What is Life Like at a Chinese High School?

 

http://www.echinacities.com/expat-corner/Student-Shadowing-Spending-a-Day-in-a-Chinese-High-School

 

Discussion Questions:

 

1.)  What was most shocking to you about this article?

2.)  If you were to be sent to a Chinese high school, do you think you could handle it?

3.)  What are your thoughts about the "gaokao", the three-day test?

4.)  What do you think a Chinese high schooler's opinion would be about the schools in the United States?

Jimmy Kimmel = Hitler? China may think so....

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/11/07/4447492/jimmy-kimmel-hitlera-controversy.html#.Up9IfMRDsrV

Do you think the Chinese overreacted to this controversial segment, or was it right of them to speak up?  Is Jimmy Kimmel truly comparable to Hitler, as the article's title conveys? Is there anything else that Kimmel and ABC could do to ease the tension caused by the segment?  Do the "perceived American prejudices against Chinese and Chinese-Americans" mentioned in the article actually exist today?  

China Is Still a Wonderful Place

http://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/printout/0,31522,1850076_1850078_1849814-full,00.html
We have learned a lot about the history of China, and even the more modern facts seem to make
 China seem like a place no one would want to go. After reading this article I realized that China does 
actually have some sights that look worthy of seeing. Does this article change your opinion of whether 
you would want to see China? Do you you thinks facts from the United States' history could make America
 seem like a place people would not want to go? 
What do we have that is worth seeing?

China Poised for Economic Changes

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/11/china-second-revolution-20131127867155573.html

1. Do you think that China will be able to continue its economic growth given that many Western countries, including powerful ones, are suspicious of China's growth?

2. Will Western countries try to stop China's progress? What might they do?

3. If China does continue its economic growth and start dominating global markets, do you think Communism will spread? Or will China be forced to give up its restrictive laws in order to be able to trade with other powerful countries?

AIDS and HIV on the Rise in China

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-12/02/content_17143826.htm

Why do you think the Chinese government has been so proactive about "fixing" this issue, but yet they turn a blind-eye to many of China's other problems? Do you think they have a secret agenda?

The Dangers of Reporting in Russia

This article from the Guardian discusses the struggles and problems of independent journalists within Russia.   Using the information in this article, develop a series of questions that you would ask Russian journalists regarding their work.  Remember to build and do additional research for an A.  

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/nov/24/anna-politkovskaya-russia-press-freedom

Freedom of the Press. The Dangers of Journalism in Russia

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/in-russia-conflating-journalism-and-hooliganism/#/1/

What rights and responsibilities should be given to journalist in Russia?   Can we understand another country's ideas and struggles without the freedom of press?  Should Mr. Zhiganova  be contained for his work as a journalist?    Take a look at the pictures presented in the article.  What is the portrayal of Russia and what is the bias?  Remember to build and do additional research for an A