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Chinatown(s) NeighborhoodMain MenuArchitectureRacismCultural PoliticsViews of Chinatown and Related NeighborhoodsRelevancy Of the ProjectViolenceUnpacking the Violent History of ChinatownPublic Health
Education
1media/Screen Shot 2022-04-12 at 5.41.42 PM.png2022-04-01T13:59:15-07:00Curtis Fletcher3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e3848613image_header2022-04-12T22:55:24-07:00May Songd1852eca3c2ef08d1b19452a97883c9d415c394bWhile education is widely considered an essential component of one’s social development and a primary opportunity for social mobility across all American families, it is particularly important in traditional Chinese culture. Educational success is seen as a duty and obligation to not only one’s self but their entire family. As Min Zhou points out in her article, “The Ethnic System of Supplementary Education: Nonprofit and For-Profit Institutions in Los Angeles’ Chinese Immigrant Community,” many Chinese parents facilitate their children’s education because they are “keenly aware of their own limitations as immigrants and the larger structural constraints, such as limited family wealth… lack of access to social networks connecting to the mainstream economy and various social and political institutions, and entry barriers to certain occupations because of racial stereotyping and discrimination” (233).
As such, it’s clear why education formed such an integral role in Chinatown’s community. Even with decades of policies barring Chinese immigrants from attending American public schools, many turned to homeschooling, religious institutions, or creating their own Chinese education schools. And once public schools were open to Chinese Americans, they became pillars of the Chinatown community.