Chung Ying oral history interview reflecting on Covid-19 pandemic

So today is June 5 2020. And here with us on the Houston Asian American Archive is Principal Ying Chung, who is the Principal of the Mandarin Immersion Magnet School. Thank you so much, Principal

Ying Chung, my name is Ann Shi. Thank you for your time in joining us to talk about the current pandemic we are in. Thank you for having me. I appreciate you, Ann. Yeah, so to start, can you share with

us the impact to the school and your life? Um, it... Yes. Yeah, well, this is impacting everybody, you know, my school, my personal life, just

about everybody also. For school from very early, about a few days before we were going out for spring break, you know, all of a sudden, HISD.

decided, you know, because of the current news and health concerns, we, this the district decided to, to, you know, starts summer--spring break, you know, a day early. And then, and then you know, at the time they were

saying that, "Okay, we'll be back in two or three weeks." But then you know, if you follow the news or anyone who's watching this follow the news, you know, the, the, the rate of infection just, you know, keep climbing

up; and then, you know, we keep postponing the school reopening day. And then later on, the governor decided, you know, we're not coming back with the school year.

And then, for our students and their family it... there's a very, very heavy impact because, you know, they have to having to juggle their own, you know, the parents they have to manage their own, you know,

career and work life, as well as, you know, having to deal with you know, teaching students at home. You know, kind of just have to monitor their children all of a sudden. So, at the very beginning, it was

obviously, it was very stressful, you know, from, you know, the email communication we get from the parents and the teachers. So it was very difficult.

And, for me, personally, I feel that the workflow, you know, being a principal is already difficult. But, you know, all of a sudden, our our, you know, workload just, you know, drastically increased because, you know, we're having to,

to move our traditional classroom, all into a virtual space, and that takes a lot of planning, and it's not a one-person job. So with that, I really appreciate our teachers and, and my administration team

to really work together. We're working really long hours, you know, trying to, you know, make plans, trying to communicate with the parents, you know, just overcome a lot of you know, technical difficulties and whatnot.

Yeah, was the transition at the beginning stressful? To say the least, to say the least. Because we were talking about, and not just me personally, but most of our teachers, they have never, you know, taught in a virtual space

before, you know. Having to manage to learn the platform for number one, you know. We have Zoom meeting, Zoom is very easy to use, user friendly pebble platform.

HISD sponsors, offers, you know, Microsoft Teams, as, you know, online learning tool. But they're all different systems and they it takes quite a bit to learn something new, especially, you know.

The lesson has to go on on a daily basis. And, you know, so that's one. One stress at the same time, you know, if something doesn't work, you know, we have to kind of, because they happen so quickly, right?

So are teachers having to become a problem solver? How do I do this online? You know, how did I learn this feature, this and that. And, and but with that stress was that challenge that I see people come

together, you know, our team, our teachers, they work, you know, you know closely and they are building really good partnership with each other. So I see a lot of you know, in the end, I see a lot of positive, you know, coming from

from this pandemic. That's great to hear. So, do you have any fun stories you would like to share that happened during the pandemic? Fun story?

I have a lot of heartwarming story, you know, from parents stepping up and say, you know, "Mr. Ying," you know, "Miss so and so, teacher so and so," you know, "I see that you

guys need this help. And this is my expertise, you know; so you can read this is my phone number, reach me anytime for tech support." for example, um, you know, I... we have parents donating computer.

My school is very fortunate in that most of the families, they're there, they're able to provide you know, students was you know, technology devices they have, you know, home internet; but our other, other HISD schools from other schools, they still struggle to

get, you know, adequate equipment till this day. And then we have parents step up and say, "Mr. Ying, here's my donation, this is the laptop, you know, let's help that other school." And then some other story.

We we see parents come together, they– they have their own chat room, chat group and talking about well, all of a sudden we don't have a traditional graduation. And what do we do we?

Still want to leave our students a memorable you know, you know, promotion ceremony, for example, so they come together and put together— we have a yearbook for our eighth-grade graduates.

But the print shop is, you know, is closed due to, you know, the pandemic. They're saying, "No, no, we still have to have something," you know, "for the students to, you know, remember us by." So they collect pictures very quickly do a small version of the yearbook.

And then, you know, they call in a car parade and they, they, you know, they went out and purchase a beach towel, you know, with our school logo as souvenirs, and then they coordinate the logistics of planning for the virtual

ceremony and all of that. So. So I see a lot of this, this kind of, you know, good stories about people coming together and working as a team. So I really, it's very heartwarming to see that.

Wow! Yeah, really inspiring story. So I felt like with our Rice students, some feedbacks from the online classes saying they find it really hard to stay focused and motivated; so for your school, how do

you keep your students motivated? I'm sorry, that, the last about 10 seconds you are breaking up. Could you repeat that again, please? I was just wondering, how do you keep your students motivated in studying

and coming to class and handing in their homework? How do we keep them? That, that's a really good question. We do have lessons every day.

Many teachers offer live lessons. So we make a point to establish that connection with students on the still on a daily basis, even though this is all done virtually. Me personally, you know, I feel that I need to speak

with all of our students. So I prepare, you know, a live speech and just to, you know, say to them, "Hey," with students.

"We all miss you. And then this is very difficult for you, me, the parents and teachers; but at the same time, it's, you know, we have to get to, get, you know, stay together and get through this."

And then I want them to learn about, you know— we tried to turn every, you know, opportunity to a positive. So this is about you know, caring for yourself, your health, you know, being mindful about, you

know, your– your hygiene habits, for example. You know, it's another opportunity to learn about, you know, technology; to learn about how to acquire knowledge, you know, virtually. So I made a speech

with them. At the same time, you know, we want teachers to continue to follow each student's participation. They're still getting a grade, you know, so, the teachers still follow, you know,

something called pacing guide. Basically, it's a planning that every week, you know, what skills we're teaching, so we still follow that pacing guide for each lesson, you know, as planned. So that's how we try to keep our students engaged.

Oh, one more thing. So and it's not just all academic, you know, as, as you know, in the school, we have, you know, your academic classes; but the same time you have enrichment, ancillary classes, such as music and PE.

So we would continue to offer that, you know. So, with that, I really appreciate our ancillary enrichment teachers, they they are continuing to offer, you know, health, you know, activities

that the students can watch the video and follow at home. And then our music teachers, she coor--you know, she kind of coordinate a little bit. It's not necessarily like a symphony, you know, that's what was

our ultimate goal. We haven't quite reached that because the time was very short; but still, she was able to, you know, get a few students together and play instrument and they record that, and

then we play, you know, and we put that video on our school website and tell our students, "Hey, you know, see this is your classmate, you know, classmates playing music and hoping to, you know, bring that

enrichment to their life during this stressful times." This is great. And how the students adapting? Do you think there's any difficulty?

Some love it and others, you know, kind of struggle a little bit. It really depends. We see a lot of students strive because, you know, it's about managing your time.

And then at the same time, they have that flexibility to say, okay, you know, I'm ready to complete this assignment. So under a time date, they

work on a certain assignment, but it takes a lot of self discipline. At the same time, you know, some of the students it's easy to, you know, not get engaged because you know, you have to you know, make a point

and say, Okay, this is the time I need to get online, I need to learn the lesson and do homework and whatnot. So, you know, if those students is less, you know, dependent, they kind of need that extra push from the either the teachers or the parents to say, Hey, you know, child, you need to,

you know, study. So, we see you know, different reaction and you know, results. Okay. So do you happen to have students that experience any like anxiety or depression during this

period? And having to deal with that? We do we do. We see students, they, it's very stressful not just for adults, but also it's obvious, you

know, for students as well. One, they’re not able to see their friends in person, even though they kind of see each other online. But that human to human interaction is still missing and it's

obvious that you know, that they miss their classmates. Our school we were fortunate. We have a social worker and Miss Lyons,

you know, we–we asked her to, you know, really monitor and communicate with the, you know, our teachers and see which students are really, need that social emotional, you know, I guess guidance. I, you know, so–so Miss Lyons will reach out to them and just kind of give them some

comfort and just kind of alleviate some of that stress level. So that's also happened. And a lot of our students are, are very high

achieving, you know, so it's and they want to do the best they can. And often times, you know, they also like us, you know, the teachers and adults we we struggle with technology. Some of the students struggle

with technology too, and then with that they're unable to complete a certain assignment. They really get frustrated. But fortunately, you know, our teachers are very flexible and they reach out to these students

on the individual basis and really help them, you know, figure out the technical difficulties and we're able to help them. But you know, so is the stress come and go, you know, we are dealing with something you

can't do right away, you know, along comes with the stress. But, you know, we try to problem solve, we try to, you know, offer everything we can to to alleviate that. And with that, you know, the stress level

will come, you know, go down also. So. Great. So can you talk about the situations with the teachers? Do you have everyone keep their job?

And is there things that you have to worry about for the teachers' job situations? No, thankfully, everyone is keeping their jobs. You know, we don't have to lay off any.

We didn't need to, you know, let anyone go. So that's the fortunate part. So that, that's all I have to say about that. So moving on to a little bit about yourself.

As the principal and also, I guess as in a family— with like your loved ones. How have your relationship during this pandemic with your loved ones change?

It really strengthened my significant other. She's also in education, and– and so we often talk about, "Hey what are yours schools you know experiencing? And this is how my school is dealing with this."

And vice versa we kind of just very much exchange you know, our our our thoughts and ideas. So that, you know, after work, I guess it's a, it's really great knowing that– that she knows what I'm dealing with,

and I know exactly what she has to go through. So that that's very, it works out great. Great. So what do you find out yourself doing more when you're staying at home more?

What do I find out myself doing more? Say what are your top three stay-home activities nowadays? Activities? Answering emails, answering emails, and answering emails.

Are you talking about at work or you know, my– my own private time? Yeah, like our kind of life structure and time management has completely changed. What has been

your most like, yeah, like, time consuming activity? It's, I have to say, it's the virtual meeting, and then followed by closely, followed by, you know, the email. Because, you know, we're not in the brick-and-mortar

school. So it's not like I can just walk out, walk down the hallway and just, you know, start talking to my staff and we all meet very quickly. You know, like, we— I, as I recall, it's just every

day it's you know, virtual meeting after virtual virtual meeting. And then, you know, with different grade level teachers was, you know, my admin team, making plans and you know, just updating and follow up on how each class is

doing. And then also, you know, I am, you know, kind of just wanted to participate in virtual lessons too. So often, you know, I really do have by multiple computers going on, on one hand, I'm meeting with a certain group

teacher, you know, and a different computer is you know, in a classroom I also want to participate and see what you know, how lessons are going on in a virtual environment.

And occasionally I will, you know, pause the meeting, or turn off the camera and I will say, "hi," and greeted students and just really trying to be involved in being multiple places at the same time. I guess in a way it's a blessing because, you know, in virtual space, you can, you

know, be at different places at the same time. But also with that, is that everybody is you know, communicating in email, right, so, I there

will send you your one question emails often, you know, you're answering hundreds of emails, just different inquiries. And so I find myself you know, after a long day of, you know, virtual meetings, you know, five o'clock and then you know, my second jo— I joke about

this, like my second job, it really is the same job; but the second part of my job begins about five, six o'clock in the evening because that after those that virtual meeting, then I can sit down and start seeing oh okay, we know what's

going on. Email me with what question and then I start responding. And with that it, it makes the work day you know, very long. But no complaint though it's just you know, I understand this is, you know,

what needs to be done as a principal. And I'm very happy to do it. So I guess that's just what my life looks like, you know, during this pandemic.

I see. So you're working more than usual? Absolutely, yes. So talking about what has been happening, like, more recently, and as an, I guess, Asian American in

this country, we also have experienced a lot of different things through this pandemic, and as we have seen on the news— and I'm not sure if this happened to you personally in any way— that we've been

experiencing more like racial segregation, and people are being like, a little bit... racist, I would say, by calling the "China virus" or "Kung-flu," like what do you think, as Asian Americans we can do in this

type of scenario? It's really really hard to you know, be on the both side really, you know, on one hand as Asian American you know, I feel saddened by you know, I guess getting

called, "Okay you guys are the reason for this pandemic." On the other hand, I mean, I can relate with the fear the frustration of, of the, I guess, different ethnicity of people different ethnicities, saying that, "Okay, my, you

know, it— this pandemic is sourcing from a, you know, region of the, you know, world. But I think understanding of each other— having an understanding, having that benefit of the doubt

will, will go a long way. And I often, you know, kind of reflect and think, you know, it's part of our job, really, as educator is to teach our child,

children, you know, and the community too about, you know, like, I guess seeing things from someone else's perspective. You know, it's easy to call making a call blame like, it's all your fault. But sometimes you

know it takes a lot of, you know, I guess education it takes someone to reflect and think, "okay, no, it's just because you know this, this pandemic come from one region. It's not all of Asian peoples fault.

It's not." I mean, we have to talk about using data and evidence to make a statement and not spreading rumor. So I think it takes everyone to take a step back and having that understanding of each other to, I guess, to

get through this some tough time together. Yeah, definitely. I feel like as an educator, it's great that we have someone like you to help our children get more perspectives in times like this.

Especially recently with the George Floyd's death causing the social movement, do you have anything you'd like to share? Um, do... It, it honestly I couldn't finish

the video. I mean, I saw the officer put his knee on George Floyd's neck and I cannot finish that. It was very difficult to watch.

And I think that it's very sad that and I do acknowledge that, you know, the different treatment of you know, different ethnicity, they do exist and it takes a lot to, to change that.

I, I wasn't prepared to talk about this, it'll it’ll it’s just a lot to talk about. But I guess in short, I, at the same time, I think

rioting, you know, is, is not right. I am, I guess I am glad to see more and more peaceful protests. I mean, I– I do follow the news on a daily basis and that what I

do see is, at first, there are some a lot of rioting, looting. But I think slowly, you know, we have, you know, more and more participation in those protests, and then a lot of peaceful protests, you know, and

then I think that's a, that's a positive, you know. I think using, you know, violent, violence is not a good way to solve a problem. But with more people participating in peaceful protest.

This will get more people's attention of the problem that that really exists in this society. So I guess I'll leave it at that. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

Yeah, this happened during the pandemic, although it's not directly related. And just wondering, looking into the future, we've all experienced the power of technology. How do you see the teaching model would

change? For example, whether this online virtual learning model would continue to sustain even after the pandemic? A hundred percent I mean, I personally I tell my teachers that regardless you know, when

or whether or not we go back to school, you know brick-and-mortar school in fall, this virtual learning will not go away. This is the virtual distance learning is here to stay. In one form or another.

And in many ways, this is kind of a future and it makes--and it can be a very effective, efficient way of delivering, you know, you know, instructions and education.

Number one, you know, once you recorded something, it's always there. So that flexibility of you know, your child, today, I'm not ready to learn this lesson, but you can always go back and review the video.

So that's number one. And then also, it's not, virtual learning is not limited by, you know, any tangible space or, you know, a number of students. For example, you can have in a traditional classroom, we have

22 students or so, but in a virtual classroom, you know, and assuming everyone is ready to be, you know, actively engaged, I mean, you can have 1000 students, and there's, it doesn't make any difference,

because this is all virtual. So, you know, you can, like I guess with distance learning, you can impact very many people in a very small, small amount of time and not using a lot of

resources. Not to mention, you can quickly link whatever, you know, information that's already online. So, this is what I, you know, tell my teachers that, you know, definitely take advantage of all these training classes and get

proficient at, you know, delivering instructions on the, you know, a virtual platform because this is going to benefit their career, you know, down the road.

Absolutely, and seeing the next generation being so attached to technology in a way, do you have any thoughts about any, say danger to technology— being children being so attached to it?

We really do have concern about that, you know, we have parents and even students complain that Mr. Ying, or teacher so and so, you know, I've been stuck in front of a computer for four or five hours.

And, you know, it's really hard on the eyes and, you know, or physically. And so I, you know, I think we need to be mindful of, you know, how much time we are asking our students, and, you know, maybe even

parents to engaging this, you know, screen, a little screen. And then, you know, I guess that's why we also want to provide other enrichment activities to disengage our students from the technology. I mean, we do

hear a lot of stories and say, you know, the parents, they actually have more family bond– bonding time that they would take morning, walk after afternoon walk just so that they can, you know, disengage from

the, you know, computer screen. Yeah. That's all of my questions. Do you have anything else you'd like to share before we go?

Now I just want to, you know, express my appreciation. Thank you. It's an honor and a pleasure to, you know, to interview with you and to be consider. And then, you know, to have a conversation about,

you know, my life and, you know, professional life during this pandemic time. Thank you for your contribution. And we were very lucky to be able to— yeah, to have a principal that is so organized and well-thought.

And thank you for taking care of the children. My pleasure. Thank you so much.