Model Minority Myth Analysis

Model Minority Myth The model minority myth is as follows: many non-Asian Americans believe that Asian Americans are a homogenous group who face the same struggles and circumstances. The history of this idea starts after the American Civil War. Plantation owners imported large amounts of Chinese laborers to compete with the newly freed black slaves. Later, Chinese were brought in to work on the transcontinental railroad, and some worked in northeastern factories (Curry). The term “model minority” was first used by sociologist William Petersen in a 1966 The New York Times article titled “Success story: Japanese American style”. The article focused on how Japanese culture allowed the immigrants to overcome discrimination and succeed in American

This greatly limits their access to opportunities and general knowledge of the education system. Southeast Asian parents who are not able to fully communicate in English may miss important information that would be beneficial for their students’ success. These parents are unable to successfully navigate the American school systems, and they often feel unwelcome in the school setting due to cultural boundaries. This and their limited English abilities often restrict their communication with teachers and other school officials that would otherwise help their children succeed. Some parents may also have no higher education, or have had any formal education at all. Other parents are able to help their children with homework, but without the foundation of knowledge or English proficiency, many Southeast Asian parents are not able to lend a helping hand. The students then must become independent from a young age and work harder than their peers to reach the same levels

In 1837, the idea of the common curriculum among different schools was implemented after being inspired by Prussia. The culture that this common curriculum was based on was that of white citizens, who were the ones attending these schools at the time (Watters). However, America is now home to many different students from many different backgrounds. Schools especially do not create curriculums that would benefit Southeast Asian students. There is a lack of representation of Southeast Asian culture and history in curriculums. If teachers and peers were exposed to this knowledge, then they would be understanding and have a positive mindset towards the students due to their new contextual knowledge. It would also make the students feel more connected to what they are learning. It gives them a purpose to become more educated not only for themselves, but also for their greater community. There is also a lack of Southeast Asian educators for students to look up to as role models. A 2007 study showed that Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders made up 4% of all K-12 school students in public schools, while they only make up 1% of all educators. Knowing many parents and children have limited English proficiency, they still do not have bilingual counselors and school staff to help families learn and utilize school resources. Students are not