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The update below also appears on 91�Թ�’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page, where we post periodic updates about 91�Թ�’s DEI-focused work.

The California Department of Education adopted the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum last March. Chapter 3 of the Model Curriculum includes a section on “Native American Studies.”

On June 18, 2021, 91�Թ� will host a panel of three Native and Indigenous scholars to reflect on California’s new model curriculum and the state of ethnic studies in their respective regions. The panel will include Navajo, Native Hawaiian, and Ainu educators who will provide a range of educational perspectives on Native and Indigenous studies in the United States and Japan.

• Dr. Harold Begay, Superintendent of Schools, Navajo Nation
• Dr. Sachi Edwards, Faculty Member at Soka University in Tokyo, Japan
• Dr. Ronda Māpuana Shizuko Hayashi-Simpliciano, Vice Principal, Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

The webinar, titled “Indigenous Voices: Educational Perspectives from Navajo, Native Hawaiian, and Ainu Scholars in the Diaspora,” will address several additional topics, such as the various academic field names of the study of Native and Indigenous people, the complexity and diversity of Native and Indigenous people’s experiences, and recommended resources for K–12 educators.

These topics are not only relevant to teachers in California but to educators in other states as well. K–12 educators and administrators are encouraged to attend. Register in advance at .

This webinar is a joint collaboration with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) and the Center for East Asian Studies at 91�Թ�.

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In 2015, 91�Թ� launched Stanford e-Japan, an online course for high school students in Japan. Two key objectives of the course were to introduce the students to U.S.–Japan relations and to also encourage the students to consider studying in the United States. Since then, many Stanford e-Japan alumni have spent time studying at U.S. colleges as exchange students for a year and on summer programs, and several as four-year undergraduates.

One of the challenges for international students to enroll in college in the United States is the cost of tuition. To encourage more Japanese students to consider applying to U.S. universities as full-time undergraduates, Mr. Tadashi Yanai—through the —has offered competitive four-year scholarships to Japanese high school students who enter top colleges in the United States. Several Stanford e-Japan alumni have received the prestigious and very generous scholarships.

This year, four Stanford e-Japan alumni are recipients of the Yanai Tadashi Scholarships. The Yanai Scholars are scheduled to begin their undergraduate studies in the United States from this fall. They are:

• Yuki Hayashita (Shiba High School, Tokyo): Brown University
• Ryotaro Homma (Kaisei Academy, Tokyo): Yale University
• Hugo Ichioka (Zushi Kaisei High School, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture): Williams College
• Riki Shimizu (Nada High School, Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture): Duke University
   

Riki Shimizu, who was a student in the fall 2018 Stanford e-Japan course, noted, “Stanford e-Japan was one of the most instructive programs in high school. Back then I did not have enough English ability to fully express my thoughts, but I think it somewhat improved through the courses to the level that I could consider U.S. colleges as an option. Without attending e-Japan, I wouldn’t be able to go to Duke…” Shimizu’s Stanford e-Japan Instructor Waka Brown commented, “I am touched that Riki credits my course for providing him with the inspiration to apply to universities in the United States.” She continued, “The fact that Riki will be going to Duke University, Yuki to Brown University, and Ryotaro to Yale University is exceedingly rewarding to me as one of their former teachers.”

Stanford e-Japan is also generously supported by the Yanai Tadashi Foundation. Stanford e-Japan Instructor Meiko Kotani, who taught the fall 2019 Stanford e-Japan course, is hopeful that more Japanese students will consider applying to U.S. colleges in the future. Upon hearing that her student, Hugo Ichioka, was accepted into Williams College, she stated, “The excitement that was conveyed from his email, which alerted me to the news that he had become a Yanai Scholar, made me reflect upon the importance of working with young students and encouraging them to think ‘outside of the box’ and to apply to universities outside of Japan… during one of my online classes, I had my students meet with high school students in the United States who were enrolled in 91�Թ�’s Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) and this seemed to have prompted many to consider studying in the United States.”

This type of meaningful exchange between Japanese students and American students has become significant in the college life of Yanai Scholar Daisuke Masuda, a rising junior at 91�Թ�. When asked what advice he would give to the new Yanai Scholars, Masuda commented, “Interacting with people with diverse backgrounds has always been an integral part of my college life in the United States. The more you know about their culture, the better you can appreciate why they do what they do. I would encourage you to get to know your peers from around the world and learn various approaches to learning, careers, and life in general.”

91�Թ� also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on Japan (Reischauer Scholars Program), China (), and Korea (), and an online course to Chinese high school students on the United States ().

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Starting something new from scratch is always challenging. Though it requires huge amounts of effort and contains the possibility of not working out, I believe that it is absolutely worth exploring a new challenge because it has the power of creating chances of making people happier. This is the most important thing I learned from the people who took the initiative to establish the wonderful program, Stanford e-Japan.

Though it was the inaugural year of the program when I joined in 2015, I was truly impressed not only with the high quality of the academic content, but also with the rich opportunities of communication with prestigious leaders from various fields. Moreover, the program generously offered the top three students the chance to visit 91�Թ� for a ceremony.

It was exhilarating to be in the program due to the endless surprises and new learnings that I encountered throughout the course. 

Since then, I have resolved to initiate new challenges myself in order to contribute to younger students just as Stanford e-Japan Instructor Waka Brown did for me. After I returned to Keio University from a one-year university exchange program at the University of California, San Diego, I established a student-led organization with several members at Keio from diverse backgrounds. Our student-led organization aims to cultivate young global citizens of Japan by allowing students attending Japanese high schools to have meaningful interactions with international students from Japanese universities like Keio.

In addition to encouraging the high school students to explore new challenges, I also wanted to share how interesting it is to learn about different cultures, including the histories of foreign countries and the benefits of interacting with people who have different backgrounds. We focus on designing an environment so that high school students can actively discuss and exchange ideas with international students in person while also building their English presentation skills. Through our program, we believe every high school student has the opportunity to learn something new like communication skills with individuals of different backgrounds, the ability to reach a mutual understanding with people of differing opinions, and leadership skills to lead discussions in a diverse community.

During our programs at several high schools, I have been able to hear many voices from the high school students, international students, and even high school teachers that suggest that they have fortunately had meaningful and fruitful experiences during our programs. Despite some initial struggles, I now strongly believe that even small programs like ours can make a difference in our society. I will never forget the precious lessons learned from Stanford e-Japan, and perhaps the most important lesson is for me to continue to explore new challenges and to encourage young students to do so as well.

During this time of intense public debate on immigration, 91�Թ� has partnered with PBS and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) to encourage teachers to share the American Experience film, , with students. Teachers should be advised that the film contains language that some viewers may find objectionable, so we advise that they preview the film before deciding whether or not to use it with their students. The Chinese Exclusion Act was directed by Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu and a description of the film from PBS follows:

Examine the origin, history, and impact of the 1882 law that made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chinese nationals already here ever to become U.S. citizens. The first in a long line of acts targeting the Chinese for exclusion, it remained in force for more than 60 years.

Despite its passage 138 years ago and its repeal in 1943, the Chinese Exclusion Act has been referenced in numerous recent articles that have focused on rising anti-Asian sentiment—including violence against Asian Americans—during the coronavirus pandemic. The Chinese Exclusion Act as well as the internment of Japanese Americans have been referenced as examples of federal acts directed at Asian immigrants and Asian Americans in U.S. history. Given these recent references, the film can provide students with an overview of the Chinese Exclusion Act as they try to better understand the news. CAAM Executive Director Stephen Gong feels that many of the lessons from the film are relevant to the United States today. He stated, “We are thrilled to have partnered with Curriculum Specialist Waka Brown and the 91�Թ� program at Stanford on the Teacher’s Guide to The Chinese Exclusion Act. This standards-compliant and comprehensive guide will help ensure that the important lessons of the Exclusion Act will become a regular part of secondary curriculum for generations to come.”

In order to help teachers use the film in their classrooms, 91�Թ� partnered with CAAM to develop a teacher’s guide for the film. PBS LearningMedia recently posted the for teacher use. Both the film and teacher’s guide are offered at no charge.

91�Թ� Curriculum Specialist Waka Brown, who wrote the teacher’s guide, noted that the guide is designed to meet certain national history, social studies, geography, and common core standards for high school. Brown also feels that the film is ideal for courses at the collegiate level in areas like ethnic studies, U.S. history, Asian studies, law, and political science. Brown decided to focus the activities in the guide around the following essential questions.

• What factors led to increased immigration from China to the United States?
• How did the Chinese adapt to life in the United States that sometimes included hostility directed at them?
• How did Chinese immigration to the United States intensify ethnic and cultural conflict and complicate the forging of a national identity?
• What role did new laws and the federal judiciary play in instituting racial inequality and in disfranchising various racial groups such as the Chinese?
• What factors led to immigration restrictions of the Chinese and ultimately exclusion?
• What arguments and methods did Chinese in the United States use to acquire equal rights and opportunities guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution?
• How have ideals and institutions of freedom, equality, justice, and citizenship in the United States changed over time and from one community to another?

This may be an opportune time to have students consider these questions not only in the context of the Chinese American experience in the 19th century and today, but also to have students discuss the relevance of the questions to other groups who have immigrated to the United States and continue to do so today.

91�Թ� would like to express its appreciation to Adrian Arima and Monica Yeung Arima for funding the development of the teacher’s guide.

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This webinar was made possible through the Freeman Foundation’s support of the (NCTA), a multi-year initiative to encourage and facilitate teaching and learning about East Asia in elementary and secondary schools nationwide. 91�Թ�’s Jonas Edman and Naomi Funahashi coordinate 91�Թ�’s NCTA seminars and webinars.

While walking along the hallways of the Ethnic Studies Department with Professor Khatharya Um at U.C. Berkeley on December 3, 2019, I shared some remembrances of my first quarter at U.C. Berkeley in fall 1972. I had enrolled in two courses in the Ethnic Studies Department that quarter: one focused on the Asian American experience with Patrick Hayashi and Colin Watanabe and the other focused on diverse perspectives on U.S. history with Professor Ronald Takaki. Most of the Asian American students in these classes were of Chinese and Japanese descent with a few of Korean, Indian, and Filipino descent. Through these classes, I was introduced for the first time in my life to Asian American literature like No-No Boy (1957) and America Is in the Heart (1948). I had enrolled at U.C. Berkeley less than three years after the establishment of the Ethnic Studies Department (1969) and during the anti-Vietnam War protests.

According to its website, the Ethnic Studies Department emerged from student and community members’ demands for scholarly programs that focused on the “understudied histories and situations of African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanos, and Native Americans.” This year marks the 50th year since its establishment; 2019 also marks the 44th anniversary since the fall of Saigon (1975).

I was at the Ethnic Studies Department on December 3, 2019 because my colleague, Naomi Funahashi, had organized a 91�Թ� webinar, “Culturally and Experientially Responsive Pedagogy: Teaching to Diverse Asian and Asian American Students,” that featured Professor Um. Approximately 30 educators from many states and also Pakistan and Japan participated. During her talk, Um pointed out that the resettlement of refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia began with the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and continued through the early 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. She noted that unlike economically motivated migration from other parts of Asia, immigration to the United States from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia was largely due to flight from war, authoritarianism, and genocide. Largely as a result of these waves of immigration to the United States, the Asian American student population in U.S. schools and universities like U.C. Berkeley has become increasingly diverse.

To help meet the educational needs of this increasingly diverse population, Um argued for the importance of culturally and experientially responsive pedagogy. She explained that “culturally and experientially responsive pedagogy is a student-centered approach to teaching in which the students’ experiences and cultural strengths are identified, validated, and used to empower students, enrich and promote learning.” Like many other communities, Asian and Asian American students represent a wide spectrum of ethnicities, languages, histories, generations, cultures, and religions. She acknowledged that “Providing culturally and experientially responsive instruction to these students can be daunting… and schools are faced with both opportunities and challenges in providing instruction that is rich and meaningful. Diverse student populations offer valuable opportunities for classroom and community enrichment.”

Um interspersed some statistical information in order to show the significance and some characteristics of the Asian American population.

• Largely as a result of ongoing migration, Asians are among the fastest growing populations in the United States.
• The Asian American population has grown by 72% between 2000 and 2015.
• Currently, the population is approximately 20.4 million.
• The diversity among and within Asian American communities has increased with new immigration.
• 59% of the U.S. Asian population was born in another country.

Um encouraged the educators in the United States to keep these statistics in mind and noted that “Effective learning depends on more than just the curriculum. It is about creating a space where students can feel safe, empowered, valued, and feel that they belong… It begins with knowing your students or at least knowing how to know… and it rests on knowing what to do with what you know.” The words, “knowing how to know,” brought back memories of a question—“What does epistemology mean to you?”—that Takaki raised to students in his first class lecture at U.C. Berkeley in fall 1972. After acknowledging a student’s answer, he replied that epistemology focuses on the question, “How do you know that you know what you know?,” and this has stayed with me since and continues to shape my work at 91�Թ�.

While in Um’s office, I noticed some books on her shelf that I once read back in the 1970s—literature that was “culturally relevant” to me. But what most stood out for me was a copy of Um’s book, From the Land of Shadows: War, Revolution and the Making of the Cambodian Diaspora. Other than America Is the Heart by Filipino American Carlos Buloson, there was no other Southeast Asian American-focused literature that we were assigned during fall quarter 1972. Um is the first Cambodian American woman to receive a PhD. I left campus thinking of how fortunate I was to have scholars like Hayashi, Watanabe, and Takaki who taught and empowered me, and also how fortunate Southeast Asian American students and others are today to have scholars like Um concerned about their education and advancement.

Following the webinar, Funahashi reflected, “I not only received overwhelmingly positive feedback about Professor Um’s lecture from participants, but I too gained a greater awareness of the growing diversity in our schools that is also reflected in my online class, the Reischauer Scholars Program. After listening to Professor Um’s thoughts on culturally and experientially responsive pedagogy, a big take-away for me was the importance of a teacher’s capacity for empathy as one works with students from very diverse backgrounds.”

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• My Cambodia
• My Cambodian America
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