Second Thought Project
反思計畫
©Wen-Li Chen 陳雯俐
About
⇌漢
The Second Thought Project (https://secondthoughtproject.com) is an ongoing learning journey focused on social justice. It offers notes, thoughts, reflections, conversations, and toolkits to support this journey.
The project is driven by the perspectives of being an educator, BIPOC, and a parent who believes in humanity. I aim to plant seeds of hope, change, dignity, and integrity, fostering a world of understanding and practicing social justice to create a peaceful life.
1
Introduction
2
Personal Equity Reflection
3
WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WHY DO I HAVE TO LEARN ABOUT IT?
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Five Tools / Strategies / Techniques
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Five Resources
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Preface7
During Work
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In My Head
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What is Microaggression?
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How to Have COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS With Students and Community as Educators?
11
How to Have COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS With Yourself?
12
Practice using a compass as a navigator to start a conversation and reflection
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Self-Reflection
14
Amy Chua
15
Amy Tan
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Writings between 2022 and 2024
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Ⅴ
Reflections
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Prologue
Why do I want to make this book and share it with you? I’m not a celebrity per se. I’m not a millionaire; I’m not an influencer on social media. I’m just a beginner learning about social justice as an educator and artist, and I continue to relearn and unlearn every day through reflection.
And why do you have to read this? You don’t have to, of course. But it may help you find the a-ha moment and drive you to continue fighting for what you believe is worth it.
It all started on the day I relocated myself to restart a new life, the day I was aware of being different than others on the new land because of my accent, my hair, my skin color, and my attitude, the day I became an immigrant and felt fear of being alone on the streets by myself, the day I thought I couldn’t control my own life, the day I became a mother, the day I saw the fire blew out of my house two blocks away when the riot happened in Twin Cities because of the murder of George Floyd while having a baby in my hand, the day that I was aware of how lucky I am to be here while homeless people are sleeping outside of my apartment, the day I was yelled at by a white male outside of my car on the driveway in the middle of traffic lights, the day I learned what social justice is.
I started to embrace myself to soak everything in, which began my healing process in the mess of everything happening around me, since I grew up as a multiracial woman. Does this sound familiar in your life?
And I’m aware of being privileged to have opportunities to learn more with the new knowledge, new languages, new words to say it, name it, to recognize, to be aware of why it’s so important to understand what social justice is and how it affects our lives, our society, and our education system.
I was shocked to learn that I had to pursue higher education to learn all of this, with tuition fees and enrollment costs, while that information should be open and transparent for everyone to read, reach out, and interact with.
Most importantly, I have realized how divided it is today in what information you can access, read, understand, and share within your network, community, and social circle. What if you can’t afford to do all this while you are still struggling to meet basic needs? What if you don’t have the luxury and precious time to read? And what if you get too strangled to choose a side?
I found that reading became my sanctuary, a place to find peace, to find balance, and to hope that, somehow, I would find the resonance and calling to bring a moment of Zen.
Yes. Reading. You need to know how to read, interpret, decipher, and think twice before you react. But what if some people don’t know how to read? And this is where education comes in. Education should be based on the principles of equity, humanity, fairness, and accessibility for all, free from economic and social barriers and bias.
More importantly, reading alone is not enough. Knowing how to think critically with multiple perspectives helps us make better decisions, show empathy, and develop compassion, understanding that everyone should be treated equally, regardless of religion, sex, gender, race, color, national origin, creed, disability, or economic status, based on the foundation of human rights.
I found the healing process when I decided to enroll in education studies again and came to understand what social justice is and why it’s essential in education and in our daily lives, through reflection in reading and writing.
Why do we need to address and understand what bias and racism are, and how do we practice and exercise anti-bias and anti-racism pedagogy on the principle and pillar of human rights and equity in general?
Overall, it helps us see and understand better and find common ground to pursue happiness and prosperity as equals. That’s why I want to share this with you: I believe we all deserve to be better, to be happy, and to be seen and heard equally.
Note:
Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings - they are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to all of us, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most fundamental - the right to life - to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty. (https://www.ohchr.org/en/what-are-human-rights)
I’m not better than you. You are not better than me.
I’m trying to find common ground to have a courageous conversation with you.“How to live with each other. Then one of the stumbling ones took pity on another and shared a blanket. A spark of kindness made a light. The light made an opening in the darkness. Everyone worked together to make a ladder.“
— Joy Harjo, Once The World Was Perfect, Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings© 2026 Wen-Li Chen 陳雯俐All Rights Reserved Website Manager: Wen-Li Chen
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