could brush up on my
traditional characters rather easily. The only difference in the actual
language is roughly equivalent to the difference between British English and
American English.
*The teaching program in question does not import cheaply-made replacements
for their American counterparts, but instead brings in Chinese people to
teach American students the Chinese language and to expose them to Chinese
culture. I believe that this kind of exchange is essential to developing
mutual understanding, respect, and co-operation between two very different
cultures, which is why I am about to take two years of my life to teach
English in China. Perhaps if the author of the original e-mail had had the
opportunity to benefit from such a program, we would have been spared this
dose of ethnocentric ignorance.
I do agree, however, with the claim that this topic is very important to
those who are responsible for providing our students with information. How
does having "information from all sides on our shelves" not include the
Chinese point of view? Could it be that some world views are equal, but
some are more equal than others? As easy as it is to believe this, I urge
you to challenge yourself to push your limits, expand your horizons, and try
to truly understand another culture from its own point of view, rather than
yours. If you do, I believe that your students will benefit greatly.
Brendan Woo
Yale-China English Language Teaching Fellow, 2008-2010"
Above posted by
Sarah Woo
MS Librarian
Danvers, MA
sarahwoo@danvers.org
On 7/19/08 9:05 PM, "DiGregorio, David" <ddigregorio@TENAFLY.K12.NJ.US>
wrote:
> As librarians / library media specialists / information specialists it is
> important to be somewhat knowledgeable about emerging China.
>
>
>
> Issue 1: The Chinese government and the College Board seem to be working hand
> in hand to supply free teachers to American High Schools.
> http://www.collegeboard.com/press/releases/185064.html The College Board is
> rather naïve in my opinion. What a great way for a country that is communist,
> has one party system, with controlled Internet, and no free press to further
> their agenda with a free democracy. And why did the US have such an issue
> with the government of the Soviet Union and for that matter, presently, Cuba -
> with little issue with Chinese Communism? I think many of us know the answer.
> Have we have lost our moral footing in the name of profit? And for those of
> us somewhat more familiar with the situation, what about Taiwan, the island
> off the coast of China, a baseball loving democracy that is not recognized by
> the US or the UN. As it happens, districts that hire Mandarin teachers from
> Taiwan will have the added benefit in that these teachers know the language as
> it was, prior to its simplification by Mao.
>
>
>
> The largest problem here is the ignorance of most Americans regarding this
> situation thanks to our profit centered press. This is where we can make a
> difference - in making sure that we have information from all sides on our
> shelves - and that better be done before the Chinese government begins to talk
> with the ALA and starts sending us free librarians -
>
>
>
> David Di Gregorio
>
> ddigregorio@tenafly.k12.nj.us
>
> www.librarymedia.net
>
> Supervisor Library Media Services
>
> Tenafly High School
>
> 19 Columbus Drive
>
> Tenafly, NJ USA 07670
>
>
>
> Tel. 201-816-6617
>
> Cell. 201-696-8062
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
> You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
> by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
> To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
> In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
> 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
> * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
> * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
> * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/
> * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
> * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
* LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
* LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
* EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/
* LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
* LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home