How the teaching of art and language helps knit together diverse SoCal populations
Phung Huynh is hopeful for the future.
As an art professor at Los Angeles Valley College, she is constantly inspired by the next generation. “I feel so lucky for that,” she says. “There’s an exciting new group of artists coming up right now.”
As an educator with previous experience at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design and Scripps College in Claremont, Huynh continues to encourage budding talent. “I’m getting older,” she says. “I need to give a platform for younger and emerging artists. I try to do that as best as I can and support others.”
One way is through language. L’Héritage Français in La Habra, the International School of Orange and The Language Academy at Aronoff Preschool in Irvine, not to mention the Irvine Chinese School and Chinese Cultural Center, are just a few places in our region offering immersive language classes for younger students. Children spend their school days conversing fully in French, Mandarin, Italian and Spanish. Circle time and songs are taught in foreign languages.