www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/joe-nathan/neighborhood-notes-phalen-lake-hmong-studies-magnet-creates-museum-schoolPhalen
Lake Hmong Studies Magnet creates a museum In the school
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By Joe Nathan <http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/profiles/joe-nathan>
April 19, 2012
Schools sometimes take students to visit museums, but something unusual has
developed at Phalen Lake Hmong Studies Magnet in St. Paul. They are
developing a Hmong culture museum within the school. Its a great example
of a partnership involving families, community members, faculty and
administration.
Catherine Rich, principal at Phalen Lake, recalls that with the writing
and implementation of our Hmong Studies curriculum, several cultural items
were brought in to help our students understand their culture. The Hmong
Studies curriculum and artifacts also promote reading, writing and math
skills. In addition, building replicas of two Hmong houses promoted the
use of math.
One of those homes has a variety of cooking and other items often found in
a traditional Hmong home. The other, which features the roof and beams of
a Hmong home, is in the schools library/media center.
The school is not content to bring in materials others created. May Lee
Xiong, the schools Hmong curriculum coordinator, displays a series of
oral history DVDs that Phalen Lake students and faculty have created, by
interviewing Hmong elders and craftspeople. This began in the 2009-10
school year when the school was awarded a Library Services and Technology
Act grant to implement a program that the school called Honoring our
Stories. Xiong told me, the drive here is to instill the value of
maintaining our cultural legacy in our students. When the videos are
complete, at the end of the year, there is a dinner that honors those who
contributed to, and helped produce the videos. The school has a growing
library of these videos. Xiong explained, " We're trying to combine culture
and technology to help young people learn."
One tape describes the work of Silversmith Nhia Vue Lee. He describes
various steps needed to create jewelry that Hmong families treasure.
Another video features St. Paul native, and award winning author Kao
Kalia Yang talking with Phalen Lake students. She encourages youngsters
of all races to write. She also explains that part of the reason she writes
because she did not see stories about people like her when she was growing
up. But as she explains, stories about young people from various cultures
belong in the bigger bookshelves of the bigger world.
Rich, the principal believes there is a myth suggesting youth dont have
much to learn from elders. We believe that we should be promoting
partnerships that will help students learn answers to important issues in
their lives. So part of the curriculum is that every classroom meets with
elders. Each classroom produces a collage or book about what theyve
learned. She expects that each year the school will interview more people,
giving students the opportunity to continue their learning, and continue to
produce materials that will help others. She explained, As the project
continues, we will create an archive of stories from the specific cultural
and ethnic groups that represent all our students.
Contrary to what some people might expect, about 25% of this Saint Paul
Public School's students are not Asian American. Ten percent are
Latino/Latina, 10% are African American, and about 4% are Caucasian. Asian
American students include Hmong, Vietnamese, Thai and Karen.
Rich believes, Phalen Lake Hmong Studies Magnet provides an extraordinary
opportunity for children to grow and learn in a vibrant, culturally engaged
community, preparing them for a successful place in our global community.
The school's efforts are gaining attention. Recently a group of students
from Kansas came to the school, spending several days working with, and
learning from the students. And the schools student body shows that this
kind of program can attract a variety of families.
*Joe Nathan, formerly a Saint Paul Public School teacher and administrator,
directs the Center for School Change, Macalester College. He wrote this as
part of the Center's involvement with Saint Paul Public Schools Project
Turnaround. Opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily
those of the St. Paul Public Schools or U.S. Department of Education, which
funds Project Turnaround. Reactions welcome, <email obscured>*