Curriculum Corner – Page 4

National History Day Competition

National History Day, District 5, Virginia, March 7, 2015

It was an exciting day for some 300 students, many of their parents, and 60 judges as they gathered at Mt. Vernon High School in Alexandria, Va. to participate in this year’s National History Day celebration for District 5 (Northern Virginia). For the first time, the 1882 Foundation sponsored an award of $250 for a student creating an entry on Asian American history around the theme of what it means to be an American. It was also a wonderful opportunity for Roberta Chew and Ting-Yi Oei of the Foundation to attend the event, talk with some of the students, and share in their accomplishments. Other sponsors included the Newseum, Mount Vernon, the Marine Corps Museum, the United States Institute of Peace, and the National Women’s History Museum. (For more information about the event and its sponsors, please visit this website: http://1882foundation.orgwww.mountvernon.org/educational-resources/for-teachers/national-history-day/history-day-va5-competition/)

The recipient of the 1882 Foundation Award is Tsuyoshi Nemoto whose project was about the 442^nd Japanese American Combat Battalion in World War II. Tsuyoshi is a 16 year old exchange student from Japan attending Mt. Vernon High School. He said he was inspired to create his exhibit because it was here in the United States that he first learned about the 2nd generation Japanese Americans (Nisei) who enlisted as soldiers and fought in Europe for a country that at the same time held their families in camps behind barbed wire fences. He was moved by their bravery, noting that 10,000 service medals were awarded to the 442^nd , more than any other combat unit in the war. His research revealed interesting stories including information about the soldiers of the “Lost Battalion” from Texas who, surrounded by German troops in the French mountains, were rescued thanks to the efforts of the 442^nd. Later, when Hawaii sought US statehood, the Texas Congressional delegation made a point of saying their yes vote was influenced by the 442^nd‘s heroism. He also cited the 442^nd’s post-war service, exemplified by former Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. Tsuyoshi’s display included photos of Inouye as a young soldier and as a senator.

It was also encouraging to see a large number of Asian American students participating in the History Day competition. Many had taken on a variety of Asian subjects for their project, covering ancient to modern times: the Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, Mao Tse-tung, Kim Il-sung, Mohandas Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and the Khmer Rouge.

As we look towards the future, we plan to continue to sponsor National History Day and other programs that can put the focus on the role of Asian Americans in our history. We also urge our partner organizations to seek out opportunities to recognize the efforts of young people to learn more about the richness of the Asian American experience.

Tsuyoshi Nemoto presenting his project

Receiving his award from Ting-Yi Oei

by Ting-Yi Oei

Curriculum Corner 2014 Updates & Review

Curriculum Corner

Teacher Workshops and Training:

It was a busy fall season in the “curriculum corner.” The 2014-2015 school year began in mid-August with a workshop for social studies teachers in Fairfax County, Va., that aimed to recast how Asian American topics are included in high school courses. Ted Gong used stories, family photos, and documents from his own family to give a personal feel to the Chinese American experience. Gina Inocencio talked about the Smithsonian’s Young Historians Project that provides students with opportunities to interpret the Asian American experience using a variety of media techniques. Ting-Yi Oei rounded out the team presentation by illustrating how lessons involving Asian Americans (Wong Kim Ark, Mamie Tape, and Fred Korematsu) have played a key role in defining the 14th Amendment’s provisions for citizenship, equal protection under the law, and due process. Very strong emphasis has been placed on making use of primary sources so that students practice being historians themselves as they interpret and make sense of the documents.

At the Virginia Social Studies Conference in McLean, Va., and at the National Conference for the Social Studies in Boston, Mass., Ting-Yi took the 1882 Foundation’s message to many more teachers showing them ways to integrate Asian American content into the curriculum when they teach fundamental concepts about justice and the evolution of American democratic traditions. At the Boston conference, Ting-Yi and his wife Diane talked with over 80 teachers who had stopped by to learn how to broaden the curriculum to include more about Asian Americans and were given a packet of lesson plans and materials. Posters from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s “I Want the Wide American Earth” traveling exhibition supplemented the lessons and provided further examples of the impact of Asian Americans on the life and culture of the United States.

Earlier in the year, Ting-Yi had the opportunity to give a workshop to teachers involved in the “Teaching American History” project in Loudoun County, Va. These are teachers who are committed to innovative teaching through the use of primary sources and whose impact is expected to go beyond their own classrooms into the practice of their fellow teachers.

State Standards and Curriculum:

State standards usually include the topics of “Chinese Exclusion” and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, but the discussion of Asian Americans in the curriculum usually ends there. As we work with teachers we find them eager to learn more about the deeper meaning of “1882” and it’s legacy, making Asian Americans no longer absent in the history of America. But a major goal of “1882” is to have the curriculum the contributions and the significance of Asian Americans reflected throughout the curriculum, K-12.

To that end, we have engaged the State of Virginia in a discussion about their Social Studies Standards and Curriculum Framework which are under review this year for the first time since 2008. The 1882 Foundation submitted a document of proposed revisions to a working committee of teachers in June and followed that with separate meetings in September with both the Secretary of Education, Anne Holton, and the State Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Billy Haun. In addition to “1882” representatives Ted Gong and Ting-Yi Oei, other Asian American stakeholders also participated in the discussions. The Standards and Curriculum review process will continue into 2015 and we intend to stay involved. Related to this broader view of Asian American history, we also encouraged the Library of Virginia to host the Smithsonian’s “I Want the Wide American Earth” Traveling Exhibition of 30 posters and banners.

Ting-Yi Oei and Diane Curling at NCSS Conference in Boston

by Ting-Yi Oei

On Education: Spreading the Word About 1882

Curriculum Corner

The 1882 Project took to the road in November to share lesson plans with educators from Virginia and around the country. On Nov. 2nd, Ting-Yi Oei and Ted Gong presented “Righting Wrongs: Congress (Finally) Apologizes for the Chinese Exclusion Acts” at the Virginia Council for the Social Studies Conference in Roanoke, Virginia. Ting-Yi then took the presentation to St. Louis, Missouri for the National Social Studies Conference.

In Roanoke, speaking to an audience that included a number of school division curriculum specialists, Ting-Yi introduces a lesson intended for Government and Civics classes. Using the actual language of Senate Resolution 201, students start by noting the contributions of the Chinese to American history, learn the background to the Exclusion Acts, and follow a timeline of discrimination, violence, and systematic violation of the civil rights of Chinese and other Asian Americans for over 60 years. The activities in the first part of the lesson plan call for students to focus their attention on political cartoons, editorials, and other primary source documents. Through close and guided study of those documents, students make meaning of the Exclusion Acts and their consequences – just as historians do. In the end, students look at the principles found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, particularly the 14^th Amendment, to analyze how well we have lived up to those principles. The second part of the lesson plan leads to the passage of the Resolution itself. Making the point that getting Congress to apologize is very rare indeed (it’s only happened four times in American history), students are asked to think of what steps are involved to gain passage of a law or a resolution. Ting-Yi and Ted explained through a slide show and discussion how in this case a grassroots movement of community organizations generated interest in the cause and mobilized support for the Resolutions in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The lesson’s takeaway is for students to recognize the elements needed for success: having a worthy cause, organizing effectively, generating interest and publicity, lobbying key political leaders for their support, and persevering to get the job done.

In St. Louis, at the National Conference, over 100 teachers and other educators stopped by the 1882 Project table. There they could receive a folder of the same teaching materials used in Roanoke, view a slideshow, and see posters produced by the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Pacific American Center on APA history and culture. Ting-Yi was overwhelmed by the number of educators and quickly ran out of materials. So his wife, Diane, and cousin Cathy Hwang of St. Louis, pitched in to speak with visitors when Ting-Yi was busily engaged with others. Teachers were eager to learn more about the Chinese Exclusion Acts with many acknowledging that they knew little or nothing about them. If the topic was taught, usually it was in the context of immigration of the late 19^th century or in the building of the transcontinental railroad, not as an opportunity to dig deeply into American civil rights history.

The conversations at both conferences were illuminating to the presenters and the participants alike. It’s very encouraging to think that more teachers will be addressing this aspect of American history not only with a stronger understanding of these events, but also encouraging and influencing colleagues to re-examine their lessons.

by Ali Smith

National History Day Competition

Curriculum Corner 2014 Updates & Review

On Education: Spreading the Word About 1882

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