ASA 2 Sect. 1
Blog 8
11/8/15
Andrew Thi is among the many Cambodian immigrants who are at risk of the deportation due to a past felonies in their youth. Despite the criminal activity Thi committed, he has potential for achieving higher education, but who is to blame for pushing this aspiring scholar in and out of school. Based on the documentaries I've watched Sentenced Home and Pass or Fail Cambodia Town, both films talked about how living in poor neighborhoods affected the Cambodian community. Many of the people interviewed in the films come form broken homes and tough neighborhoods that pushes minorities against each other for resources, usually in the formation of gangs.
Thi is one of the prime examples of how the school system has failed him. He had the intelligence to reach higher areas of education but school failed to provide any counselling services or retention programs. Although he believes all the choices he has made was his fault, I believe it partly society's fault since marginalized groups like Southeast Asians are often overlooked because of the model minority myth and due to this, Thi got caught in a cycle of crime and education.
How can we bring to attention of the necessity of retention programs for students coming from communities at risk?
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