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| Embrace Diversity Build Bridges With China |
By:
Tom Watkins |
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Novi Embraces Diversity: Building Bridges With China and the Chinese
"Ni hao." is "hello" in Mandarin Chinese. If you cannot understand this, you are not alone. Learning about China will prepare you for the 21st Century.
Novi is blessed to have a diverse ethnic population. Twenty-four percent of Novi's students are Asian, from Japan, Korea, India and China.
My earliest memories of China perhaps mirror yours, with my Mom imploring, "eat your peas, the people of China are starving." I have been fascinated with China since my fourth grade teacher opened my eyes to its greatness.
Today, the Chinese are not only eating our peas, but are hungry for our jobs and middle class way of life. China's economy has been on steroids since the early 1980s. While America's economy grows at 2.5-4 percent annually, China's grows at double digits (10.7 percent last year). China's economy may surpass America's within the next two decades.
I have traveled to China nine times since 1989. I have witnessed the changes that have transpired in this country that makes up one-fifth of humanity. I stood with the students in Tiananmen Square as they called for freedom, democracy and an end of corruption, only to see their lives and hopes snuffed out by tanks weeks later. I have seen the bland Mao Jackets give way to high fashion and flying pigeon bikes edged off the road by cars that were illegal to sell to individual citizens in the early 1990s.
China now has the second largest auto market in the world. China has lifted more people out of poverty (300 million) than any other country in world history. There is so much building going on in China the joke is the national bird is the "building crane."
I have met 4-year-old Chinese students who speak English, and many high school students and young adults that are fluent in English. Yet, what gives me hope is the great students I have meet attending Novi schools such as:
Mitchell Wong, eighth grader at the middle school and his sister, Shannon, a sixth grader at Novi Meadows are great students excelling within the Novi School District. Mitchell is excelling in math and as part of the math club will be competing at Lawrence Technological University; Shannon is immersed in her studies and enjoys piano.
Jingyun Fan, 16, a junior at Novi High School, believes education is perhaps the greatest gift her parents has given her and she is interested in helping children in rural China receive a quality education. The passion to help comes from hearing her mother talk about the harsh conditions when she was a little girl in China.
These young people reflect what makes Novi a great community and give me faith in Michigan's and America's future.
The Chinese-Americans who call Novi home are enriching all of us. We must continue to embrace this diversity and fight bigotry whenever it raises its ugly head
Remember Vincent Chin
We must build bridges — not dig moats —between the Chinese Novi and across the ocean. There are issues — human rights, currency manipulation and fair trade —we need to address with the Chinese government. We also need to prevent the xenophobia in Michigan and America as economic conditions worsen. Americans have a history of blaming others when things turn sour economically. We cannot allow political rhetoric to cast blame on the Chinese for our current economic woes. If we allow the heat to turn up, it will provide the ignorant the rationale to do something stupid. We must never forget Vincent Chin, a Chinese American beaten to death by two auto workers that misplaced their fear and anger and killed an innocent man. We must never allow ignorance and fear grip our state or nation again.
Peter Dion, Novi Schools Superintendent, and John Lawrence, Novi High School Principal, understand the value of all ethnic and racial groups that make this a great community. It is their leadership that has brought Chinese language to Novi's students and that is positioning them and the community to soar in the 21st global economy. Earlier this month, when the Novi schools were closed by the bitterly cold weather, Dion, Lawrence and a number of his staff were at the high school hosting a delegation from the Tianjin Nankai High School, seeking ways to build educational bridges that will connect their students and teachers. Kang Xiuyan, the principal of the Chinese school praised both Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Dion for their visionary leadership.
Novi is leading the way in building harmonious bridges with the Chinese community; this will enrich us all.
"Xie Xie." Thank you.
Tom Watkins lives in Northville and is a business and educational consultant. He served as Michigan Superintendent of Schools from 2001-2005. Read his internationally recognized report: The New Education (R)evolution at www.nacol.org now translated into Mandarin and read other articles he has written about China at www.chinamaze.com Join him in learning Mandarin Chinese at Schoolcraft Community College. He can be reached at tdwatkins@aol.com |
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