| Article Index |
|---|
| Perfect In America: Implications of the Model Minority Myth on the Classroom |
| Perfect 2 |
| Perfect 3 |
| All Pages |
Conclusion
While the model minority myth, on the surface, appears to be a compliment to Asian Americans, it often generates barriers that are difficult to overcome. As many Asian Americans enjoy the success of their efforts, others struggle due to their invisibility and the lack of assistance available to members of the "model minority." Barriers observed in the general population will translate into the school classroom. Teachers overlook student disabilities, all students deal with both the intentional and unintentional biases of the teacher, and Asian American students attempt to handle the resentment of other students for their assumed academic superiority as well as the pressure of parents to excel and obtain the education that is perceived as the crucial key to American success.
There is evidence in the research reports to prove Asian Americans' ability to excel as well as the inability to overcome all the same obstacles that other racial minority groups confront. The first group has been used and continues to be used to perpetuate the American dream of hard work creating economic and social success. The second group struggles beneath the myth to find a measure of success that has been so overwhelmingly accepted as standard for Asian Americans. While neither is an accurate depiction of a vastly diverse group, it is the first group that has been embedded in American society as the definition of Asian.
As with any stereotype, the model minority myth creates difficulties for those it identifies. Stereotype threat creates academic pressure for Asian Americans inversely to the manner it creates the pressure for African Americans. The myth permits the dominant White group to ignore those Asian Americans who must fight daily to survive instead of compete with and seize jobs and positions from Whites. It also continues to give credence to the mentality that success is solely based on an individual's efforts while institutional practices are irrelevant. The myth, while seemingly positive and complimentary, benefits no one and in fact damages many.
Implications
As an educator, I find this myth often difficult to dispute with evidence from student data. Asian American students are mostly polite, hard working, and high achieving but there are generally a few students each year who do not fit the model minority criteria. There are also many students of other racial groups who do fit the same ideal of polite, hard working, and high achieving. I think it is my obligation to be more aware of how the biases I have learned affects my classroom management and my students. I also believe it is my responsibility to share with others this same information.
As a person, I am certain this myth is inaccurate. I have a sibling who performed well in school but not at the same degree as the other few Asian students. She often felt a great deal of pressure and that she somehow never measured up to what the expectations were for her. I was a high-achieving student but often felt the pressure to maintain those achievements by working harder than many of my peers. Are these the only possibilities for Asian American students? Should these be the only options for Asian American students? What must happen in American society to allow these stereotypes, along with countless others, to remove the biases that continue to exist in the classroom?
Bibliography
Cheryan, S., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2000). When Positive Sterotypes Threaten Intellectual Performance. Psychological Science, 11, 399-402.
Choi, Y., & Lahey, B. B. (2006). Testing the Model Minority Stereotype: Youth Behaviors across Racial and Ethnic Groups. Social Service Review, 80, 419-452.
Corwyn, R. F., & Bradley, R. H. (2008). The Panethnic Asian Label and Predictors of Eighth-Grade Student Achievement. School Psychology Quarterly, 23, 90-106.
Doan, K. (2006). A Sociocultural Perspective on At-Risk Asian-American Students. Teacher Education and Special Education, 29, 157-167.
Hsia, J., & Peng, S. (1998). Academic Achievement and performance. In L. Lee, & H. Zane (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American Psychology (pp. 325-357). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lew, J. (2006). Burden of Acting Neither White Nor Black: Asian American Identities and Acheivement in Urban Schools. The Urban Review, 38, 335-352.
Qin, D. B., Way, N., & Mukherjee, P. (2008). The Other Side of the Model Minority Story: The Familial and peer Challenges Face by Chinese American Adolescents. Youth & Society, 39, 480-506.
Ramirez, A. (1986, November 24). America's Super Minority. Retrieved October 18, 2008, from Fortune Magazine: www.money.cnn.com/ magazines/fortune.
Shizue Seigel, G. K. (1999). Changing Times. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from BayWindow: An American Love Story Site: http://www.kqed. org/w/baywindow/othercolors/changingtimes/ index.html.
Wing, J. Y. (2007). Beyond Black and White: The Model Minority Myth and the Invisibility of Asian American Students. The Urban Review, 39, 455-487.
Wong, F., & Halgin. (2006). The "Model Minority": Bane or Blessing for Asian Americans? Journal of Mutlicultural Counseling and Developement, 34, 38-49.
Yu, T. (2006). Challenging the Politics of the "Model Minority" Stereotype: A Case of Eduational Equality. Equity & Excellence in Education, 39, 325-333.
