Sunday, December 21, 2008

Minoring In Asian Studies

The reason minority students don't do well is because teachers don't have cultural competence to understand said students (yes, the snark light is on). So they're doing the smart thing at one Southern California school--spending $15,000 to teach the teachers how to deal with minority students. A columnist states:

...all teachers must have minored in Asian studies during college, because clearly they are adept at getting most Asian students to perform well academically.

It isn't that teachers don't understand the cultures of minority students. It's that some minority students come from a culture that doesn't support academic achievement. And it's not just Hispanics and American blacks with such cultures, either.

3 comments:

DADvocate said...

Hilarious! Unbelievable!

OK, just hilarious. In the rural area where I live plenty of white folks don't emphasize the importance of education which should be completely obvious. All you have to do is look at the people who make the better livings and/or enjoy the better lifestyles on average. The majority will have better education and/or training.

Ellen K said...

How can you teach the children of people who think it's peachy keen fun to use meth or smoke grass with their kids as a bonding moment? We have kids who are literally raising their own parents. We have parents who write excuses for the many absences of their kids and who condone early marriages and dropping out as acceptable alternatives to studying and going to school. So how do we compete with that? And while it's nice to have public education as a scapegoat, where are the parents and why aren't they held to some standards as well?

Anonymous said...

DAD...and Ellen...
What you said!! We're out in the fairly affluent/,mixed with Florida "Cracker" 'burbs - largely white, where Hispanics are moving in and Blacks are being bused. I have a mixture in my classes--and ESE, too. Yes, my minorities are having a more challenging time-- parents and teachers aren't the only factor. My kids need to find motivation somewhere--that's a huge difference between my achievers and non-achiever. I'd buy a gallon and spoon it into them if I could.
Tampa English Teacher