Once again, Bayan Scholars made our way to Agbayani Village in Delano; it's become a yearly tradition for our learning community. This year, we visited this historic site on November 7th and 8th, a few weeks after Filipino American History month. To prepare for the trip, we devoted class time to begin untangling the difference between history and heritage. We also studied sections from Dawn Mabalon's Little Manila is in the Heart to familiarize ourselves with the plight of Filipino farm workers and the significance of Delano.
The trip was, as always, an eye-opener for students - intellectually and emotionally. With the exception of two students, none of our scholars had any prior knowledge of Filipino contributions to US history. Students recognized that our collective lack of knowledge about Filipinos in the USA may contribute to truncated sense of identity and diminished understanding of their place in US society, something they'd read about in chapter one of Kevin Nadal's Filipino American Psychology.
To commemorate and reflect on our visit, Bayan scholars composed mini-essays, testing out their preliminary experiences. The prompt asked them to consider any pride or provocation they felt encountering their (our!) history. We captured those reflections in the below bulletin board.
When and how did you learn about Filipino American history? Had you heard of Agbayani Village or the manongs,the generation of Filipino farm workers? If you are Filipino/a, do you recognize yourself in any of the Bayan scholars reflections? If you are not Filipino/a, how important has it been for your to know of your peoples' contribution to US history? We welcome your comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment