066: Chinese Immigrant: I have seen Common Core Before, in Communist China

The Great Education Struggle

Hundreds of thousands have been fighting the official federal takeover of public, private, and in large part, homeschool curriculum through the Common Core State Initiative. Many of them see the similarities between the 20th-century totalitarian government schools systems and CCSS. But often they are dismissed as using rhetoric, and living in the cold Cold War. But what would you say, if someone who lived in China under Mao Tse-tung rule, who completed her education in China and said, yes Common Core is the same standards and expectations Moa demanded of her and her classmates?

Yes, in fact, Lily Tang Williams has seen Common Core before! It was the same education program she and her countrymen were forced to endure, and it has cost them and their country dearly. Tune in this week, as we discuss Mrs. Willaiam's Chinese education roots and experiences and how they compare to what she sees in Common Core.

Lily Tang Williams

Born in the wild west of China, Sichuan province near Tibet, and raised with her two sibling brothers by illiterate working-class parents, Lily grew up facing poor living conditions, food rationing, political, and social chaos. In this tumultuous environment, she quickly developed both street smarts and compassion as well as the values of perseverance and hard work. At 17, Lily graduated at the top of her high school class and placed near the top of the national exams (held once each year for three eight-hour days). She did well enough that she was only one of three students from her province of 80 million people to be accepted to Fudan University law school that year, one of China's top five universities.

Lily received her university law degree at Fudan University in Shanghai, practiced law and joined the Law faculty at Fudan. She came over to the U.S. in 1988 to earn a Master's degree at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Social Work with a minor in Administration and Planning.

After her Master's degree, Lily worked with troubled youth from dysfunctional families in Ivanson Memorial Hospital and Wyoming Home Health Care in Laramie, Wyoming as a social worker. Later, she worked for corporations in Hong Kong and the United States as a corporate executive. In particular, as "China Operations Manager" for PREL Inc., directly reporting to it's president, she was responsible for the overall management of China-based office performing Wal-Mart manufacturer certification, quality control, and inspection. In that capacity, she also acted as a liaison between Wal-Mart’s exclusive world buying agent at the time, PREL Inc., and vendors in China and Wal-Mart buyers.

Lily became a Colorado small business woman and entrepreneur in 2000. She is currently the President and founder of ACM International Corporation, a consulting and trading firm in Colorado specializing in China-related business services. She and her husband John also own and manage their rental properties in Colorado and Nevada.