Implementation Introduction
It is important for school districts to be proactive throughout the implementation process in order to maximize the effectiveness of the Hmong History and Cultural Studies Model Curriculum. This narrative will provide district and site administrators with guidance on how to implement the curriculum in ways that are best suited to their students, teachers, and communities.
Implementing the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum in the History-Social Science Classroom
While the FAIR Education Act of 2011 was passed in order to ensure "a study of the role and contributions of ... Asian Americans” (Ed. Code Section 51204.5) in the development of California and United States (US) history, Vietnamese Americans are often left out of history curricula. In high school, students learn about the Vietnam War from an American foreign policy perspective contextualized in the Cold War Era. Although the California History-Social Science Framework authors include the experiences of immigrants from Vietnam in both 4th and 11th grades, teachers often do not have access to lessons that center around the stories of families with Southeast Asian ancestry.
Implementing the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum in the English Language Arts Classroom
By accessing the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum (VAEMC), teachers will have access to robust resources and historical context, centering Vietnamese perspectives. Student learning thrives when educators are able to utilize a culturally sustaining pedagogy approach within their English Language Arts classrooms. Incorporating Vietnamese stories in the classroom will allow students to not only learn about and affirm their own and other students’ identities, but also promotes academic success. Providing opportunities to learn about one’s history and culture are a feat for every educator, and not just restricted to a heritage language course or History-Social Science course.
Implementing the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum in the World Language Classroom
Since the twentieth century, Vietnamese language pedagogies in the United States have experienced tremendous changes, shifting emphasis from serving as the teaching skill of area studies towards a broader spectrum of socio-cultural development germane to global competence, multiculturalism, and multiliteracy. A major catalyst for these pedagogical shifts is attributable to the mass exodus of Vietnamese people emigrating from Southeast Asia; since 1975, approximately 125,000 relocated to the United States. By 2019, the number of Vietnamese immigrants was closer to 1.4 million (Harjanto and Batalova, 2021). With 39 percent of the population residing in California, Vietnamese ethnic communities and dual-language immersion schools have formed across the state.
Oral Histories
Introduced by Senator Janet Nguyen in 2018, California Senate Bill 895 (SB 895) mandated the development of model curricula on refugee experiences from members of Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Hmong American communities. The bill called for the inclusion of histories and cultural narratives in K-12 education that center on Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Hmong refugee experiences and contributions to American society. SB 895 allowed for the establishment of a curriculum that covers critical aspects of the Vietnamese refugee journey, including cultural and political histories, as well as personal narratives. A key component of this project was the inclusion of oral history interviews. In the summer of 2024, the Orange County Department of Education collected oral histories from local Vietnamese Americans. The purpose of this section is to showcase how educators might use these interviews when implementing the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum. Each oral history is accompanied by a short list of key themes that are present in the interviews and suggested areas of study wherein educators can embed the interviews as supplementary sources.