When I read “Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation Of
Hmong Americans”, it was the first time that I had personally even heard of the
hmong people. This reinforces the authors point that the hmong people have
largely been left out of history in the American education system. Throughout
my entire life, in all the history classes I have taken in high school and
college, where the Vietnam war was mentioned, I have never even heard the hmong
people being mentioned. As the author
notes, “The word “Hmong” is never mentioned in reference to the Vietnam War,
nor are Hmong referenced elsewhere in the curriculum guides.”. I can see how
this would lead to a cultural disconnect of the Hmong people with the American education
system. An often-heard adage is “History is written by the victors”, and I think
this is something important that all students should keep in mind when taking
any American History classes. All history classes offered to students in America
will inherently be biased, and potentially will discount the experiences of
those perceived as the “enemy”. In this case, even though some of Hmong people
were considered allies, their contributions were not deemed “important” enough
to even warrant a mention of their name. I suggest that all students do their
own research on these subjects, rather than take what they were taught in school
as the complete story. I think we need to work to correct these omissions in
our history, if we want to truly have an inclusive education system for all.
Resources:
1. Mouavangsou, K. N. Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation Of Hmong Americans (excerpt of thesis); University of California, Davis.
2. [Vietnam War Political Cartoon] Saved by Jordan Dunn; Pinterest; Retrieved Oct 7 2017, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/503347695834970675/
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