Jan 20 2008
Tateishi article
Why are the Asian-American kids silent in class? - asks Carol A. Tateishi
I am very familiar with the high school of which Tateishi writes, I went to high school just down the street in Albany, Ca. There are some generational variances now of course but I must say that I am very surprised to find that classrooms in the Bay Area, particularly in El Cerrito, still struggle with asian students being silent and reluctant to engage in collaborative learning . In fact, I would say that in the 70’s my Asian peers were more apt to be involved and outspoken than Jeff and his peers in 2007. Perhaps because it was the era of the free speech movement and our proximity to Berkeley, coupled with the different asian cultures that were represented in my school that my asian peers were more vocal. At the time I was in high school, most asian students were Chinese, Japanese, or Philapino - 2nd or 3rd generation. Immigration of Vietnamese, Laotians, Hmong, Koreans, Indians, and other Pacific Islanders in significant numbers had not yet occured by the time I graduated. Jeff, being 4th generation Japanese, frankly surprises me a great deal so I would like to discuss some problems that came up for me in this article.
First, Tateishi poses several questions of her own as they relate to her premise that the use of language is key to classroom learning. Before I would agree with her premise, I would like a fuller explanation of what she and Joan mean by it.
Jeff seems very capable of expressing himself with language, at least in writing. I can’t get past the feeling that some of this article sounded as if it comes from a deficit thinking perspective. If the silence of these five students comes from a place that is culturally imbedded and feels right to them, why isn’t that respected? Tateishi makes no references to their academic acheivement – are these struggling students?
Additionally, out of the 5 students only Japanese, Chinese, and Korean (1 student) were represented. So the asian cultures respresented in her case study are of asian cultures that traditionally outperform other asian cultures with differing migration patterns such as Vietnamese, Hmong, Laotians, Cambodians, Philapinos etc.
A factor not mentioned in this article is that El Cerrito High School’s SES is fairly high (the only hint is that Jeff’s father is a dentist). Students with lower SES’ at El Cerrito High are generally not from Japanese or Chinese households. I would argue that many households of the upper middle class do not necessarily encourage their children to discuss their feelings, their confusions, and their misunderstandings in school. And specifically with the three females who are the more recent immigrants, their relunctantance to engage in discourse can be linked to silent periods and language acquisition behaviors common to all second language learners.
Tateishi recommendations are very good for encouraging classroom discussion but I think that this is true for all students, especially for all students of color and second/third languages. As education now relys on and encourages the regular use of collaboration to improve learning, it is incumbant on us to find way that encourage all students to engage in conversation. Her discussion of authorship is very relevant and important to all discussion groups. The emergence of discussion protocols leads creadence to her assertion that students who are relunctant to speak up due to cultural or family norms may feel more empowered to engage with clear rules of discussion. Students from many immigrant cultures have codes of silence in their homes and females are expected to hold their tongues and therefore, authorship would benefit all students.
Finally, I disagree strongly with her comments on students in the Bay Area and San Francisco schools in an emerging stage of being “A lot less quiet”. Historically, asian communities in the Bay Area have been very vocal and visible. Student groups for all asian cultures are usually active and represented in both high schools and universities in the Bay Area. This includes asian cultures that have been over-respresented with struggling students and dropouts. I am not saying that with certain asian student relunctance to engage in discourse in the classroom does not exist, I just know that Tateishi is over generalizing her personal experience and doing a disservice to many years of cultural diversity work done in Bay Area over the past 40 years.
I do not completely disagree with Tateishi, I believe that the experiences of these 5 students can be representative of many asian students in many parts of this country, and therefore, her article has relevancy in education across America.
3 responses so far
Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!)
I love your response! I was very interested in what you had to say after reading that you actually went to school not very far away from the school Tateishi writes about. I was very interested in your response that you disagreed that the Bay Area and San Fransisco were in the emerging stage of becoming ” A lot less quiet.” I have never visited that area before, therefore did not really question the author and what she had written. I would also agree that more of an explanation is needed beofre totally agreeing that the use of language is key to classroom learning. I would disagree with her statement as it stands right now…if she means that learning only takes place in a socio-constructivist classroom.
I also agree with the recommendations she writes about within the article and feel that they should not be limited to one cultural group. Teachers should at the beginning of the year have their students get to know one another and the culture in which they identify with…this leads to a safe and positive learning environment. Not only does this kind of community building effect the way one plans their teaching practices, but it has a tremendous impact on the learning environment that each student has to endure for that academic year.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the article. It was nice to see a different perspective. :0)
You have a very unique perspective on this article that I greatly appreciate. I agree. I do not think that five students is a good litmus test that should represent and entire area or culture, but it makes for an intersting read. I did like that Tateishi gave us some tips for making studens who are reluctant to speak in class more comfortable. I like when the authors of acticles give solutions and do not spend the entire time framing a problem, complaining, and lending no help to the reader. It seems as if Tateishi is perpetuating the stereotype of the Asian culture, which is what Chang and Au article addresses, but at the same time attempting to help educators solve a problem they might be having in their classroom with a student. Would Tateishi have been better off making a her statement with regards to students who, by their culture, do not like to speak up in class without giving the blanket statements about the Asian population stereotype?
You raised some very valid points and crucial ones when looking at people as culturally different from ourselves. You offer a unique perspective as a result of being raised in the area and no doubt have some feelings on the issues raised in this article. As an SLP serving a student in the regular education classroom, my tendancy was to assume that the author was speaking of oral language as the area of concern that could be fostered in this population. I usually seperate oral from written language as the demands for expressing yourself in each are so different. I absolutely agree that we need to respect individual culture but I do see a need for the two students that I work with to learn the tools required for success in the class and ultimately in the work force. We have discussed in class that there are several ways to contribute to a learning community and classroom discussion is one of those ways. Oral communication does not seem to be the preferred mode for many of our peers but that does not mean that it should not be expected when appropriate. I think that ultimately the author gives good strategies that should be applied to all students. I enjoyed reading your insight into the article and appreciate the contribution you have made to my learning in this program!