Striking a Balance Between Tiger Mom and Empathetic Mom « MomsRising Blog

Striking a Balance Between Tiger Mom and Empathetic Mom « MomsRising Blog:

Honoring the Voices and Influence of the Asian Pacific American Community: A MomsRising Blog Carnival Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

by Mee Moua

Asian-Americans are the fastest growing minority in the United States, growing by 46% between the 2000 and 2010 censuses. Also, May marks Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
In celebration of the many contributions of women, mothers and families of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage to the United States, I am pleased to introduce this blog carnival by MomsRising.org. Below you will find a series of blog posts by Asian Pacific Americans from all walks of life. Please show your support by leaving a comment or two, sharing with your social media followers – and celebrating with us! Ua tsaug!

Grace Hwang Lynch, Hapa Mama
Why It’s Important to Teach Kids About Asian American History

HyeSook Chung, DC Action for Children
Striking a Balance Between Tiger Mom and Empathetic Mom

Isabel Yuriko Stenzel Byrnes, The Power of Two
Our American Dream: A Double Gift of Breath

Jane Yoo, National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
The youngest in our community say yes to immigration reform

Jessica Guh, Jess Guh: On Race, Privilege and Medicine
Gaysian Marriage?

Julie Kang, Geisha School Dropout
Margaret Cho in the Korean Spa: On Birthday Suits and Birth Rights

Junko Nishiguchi Cheng, Panda Mom Confessions
Asian Pride and Our Heavenly Citizenship

Maria Wen Adcock, Bicultural Mama
Accepting My Asian Hair Meant Accepting My Heritage

Mee Moua, Asian American Justice Center
What does the new immigration bill mean for women and families?

Mia Wenjen, Pragmatic Mom
Top 10: Chinese American Children’s Books (ages 2-14)

Reshma Shamasunder, California Immigrant Policy Center
The best way to celebrate API heritage month: Fighting for our families

Thien-Kim Lam, I’m Not the Nanny
I’m Tired of Defending My Nationality

Around the Web
“Dim Sum Recommended Dishes — Asian Pacific Heritage Month“, Bicultural Mama
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What does the new immigration bill mean for women and families?

Mee Moua at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

As Asian Pacific American Heritage Month comes to an end, and summer plans kick off, we as Asian American women must take the time to reflect what’s at stake for our families in the comprehensive immigration reform bill. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted S.744 out of committee and now goes to the Senate [...]

I’m Tired of Defending My Nationality

Thien-Kim Lam at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

This story originally appeared in the I’m Not the Nanny blog. “What’s your nationality?” I’ve been asked this question countless times throughout my thirty-four years of living in the United States. I was born in October 1978. If you do the math, it means I’ve been living in the US since I was born. Technically, [...]

The youngest in our community say yes to immigration reform

Jane Yoo at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

For the first time in many years, we have an opportunity to pass common sense immigration reform legislation. Last week, S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, passed from the Senate Judiciary Committee in a bipartisan 13-5 vote. As the bill heads to the full Senate for more debates and a [...]

Gaysian Marriage?

Jessica Guh at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

Photo: My grandparents on their wedding day I’m gay. Though, to the chagrin of older generations, I prefer to refer to myself as queer. It’s what all the gay, cool, over-educated, hipsters are doing right now. I’m Asian. I’m engaged. Yay! I’ve also been told that I’m a funny person. Though I don’t have the [...]

The best way to celebrate API heritage month: Fighting for our families

Reshma Shamasunder at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

I love the month of May. The flowers are in full bloom and the promise of beach days ahead is tantalizing. But there’s another reason May is so special – it’s a celebration of the heritage of Asian Pacific Americans and our long and diverse histories. Amidst the incredible diversity of Asian American cultures and [...]

Margaret Cho in the Korean Spa: On Birthday Suits and Birth Rights

Julie Kang at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

This story originally appeared in BlogHer. In March, Margaret Cho published a missive on her blog and on the women’s site Jezebel about a bad experience at Aroma Spa & Sports, a Korean-style spa (jjimjilbang) in Los Angeles. She was in the women’s sauna, fully nude, when some other patrons threw her some dirty looks because her body is [...]

Asian Pride and Our Heavenly Citizenship

Junko Nishiguchi Cheng at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

This story originally appeared in the Panda Mom Confessions blog. Photo: Meg and her friends As May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month, I would like to share with you some thoughts on my and my daughter’s heritage. “Do you like being an Asian, Meg?” I asked my preteen daughter as we enjoyed Japanese-style hot pot [...]

Why It’s Important to Teach Kids About Asian American History

Grace Hwang Lynch at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Dorothea Lange picture of Japanese-American children reciting the pledge of allegiance May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. But in my family, we try to learn about Asian American history year round. Because they are multiracial Asians, my kids especially need to learn about the history and contributions of Asian [ ...]

Striking a Balance Between Tiger Mom and Empathetic Mom

HyeSook Chung at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

Strict Asian-American parents have become known as ‘Tiger’ parents since the publication of Amy Chua’s memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. She argued that her no-nonsense parenting style brought out the best in her children. But studies suggest otherwise. I’m what one would call a tiger baby: a product of traditional immigrant parents from [...]

Top 10: Chinese American Children’s Books (ages 2-14)

Mia Wenjen at MomsRising Blog - 4 minutes ago

This blog post originally appeared in the Pragmatic Mom Blog. Best Chinese American Books for Kids The Chinese immigrant experience is one with a long history in America resulting in becoming the largest Asian population in America today. There is a great one-page overview on Chinese immigration that details this history. Interestingly, this article says that the [...]

UPDATE: Rahm’s fail too? + Life in Rahm’s Chicago. If UNO’s Juan Rangel failed, isn’t he Rahm’s fail too? | Fred Klonsky

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. If UNO’s Juan Rangel failed, isn’t he Rahm’s fail too? | Fred Klonsky:

The clock stops on Friday for Illinois pension reform. It is all a tangled web.

by Fred Klonsky

Illinois Senator Mike Jacobs.
When the Illinois legislative clock stops late on Friday, either something will have happened or nothing will have happened.
One thing that has a high probability of not happening is the We Are One/Cullerton SB2404.
We Are One, as I have frequently pointed out here, is the coalition of state public employee leaders including the two state teacher unions.
I also won’t be surprised that if SB2404 fails to come to a vote that some in the union leadership or their ardent 

Discussion and film showing of Persepolis.

by Fred Klonsky

I’ll be part of a discussion of the book, the film and the controversy that was precipitated by CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s banning of the acclaimed graphic novel. At the Addison Public Library tomorrow at 6:30 PM.

The in box. We will never stop saying that we demand what we rightfully earned.

by Fred Klonsky

Those of us fighting for our pension rights in Illinois have been consistent in demanding what we rightfully earned.
We have been consistent and have demonstrated that the budget issues facing the state of Illinois cannot be solved by cutting pension benefits.
It is a revenue problem, not a pension benefit problem.
We believe that any solution must be constitutional, address the roots of the financial problems of the state and 

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. If UNO’s Juan Rangel failed, isn’t he Rahm’s fail too?

by Fred Klonsky

UNO’s Juan Rangel admits he’s a failure. Isn’t he Rahm’s fail too?
The United Neighborhood Organization CEO, Juan Rangel resigned as head of the boards that oversee their huge charter school operation.
Rangel described himself as a failure for failing to notice that the whole charter operation is riddled with corruption and nepotism. Widespread corruption came to light by investigative reporting by the Chicago Sun-Times. UNO became such an embarrassment that Governor Quinn cut off state funding that had amounted to 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-29-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Gary Rubinstein: Watch Kevin Huffman Debate a Straw Man

by dianerav

Gary Rubinstein came across an article in which Tennessee State Commissioner Kevin Huffman boasted about the merit pay scheme he was proposing and derided the leader of the Memphis teachers’ union for expressing caution about the program. Gary decided to take a closer look at the merit pay program and concluded that the union leader’s concern was well placed. Teachers would receive $2,000 to sign up and would receive another $5,000 only if they got the required gains.
I am constantly amazed that policymakers pay no attention at all to the evidence on merit pay. It has failed again and again. The most spectacular failure was in Nashville, where teachers were offered a bonus of $15,000 to produce higher test scores. There was a control group and an experimental group. After three years, there was no significant difference in the test scores of the two groups. Merit pay also failed in New York City and in Chicago.
Merit pay is faith-based policy.

Why High-Stakes Testing Is Useless For This Student

by dianerav

A teacher explains how useless high-stakes testing is for some students, and for this one student in particular:
He writes:
In response to a state standardized test question about analyzing the author’s use of hyperbole, a student of mine recently responded with one brief sentence: “I don’t know what analyze means.” This student (who receives special education services) sat with his head down for most of the testing session. I was struck by the fact that he felt compelled to finally lift his pencil and scribble this when he could have easily just turned in a blank test booklet. It tells me that, even at a school that does not emphasize the importance of these tests (like ours), they are stressful and demoralizing to students. Students’ self-esteem is damaged and they feel the need to explain why they can’t produce a satisfactory answer. Mainly, it reminds me that these tests are a huge waste of time 

High-Stakes Testing: The Albatross of American Education

by dianerav

Teacher Aaron Pribble wrote a critique of high-stakes testing for “Edutopia.”
He explains how high-stakes testing warps teaching and distorts the educational process.
When teachers get rewards and punishments tied to test scores it ruins education.
He has a simple idea: Raise the standard for entry into teaching. Then give teachers th freedom to teach. Treat them as the experts they are.

Monica Ratliff: A Challenge to the Status Quo

by dianerav

Imagine this: a candidate for the school board who was constantly thinking of students, not hoping for a political stepping stone.
Imagine this: a candidate who thinks of students–not in the abstract–but as real children with names and faces, children she knows.
Imagine this: a candidate who doesn’t make absurd campaign promises because she understands the problems 

Who Are the Public School Haters?

by dianerav

It is clear by now that there is a very small number of very wealthy people who just don’t like public education. They don’t like teachers who work in public schools and want to strip them of any and every right, privilege, and status. They want to treat them like fast-food workers or salesmen who work on commission.
Given the chance, they would take the public’s money and give it to voucher schools, religious schools, entrepreneurs, to anyone who wants to start a school or an online business, regardless of their experience or qualifications. No one can take seriously their claim that they want to improve education or that they are “doing it 

The Risks of Data-Driven Decision-Making

by dianerav

Our policymakers claim that their decisions are based on data.
What our policymakers seldom admit is that numbers by themselves are not reality. They are representations of reality. To draw conclusions from numbers, you must be awfully sure that you are measuring what matters and that your measurements are accurate.
In this post, the Red Queen in Los Angeles warns us that some of our leaders are guilty of making a “common, insidious mistake of believing that just because some concept is quantified it holds inherent meaning.”
Not so.
“Without knowing what a number represents – what it measures, how and why – without that backward tie to reality, any mathematical modeling has no practical interpretation, no meaning.”

Showdown in Chicago

by dianerav

The Chicago Public School board has made its decision, but the struggle is not over.
Parents are suing the school district.
The media sees the injustice of the massive shutdown of public schools and the shifting rationales for the draconian decision.
Articles in the Chicago press lambaste the Mayor’s indifference to the well-being of children.
Here is a video that summarizes the showdown. Parents and teachers will have their day in court, and eventually, at the ballot box.

Jason Stanford: The Cheating Will Continue Until….

by dianerav

Jason Stanford says that so long as there are high stakes attached to testing, there will be cheating.
Arne Duncan says districts need more test security.
A new report by the federal GAO documents instances of cheating in 33 states.
When Duncan was asked about a moratorium on high stakes, he couldn’t give a

Tampio: Bill Gates Should Not Control Our Schools

by dianerav

Nicholas Tampio, who teaches at Fordham University, doesn’t understand why Bill Gates has been allowed to use his billions to gain control of American public education.
Tampio says that innovation comes not from standardization but from diversity, from differing ideas and perspectives.
He recalls when Gates used the power of his technology to replace WordPerfect with Microsoft’s Word. I remember that well, because I thought WordPerfect was far superior to Word and was disappointed when the 

Minneapolis: A Profile in Courage

by dianerav

I received this email from a teacher who decided the only way to save public education was to run for mayor. He deserves our support.
“I am a Minneapolis teacher running for Mayor of Minneapolis. I am bright but politically inexperienced. I wouldn’t have dared enter the race except that Minneapolis has Ranked Choice Voting and 7 (at least) other candidates vying for the office, and none are incumbent. Still, I entered the race reluctantly, and only because at that time no one else who was running was much interested in what’s happening with public education.
Before I entered the race I attended a school board meeting where the board decided to sell a vacant Minneapolis school building to a charter school. Our class sizes in public schools in that part of the city are in 

Diane in the Evening 5-28-13Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Florida: Once Again, Test Results Are Over-hyped by dianerav Matthew Di Carlo takes a close look at the latest test scores released in Florida. His bottom line: don’t believe the press release. For one thing, the test specifications have changed, and the scores are not really comparable to prior years. Di Carlo points out: “Accordingly, the technical documentation for the FCAT notes (in bold-faced type) that “caution should be used North Carolina Passes Voucher Bill by dianerav On a vote of 27-21, the North Carolina... more »

Megyn Kelly Discusses Common Core | Truth in American Education

Megyn Kelly Discusses Common Core | Truth in American Education:

Megyn Kelly Discusses Common Core

by Shane Vander Hart

I know some are skeptical of the interview that Megan Kelly of Fox News had with Bob Bowdon of Choice Mediayesterday.  Bowdon hasn’t said much about the Common Core so some question his agenda.

Personally I believe he gave a fair interview and it was favorable to our position.  I also believe it wasn’t the most substantive interview on the subject.

I’ve also heard some rambling about his school choice position.

Let me be clear about where I stand… I am not a public school cheerleader, while I don’t want them to fail, my wife and I chose to homeschool for a reason.  We recognize that most kids will be in the public schools so we have a civic concern for their reform, but we also believe parents need to be empowered with choice.  So personally (only speaking for myself) it really bothers me when I hear school choice demonized in our movement.  I received several emails yesterday that had that tone.  That isn’t to say I agree with absolutely 

How school reform preserves the ‘status quo’ — and what real change would look like:

How school reform preserves the ‘status quo’ — and what real change would look like

By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 29, 2013 at 6:00 amE-mail the writer

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(http://www.urdjuret.com)

If you follow the education policy debate at all, you know that critics are often called “defenders of the status quo” by people pushing market-based school reforms. Here is a piece about why it is actually the reforms that are preserving the status quo — and what real reform would actually look like. It was written by Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.  His writing can be accessed athttp://www.arthurcamins.com/.

By Arthur H. Camins

A moment after my train pulled to a final stop in Hoboken this morning, another train on my left pulled away provoking the perception that I was rolling forward.  Had I not glanced to my right to see the stationary platform I might have been fooled into thinking I was actually moving. So it is with the current education reform strategies — the illusion of movement without looking around at the evidence.

There are two pillars of Department of Education policy:  increased numbers of charter schools and consequential use of standards-based assessment for promotion and 

The bottom line on ‘learning styles’

by Valerie Strauss

University of Virginia Professor Daniel Willingham is well known in ed circles for applying cognitive science to K-16 education. One topic to which he has written and returned  is the notion of different “learning styles” and whether there is any … Continue reading →

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Finally got the news how my dues are being used

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Finally got the news how my dues are being used:

Finally got the news how my dues are being used

by Mike Klonsky

I'm a life-long union guy and always will be. It's in my DNA. I'm also a dues-paying member of AFSCME (Retirees)  the union I have counted on over the years to fight to protect my state university pension. 

Yesterday, I received an email from Chapter 31 President Virginia Yates and Henry Bayer, the Executive Director of AFSCME Council 31, both asking me to contact my State Representative to urge him to support the latest pension-bombing bill, SB 2404. The reason? They tell me that Sen. Cullerton's SB 2404 is a "much more reasonable approach" than Speaker Madigan's SB1 bill. Since neither pension bombing bill sounds "reasonable" to me, I wrote Yates this response:

Dear President Yates, 

If I indeed did call my representative urging him to support SB2404, he would probably think I was nuts on two grounds. First, if he had any sense, he might wonder why in the world would I want the legislature to pass 

Huffman vs. Straw Man | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Huffman vs. Straw Man | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Huffman vs. Straw Man

by Gary Rubinstein

Kevin Huffman is one of two TFA alumni who is currently a state education commissioner.  I was a 1991 Houston corps member and Kevin was one in 1992 so I have known him, at least informally, for over twenty years.  I interacted with him from time to time when he was a TFA vice president of public affairs for several years.

A few days ago I saw a tweet from TFA co-CEO Matt Kramer which was also retweeted by the other co-CEO Elisa Villaueva-Beard about an important op-ed written by Huffman defending a new merit pay scheme in Tennessee.

Huffman was responding to a quote from the Tennessee teachers’ union president Keith Williams in an article in a local paper the week before.  Just so I’m not accused of taking anything out of context, here is Huffman’s piece in its entirety:

On May 8, during Teacher Appreciation Week, the Tennessee Department of Education announced a new program to provide $7,000 signing bonuses and $5,000 retention bonuses for high-performing teachers willing to teach in “Priority Schools” — the schools performing at the bottom of the state in academic outcomes. Most of these schools — 69 out of 83 — are in Memphis.

The money, which in the past would have been spent on consultants, vendors or administrators, represents a historic effort to help struggling schools turn around student performance by inves

Why America Needs An Education Spring

Why America Needs An Education Spring:

Why America Needs An Education Spring

by Jeff Bryant

Well, someone in the mainstream media finally had to ask the question.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, on his “All In” program on May 24, covered the forced closing of 50 public schools in Chicago – the largest incident of mass school closings in the nation’s history.

Joining Hayes were Karen Lewis, head of the Chicago Teachers’ Union, and education professor Pedro Noguera to discuss the rationale for the closures. Lewis said school administrators and Mayor Rahm Emanuel changed the rationale for the closings so many times that the case had become “murky.” Noguera declared the closings were “not a solution” for fixing or “reforming” schools.

Then Hayes dropped this: “Is this a strategy to – I’ll put it on the table: School closings as a strategy to kill public education?”

Good Question!

Neither Lewis nor Noguero answered the question directly. And it’s hard to imagine Emanuel or any of his surrogates on the board of Chicago Public Schools admitting they aim to “kill public education.”

But when political leaders push policies that have no track record of success and are obviously senseless – Noguero mocked the whole notion of school closures as a solution to education failure by asking, “If we had too much crime in a neighborhood would we shut down the police department?” – then skeptical audiences are bound to question the 

Community group wants OUSD board to slow down on D4 appointment - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Community group wants OUSD board to slow down on D4 appointment - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

Community group wants OUSD board to slow down on D4 appointment

By awoodall
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 at 3:40 pm in Uncategorized.

A letter from the Block by Block Organizing Network to OUSD Board of Education chairman David Kakishiba asking for a little more public access to the appointment process that will fill Gary Yee’s District 4 seat. The board is planning to appoint a replacement by June 12 and already closed the applications last week. Here is a list of the candidates with one change: Carlos Carmona sent me an email this weekend explaining that he was disqualified due to his “residency.”  Here is the letter:

Dear Mr. Kakishiba,

We are writing as Oakland citizens to ask you to assure that the process of filling the District 4 opening on the Board is transparent and allows for input from concerned members of the community. We appreciate that the Board wisely decided not to hold a costly election to fill a year-and-a-half vacancy. However, we believe that six people alone should not decide whom to choose without input from the electorate. We hope that you assure that the criteria for your selection are 

History Lessons about Preschools in U.S. | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

History Lessons about Preschools in U.S. | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

History Lessons about Preschools in U.S.

by larrycuban

“Our four-year-olds do have a place in school, but it is not at a school desk,” said Ed Zigler, Yale University psychologist who helped design Head Start in President Johnson’s “War on Poverty” and led the Office of Child Development in President Nixon’s administration. He wanted K-12 systems to welcome all young children but was concerned about pre-kindergartens becoming another academic boot camp for four-year-olds.
Many others, however, were strongly opposed to putting preschoolers into an already bureaucratized, ineffective K-12 system. For example, the head of the Commonwealth Foundation (PA) asked: “Would you hire a carpenter to remodel the first floor of your home if he was already working on the second and third floors and doing a poor job? Would you expect the results on the second and third floors to improve just because the carpenter was also remodeling the first floor?”
Both quotes stake out different positions on the significant policy question whether preschools for all children should be part of the existing K-12 system–as it is in Oklahoma, New York, Georgia, and New Jersey–or be part of the private market for child care in homes, churches, and corporate-owned facilities as it has been in most