Week 2

Victor Martinez
Section 002
Week 2

Kaozong’s paper was very fascinating and examines a narrative that many people find themselves experiencing. In it, she took a very close look at the ways in which the US education attempts to keep the history of the Hmong people out of the history books. It is unfair to deny a people their history, and especially in this case. The repercussions of the K-12’s handling of history classes will continue to be felt for years to come. There are many people whose lives were affected by the Vietnam War, and the least that could be done is to allow them to be mentioned in the history books.

This is a problematic trend that continues on in academia, where the focus is placed mainly on Anglo-European experiences with little regard for other people who may have been involved during events. This erasure of a people’s history is especially shameful, because it strips them of their agency and is ultimately dehumanizing.

There is also the subject of the way that adapting to American life seems to drive people further from their communities. The USA wants people who will assimilate to their way of life, and attempts push them away from their own lives.  This creates a divide among the communities impacted, which leads to feelings of isolation.

Question: “Why are schools so opposed to teaching students the histories of their people? Wouldn’t it just make more sense to include them, so that students can be aware of these things?”

References

Mouavangsou, K. (2017). Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation Of Hmong Americans.

What is History [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://share.nanjing-school.com/8humanities/what-is-history-2/