Week 2

Joshua Vandermeyde

Week 2

Section A03

This week’s reading, Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation of Hmong Americans, Kaozong N. Mouavangsou explores how the Hmong people are marginalized and miseducated within the education system. She begins by saying how in the Hmong community, children are pushed to succeed in their schooling, because the perception is that this is the way to a financially stable life. She juxtaposes this idea that education is essential to a good life in America with the idea that an American education could be detrimental to Hmong youth. According to Mouavangsou, through a reduction in bilingualism, Hmong youth could experience problems with self identity which could lead to divides and miseducation within their community. This divide is also felt from certain stigmas and stereotypes associated with Hmong males. Because Hmong males are perceived to not do as well in school as their female counterparts, the ones who do excel are sometimes ostracized from the boys who fit into the stereotype.

Along with the social problems with American education for the Hmong, there is the omittance of Hmong history within the education system. From her own experience, Mouavangsou describes how Hmong culture was predominantly absent from her education except for the “no written language” soundbite and how it was many years before she fully explored her preconceived misconceptions about the Hmong perpetuated by the education system. This is a perfect example of what Mouavangsou called “White America”. Her experience in Washington D.C. seems to be emblematic of the feeling of exclusion many minorities go through when learning American history as described by her visit to the Vietnam Memorial where there was no mention of her Hmong culture even though it was such a pivotal time for her people. Mouavangsou makes an excellent point about this when she writes, “The educational system is constructed to foster the perception that America is great. However, constructing America as great has been done at the expense of devaluing other cultures. This creates a paradox, as it is actually all of these cultures which have come together, and thus made and continue to make America, America.” We are taught in grade school that America is a “melting pot” of different cultures and people, but this is not represented in our education and how we are taught history.

This image is the cover of the program for the play that popularized the term “Melting Pot” when referring to America. It is about an immigrant who comes to America, and looks forward to a world free of ethnic divisions and hatred.

Question:

What can be done to fix the problems of education in the Hmong community?

References:

Mouavangsou, K. N. (2016). The Mis-Education of the Hmong in America (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Davis).

The Melting Pot (play). (2017, April 04). Retrieved April 09, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Melting_Pot_(play)