Nguyen-Lam holds a Ph.D in Transformative Learning, a M.A. in Education Administration, a M.A. in Education Psychology, California Teaching Credential, and a B.A. in Psychology. She is currently a faculty member, as well as the Interim Executive Director of the Center for Language Minority Education and Research, at California State University at Long Beach.

With 25 years of experience in education, Professor Kim Oanh Nguyen-Lam is currently running for the Garden Grove Board of Education.

As we approach the 30th Anniversary of the Vietnamese American history, many of us, especially those who are in the education field, begin to reexamine the place and role of the Vietnamese American experience in the mainstream U.S. history curriculum and instruction. The Vietnam War left an indelible mark in the American psyche and to the majority of mainstream Americans, Vietnam War was a war between the U.S. and the incomprehensible enemy of North Vietnam. To us, the Vietnamese Americans whose history includes last minute escapes, perilous journeys across the Pacific, ! years of languishing in refugee camps, and painful resettlement experiences, the Vietnam War was a lot more than a “civil war” or a “conflict” the way the text books had reduced it to be. The aftermath of the war has greater significance to us, the Vietnamese Americans, than the war itself. What happened at the end of the war when the communist North took over the Republic South Vietnamese? If it was a “reunification” of the country, why did hundred thousands of Vietnamese risk their lives to flee from their homeland? What sacrifices did the Vietnamese refugees make? What prices did they pay in search of freedom and democracy? The stories of the Vietnamese refugees speak eloquently of the atrocities and injustices they experienced which went beyond a simple “conflict” between two different ideologies. Yet, these stories and experiences are nowhere to be seen in any existing texts or documents being used in public schools when the Vietnam War is taught. It is time for us to put into practice what we and our elders came to the U.S. in search of “engaging in a democratic process to demand for voice and representation.” It is time for us to raise the issues and ask the questions:

• Where are we, the Vietnamese Americans, in the American History?
• Whose perspective in being presented in the textbooks on the Vietnam War?
• What are our Vietnamese American students and their peers are learning?
• Whose stories are being told? Whose stories are being left out?
• What impact does this have on our young people and our community?
• What can we do about it?

Together, the panelist and the audience will explore these questions These questions and other similar ones will be raised and examined during the session.