Asian Americans and the Third Coast: Building Curriculum and Capacity

• In Event: "Invisibility Is Not a Natural State for Anyone!" The Fight for Asian American Curricular Inclusion

Abstract

In response to the increased attacks on Asian Americans, the nonprofit group Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Chicago worked to create legislation that would require the teaching of Asian American history in public schools. They partnered with Illinois House Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowtiz to help pass the bill through the Illinois assembly. The first of its kind in the country, Bill 376–the Teaching Equitable Asian American History (TEAACH Act)--was signed into law by Governor Pritzker in July 2021 at Niles West High School, one of the only schools in the state that offers Asian American studies as a course. The bill states: “Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Asian American history, including the history of Asian Americans in Illinois and the Midwest, as well as the contributions of Asian Americans toward advancing civil rights from the 19th century onward.”
In the late 20th century, “East of California'' became a term that acknowledged the different experiences of Asian Americans outside of the West Coast (where almost half of all Asian Americans live). In 2008, there was a panel of scholars at the annual Asian American Studies Association conference that discussed even more explicitly the differential experiences of Asian Americans in the Midwest. Often lacking the kinds of critical numbers Asian Americans have on the coasts, their experiences in the Midwest can be quite disparate for their coastal peers. To this end, the TEAACH Act’s emphasis on Asian American history in Illinois and the Midwest spotlights the importance of regional understandings of Asian Americans. However, one of the biggest struggles with the TEAACH Act implementation will be on the large amount of professional development needed. Not only does Illinois have one of the biggest diversity gaps between teachers and students of color–assuming Asian American teachers even have base knowledge from which they can help support the TEAACH Act (which is a precarious assumption), but there are few Asian American Studies university programs within the state, and almost none that do work in K-12 education.
To this end, this paper will explore the opportunities and challenges of implementing an Asian American history unit into public school curriculum in Illinois. Drawing upon the tenets of AsianCrit (Chang, 1993; Iftikar & Museus, 2018) and bringing together research on the experiences of Asian American teachers in the Chicago area, interviews with key people involved in the TEAACH Act’s passage and development, as well as voices of teachers who are involved in implementing the TEAACH Act, we share what has been learned along the way. While the passage of the TEAACH Act is an important and momentous event, it is but a beginning. There is a strong need to focus on the structures and resources needed to successfully implement and support such a powerful piece of legislation. The presenters, a classroom teacher and teacher educator, will also share their experiences in their various capacities in supporting this work.

Authors

• Jung E. Kim, Lewis University
  Presenting Author

• Anna Park, Northside College Preparatory High School
  Presenting Author