In today's high tech society, the demands of Plurilingual individuals is high in the global economy. The more multilingual skills people have, the more opportunities they will have to be successful in their careers. I was a former educator before the Fall of Phnom Penh into the hands of the Khmer Rouge Regime on April 17, 1975. This horrific regime wiped out all educators, intellectuals, highly educated students, teachers and other professionals during the Cambodian Genocide. All levels of the school system were shut down. The only schools they opened were to brainwash the young children about their Angkar, the Khmer Rouge High Unknown Command. They named the April 17, 1975 people forced out of their homes to the countryside as their Captives, not as Cambodian citizens anymore. They were the Prisoners Of War Without Walls. Whoever got caught educated to read or write anything would get executed instantly.
Therefore, the survivors who came to resettle as Khmer refugees in the US thought Khmer Language was no longer needed because their children should learn only English language in the American school system. Forty-five years passed, and their adult children know nothing about Khmer culture, heritage even simple words to communicate with their grandparents, parents and relatives. After 45+ years, this has created a disconnect where American-born children often cannot communicate with their elders, leading to a loss of cultural identity. There are ongoing efforts within Cambodian-American communities to reverse this, focusing on weekend Khmer classes to reconnect the younger generation with their heritage. From a modern standpoint, retaining the Khmer language is not only important for identity but can also be a valuable professional asset in today's global economy.
As a former educator, I would like to make an appeal to all Khmer parents in the Khmer community to encourage your children, grandchildren and relatives to speak Khmer with their elders and siblings, to listen to Khmer songs, watch Khmer movies, take them to Khmer cultural and religious ceremonies during the Khmer New Year, New Year Parade, etc. The most important time with them is to take them to the Mark Twain Library to check out some simple Khmer children's story books, so you can read to them as a family in the evening or before bedtime or sing a Khmer Lullaby for their bedtime. These little things will inspire interest in their young minds to have a desire to know more about Khmer language.
For nearly a decade, starting in 2015, I’ve been on a mission to bring Khmer language education into our public schools. Connecting with passionate professionals, parents, and community members, I learned that advocacy is all about persistence. Our biggest hurdle? The lack of qualified Khmer teachers in LBUSD.
We knew we had to think bigger, so we lobbied for state funding to create a university-level Khmer teaching credential program. Thanks to this effort, CSULB now offers a pathway for fluent speakers to become teachers, and the Khmer Parents Association is proud to support two scholarship recipients who will graduate in Spring 2027!
While training our future teachers, we kept the momentum going with The Khmer Community Literacy Project. We asked the community to share their stories, and the response was wonderful! On October 29, 2022, and on December 27, 2025 we gathered to honor writers from age 5 to elderly adults. These amazing stories are now being illustrated and will soon be in the hands of our children.
