Week 3 - Arwin Mauricio - A03

ID: 914001506

The theme for Week 3 is “Marginalization and Miseducation.” The two readings are related to the them because both documents focused on Hmong Americans. Hmong Americans are marginalized because they make up a small group of the broader Asian American term, and Hmong Americans are largely nonexistent when it comes to being referenced in textbooks. Hmong Americans are just lumped up with the term Asian Americans and consequently are associated with stereotypes such as the Model Minority myth even though that characterization may make them feel deficient. The miseducation of Hmong Americans is rooted in the reality that very little information about Hmong are mentioned in school books. Hmong is usually mentioned as a group of people allied with the US during the Vietnam War, which fails to acknowledge the complexity of the group since some Hmong were fighting against US imperialism. 

After reading the two documents, there are similarities that I can draw from my own personal experiences. One connection I can make is in Kaozong Mouavangsou’s master’s thesis document. In the document, she interviews six Hmong families and notes that most of the parent’s value education as a way to achieve financial success and happiness in life. Reading those paragraphs really hit home for me because my parents believe in that idea as well. Growing up, I was always told to work and study hard in school because education will allow me to get a good job and in turn, a happy life. Those words were recited to me constantly, to the point where it was ingrained into my mind. That philosophy is a major factor to why I pursued higher education by attending UC Davis while I watch my relatives take different paths such as the military or straight to the workforce.

Another connection I have is related to the miseducation of the Hmong people. I’m a Filipino-American, and throughout my K-12 academic career, the Philippines was usually mentioned in the context of US imperialism and foreign policy. History books mentioned that the Philippines became a colony of the US after the Spanish American War, and that was the start of the longstanding friendship between the Americans and Filipinos. However, there was no discussion about the Philippine resistance groups against the US and their imperial motives. That history was destroyed.

Question: Does the disconnection between native culture and American/orthodox culture help explains the struggle Asian Americans face in the workplace in general?

References:

Mouavangsou, K. (2016). Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation of Hmong Americans.

Moua, M. (2018, Jan.).  Navigating Graduate Education as a First-Generation, Hmong American Woman: An Autoethnography by Manee Moua.

Hing, J. (2013). [Image] Retrieved from https://www.colorlines.com/articles/univ-wisconsin-hmong-american-studies-classes.