Michael Matsuda has been an educator in the Anaheim Union High School District for 11 years. He has taught English and Multicultural Education at Orangeview Junior High and Oxford Academy High School. For the past four years, he has served as the coordinator for new teacher staff development.

He has received numerous awards including named Teacher of the Year at Orangeview in 1997 and 1998, and receiving the Orange County Human Relations Award in 1994. Additionally, since 2003, he has served as the Governer's appointee to the state Curriculum Commission which recommends textbooks for use by K-12 students.

Mr. Matsuda received his BA in English from UCLA and holds a Masters in Public Administration from USC.

“Vietnam. One word that evokes so many emotions — a war, a homeland, an exodus, a past, a foreign place. Vietnamese American. Two words that evoke just as much, if not more.”

And so begins the narrative found in the introduction to the “Vietnamese Americans — Lessons in American History” curriculum produced by the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance.

My presentation will cover the development of this curriculum, why it is important, who has been trained and what VPS participants can do in their communities to promote the teaching of the Vietnamese American experience in their own communities. As a member of the California State Curriculum Commission, I would like also to share what is happening at the state level with respect to education, teacher training and upcoming legislation.