(upbeat music) - Hey, everyone, Steve Adubato with my colleague, the senior correspondent for "One-on-One," Jacqui Tricarico.

Hey, Jacqui, we are celebrating teachers all this week.

This is National Teacher Appreciation Week on "One-on-One."

We celebrate our teachers because?

- Well, we should be celebrating our teachers every single day.

Let's face it, Steve, our kids are with our teachers more than they are at home with us, and they're just such an important role.

They play such an important role in our kids' lives every single day, and there are so many amazing teachers across our state doing great work, not just in the classroom, but outside the classroom.

And this whole week just really pays tribute to that, to the great teachers across our state doing things for our students, for our kids that are going to shape the rest of their lives.

- So, Jacqui and I down at Atlantic City toward the end of 2025, the NJEA, New Jersey Education Association, to disclose one of our long-time supporters of public broadcasting.

Jacqui and I talked to all sorts of leaders in the world of education, all sorts of educators who are making a difference.

This is Teacher Appreciation Week right here on "One-on-One."

Let's check it out.

(upbeat music) - Hi, I am Jacqui Tricarico on location at the NJEA Convention here in Atlantic City.

And so pleased to be joined by Shihong Zhang, who's the founder and board chair of New Jersey Chinese Teachers Association.

And you're also here as a design team ambassador for the NJEA consortium.

So great to have you with us.

- Thank you, I'm glad to be here.

- Well, tell us first about your own personal journey to becoming an educator.

Because you came here from China about 30 years ago.

Why did you know teaching was your calling?

- Teaching is my whole life.

So when I was a student, I admire my teachers.

So when I graduate from a college in China, I immediately become the teacher.

Then after I work four years and go to the education as a Master degree to further study education, then I come to America.

And I never thought about having second career.

So that's why, you know, being the education for years almost in my whole life.

- Yeah, yeah, you were born with it, it feels like.

- I think so, I made up for that, I think.

- Yes, yes.

So tell, I wanna go back to 2021 because that was at the height of the pandemic.

What we were seeing across our state and across the nation were a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans because of the pandemic.

But you took that time to look at it as an opportunity and you wanted to create the New Jersey Chinese Teacher Association.

Why did you feel that was so important?

- I don't think I wanted to create it, it's just a call.

So we need it because Chinese actually, in every school is a kind of a small program, you know, so Spanish, French is much bigger than Chinese, but during the pandemic, like people saying the Chinese virus, then some, you know, kind of hate.

So most of school only have one Chinese teacher.

They're afraid, they feel like helpless.

Nobody help them, they just no friends.

So we get together, should we support each other, right?

So we start doing that.

Now we say, why we not gonna have our own organization to support our ourself?

That's how the idea was started.

And actually it's very interesting, it started in Bell Lab.

- Oh, Bell Labs, yes.

- Yeah, I think that's a place for innovation.

- Yes it is.

- We have the discussion there.

We have the idea we applied, that's how the New Jersey Chinese Association, NJCTA was born.

- How many members now and what has been the reaction from your colleagues?

- At 2021, so we have three people, you know, have that conversation.

Then we have like 17, almost 20 people have a further discussion about that.

Then by September we registered, we have 28 people, but right now we have general group have 200 people, but almost 100 paid members.

- Okay, and what kind of ideas are you bouncing off each other?

How are you using this association to really lean on each other?

- I want this association for us, for the teachers initially.

You know, we want have a platform to exchange ideas, you know, teaching materials and get to know each other.

And later we also find out, you know, it's our responsibility to reach out the community, let the community understand better.

So we know each other, we will, you know, be better to connected.

And later we expanded it to, you know, students learning the language.

So we must include students.

So we also provide a platform for students, have a competition, have a exchange program.

So now we are fully expanded with professional development, the student youth leadership and you know, other connections in the state-wise and nation-wise.

- That's great, now, like you said, often you hear students and when I was growing up it was, you had either Spanish or French to learn as a second language in high school or middle school.

How prevalent now is the Chinese language being offered in our schools across the state?

I mean, do we need to offer it more?

(people laughing) - You know, I think during the 2010, something like this year, the Chinese really, because Chinese economy really soared then a lot of people want to learn Chinese.

So no matter college or community or public schools, a lot of schools started to offer Chinese.

I think that really helped to bridge between the two great countries then get to know each other culture, understand, then exchange a lot of stuff going on.

But after the pandemic, actually the Chinese program, it's getting shrink a lot because of the, you know, political, economic issues.

And right now actually facing some challenges because everything, the budget cut and the Chinese is a smaller program and also due to the political issues and stuff.

So actually, some schools are facing the problem and as association, we are trying to support them.

Try to help them.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Definitely for the community.

I think diversity is the key for America, right?

So that's a country, like everybody seek the freedom, come here, you know, want to be respectful to each other.

So there's nowhere in the world, any other country like American and really tolerated for all kind of the cultures and appreciate each other.

I know there are some, hey, some thing it's not perfect, but it's better than anywhere else.

So I do think Chinese is needed and China's culture have 5,000 years culture, it be 5,000 years, must something great then can last a lot long, right?

Should we have that curiosity to find out what that is, what we can learn from.

- Yeah, yeah, and I love what you're doing with the association to make sure that's happening.

- And lastly, I know AI, you're passionate about that.

There's a lot of controversy around, is AI beneficial for our students?

How is it hurting them?

How have you seen into and how can we integrate it into classrooms effectively and making sure that we're also keeping our students safe?

- You know what?

That's a really good question.

AI is a such hot topic in the world right now.

So actually, I'm doing my EDD at Penn State University on AI and instructional design.

I think AI is a change the world as we know, you know, for school curriculum, we involve a school subject matter teachers, students, AI change all four common places.

You know, the school, all schools starting to develop AI policies and if any textbook without AI, that's not modern, you know, curriculum.

And for teachers, I have a conversation with some teachers say, oh, I'm gonna retire.

I cannot deal with this technology.

I said, no, you not gonna retire now because with AI, will make your life so much easier.

Think about that teacher before, when we make the worksheet, we spend so much time, right, to format it, to do the PowerPoint, to add the picture, decide the font.

Now you just tell the AI, they do for you, right?

- Yeah, it's helping save a lot of time 'cause we know teachers spend a lot more time outside of the classroom than they do in the classroom preparing and all this.

- So that's really can release a lot of burden for teacher preparation time and for students, we know the student always want personalized learning.

We never can do that because with one teacher for 20 students, now you have AI, AI can be the personal student, like a personal individual practice partner, right?

So then your teacher, you just guided the student, you know, how to do it.

Your life is much enjoyable, why you retired?

No, no retired.

(person laughing) - Telling all teachers don't retire.

Use the resources to your benefit.

- Yeah, this is the golden age of a educator.

- Yeah.

- So I'm very excited.

So my research topic is that use AI to improve world language teaching and learning with the instructional design.

- Well, look forward to hearing more about what you learned during that court, during that schooling that you're doing at Penn State.

Good luck with all of that.

And thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

- Thank you.

Yes, they have the workshop.

A lot of people was there, it's very interesting, yeah.

- Wonderful, well thank you for joining us here at the convention, we appreciate it.

- Thank you.

- For Steve Adubato and myself, Thanks for watching, we'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by NJ Best, New Jersey’s five-two-nine college savings plan.

NJM Insurance Group.

Stockton University.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

PSE&G.

Valley Bank.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

And by Englewood Health.

Promotional support provided by NJ.Com.

And by NJBIA.

- The EJI Excellence in Medicine Awards was established in 1939, shining a light on New Jersey's health care leaders.

Current awards include the Excellence in Medicine, Research, Medical, Education and Community Service.

EJI also funds annual scholarships to medical, dental, pharmaceutical and physician assistant students throughout the state.

Learn more at EJIAwards.org.