Volunteering at 311 Day
Tufts University, Councilor Ed Flynn, and AACA representatives volunteer at another 311 Day to educate the neighborhood about the 311 hotline. (Photo courtesy of Hongyu Liu.) By Sherry Dong
Study from 2018 disproves “Model Minority” Myth
By Jun Li A 2018 study conducted by Pew Research Center found that the largest wealth gap in America is among Asian Americans. The study, which was led by senior researcher Rakesh Kochhar and former research analyst Anthony Cilluffo, analyzed changes in wealth for whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics from 1970 to 2016, finding that the income gap among all Americans increased by 8.7 times since 1970. Most notable, however, was the change in income among Asian Americans. “From 1970 […]
Racism and opposition to revised BPS admissions criteria
On October 22, Boston School Committee Chairman Michael Loconto resigned, after publicly mocking Chinese names during a virtual school committee meeting on October 21. In response to this, Councilor Ed Flynn hosted a virtual meeting to discuss what happened at the meeting. “This process has also unfortunately highlighted several times that the needs of all Asian immigrant communities are not a priority or respected,” said Councilor Flynn. The two-hour long meeting had both Cantonese and Mandarin interpretations from beginning to […]
Bilingual Myth Buster Series: “I think emotions are the same in Chinese and English—angry is still angry, right?”
By Shirley Huang (黄文思), speech-language pathologist and bilingual researcher (請點這裡閱讀英文版) When my sister and I were little we used to get into a lot of trouble. We cut the carpet in our bedrooms because we thought it would grow like grass. We took turns using the washing machine to try to wash ourselves, like we did our clothes. We melted chocolate bars in a microwave until they exploded everywhere, because we wanted to drink hot chocolate. In these moments, my […]
Cathay Bank, Economic Justice Project, Ropes & Gray offer free business workshop to Chinatown Community
Bankers and lawyers have two of the poorest reputations of any professional groups, but on September 23 representatives of these occupations showed their potential for doing good: they teamed up to present the first in a series of free seminars for small-business owners in Chinatown. The event was the combined brainchild of the Economic Justice Project (part of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights), Cathay Bank, and Boston-based firm Ropes & Gray. The EJP has worked in low-income areas like […]
Parents Face Choices as Early Education Centers and Out-of-School Programs Work to Reopen
By Edward Hsieh While the whole country struggles to attain some level of normalcy, many parents and early educators are facing the daunting task of continuing to provide needed care for the youngest among us. Governor Baker closed daycares and out-of-school programs statewide on March 23, only allowing certain centers to stay open as Exempt Emergency Child Care programs to service essential workers. In July, daycare centers that opted not to stay open under the extra restrictions placed on exempt […]
Ask Dr. Hang: Psychoeducation Column
By Hang Ngo, Psy.D. A parent struggles to support her children’s remote education My children are attending school remotely again this new school year, and I feel stressed about their learning while balancing my own job from home. Both my husband and I work full-time. It’s been a struggle to make sure our children are learning as much as they should, when we couldn’t supervise them during all their virtual classes and homework, and my children are on their iPads […]
Learning English online during a pandemic poses challenges for students and programs
The coronavirus is reshaping every level of education as online learning has largely replaced traditional classrooms from daycare to universities. With back-to-school quickly coming, students, parents, and school employees are debating what a return will look like with physical distancing and safety guidelines. Many are also questioning the sustainability, equity, and effectiveness of online learning. Prior to the pandemic, online classes were generally a valid and viable alternative to in-person offerings. However, their sudden necessity and ubiquity demand that everyone […]
Youth voices
From High School to College: A Journey to the Future With the upcoming fall semester getting closer, colleges are hastily making plans to accommodate students during the Covid-19 pandemic. As some states see rises in Covid-19 cases, colleges are changing a fundamental part of the college experience: the ability to be on campus. From work opportunities to classrooms to extracurricular activities, the upcoming semester still has many questions and concerns about the changes and plans in moving forward after the […]
End of semester essay: Writing your life story one page at a time
One of the more difficult assignments in my English classes comes near the end of each semester. Sometimes I call it a “transformative” essay, other times “reflective,” and other times a standard “autobiography.” In three pages, students write the simple story of their lives. Who were they yesterday? Who are they now? Who do they plan to be tomorrow? In my ESOL classes, the assignment takes a different variation. What was their relationship with written and spoken English as a […]