Responding to Student and Community Needs

Lowell, Massachusetts, is home to the second largest Cambodian community in the United States. Students of Southeast Asian descent represent twenty-nine percent of the Lowell Public Schools population. Yet they and their fellow students are not systematically exposed to curriculum that incorporates their home culture and the Cambodian immigrant experience in the United States.

In order to address the needs of all Lowell students, Primary Source has launched a unique partnership with the Lowell Public Schools to provide programming for teachers on Cambodia and Vietnam, beginning with a spring 2007 seminar series. Primary Source's programs have provided an interdisciplinary approach to the region's rich history and culture and have encouraged educators to expand their thinking beyond the Vietnam War era.

Participating teachers have already brought their newfound knowledge of Southeast Asia into classrooms across Lowell. Deborah Romeo, a language arts and social studies teacher at the E.N. Rogers Middle School, led her seventh graders in an exploration of Cambodia through the voices of Cambodian Americans. The students, many of whom are immigrants themselves, interviewed elders in their community about their lives and experiences. "One of the challenges of teaching about Cambodia," says Romeo, "is to be sure that students understand that Cambodian history and culture are comprised of more than the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. I don't think I would have foreseen this problem if we hadn't discussed it within the Primary Source course. As a result of the discussion, my unit included consistent reflection on what we know now about Cambodian history and culture and revision of some of the kids' original thinking." Romeo also worked with fellow Rogers teacher Kevin Freeman to connect their students to student pen pals in Cambodia through a Peace Corps volunteer.

Carol Allen, who teaches English as a Second Language courses at Lowell High School, has also been able to incorporate the details she learned in Primary Source's programs into her teaching. 'Before taking the summer class on Cambodia and Vietnam, I had very little knowledge about these cultures," Allen notes. "Now, however, I feel much more comfortable alluding to their geography, history, language, or customs. This course has opened up a whole new avenue of communication between my students and me."