17-year-old Ashley Shim wanted to see more people who looked like her in her high school textbooks. Now, Shim is hoping to put more Asian Americans in her textbooks by starting a petition to teach Asian American studies at schools in Irvine, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“There is never a section, or a chapter even, on what Asians did to contribute to society,” Shim told The Los Angeles Times. “In the texts, it’s on the margins. There was one Asian American. I always wondered if there’s more to the story.”
Shim and other Korean-American Young Leaders (KAYL) hope that bringing Asian American studies courses to their Irvine Unified School District in Southern California will address this gap. They have started a petition to develop Asian American studies courses that now has over 700 supporters.
Currently, Irvine Unified School District offers students one Asian literature class and Korean and Chinese language classes. The supporters believe that adding Asian American studies courses to the school district will have several benefits.
According to LA Times, Tammy Kim, co-founder and managing director of Irvine’s Korean American Center, believes that the students shouldn’t have to wait until college to gain this understanding
“It really seems like a shame that these kids have to wait until they go to college to have an understanding of who they are and where they came from and what role and impact Asian Americans have had in this
Shim also believes that the AsAm studies courses could also be beneficial for non-Asian American students. In addition to giving Asian American kids a sense of pride, Shim hopes that the courses will help non-Asian American students understand their city better. Irvine’s population is, after all, over 45% Asian American.
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