The day before the Smithsonian program, Elvie and I picked up the 5-member Gilles entourage from their Dupont Circle hotel. During the 30-minute drive to Manila Cafe to meet with some members of the Filipino American community, she recounted her recent trip to the Philippines. What saddens her the most, she says, is not only the general appearance of deterioration in the city of Manila. More depressing, she says, is the falling literacy rate among students.

Her observation matches recent reports about the inadequacies of English instruction in the Philippine educational system and how this problem is shutting out Filipinos from pursuing higher studies, from competing in the job market, or simply from pursuing an active social life. As we continued our exchanges, we were reminded that a large batch of Filipino teachers have arrived in DC. Prince Georges County has been recruiting large numbers of them within the last two years. We wondered about the connection to brain drain, the flight of the best and the brightest, leaving Filipino children behind in classrooms already bereft of basic resources.

Following dinner, both authors were peppered with questions. Aruego, with his 81 published books, which he illustrated himself, got the lion’s share of the audience’s interest and curiosity. His drawing demonstrations the next day were entertaining as well, dazzling both adults and kids. The little boy in me leaped out as I watched Aruego doodle with such ease on a flip chart.

Gilles’ insights, on the other hand, were illuminating. Curious to learn more, I googled her name and found a National Education Association interview shortly after /Willie Wins/ came out. In this article, she describes /Willie Wins/ as a many-layered picture book: “On the surface, it could be just a story about a boy’s decision to trust his father. If you look deeper, the dynamics become more complicated: How does Willie feel about his heritage? What is the true meaning of victory? What does the coconut shell represent?"

She writes books, she says, because Filipino culture is so rich and our history so complex that Filipino Americans deserve to be understood and appreciated like any other minority group. She notes that there are many strong voices speaking of African American and Hispanic experiences, but fewer Asian Americans and Native Americans. “The more writers telling their stories the better," she says. “In order for tolerance to become part of our lives, exposure to what’s different should be so pervasive that it ceases to be  alien, different, forbidding."

Her advice on how to encourage young people of color to write Children’s books and books for young adults: “First, we have to get them, physically and emotionally. We have to go to where they live and gather, and, particularly in the case of Asians, eat. Young people today are so media savvy they have learned how to sift through and discard messages quickly. And there are differences in the way groups communicate. Some cultures are more comfortable with the spoken rather than written word. There is also the issue of literacy: for young people to write, they must read, and the better their reading skills the more they will want to attempt work of their own. Experimentation is good: exposing them to different kinds of writing and genres provides more choices and they will most likely find something that clicks. Many young people are attracted to writing, but they often need a catalyst, and the more personal the connection the better."

We are grateful to the Smithsonian’s Asian American Studies Program for telling “The Filipino American Story” through events like this, bringing out to the American public Filipino American authors Aruego and Gilles. Appropriately, their presentations were held at the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theatre.

Next up: ‘Contemporary Issues Facing Filipino Americans_" on July 28, “Creativity of Filipino Americans in Video, Film and Cinema” on October 20, and ‘Filipino American Literary Writers" on December 8.

 To those who have yet to see the photo exhibit, “Singgalot: the Ties that Bind,” do so now on or before August 20. After that, it travels to different cities across the U.S. As a send-off, the Filipino American community plans a “Final Tour’ on Sunday, August 20, 3pm at the Dillon Ripley Concourse. The event is free, but reservation is required.

E-mail your questions/comments to jonmele@aol.com.