Resilient Panda Origin Story Part 1 - Why Kids Need Asian American History
Never in my wildest dreams did it occur to me that my husband and I would write a guide for parents to introduce their children to Chinese American history. Here is part of the story of how Streams: Chinese American History for Kids got started.
“If the US was at war with China, whose side would you be on?” No one has ever asked me (a white woman) that question. But they have asked my young son, who has Chinese heritage. Overhearing that question was an eye-opening experience for me. And I have come to learn that for Asian Americans, those types of questions are not as uncommon as I would have thought they were. I had been thinking some about how to provide my children with diverse books, media and history, but hearing that question showed me how important those things really are. How important it is that not only my children see that people like them are solidly ingrained in the American story, but the kids around them see it too. I had found curriculum guides that made it easy for me to include fabulous own voices children’s books, poetry and videos about African American history in our homeschool, but I couldn’t find a similar guide for Chinese American history, much less Asian American history.
My husband is Chinese American, but that question to my son, about what country he really identifies with, where his loyalty really lies, is part of the reason I knew Chinese American history wasn’t enough. The incarceration of the Japanese Americans has to be talked about, for the sake of all. History’s discriminatory laws aimed at one Asian immigrant group have affected other Asian immigrant groups. Some Asian Americans have been mistaken for another "type" of Asian American and sometimes that has cost them their life. So I decided to put together curriculum supplements on the whole story of Asian American history. And to be clear, we love the person who asked my son that question. I really think it was asked due to living in a place without much ethnic diversity. So education that exposed kids to others seemed like the way to go.
But with all of this motivation fueling a fire in my belly, I had one problem. There was this nagging feeling that this should really be done by an Asian American. I felt it would be received better, but also it would have a more authentic perspective, and better serve Asian American children because the one putting it together would be drawing from his or her own experiences as an Asian American. That is why "own voices" children's books are so valuable. However, I knew I was going to do the research for my kids anyway, so why not share and save others the work? So I wasn't sure what to do. I started to look for a partner, an Asian American homeschooling mom was who I had envisioned. The mom assumption caused me to miss who was right in front of me (as assumptions often do)- my Chinese American husband, Hsin-Fu. As I continued to read children's books and educate myself with adult books and documentaries, Hsin-Fu was reading and watching too. He didn’t know any more about Asian American history than I did, as our schools in the 80’s didn’t teach much of it. Reading books and watching documentaries together lead to some interesting conversations. Sometimes a comment in a children’s picture book made me a bit uncomfortable and I thought the book should not be included but he often said, "No, that's exactly right." Again, it was eye-opening for me. So while I do most of the curriculum planning for our homeschool, I sure needed his help with this topic.
What I have learned is that when it comes to issues of backgrounds different than mine, I need to listen first. I need to hear the voices of the Asian American poets, writers, artists and filmmakers, and Hsin-Fu's, and then serve them up in an engaging, accessible and organized way for my Asian American sons. So my instinct that I needed a partner to do this was right, and it has been a joy to find my partner is my husband. But my instinct actually didn’t go far enough, as I have come to see that I actually need many partners, as the story of Asians in America isn’t really just one story. So even as we work on Streams: Chinese American History for Kids together, we are consulting other Asian Americans for their input on the future modules that will cover the rest of Asian American history.
In our research we have been delighted to find we are riding a groundswell of Asian American education for kids. In 2021 Illinois was the first state to ensure that Asian American history will be included in K-12 curriculum, and several states have followed suit. More books and videos telling the story of Asians in America to kids come out each month. This is very exciting, and we are designing our guide to show parents how to organize and present the best of these to their kids in an easy and manageable way.
At the end of the day Streams: Chinese American History for Kids is a labor of love by a mom -and a dad - for their kids. We want our sons to see that people like them have deep roots in the American story. And so that other children will know that Asian Americans have given more than enough blood, sweat and tears to prove that they, too, are loyal Americans.
FALL 2023 UPDATE - Streams: Chinese American History for Kids is now ready for download in our shop! You can also download a sample here!