Blog 3: Minority Stereotypes & Language Diversity

Unraveling the "model minority" stereotype
I always knew that deeming everyone as Asians wasn't really appropriate. There were all different types from all different countries. All are unique. What stuck out to me in this book was that some students actually preferred to be identified as just Asian- not specifically where they are from and what they truly are. They are choosing to leave out part of their identity. Also, I was unaware of the fact that some Asians viewed themselves as superior over other Asians. I know this contradicts my earlier sentence, saying that they all should be identified appropriately, but it's just something I had never thought about. There was also a part about Asian Americans not wanting the "American" part of their identity. On the flip side, there are some Asians who will do nearly anything to be more "American" whether those things are good or bad. I feel like we have so many stereotyped ideas about Asians, and they're all wrong. I guess that was probably the point of this book, huh?













A stereotype I have is the "Asians as class models" meaning that there are high standards for Asian American students. Some Asian students will purposely make poor decisions to get away from being the class model, like not studying or failing exams to avoid being a role model student. But really, it's much more than this. Students are so caught up in identity that it's not even about achievement anymore. Or even when it's about achievement, it becomes about identity. The personal stories included in this book were somewhat scary to see. I felt like it was tying back to my first post where I said I was afraid to say the wrong thing to a student that it might stay with them throughout their educational journey and have a negative impact. We all think that Asians are supposed to be good at math. By questioning an Asian who isn't good at math, and relating it to the fact that they are supposed to be good BECAUSE they're Asian, is really going to hurt their pride and make math even more difficult. It might drive some students to work harder, but more often than not, it can cause students to pull away and perform poorly.


I feel that there are still many problems that need to be dealt with in regards to having such a variety of students in our classrooms. There is still racism, and we still have foreign students in the lower performing tracks of our education system simply because they have trouble learning the language. It's overwhelming; I feel there are so many things that need to be taken into account to make it all work, and no one wants to do anything about it. We can sit around and talk about the problem all day, but what can we actually do to help?
Affirming Diversity: Chapter 7 (p.228-262)
Last week in class we discussed the lack of support for ELL students in the Massachusetts classroom. It's frustrating to read how successful it is, apparently, to have in the classroom when it's been deemed not appropriate to have students use their native language in the classroom and preferably not at home. This also leads teachers to feel unprepared to teach students of diverse ethnic backgrounds. It's unfortunate because the right thing to do would be to put the extra effort in for these students but all we seem to care about is taking the easy way out by deciding to keep other languages out of our public school system.

It was enjoyable reading the case studies and seeing what students actually went through and what they are currently going through. The interview of Manuel Gomes struck me because of how much he was able to see and acknowledge while being an immigrant himself. Learning about how different life was on Cape Verde compared to life in America was fascinating. I almost felt bad when he said he was disappointed when he actually got to America, because we all know America is supposed to be the place everyone wants to be. The violence in this country is apparently easy to pass on to new people to the country; I guess it's an easy way for people to fit in, and THAT is sad. I also felt bad because he said it was hard to make friends with the American kids because of the different cultures, and that students looked at him and laughed in the beginning (243). I know this is getting away from language diversity, but this part of the interview ended with this student saying he didn't want to be an American citizen because he really didn't like America. He just wants to work and move back to his country in ten years when he's made some money. America is a dangerous place, and a lot of people know that. Why are people still trying to come here and suffer through all this trouble with language and culture shock?