2023

Disrupting the Model Minority Myth at Home by Prioritizing Asian American Wellness

Anna Kim
 

The American Dream has been a powerful, intoxicating myth for Asian Americans. Many Asian immigrant families today strive to sustain the legacy of the American Dream through their children by, unfortunately, enforcing the Model Minority Myth. We want to explore the detrimental effects that these myths have on Asian American children. Specifically, we want to address the toxic pressures that Asian American families will often place on their children for the sake of academic success at the expense of their children’s health, well-being, and embrace of their racial and ethnic cultures. Ultimately, we want to brainstorm ways that teachers can work effectively and empathetically with Asian (American) families in cultivating a flourishing learning environment for students at home.

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Rehearsing the Revolution: SWANA Diasporas and Intergenerational Healing in the Classroom

Sepideah Mohsenian-Rahman
 

Complex migration narratives from South West Asia and North Africa have left diaspora communities on equally complex healing journeys. Our recent hxstories (occupation, colonization, revolution, war) paired with current experiences can manifest as intergenerational trauma, which when partnered with cultural aversions to mental healthcare, compound as increased risk for mental illness. To succeed by the standards of the model minority myth, we are required to uphold and perpetuate white supremacist values in our relations with ourselves and others. To reject or not live up to this myth, we face the potential of rejection. Rehearsing the revolution builds upon a value in Shiism that calls upon us to focus on the inner work as a prerequisite for the external revolutionary struggle. This workshop invites participants to engage in a de-colonial learning and healing journey.

 

 

Intergenerationally Asian: A Conversation Across Years (and Years) of Being Asian-American

Alison Park
 

Age matters when you’re Asian. Yes, we appear to be ageless ;) and so many norms across so many of our cultures are anchored in and reinforce Asian age-isms: respect for our elders and ancestors, the pre-determinations of birth order, and rules like staying out of the sun and not smiling too hard (so you don’t get wrinkles!) In this conversation across generations of our experiences of being Asian in US America, we’ll have space to reflect on: Age and life stage-driven differences, timeless themes (playing on repeat) and quantum leaps/ modest hops since “back in the day”;  What we’re all dealing with here and now in 2023; and  Our possibilities, as a multi-generational family with the cumulative strength and wisdom of our years

 

 

The Wave Is Also Water: Enacting Change through Precepts of Engaged Buddhism

Annie Phan
 

Limited representation of Asian Americans impacts not only whether we see ourselves in film or media; it also impacts how we engage (or don't) with social movements for justice and liberation. What works as embodied activism for other people or color may not map neatly onto those of us raised with Asian cultural values and behaviors, so who can we look to for inspiration? In this workshop, participants will learn more about Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, the Order of Interbeing, and the Precepts of Engaged Buddhism that were developed in response to the horrors of the US War in Vietnam. We will then examine how Thich Nhat Hanh’s actions and these precepts can support Asian Americans in our journey to be both rooted in our histories and culture and also forge a new path for future generations.

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Burn Out vs. Compassion Fatigue

Jennifer Hua
 

2020 has left many educators feeling tired, burned out or even worse, feeling helpless and at times powerless. There is a different between being burned out vs experiencing compassion fatigue. This workshop will allow us an opportunity to take a moment to pause, reflect on our current state of mind. In the workshop we will work together to use the skills we learned to help ground us in our daily experiences and find constructive ways to cope.  

 

 

Know History, Know Self: Fighting erasure by finding self

Kristina Kalaw Joyas
 

Fighting the narrative that Asians are a monolith requires nuanced discussions and understanding. As educators, we’ll need the tools and language for the discussions around race, privilege, and specified issues. It starts with an inward look at one’s own identity work and its continued development. This workshop will take a look into the ways Southeast Asian folks explore their identities. It takes a dive into conversations about beginning the work and dissecting the gaps in one’s learning. It aims to support Southeast Asian-identified educators in their own self-education, identifying possible gaps, and how we support our BIPOC-identified students.

 

 

Laughing While Asian: Using Asian American Humor to Tell Our Stories and Empower our Classrooms

Debby Katz
 

Who says critical race theory isn’t funny? Okay, maybe it isn’t… but Asian Americans are! In this workshop, we will explore how Asian-American comics, novelists, and screenwriters are brilliantly adapting the tools of humor and satire to share our experiences, humanize our stories, and deconstruct those “model minority” stereotypes. Focusing on texts ranging from the satirical novel Interior Chinatown to the stand-up comedy of Hasan Minhaj, we will explore how Asian American comics use the power of laughter to tackle serious topics like anti-Asian bias in Hollywood, Islamophobia, Asian-American anti-Blackness, and internalized racism. The workshop will help us offer all our students in our high school English and humanities classrooms a provocative, accessible, and empowering introduction to what it means to be Asian American today.

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Healing Generational Trauma, Claiming Generational Strengths: A Workshop for the South Asian Diaspora

Jessy Molina
 

Xavier Dagba said, “As you focus on clearing generational trauma, do not forget to claim your generational strengths.” As members of the South Asian Diaspora, many of us are simultaneously thriving upon the foundation of the strength, courage and sacrifice of those who came before us and healing from the generational traumas of colonization, indentured servitude, immigration, forced migration and systemic oppression related to race, gender, class, caste, colorism, sexuality, and more. Join us to share experiences and learn concrete strategies to move toward deeper understanding and love for ourselves and our communities, as well as how to support students to do the same.

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Basking in the Sun: Pilipina/x/o and the Power of Kapwa

Reanne Young and Maria Graciela
 

Explore and experience “kapwa'' and what it means as a collectivist approach to re-indigenize funds of ancestral knowledge, power, and practice. ‘Ka’ in “Kapwa,” symbolizes connection in the indigenous script known as “baybayin.” Virgilio Enriquez, scholar and founder of “Sikolohiyang Pilipino” [Pilipino psychology], writes about the field as an approach of ‘‘indigenization from within.” Enriquez describes the pre-colonial core Pilipina/x/o value of “Kapwa'' as the “unity of one-of-us-and-the-other'' and as a part of the journey towards peace through unity and justice. Engage in a critical consciousness framework cultivating “Kapwa” and move toward sustaining “Kapwa” as an intention inspired by healing. Learn how to sustain “Kapwa'' as a daily lived practice rooted in a shared sense of inner belonging.

 

 

Lift Our Lamps Higher: Asian American History Takes to the Stage!

Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo
 

This workshop will explore the power of storytelling, through dramatic language arts while sharing the rich history of early California Chinese pioneers of the Monterey Coast through Eth-Noh-Tec’s storytelling theater. The process: personal family, interviews, historic research and creative writing from “page-to-stage” will be demonstrated using excerpts from “Red Altar” (Chinese American play).

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Journey of Belonging: Awakening, Advocacy and Action

Lynn Lin
 

In this workshop participants will learn about an affinity group called Courageous Dialogue with Chinese Educators. As founding members and participants, we will discuss the importance of such a group during the pandemic. We will then use CDCE as a case study to discuss: What support do we need to maintain mental wellness? What role does intersectionality play in our experience and identities? We will then discuss various ways of practicing advocacy in our own school communities (curriculum, cross-content collaboration, affinity space for both adults and students, community based organizations, nonprofits and grass-root groups). Finally participants will spend a few minutes journaling and sharing 3 things you learned, 2 things you are considering, 1 action you will take as a step forward.

 

 

Naming and Identifying Whiteness in our School Cultures

Ricco Siasoco
 

This year's conference theme of dispelling the myth of the model minority asks us to ponder: How do we fight for what we want rather than accept what we are given? What do we need to do in order to be in solidarity and work toward liberation for all? In order to dispel myths about passivity and obeisance for Asian Americans, we must learn to identify and name structural/institutionalized racism. When do our school cultures default to whiteness? How do we, as Asian Americans, disrupt the predominant culture with directness, fearlessness, and tact?

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Tang Club: A Student-Led Cultural and Affinity Club In a Boarding High School, Its History, Program, and Challenges

Mulian Chen
 

Milton Academy’s Tang Club is a student initiated club that serves both as a cultural club and an affinity group. The members of the Tang Club affinity group are students who have spent significant years growing up and attending schools in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. In this workshop, you will learn the history of the club and why it is crucial to support its development, in addition to the well-established Asian Society Club and International Student Club on campus. Second, the speaker will introduce its annual program and lead a discussion on how student leaders will develop their leadership skills through planning and executing weekly, monthly, and annual activities. Third, the speaker will present its operational challenges and strategies to overcome them.

 

 

Rebranding Being Asian in America: Normalizing Asian Mediocrity

Grace Kelly
 

Racism towards Asian Americans is often overlooked as it is so often cloaked under the “positive stereotype” of being a Model Minority. In this workshop, Grace will present the how and why this stereotype came about. Then, she will lead participants through an interactive process based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to examine and reflect upon how the Model Minority myth has played a part in preventing them from reaching their own self-actualization. Lastly, Grace will open up a dialogue with participants on “rebranding” this myth by normalizing Asian mediocrity in our schools in an effort to meet students as individuals where they are and what they need, and not based on the potential set by the color of their skin.

 

 

Educate; Don't Hate!

Sumana Moudgal and Radha Mishra
 

This workshop will focus on the Indian community in the United States and explore whether they face “structured racism” or “resentment”. We aim to shine a spotlight on community education as a means to debunk myths and to encourage students to pursue a wider range of careers, thereby liberating themselves from restrictive stereotypes. We will talk about political engagement and how the Indian community has traditionally shied away from it. How can we mobilize the current generation to make our voices heard and establish a presence within the mainstream? We will address how we can build solidarity through advocacy for more than just ourselves. This workshop will leave you with tools that you can take back to your schools to bring about purposeful change among the South Asian community and beyond.

 

 

How Shang-Chi and BTS saved my life

Jason Wang
Representation matters! In this workshop, we will explore the topic of Asian male identity development through the examples of representation in Marvel's Shang-Chi compared to other representations of Asian males in movies. We will also delve into how BTS continue to show up as examples of Asian excellence and how their music and personalities redefine what being an Asian male means. Through group discussions and activities, we will analyze the impact of these representations and the importance of diversity and inclusion in our classes. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a fuller appreciation for diversity in their curriculum and gain tools for continuing the work of dismantling the barriers of inclusion for their Students of Color.