“You are Unwise to Lower Your Defenses,” is fitting for this week’s readings because in this week’s readings it shows the audience that even though you can be secure in your position, if the patriarchy doesn’t need you; you will no longer be apart of academia. Also, if you go in blindly to education, the education system at work can feed you misinformation. When I read “Hmong Does Not Mean Free” I was defensive at first at the accusations and the points that the author was trying to make. I was taking in and thinking about what the author was laying out to the audience, I was questioning it and providing rebuttals to her points. It was not until I had read her whole chapter that I had understood what her points were. It was very interesting to see how the current and past U.S. education system has isolated the Hmong community, and I wanted to see more solutions for that problem. I thought that putting those who performed better in school in similar classes was normal and innocent; due to the fact that we are looking at academics and not ethnicity. But, if this way of running education (“Eurocentric”) is dissolving cultural ties of students of color then I believe in finding a different way to operate an education system that values education and cultural stability.
In “How to Leave Academia” I really liked the writing style that the author used. It seemed very relatable, it was like I was having a conversation with a person. I have to admit when she was talking about elitism due to degrees and positions in a university, I have experienced some of this. I feel entitled that I work in a lab and go to a good university sometimes, I have joked about it to my friends and we find it funny. I also connected with the author when she said that she thought she was too good for a job like a waitress, and that she failed. I feel the exact same way, there is nothing wrong with jobs such as being a waiter but I feel that I am trying to work hard now not become a person who has to be a waiter. This author was more than qualified to be a tenured professor, but if the powers at be do not want to pay; they hire temporary and spit on those who have worked hard to have a career in academia. One question that I had after reading this week’s readings is what are some solutions to better the U.S. education system? To relate this week’s readings to another piece of art, when I was reading the “Hmong Does Not Mean Free” I thought of the Vietnam war memorial in DC and how it was designed by Chinese-American artist in a minimalist style. It reminded me of this because the reading talks of the monuments and memorials in DC and how it did not reflect the current state of the population of today’s America.
References
Mouvangsou, Kaozong. “‘Hmong Does Not Mean Free.’” UC Davis Canvas Discovery, canvas.ucdavis.edu/courses/392140/files/folder/Weekly%20Readings/Week3?preview=6337681.
Neutill, Rani. “‘How to Leave Academia.’” UC Davis Canvas Discovery, canvas.ucdavis.edu/courses/392140/files/folder/Weekly%20Readings/Week3?preview=6337682.
https://images.app.goo.gl/on1ZbasSrwNVaquq8
No comments:
Post a Comment