Description of artwork cover image: This painting combines glimpses of the past, present, and future that forms our Vietnamese-American experiences. In the black and white background, depicted are selected scenes of our history: of leaving Vietnam on boats, of the family and friends left behind, and of our allies in the war.
In the colorful foreground, a parade is depicted that celebrates our Vietnamese traditions on new soil in our adopted homeland of America. A young child observes the festivities, carried on his father’s shoulders, representing the lineage of our Vietnamese traditions being shared with the next generation. It is on the shoulders of our parents and grandparents---their stories and their experiences---that our Vietnamese traditions and histories will be kept alive and help inform our lives as Vietnamese-Americans going forward into the future.
–Thuan Vu, artist
b. 1973 Saigon, Vietnam
Professor of Art, Southern Connecticut State University
Introduction
The Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum (VAEMC) is a set of open-source lesson plans, primary source documents, planning resources, teaching strategies, and professional development activities designed to enhance existing courses or support educators in course development. Curriculum development was driven by community voices as per Assembly Bill 167 and Senate Bill 369. External organizations and local education agencies that serve the communities of interest hosted multiple opportunities for engagement. During listening sessions, participants explain what content they would like to see in model curricula. Engagement session feedback informs the choice of topics for the curriculum projects. Collaborators included researchers, writers, and community members, many of whom have Vietnamese ancestry. The curriculum is designed to assist K–12 educators in teaching about the histories and cultures of Vietnamese.
- Vietnamese American refugee experience
- The Fall of Sài Gòn in 1975
- Vietnamese boat people and members of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, the reasons behind the exodus, the hardships faced by the Vietnamese people attempting to flee who were apprehended by the communist government, and the conditions that led to the resettlement of Vietnamese people in the United States.
- The long-term causes and effects of the refugee experience
- The establishment of Little Saigons
- An emphasis on cultural practices in the Vietnamese diaspora
