Zhang Manjun: Pushing Chinese education to a more professional level, asking for money from the government

Zhang Manjun: Pushing Chinese education to a more professional level, asking for money from the government (Exclusive interview with Sunbird) "Nowadays, only a small number of government officials are running for election...

(Exclusive interview with Sunbird) "Nowadays, important government officials go to minority communities to canvass votes for elections. Did you bring a list with you when you went there? We want this... We want this... We want this... If you don't realize this for us after taking office, we won't come next time..." The reporter was stunned after hearing the words of Zhang Manjun, a former assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Can a common citizen do this to a future mayor, future governor, future senator, or congressman? Can we get government support for Chinese schools, non-public schools? In 2014, the 10th National Congress of the American Chinese Schools Association was held in Phoenix. More than 300 people from the government, business and education circles from China and the United States who are committed to Chinese education attended the meeting. Chinese learning is developing rapidly in the United States, and there are already more than 100,000 students studying Chinese under the membership of the American Chinese Schools Association. The development of Chinese education in the United States can be seen. How to push Chinese education to a more standardized and professional level and raise funds are problems faced by almost all Chinese schools. Ms. Zhang Manjun, Assistant Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, was always surrounded by the heads of various schools during the meeting. Ms. Zhang Manjun once added a sentence to the federal government's bill, which allowed many Chinese projects to successfully obtain millions of funds. "I have never failed to get the money I want. We can't just rely on teachers and parents to serve as volunteers to run Chinese schools," Zhang Manjun said. "We should hire professionals to do these things and ask the government for money. We Chinese pay so much tax and do so much work, but we never ask for it." If we catch those politicians who come to ask for votes and to help raise funds for elections, as long as they write a sentence in the bill to allocate funds for Chinese education, the funding problem can be solved. She has been a government official for many years and said: Don't let them (politicians) eat and drink for free when they come. They find it boring and they feel they have not done anything for us. In the future, when attending the activities of these politicians, you must make demands: If you come to ask for votes or money, you must help us work, and everyone must boldly list their demands. The same goes for other ethnic groups, who will not miss any opportunity to ask for money. Hundreds of thousands, millions, those funds that are difficult to obtain despite all our efforts, are not a problem for the government. Raising funds can no longer rely on teachers and parents to save money and make demands on the government and make a louder voice. Chinese schools should make good use of their own resources and learn to compete with politicians to obtain their own interests. In the future, if politicians need the support of Chinese Americans, they must do practical things with real swords and guns.

> Zhang Manjun spoke at the conference

Introduction to Zhang Manjun

A Chinese-American woman who wrote Chinese history into American textbooks.

Formerly served as the Assistant Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and the Western Director of the U.S. Department of Labor. He is currently a professor at the University of Southern California.

Zhang Manjun graduated from the Chinese Culture University with a bachelor's degree in English Literature. I came to the United States to study at the age of 22, majoring in special education at the University of Southern California. Obtained a master's degree in 1974, then entered California State University, Los Angeles, and obtained a bachelor's degree in education from California State University and a California teaching license. Obtained a degree in "Women's Leadership in the New World" from Harvard University.