Week 2
Sec A03
Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation Of Hmong Americans
This week's reading Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation Of Hmong Americans was written by our TA, Kaozong Mouavangsou, drawing from her research regarding six Hmong families and her own personal experiences with the U.S. educational system and with her community as a Hmong American. In her piece, Kaozong comments on how the educational institution creates what she calls "public spaces of division" by dividing the Hmong students through classroom placements and tracking. On the other hand, the stereotypical idea of Hmong daughters excelling in education as opposed to Hmong sons can lead to division within Hmong communities, or what Kaozong calls "private spaces of division", with the youth who effectively navigate through the educational system feeling isolated among their own Hmong peers. In relation to Hmong history, Kaozong states that our educational system fails to "fully communicate their experiences, their culture,
and their achievements", as they did so with African Americans (p. 21), which hinders Hmong Americans' understanding of their own identity.
While reading this essay, I couldn't help but relate it to my own experience as a first generation Taiwanese American. Having moved to the U.S. when I was eight years old, I did not have much knowledge of Taiwanese history, so it was natural that I was particularly curious about Taiwanese history. However, I would come to find out that none of my history textbooks would answer these questions that I had in my mind. Because I knew that I couldn't sit around waiting for these questions to be answered in my westernized history classes, I did my own research and learned about my country's history through other outlets. Through that, I gained a sense of self-identity regarding my cultural background that I would not have had otherwise. Thus, I agree with Kaozong's evaluation of the U.S. educational system in that it is important to be inclusive -- not secretly inclusive -- but actually, outright inclusive with the histories of different ethnicities that create our "melting pot" of a country.
Question: The passing of California's AB 2016 required the development of ethnic studies in California's public schools shows an improvement in the inclusion of all ethnicities in the public school system. What are some of the steps that can be taken to continue this momentum towards improvement?
References:
Mouvangsou, K. N. Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Mis-Education of Hmong Americans.
Posted by Are La | 116sc. (n.d.). Oct 29 Campaign Update & Report Back - at Santee. Retrieved April 09, 2017, from http://www.ethnicstudiesnow.com/oct_29_campaign_update_report_back_at_santee
While reading this essay, I couldn't help but relate it to my own experience as a first generation Taiwanese American. Having moved to the U.S. when I was eight years old, I did not have much knowledge of Taiwanese history, so it was natural that I was particularly curious about Taiwanese history. However, I would come to find out that none of my history textbooks would answer these questions that I had in my mind. Because I knew that I couldn't sit around waiting for these questions to be answered in my westernized history classes, I did my own research and learned about my country's history through other outlets. Through that, I gained a sense of self-identity regarding my cultural background that I would not have had otherwise. Thus, I agree with Kaozong's evaluation of the U.S. educational system in that it is important to be inclusive -- not secretly inclusive -- but actually, outright inclusive with the histories of different ethnicities that create our "melting pot" of a country.
Question: The passing of California's AB 2016 required the development of ethnic studies in California's public schools shows an improvement in the inclusion of all ethnicities in the public school system. What are some of the steps that can be taken to continue this momentum towards improvement?
References:
Mouvangsou, K. N. Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Mis-Education of Hmong Americans.
Posted by Are La | 116sc. (n.d.). Oct 29 Campaign Update & Report Back - at Santee. Retrieved April 09, 2017, from http://www.ethnicstudiesnow.com/oct_29_campaign_update_report_back_at_santee
No comments:
Post a Comment