EDUCATION

"Education is the cornerstone on which to build hope and future"

– Stefano Aversa, Chairman of The Andrea Bocelli Foundation

Education is one of the most important facets of a community. It's how knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation. The United Nations states that "[e]ducation enables upward socioeconomic mobility," supplanting the importance of quality education within communities (United Nations).

Chinatown/International District is a hub for immigrant communities, and many immigrants run restaurants, stores, and other businesses. According to the National Park Service, migrants flocked to this region because of its economic potential (National Park Service). Education, especially financial literacy, is crucial in these fields.

Some key hubs that promote education are:

Libraries
Community Centers
Local Tutoring Centers

Wing Luke Museum

While the Wing Luke Museum is an amazing way to engage with the history of Little Saigon/Chinatown/etc., access is limited to those who can pay for tickets. Although they have discounted prices for seniors, students, and passes through libraries and organizations such as Museum for All, these are limited to those who are eligible for these specific programs. We were not able to explore the exhibits in the museum because we visited too close to their closing time; however, the exhibit in the lobby described the history of Chinatown in a way that summarized much of the research I engaged in. Personally, I think it is not an explicit asset for the neighborhood, but also not specifically a barrier. It feels more like it is catered for tourists, benefiting the society through awareness rather than direct dissemination.

Image by Jmabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4296755, cropped to fit.

Public Library

The library appears to be an unused asset to the neighborhood. Although it was next to the community center, it felt quaint and abandoned when I visited—especially compared to the bustling community center. I do not recall anyone being in the library other than the staff, who were welcoming and helpful. There were books in Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese, along with the English collection. As it is a part of Seattle Public Libraries, one can request a hold for books from other locations and pick them up at the library, making this entity an asset. However, it also requires library cards to access much of its resources, preventing homeless individuals from utilizing it fully as an educational entity; a library card requires one to live, work, or attend school in the Seattle area, or have a library card with a neighboring entity (Seattle Public Library).

Community Center

The community center appears as an asset to education; they seem to have events to build community, raise awareness, and simply get people to interact with each other. When we visited, there were teens running on treadmills, playing volleyball and badminton, and generally engaging in community with each other. Looking on their events page, the Community Center has Kung-Fu and ballet lessons for certain school-aged children, with drop-in sessions for other sports as well. Engaging in physical activity has been observed to correlate with an increase of cognition in school-aged children (Kohl et al.).

Despite not being known for being an education hub, Chinatown-International District is a valuable location with deep history, making it a valuable site to gather knowledge.

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