Author: cpatscot

On page 54 of Tao Te Ching, the passage reads:

“Therefore,

Through self contemplate self,

Through family contemplate family,

Through community contemplate community,

Through country contemplate country,

Through world contemplate world.

How do I know the world?”

This was my favorite reading from the Tao Te Ching. The final line is impactful in that it demonstrates how you can never really know the world completely and there is always an opportunity to learn more. The first several lines to me demonstrate the importance of being curious. Having strong roots does not have to hinder curiosity but can in fact aid curiosity. At Butler, I am always pushed by professors to use my prior knowledge and resources while pushing myself to be curious and stimulate my own learning. This course is an excellent example of one of those courses. The course itself provides the foundation for learning about China and Islam while we are encouraged to pursue other materials to stimulate new learnings in areas we are interested in.

A marketing course that I had last semester here at Butler proved the importance of being curious. Using the prior rooted knowledge, we had of the marketing world, we prepared a creative marketing strategy using a target market and topic we were interested in. Not only did this solidify the knowledge we had about marketing, but it stimulated growth in a brand-new area. This was a very valuable course and a great way to learn, which leads me to believe this course will be similar.

Taoism teaches balance is important. Roots of knowledge and the unknown might seem like opposites, but Taoism teaches embracing these opposites is important. This passage is a great demonstration of how important curiosity is and how it can be used in conjunction with strong roots.

Today, I went to Northview Central Middle School and assisted with the English as a Second Language (ESL) course for adult learners. Within the class that I assist, twenty different countries are represented within the body of students. It was evident that there was such a diverse group when we went around and introduced ourselves and stated our home country. A large percentage of the class is Chinese or from a country in the Middle East. Today’s topic for the Level 1 learners, which was the small group I worked with, was understanding the continuous present tense of the English language. This includes words like “swimming,” “writing,” and the like. We also worked on answering the following question: “What is he/she/they/you doing?” I spent a little more than two hours working with the class. Most of that time was tutoring my small group while a small portion of time was working one-on-one with a woman from the Middle East. She was working on more basic vocabulary words. I enjoyed my time working with the ESL class, and I am looking forward to next Thursday already. Here is a link that describes the course offered within the Washington Township district.

I did not know what to expect when I committed to my ICR placement with an ESL class. All I knew was that everyone taking the class had come to the United States within the last twelve months and that there was a long waiting list for the class itself. On page 54 of “Tao Te Ching,” the final line reads “How do I know the world?” I am often consumed in “the Butler Bubble” and do not get to truly experience the community I am part of. Being involved in this ESL class forced me to examine that question for myself. As an American, I was a minority in the class. All the students came from different countries, but they were each trying to help one another and help others understand. In a time of confusion and frustration trying to learn a new language, every student tried to help his neighbor despite the language barrier. This lesson is far superior than any lesson I could take away on the literal linguistics of the English language. The readings we have examined on Confucianism have emphasized the importance of social harmony and relationships. The students were building relationships with one another despite not being able to speak the same language. Community is not always an important value in the American culture, but it was evident that community provides great support and can be built among very different individuals.

I have started learning the basics of the Arabic alphabet through Duolingo. Learning the alphabet of another language helps me understand how difficult it is for others to learn the English alphabet. There was an exercise we did in class where the teacher or aid (me) held a whiteboard in front of our mouth. Then we spoke a series of letters. The students were to respond by writing down the letters they heard. When the teacher spoke “A, E, I, O, U” the students gasped at the difficulty of identifying the different letters despite the similar sounds. To me as an American, this seemed like such a simple task. However, learning the Arabic alphabet all sounds the same to me as well.

Just being part of the class for the short time that I was proved that building community is important and can and should be done across cultural barriers. I developed a deeper appreciation for slowing down and listening to the students. It is important to speak slowly when talking to new English language learners, and Americans are not known for wanting to slow down. When I worked one-on-one with the woman in my class, she did not understand the course material in the same way that the other students were learning it. I had to use creative problem-solving skills to figure out a new way to help her learn the material. Being involved in this ESL class was a great learning experience for me while I help my fellow community members learn English as well.

Both Confucianism and Taoism are ways of life and are philosophies that are practiced by many worldwide. The two were established in China and have rich traditions. Both are associated with a specific founder. Their respective traditions have some overlapping ideas, but they also have some various philosophical differences. Taoism seems to be more of a self-conscious philosophy where the individual practicing needs to be very aware and conscious of his/her thoughts, behavior, and attitudes. Confucianism is more focused on relationships with others and social harmony.

Although there are several differences and similarities between the two philosophies, and I look forward to identifying and appreciating these as the semester continues, it is difficult to summarize all the similarities and differences in one blog post. Attached is a Venn Diagram of some of the key points that I have noticed from our readings thus far.

[embeddoc url=”http://blogs.butler.edu/ghs208spring2020/files/2020/01/ConfuciusvsTaoismVennDiagram-1.jpg” download=”all”]

It is common knowledge that there are differences across cultures. We do not eat the same foods, speak the same language, worship the same God, among many other different values, attitudes, behaviors, and more. However, when reading Ha Jin’s stories, I began to question the impact that American culture has had on other cultures. For better or for worse, American culture has found its way in influencing other countries and those cultures.

“After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” is a humorous example of this influence. The fast food restaurant is a commonplace for Americans, but Cowboy Chicken modified the cultural landscape in China. Wedding parties wanted their wedding dinners at the restaurant and patrons wanted to learn more about the American way of running restaurants. A real-life example of this is how McDonald’s has become part of the cultural landscape far beyond the borders of the United States.

When reading “A Tiger Fighter is Hard to Find,” I questioned what impact the Hollywood movie scene had on the production of the film in the story. If there was pressure to produce an “Americanized movie,” this could have influenced the negative treatment of the actors and animals on set.

I am reading a book called “The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy” by Pietra Rivoli. This book examines that life of cotton from an economist’s perspective. America is the number one producer of cotton on the globe, but China is the number one producer of cotton textiles on the globe. America’s supply of cotton and demand for cheap cotton textiles has changed the labor environment in China.

The labor environment in China could be several blog posts on its own but examining these stories by Ha Jin and the trade patterns that exist do make me question if the America’s cultural influence on other countries has been too strong. Every culture is unique and should be appreciated for its differences. Do you think America has had too much of an influence on other country’s cultures, including China?

The yin-yang symbol holds its roots in Daoism/Taoism, which is a Chinese religion/philosophy. In the short clip attached, John Bellaimey explains why we all contain the spirit of yin and yang and what each side of the symbol represents. The dark side is associated with femininity and shadows. The yang is the lighter side that represents brightness, passion, and growth. John Bellaimey breaks down the yin-yang symbol and its meaning into simple metaphorical examples and clarifies the meaning and history behind the symbol, which is commonly misunderstood by those not educated in the Chinese culture.

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-hidden-meanings-of-yin-and-yang-john-bellaimey

While the yin-yang symbol emphasizes balance and the importance of having both sides of what the symbol represents, American culture is far from embracing the symbolic representation or any deeper meaning that the yin-yang symbol represents. During class discussion, several American culture values were brainstormed by the group. One of these values, success, stood out to me greatly. Americans are focused on being incredibly busy with achieving, regardless of the form of that achievement. There were several lines from “Tao Te Ching” that emphasize the importance of balance even with a value like success:

11: “Clay is fired to make a pot. The pot’s use comes from emptiness….Having leads to profit, Not having leads to use.”

24: “According to Tao, Excessive food, Extraneous Activity Inspire Disgust.”

With the importance of success in the American culture today, it is difficult to find usefulness in emptiness and avoid extraneous activity. However, the teachings of Taoism emphasize the importance of balance and not focusing too heavily on one thing. The opposite of success is failure, but Americans do not value failure nearly as much as its opposite. Taoism emphasizes the beauty in this balance of accepting both as the way of life.