by Alia Wong | Nov 3, 2017 | language & culture
In 1983, the parliament of Catalonia passed a law that would help the region assert its identity, and its autonomy, relative to the rest of Spain. It made Catalan the region’s official language—this after the language was banned for four decades under the dictatorship...
by Alia Wong | Aug 2, 2017 | higher education, language & culture, lifestyle, public schools, race, special interest
“IT’S NOT OUR fault,” Jacob Rosales said. I had asked the recent high-school graduate what he wants people to know about life on the reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. “There’s a liquor store right across from the border,” he continued after a pause,...
by Alia Wong | Jan 12, 2017 | education, language & culture, politics, public schools, race
Havasu Canyon is home to turquoise waterfalls, billowing cottonwood trees, and red sandstone cliffs that attract thousands of tourists each year. It’s also home to the Havasupai people, a federally recognized Native American tribe allegedly subject to education...
by Alia Wong | Jun 28, 2016 | higher education, language & culture, politics, race
In his new book, Earning Admission: Real Strategies for Getting Into Highly Selective Colleges, the strategist Greg Kaplan urges Asians not to identify as such on their applications. “Your child should decline to state her background if she identifies with a group...
by Alia Wong | Oct 27, 2014 | hawaii, language & culture, lifestyle, uncategorized
Read the original story: On a Sunday afternoon in early October, more than 700 people gathered at New Hope Leeward’s new Kapolei site — a dimmed, air-conditioned conference hall with rows of green banquet chairs, glowing television screens and an elevated stage bathed...
by Alia Wong | Nov 22, 2013 | "learning hilo", k-12 education, language & culture, uncategorized
HILO, HAWAII — A 6-year-old boy stands between his classmates in line to gear up for the daily after-school assembly. His brown bangs are crooked and freckles dot his nose and cheeks, which are marked with traces of his last meal. If his blue T-shirt of Batman, the...
