On the eve of Confucius’ birthday, the Northern California Chinese School Association held a commendation and award ceremony for outstanding teachers at the Silicon Valley Overseas Chinese Education Center to express gratitude for their hard work throughout the year and offer them high respect.
A total of 45 outstanding teachers from 21 Chinese schools in the Bay Area were honored, including the most senior teacher with 30 years of teaching experience. The highlight of the two-hour award ceremony was the special segment “Confucius Time Travel,” where Confucius seemed to step out of a painting and personally present each of the 45 awardees with a “Good Teacher Ruler,” leaving the audience in awe.
President of the Northern California Chinese School Association, Li Naya, stated that this year’s commendation event for outstanding teachers had the theme of “Time Travel,” with the special appearance of Confucius bringing a delightful fusion of ancient and modern elements. She emphasized that whether it’s through traditional or innovative teaching methods, as long as children can enjoy learning, it constitutes good teaching. This year, 45 teachers were awarded, with the most experienced teacher boasting three decades of teaching experience. Director Lai Mingqi prepared gifts and medals for each teacher to show respect and appreciation towards them.
Director Lai Mingqi from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco pointed out that overseas Chinese language teachers have been silently dedicating themselves to education out of passion and a sense of mission, allowing Chinese language education to flourish abroad. He mentioned that today’s award ceremony could only express our respect and gratitude through certificates and reminded everyone not to forget to apply for funding next year.
He concluded by extending advanced wishes for a happy Teachers’ Day to everyone.
Principal Zhuang Yashu expressed that the commendation event organized by the Northern California Chinese School Association at the Overseas Chinese Education Center was deeply moving, especially after hearing the teachers’ testimonials, which touched her heart. She emphasized that without overseas Chinese education, there would be no overseas Chinese affairs, and she thanked the principals and teachers for their efforts in continuing Chinese culture overseas. She also extended special thanks to the association and President Li Naya’s team for bringing such a splendid event.
During this commendation event, Director Zhuang Yashu, on behalf of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, read out a congratulatory letter from Wang Wanjun, the Chairwoman of the 31st All-American Chinese School Association, which was personally handed out by Director Lai Mingqi.
Thank you to Amber for her contributions to this article.