Blog

Nov 7 New Orleans Is No Education 'Miracle'

By: Linda Tran

Re-printed here is Linda Tran's recent op-ed on her experience as a graduate of a New Orleans' publich high school which was published in EducationWeek last week. Congratulations to Linda and VAYLA-NO for this tremendous achievement!

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As a recent graduate of a New Orleans public high school, I find it very troubling that the national conversation about post-Katrina education amounts to little more than talking points about charter schools and test scores. The most telling indication of how we’re doing in the classroom actually comes from a youth-led research project showing the hard realities students continue to face every day. As New Orleans moves to become the first all-charter district in the country, students here must be heard.

Oct 19 New research shows Asian American & Pacific Islander subgroups struggling in school

By: Jintana Lityouvong

Getting stuck in school can be inevitable sometimes. But when you don’t have a lot of money, your parents don’t know how to help you, and you face cultural or language barriers, you’re going to have some problems. When the society around you has been socialized into thinking that someone who looks like you does not even have said problems, then you’re basically stuck in the middle of an ocean without help. This is the reality that many Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) subgroups face.

Sep 28 that Southeast Asian American guilt

By: Cat Nou

I always need external motivation to do really difficult things, but sometimes for the simple things too like getting out of bed to face the day. And it is on these days that I realize just how privileged I am and start to feel really guilty. You know, it’s that Southeast Asian American guilt where you know that your entire family had to hide from communists in the dense, dark jungle with no food to eat with bullets firing in all directions and it is only through the grace of their karma that they were not struck—and so, how dare you lay in your queen sized bed with your cozy comforter inside of your well insulated apartment and not thank your lucky stars that you were even born, as an American citizen no less!

Mar 25 SEARAC Youth Speak Out on Education - Gao Lu Moua

By: Pang Houa Moua

Last month, the Department of Education held it's "Voices in Action: National Youth Summit" in Washington, D.C. SEARAC brought four Southeast Asian American youth to attend the conference, and we asked them to report back.

Gao Lu Moua * Woodbury, MN * 12th grade

What did you learn at the “Voices in Action: National Youth Summit”?

One thing I learned was that at public schools, superiors of schools are cutting Fine Arts classes. This affects many students because these classes usually serve as an escape from their reality--a reality which many of us never have to experience. One college student performed a spoken word piece. Her words smoothly, and powerfully, told of her high school's Fine Arts classes getting cut...

Dec 16 The Crisis in American High Schools

By: Fay Saechao

High school dropout rates and academic achievement gaps in America will continue to increase if our elected representatives in our respective states or Washington, D.C. fail to address the problem.

The lives of young people in America and the economic future of this country are at stake and something needs to be done.