ASA2 Section A01
Week 3 Reflection
Response to "Complicating the Image of Model Minority Success: A Review of Southeast Asian American Education" by Bic Ngo and Stacey J. Lee
This article by Bic Ngo and Stacey J. Lee reiterate the importance of acknowledging the diversity within the Asian American category. We are not a single group with a single shared history; we are dynamic, different, not defined by simple "Asian" stereotypes that constantly assert that we are all academically successful. Rather, there are distinct differences between those who have been here for generations and those who immigrate now. In context of the article, the umbrella stereotypes of the academically successful Asian American model minority is contrasted with the reality that many Southeast Asian groups such as the Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laos, and Hmong are both defined by this stereotype yet also take their place outside of this discourse as they are implicated in the world of "high school dropouts, gangsters, and welfare dependents." These obviously conflict with the accepted notion of the model minority myth as one cannot simply compare the situations that two different families with completely different histories. Even outside of the group of Southeast Asians people face advantages and disadvantages based on their race, class, and ethnicity. We are not all "whiz kids." Therefore, the discourse on model minority success must take this into account and be completely invalidated by the fact that not all Asian Americans have this success. Unequal opportunity continues to exist within Southeast Asian communities that necessitate federal assistance and which cannot and should not be neglected because of the role the government had to play in the movement of Southeast Asian refugees to the U.S.
Question: How can Asian Americans rid themselves of this false model minority stereotype?
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