Huiming: Thoughts in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the founding of Zusun Chinese School

Huiming: Thoughts in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the founding of Zusun Chinese School Tusang Huiming Sixty-five years ago, when most of us here have not yet come to this world...

Sixty-five years ago, when most of us here have not yet come to this world, a Chinese pioneer named Tan opened a Chinese school in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Not to mention how successful and brilliant he was in his career, nor how personally he had the foresight to lay the foundation for future generations of Chinese to inherit Chinese culture. Just go back to that era and take a look at Mr. Tan's courage. It can be seen that in 1950, during the Korean War, the United States and China were at odds with each other because of North Korea. Thousands of young people from both countries were distracted by their unfounded political beliefs. It is conceivable that the civil relations between the two countries were tense. But there was such a great man who raised the banner of a Chinese school in such a sensitive period and in a completely different cultural atmosphere! I don’t know if this Chinese school can be called the earliest Chinese school in the United States at that time, but at least it was the pride of the Chinese in Arizona. Now that I think about it, any celebration of praise and singing and dancing cannot replace our inner worship of our ancestors!

What makes us even more grateful is that when Chinese schools were running around looking for school buildings every year, Mr. Liang Zhengqiang from Tucson donated seven acres of his land free of charge. With the help of many Chinese seniors, we have the magnificent Chinese Association and the Tucson Chinese School building today, and we have the joy of our Chinese children being able to go back to their mother tongue school every Sunday to learn Chinese. When we are in the comfort and spaciousness of a normal school environment, we tend to remember our former colleagues and past students who struggled to study on simple tables and chairs in churches and other places. Maybe this situation still exists overseas or in other places in the United States, but at least overseas colleagues of Chinese schools will sigh when they see the current school building in Tucson, why do we not have such a feat like Mr. Liang here!

There are two huge white marble stone lion statues placed in front of Zusun Chinese School, which were presented by the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Los Angeles. I don’t know if other Chinese schools overseas have such an honor, but the Chinese in Tucson all remember that it was presented to the Tucson Chinese Association and Chinese School in October 2005 by Mr. Zhong Jianhua, the then Consul General. Moreover, Ambassador Mr. Zhang Yun highly praised this as the best Chinese school building in the United States. Of course, it might have been the best Chinese school in the world at that time, Mr. Ma Jing, the former principal of Zusun Chinese School, recalled with pride. Therefore, teaching in such a luxurious school building, as a teacher and a student, I sincerely feel my happiness and responsibility.

However, on this memorable day, wise men and philosophers are thinking more about the future and prospects of overseas Chinese schools. Dr. Chen Pu, who came from Phoenix to give a speech, was still full of ambition or worried. When AP Chinese classes gradually enter the curriculum of public high schools in the United States, Chinese schools will not only face a lack of students, but also a loss of excellent teachers. Chinese schools that only teach Chinese characters will be in danger of closing. This seems alarmist and even inappropriate, especially at a time when Chinese culture is spreading across the world with the help of Mr. Kong’s reputation. But the cruel thing is that in the celebration of peace and prosperity, people easily ignore that Chinese schools in some areas of the United States are facing closure and bankruptcy.

Professor Lei Hong, the former principal of Zusun Chinese School, proposed new ideas for retaining teaching talents in overseas Chinese schools. He believes that more and more Chinese students are coming to the United States to study, and Chinese schools should also become a window for them to understand overseas Chinese and local integration, and to understand local culture. Such benefits can also provide a steady stream of reserve talents for teachers in Chinese schools, and also allow Chinese teachers who have lived overseas for a long time to continuously accept the flavor of their mother country's language. Once this talent interaction idea is put into operation, the teacher reserve of Chinese schools will be greatly improved.

Dr. Chen Pu’s ideas on teaching materials are also very unique. He believes that instead of struggling with the traditional and current concepts of Jinan's peace, it is better to use Tang poetry and Song poetry as teaching materials to teach a generation of overseas Chinese young students who are familiar with the classics of Chinese traditional culture. It seems that this goal is a bit far away from overseas Chinese teaching, but everything depends on human effort. As long as a set of basic teaching materials based on Tang poetry and Song lyrics is compiled and suitable for junior high school and high school overseas students to learn, the education of literacy and literacy can be completely unified. You, me and him, the basic words of up and down can also be shown in the text and historical knowledge of Tang and Song poetry. The topic continued from the Chinese TV program "Chinese Good Poetry". Dr. Chen Pu and the former principal of Zusun Chinese School Zhao Ping were deeply moved by this. If our students also have such conversation and quality, or to say the least, our parents and students like this kind of program instead of being keen on programs such as "The Voice", the improvement of the culture and quality education of students in overseas Chinese schools will be within reach and just around the corner.

The 65th anniversary of Zusun Chinese School has given us many aspects and far-reaching thoughts. As long as she has an idea and persists in execution, Zusun Chinese School can go from 65 years ago to the present, and she will definitely be able to go from the present to a more exciting future.