Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu taught in Chicago Public Schools for 25 years, and she created the first Asian American literature core course in the country (as in, it counts as a senior’s English credit, not just an elective). She’s also the co-founder of House of Jaya, a fusion fashion brand that upcycles sarees and gives back to girls’ education in India.
We talked about how that course came to be (spoiler: a student nudged her), the words for things we were all living before we had words for them, what a clothing brand has to do with any of this, and what she wants teachers to do differently. Like, tomorrow.
In this episode
- How Julie wrote the first Asian American literature core course in the country on her own, and got it approved on the first try
- Why her students had the feeling but not the words: the model minority myth, code switching, perpetual foreigner
- How classroom conversations about dual identity turned into House of Jaya
- Turning the last saree her late father bought her into a jumpsuit
- The Illinois TEAACH Act, and what she tells teachers who don’t know where to start
- Names, the spokesperson problem, and the oral history project
The course that didn’t exist
For years, Julie watched colleagues build African American and Latin American literature courses… and said nothing. She didn’t think she could fill a classroom. Then a student asked if she was going to do one for Asian American literature, and that was the push. The pilot started in 2014 with one class. By year three she had four.
“Some of them were learning terminology for the first time. They understood the feeling but didn’t have the term for it before our class started.”
Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu
“They’re words for your life. But you didn’t know you were doing it.”
Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu
From the classroom to House of Jaya
Julie couldn’t find clothes that felt like all of her (one piece in the corner of a department store, if that). So she started House of Jaya. Jaya means victory in Sanskrit, and the idea is that you get to wear all your identities on your sleeve.
“It occurred to me it would be really nice to have an authentic one-stop shop where I could just find this all in one place. That actually stemmed from my classroom — why can’t we do that every day and not just in my classroom?”
Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu
The upcycling piece is personal. Her dad passed away from ALS, and the last saree he bought her was, according to her mom, out of style. So Julie made it into a jumpsuit.
“This is sentimental to me. I’m just gonna modernize it.”
Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu
A portion of every sale goes to the Milaan Foundation, which works on girls’ education in India. And on Instagram, she teaches Asian American terminology right alongside the clothes.
What she wants teachers to do
Illinois now requires every public school to teach a unit of Asian American history (the TEAACH Act), so a lot of teachers are suddenly teaching something nobody ever taught them. Julie trains them. Her advice:
“Don’t assume that your students know their own history and background. So many South Asian American students grow up without ever seeing their culture reflected in what they’re taught. So they end up learning about their own identity the same way everyone else does — or not at all.”
Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu
- Ask students to say their own names (more on pronouncing students’ names correctly)
- Don’t make Asian American students the class spokesperson for their culture
- Try an oral history project: every student interviews a relative, and the class looks for what overlaps
“Then someone who isn’t South Asian says: I resonate with that story because my parent did something similar. That’s when it becomes cultural appreciation rather than othering.”
Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu
Not in Illinois? She recommends starting with SAAPRI’s resources for educators, wherever you teach.
Links from the episode
- House of Jaya (and @houseofjayalabel on Instagram)
- Milaan Foundation
- Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu on Women’s Media Center SheSource
- The Illinois TEAACH Act (ISBE fact sheet)
- SAAPRI: South Asian History for Educators
- How teachers can support South Asian American students
- More on schools getting it right: my conversation with Saloni Nahar
Subscribe to The Brown Voices Project Podcast wherever you listen (Apple, Spotify, and YouTube), and read the book: Brown Voices: South Asian American Experiences in Schools.
— Punita
Questions
Who is Dr. Julie Thomas Achettu?
A Chicago-based educator, curriculum designer, and education consultant with an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction, who taught in Chicago Public Schools for 25 years. She created the first Asian American literature core course in the country and co-founded the fusion fashion brand House of Jaya.
What is the Asian American literature course she created?
A one-year core English course for Chicago Public Schools that counts as a senior English credit. Julie wrote the curriculum on her own, it was approved by the Chicago Board of Education on the first try, and the pilot launched in 2014 with one class; by year three she taught four.
What is House of Jaya?
A fusion fashion brand, named for the Sanskrit word for victory, that offers original fusion clothing, upcycles clients’ sarees into custom pieces, and donates a portion of every sale to the Milaan Foundation, which supports girls’ education in India. Julie also uses its social media to teach Asian American terminology.
What is the Illinois TEAACH Act?
The Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act, an Illinois law requiring every K–12 public school to teach a unit of Asian American history. Julie now trains teachers who are new to the subject.
What does Julie recommend teachers do?
Don’t assume students know their own history; ask students to say their own names; don’t treat Asian American students as cultural spokespeople; and try an oral history project where every student interviews a relative and the class finds shared themes. Outside Illinois, SAAPRI’s TEAACH Act resources are a good place to start.
