Week 2

Elizabeth Chang

Week 2

Section 1

“Hmong does not mean free: The Miseducation of Hmong Americans” by Kaozong Mouavangsou focuses on the lack of instruction about the Hmong culture and people in the US educational system, leading to misconceptions about them. It also points out that the American educational system is not prepared to teach students of color. The author states that she used education to try to break through the ideology of Hmong men being more capable than Hmong women, but then realized that miseducation was one of the most important factors of this effect in the Hmong culture.

Even though I am an international student, I can relate to what Mouavangsou wrote in her essay. I grew up in a small city in Chile, where there weren’t many Asians. The educational system there was also not adjusted to teach people from all ethnicities, but only to the ethnic majority—European descendants. Often times, there were pieces of writing in books that made me feel insecure about who I was because I am Asian. Due to how the general population was educated, there often were jokes and sayings that targeted specific ethnicities that were used in daily life. I am not saying that Chile is a racist country. What I am saying is that the Chilean educational system also has to be bettered so that it includes people from all cultures. The article written by Mouavangsou has helped me realize that there is a hole in the educational system of many countries concerning culture that needs to be filled.

Question: How can cultural education be improved in the US and/or in other countries?

References

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

Revision notes on Race and equal. (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2017, from http://www.s114478754.websitehome.co.uk/llwrevision_notes_on_race_and_equal.htm