Cathy Bao Bean

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Cathy Bao Bean, a writer and educator, is the author of The Chopsticks-Fork Principle: A Memoir and Manual (We Press, 2002). She lives in Blairstown, New Jersey, with her husband, artist Bennett Bean.

The Chopsticks-Fork Principle, a humorous but poignant memoir, recounts Bao Bean's experiences as a Chinese immigrant growing up in the United States. Bao Bean uses the story of her own immigrant experience to explain how to reconcile the expectations of families and society at large. She also explains how to raise a child in a respectful context while also choosing the “path less traveled.”

Bao Bean was born Bao Kwei-yee in Kweilin, China, on August 27, 1942, to Sandys and Dora Bao. Her father, Sandys Bao, represented the Republic of China at the International Sugar Council of the United Nations; he also served as Vice President of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation. Cathy Bao Bean has two sisters, Bette Bao Lord and Jean Bao.

When Bao Bean's father was sent to New York for a temporary assignment in 1946, he insisted on his family accompanying him. Her mother, however, thought that only the eldest, eight-year-old Bette, would benefit from the trip. When four-year-old Cathy heard of the plans, she packed her doll suitcase and parked in front of the door until her mother relented. The baby of the family, Jean, was left behind in the care of relatives to spare her the ordeal of travel. When Mao’s “bamboo curtain” fell in 1949, the four Baos remained in the United States and the youngest finally joined them in 1962. (Bao Bean's older sister, Bette Bao Lord has recounted the youngest sister's story in the book Eighth Moon).

Bao Bean's first taste of the American educational system was at Public School #8 in Brooklyn, New York. When Bao Bean started school she could speak no English. By 1949, when the Bao family moved to Elmwood, New Jersey, Bao Bean started "to think in English and forget in Chinese," as she notes in The Chopsticks-Fork Principle. The family finally settled in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Bao Bean received her B.A. in 1964 from Jackson College of Tufts University and her M.A. from Claremont Graduate College, Claremont, California in 1969. She was also awarded a Kent Fellowship, from the Danforth Foundation, 1965-67 and 1971-72.

Bao Bean taught philosophy at Montclair State College, Upper Monclair, New Jersey and at East Stroudsburg University, Pennsylvania in the 1980's and early 1990's. From 1968 to 1971, she taught at Jersey City State College.

More recently, she has lead diversity workshops and spoken on a wide range of issues at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Following the publication of The Chopsticks-Fork Principle, Bao Bean was featured on The Point with Mindy Todd, NPR Cape Cod; The Smoki Bacon Show, Boston; Under the Radar with Ron Saxon NPR NJ & PA; Many Voices, Many Visions, 13WHAM-TV Rochester. She was also interviewed on CNN, WYPL radio, as well as on NBC, ABC and Fox television affiliates.

Bao Bean is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Claremont Graduate University School of the Arts and Humanities; the Board of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities; and a member of The Star-Ledger Scholarship Committee. She is also an active member of the Society for Values in Higher Education and a founding member of the Ridge and Valley Conservancy.

Bao Bean is the business manager and accountant for artist Bennett Bean. In addition, she teaches aerobics as a service to the Frelinghuysen Township Recreation Committee, New Jersey.

Bao Bean and her husband Bennett Bean have a son, William Bao Bean.


Contents

[edit] Selected works

[edit] References

[edit] Quotes

  • "No father - especially an immigrant from China - says to his daughter, "Please, marry an artist."
  • "None of it has been painless. All of it has been fun, except the cooking."

[edit] External links

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