Week 3 - Lawrence Liu

Lawrence Liu

Week 3

A01

In “Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation of Hmong Americans”, Kaozong Mouvangsou delves into the flaws of the American education system for people of color. There is a consensus, in the Hmong community as well, that education has a high correlation with financial stability. Yet, the education system alienates people of color from their cultural roots. In my 3 years being back, I feel that America is less of cultural melting pot and to succeed you have to assimilate into the dominant culture. As the interviewees recounted, they felt alienated as they were the only one or two minorities in a class of Caucasians. Their text materials also did little to bolster their understanding. One example about the Vietnam War barely mentioned the Hmong people. In more extreme scenarios, their culture is simply referred to as a "primitive, mostly illiterate tribal group". On a broader scale, the American education system appears as extremely ethno-centric and does little to provide a well rounded education in regards to culture and international relations.

Questions: Why is the American education so ethno-centric?

Reference:

Maps of The World, According to Some Americans [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2017, from https://exploringnorthcentralandsouthamerica.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/mapofworld4.jpg

Mouavangsou, K. N. 2016. Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation of Hmong Americans. Retrieved October 2, 2017.