Is Black History Month still Relevant

Is there still a need for Black History Month or has it served it’s time?

Looking at the school calendar I realized that the Chinese New Year overshadows Black History Month. CNY is more than a month away and schools have already started decorating lanterns, preparing for the parade, and reading about the symbolism found in CNY. I didn’t even know that CNY consists of rituals and customs that begin a month before and continues for 15 days after. Nor did I realize the number of symbols, rituals, foods, greetings, family interactions and household preparations were a part of this holiday.

February is not an easy month for PAASSC. Black History Month is the most widely publicized and easily recognized celebration of African American culture. BHM barely gets a nod in most Chinese settings because February is so entrenched with preparations for the Chinese New Year. CNY is the most significant and widely celebrated Chinese cultural event world wide. San Francisco hosts the largest and oldest Chinese New Year Parade and it represents the largest Asian cultural event in North America. I anticipated that Oakland – home of the Black Panther Party – would surely host the largest array of Black History events and activities but found that not to be the case.

I stumbled across an article Why We Should Recognize Black History Month and read about the documentary More than a Month and became excited again. We do have to think about this and how we will carry the torch. What does BHM mean to me and how will I relay that meaning to my child.

The celebration of BHM has always been one that was orchestrated by parents – our elders. But with Obama in the White House, Oprah in your living room, and the flood of Black images (positive and negative) that we receive all the time do Black parents continue to see the need to advocate for BHM? And if parents are not leading the charge who will? How does BHM remain relevant?

Please post how your school celebrates Black History Month and/or what rituals and traditions you have included in your home to make Black History Month significant and culturally relevant for your child.

Shaq Assaulted by Monks in China (video)

According to China Daily, Shaquille O’Neal has fallen in love with China.

Shaq reportedly says he would like to visit China for games, events – even movies. Check out the video below of Shaq on a special Chinese new year variety show produced by Hunan TV, located in South-Central China. Shaq appeared to have a lot of fun allowing the child-sized monks to run around and assault him while he performed his own style of Kung Fu – careful not to step on any of the children during the performance.

During the variety show Shaq informed the hosts “I love Chinese people, and if you want to invite me to attend any kind of shows, programs or events, I would be very pleased to do it.”

Chinese Boy/Girl Bands.

A global economy seems to bring a NKOTB to every corner of the globe. In case you were able to forget them – NKOTB is New Kids on the Block. Although I still have a teenage level of adoration for Markie Mark – just can’t let that go. While I was in China I spent some of my time watching MTV China. There was the whole range of performers. Groups similar to Back Street Boys, heartfelt and bitter love stories similar to Alanis Morissette and everything in between.

Will our children have any interest in Chinese artists include boy bands and girl bands. Here is a quick preview in case your child is destined to follow the American and Chinese gossip columns of boy/girl bands.
S.H.E being the top girl group in Taiwan and Fahrenheit, the top boy band in Taiwan, have produced this chart topping single.

Exploring the Great Wall

I have to say that visiting the Great Wall of China was by far the most amazing experience of the trip. We had spent four beautiful days in Guang Dong where the weather was 84 degrees and arrived in Beijing to be met with snow. I had to run to Sports Authority at the mall near our hotel to prepare for the excursion and it was well worth it.

Quick History Lesson:

The Great Wall of China was built along the northern borders of China to protect the Chinese Empire from invaders. By the 7th Century BC several walls were being built and that were later joined together and collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Over time parts of the Great Wall have been rebuilt, maintained and enhanced with a significant reconstruction period during the Ming Dynasty.

From its origins under the first emperor in the third century B.C., the Great Wall has never been a single barrier. Rather, it was an overlapping maze of ramparts and towers that was unified during the Ming dynasty, beginning in the late 1300s. Archeologists suggest that the wall may be as long as 13,000 miles (this includes natural barriers like rivers, hills, etc).

Walking the wall was amazing. I could only wish for more time. Standing on a monument rich with so much history was absolutely amazing. AMAZING is the best way for me to summarize my trip and all of my experiences while in China – Absolutely Amazing.

2012 Chinese Bridge Delegation

I recently returned from what has been an absolutely amazing experience. I, along with more than 400 school administrators and educators, participated in the 2012 Chinese Bridge Delegation. This event is hosted by the Hanban (Chinese Ministry of Education) and CollegeBoard. The Delegates were separated into 10 groups and traveled to various provinces throughout China.

I was paired with a group of approximately 45 Principals, Superintendents, District Representatives and two Stanford representatives – all from the state of California. They were an incredible group and it was an honor to have been linked with such a great group of committed and hard working school administrators.

Two of the administrators in our group presently oversee Mandarin Immersion school programs. Mr. Edward Park is the Principal of Barnard Elementary School in San Diego, CA. Mr. Parks consistently represented himself as a true advocate for his students. While there was a lot of very thoughtful conversation about the importance and the sometimes misguided influence of test scores, Mr. Parks is an administrator that has ushered a significant amount of change in his school over the last five years. According to Movoto School Rankings, the API scores at Barnard have increased almost 100 points with students achieving an average score of 838. Barnard is a Title I school with an incredibly diverse student body that is approximately 40% Latino, 20% African American and 30% White. I challenge others to help me find a Chinese Immersion program that is primarily Latino / African American. What I have seen more often are Chinese Immersion programs with large General Education programs with a large African American / Latino population. We will continue to highlight tremendous things as Mr. Park and Barnard continue to excel in their program.

Mr. Peter Moore is the Head of the Lower School at the Chinese American International School (CAIS) located in San Francisco, CA. According to the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council, CAIS is the oldest Mandarin Immersion school in the United States, a private K-8 founded in 1981. The second U.S. Mandarin Immersion is Potomac Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland, that was founded in 1986. Mr. Moore is entering his second year as the Lower School Director at CAIS. Prior to that he has taught second, fourth, fifth and sixth grade, as well as, technology to kinder through sixth grade. Mr. Moore brings a high level of excitement, passion and commitment to providing his students with consistency across the curriculum as well as a stimulating classroom environment. (As a disclaimer I have to add that I was first impressed with Mr. Moore when we toured CAIS prior to enrolling our children. From our first meeting he has impressed me with his commitment to provide his students with the best opportunities to reach their full potential. His desire to support students and faculty is one of the many reasons we selected CAIS for our children.)

Two of the schools present at the Delegation currently provide supplemental Chinese language programs – Windmere Ranch Middle School in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and Killian Elementary School in the Rowland Unified School District. We intend to highlight more from the Chinese Bridge Delegation in later posts.

Scholarships to Travel Abroad

What U.S. Government Programs Exist to Help Me Study in China?

Information about these and other U.S. Government-sponsored study abroad opportunities can be found on the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs website: http://exchanges.state.gov.

• Fulbright U.S. Student Program (http://fulbright.state.gov/grants/student-program/u-s-citizen.html): The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships for graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals, and artists to study or conduct research abroad for one academic year. Additional funding is available for critical language study.

• Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program (www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program): The Gilman Program provides scholarships to U.S. undergraduates with financial need for study abroad, including students from diverse backgrounds and students going to non-traditional study abroad destinations.

• Critical Language Scholarship Program (CLS) (http://clscholarship.org): The CLS Program provides fully-funded, group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences for seven- to- ten weeks overseas. U.S. undergraduate, masters and doctoral students of diverse disciplines and majors are encouraged to apply for scholarships in one of thirteen critical languages.

• National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) (www.nsliforyouth.org): NSLI-Y provides merit-based scholarships to American high school students and recent high school graduates to study seven critical languages overseas for the summer or an academic year through a combination of classroom instruction, applied learning opportunities, peer relationships, and host family experiences.

• Boren Scholarships (www.borenawards.org): Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), which focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security.

• The Language Flagship (http://thelanguageflagship.org): Flagship Centers and Flagship Partner Programs offer students intensive language instruction to enhance their academic degrees through the achievement of superior-level language proficiency and cultural competence. Programs are available at both undergraduate and graduate levels and include periods of rigorous language and cultural immersion at Overseas Flagship Centers. The Language Flagship also funds a select number of pilot K–12 programs designed to provide an articulated path of language instruction for students from elementary school through college and graduate school.

How Can I Find Out More About Other Programs in China?

• The Institute of International Education (IIE) (www.iie.org/en/program-finder): IIE maintains a database for undergraduate and graduate programs for study abroad.

• Zinch (www.zinch.com/studyinchina): Zinch, a private U.S. information management company with operations in China, offers an independent and free website for U.S. students looking for information about studying in China.

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