The analogy I picture is that of a sailboat. The wind propels it forward, but it takes team effort to steer a winning boat. In the case of Thousand Oaks Chinese School, it takes the coordinated efforts of the Conejo Chinese Culture Association, the Parent Volunteer Association, the teachers and the administrative staff to trim the sails just right to bring the boat within range of its desired goals.

Due to the fact that Thousand Oaks Chinese School has grown to the magnitude that it has makes it difficult to identify and satisfy a targeted audience. It becomes necessary to appeal to a wider spectrum. The Chinese community in the area does not gravitate to Chinese School for mere academics. It is the desire to foster a culturally homogeneous environment. It is an environment in which basic practices and values need not be explained.

Once in our midst, we, as educators, are entrusted with the responsibilities of nurturing the children. We need to infuse in them the various aspects of being Chinese through language and activities. The debate as to how to accomplish this in the short three hours a week is as heated as it is widespread. At the Teachers’ Conference every August, there are always new and creative ideas being presented. I find all of this fascinating.

The student body at Thousand Oaks Chinese School comes from a wide range of backgrounds. But primarily, there are those who speak Mandarin at home, those who do not speak Mandarin but do speak a Chinese dialect and, lastly, those who do not speak any Chinese at all. Due to limited resources, our teaching material does focus on the first two groups.

Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing are the four elements of learning a language. Writing is, of course, last, because it is the most difficult. Not only must you write the character accurately; you need a little finesse and a little style. Listening and Speaking will prove effortless to some, but poses problems in varying degrees for others. Therefore, that leaves Reading as the common denominator that I can concentrate my efforts on.

Learning to read is essential to learning any language. Technology has enhanced the language proficiency attainable for native Mandarin speakers. But they still need to be able to read to ensure the accuracy of the words they type. For those who might not be able to master Listening and Speaking, character recognition should be the minimum that they leave Chinese School with. Students who do not speak Mandarin at home need to realize that characters carry the same meaning whether it is spoken in Cantonese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese or other dialects.

In order to keep the students coming back year after year, we need to make Chinese School relevant and interesting. To accomplish this we need to complement the academics with activities. We participate in competitions organized by the Southern California Council for Chinese Schools for Speech and Penmanship. We will be organizing our own Spelling and Vocabulary Bee to encourage Reading. In addition to that, there will be a Read-a-thon as a fundraising activity.

This school year, students will be doing theme posters on famous Chinese heroes and heroines. To complement this, we will visit the Bowers Museum’s exhibit on the "Symbols of Power". In ancient times, knowledge meant power.

Finally, we are happy to announce that Westlake Hyatt has agreed to hold a career day for our students. The upper grade students will be able to apply for real positions. They will work a 5-hour day without pay, but the experience will be invaluable.

We look forward to working closely with the teachers and parents for a brighter future for our children. With the support of the Conejo Chinese Cultural Association and the Parent Volunteer Association, I am sure we can overcome any obstacles ahead of us.