912957212
My personal perception of Asian Americans has changed vastly over the years. From my pre-college years, more specifically around the time I was in elementary school through early high school, I used to firmly believe in the model minority myth that all Asian Americans were on the track to success by studying hard and going to school. It was not until early college that the differences between different Asian ethnic groups in the US came to my awareness.
Throughout my years in public K-12 education, the existence and history of Southeast Asians in the US has never really been explained to me. Once I learned about their history of immigration, diaspora, and refugee circumstances through my ASA classes here in Davis, I immediately realized that not all Asian Americans have socioeconomic clout and resources that most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Americans have. Manee Moua's essay, "Navigating Graduate Education as a First-generation, Hmong American Woman: An Autoethnography," notes how most Asian American theories and studies in academia reveal a divide between success and struggle that marginalizes Hmong Americans. While reading her essay, it reminded me of a thought that I have always had in the back of my head: "Are there two different sides of Asian Americans?" The personal histories of the different Asian American communities differ greatly, but all groups should be highlight struggles through a lens of perseverance and overcoming adversity, instead of adding to the racial hierarchy that further oppresses Southeast Asians.
How can we implement the history of SEAs into our K-12 Education system?
References:
Moretta P. (Photographer). (2018, August). Students attend Harvard University's 2018 367th Commencement at the university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 24, 2018. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-postsecondary/news/2018/08/29/455316/gaps-debate-asian-americans-affirmative-action-harvard/
Moua, M. 2018. Navigating Graduate Education as a First-generation, Hmong American Woman: An Autoethnography. Hmong Studies Journal.
No comments:
Post a Comment