Teachers: The Cornerstones of Society

 Asian make up a significant portion of the population of the United States, accounting for around 6.5% of citizens. Asian students also make up around 5% of all student populations. In some of my previous posts, I mentioned how Asian cultures differs from American culture, especially in the education hemisphere. To reiterate, Asian American students tend to respect their elders and lean on them heavily for support and will try to avoid conflict, even if it means they are uncomfortable. Now, while these cultural differences are well-known amongst Asian American students, teachers are not as well equipped to handle these students. 

Name Mispronunciation

One of my earliest memories from elementary school was not a very pleasant one. I remember in the second grade, my teacher was calling roll and wanted to familiarize herself with all the students by calling their first and last name. When it came to my turn, instead of pronouncing my last name like hee-yun, she pronounced it as horn. And while it was an honest mistake on the teacher's part and while she probably did not have malicious intent in her mistake, a lot of my classmates would make fun of me out in the yard. Often times, my peers would say my last name and laugh or use their hands to create a horn on their head and chase me around. 

However, I know that I am not the only one who has gone through these kinds of moments. Many of my peers who would go by their given Asian names in school would request that teachers call them by a different name so that they don't have to go through ridicule by their classmates. An example of this is my Chinese classmate in junior high school. Her given name was, written in English, was Cinreh. I remember her confiding in me how many people made fun of her growing up and how embarrassed she was by her name. Then, one day, the teacher started calling her Hannah instead, and the rest of the class followed suit.

Many Asian names have such beautiful roots and come from such a rich background. The origin of many Asian names typically mean something beautiful and meaningful in their home language. In many cultures, names usually represent a much deeper meaning that is important to the family or to the culture. However, many Asian students are trading in their roots out of fear of ridicule of their classmates. They want to fit in so bad that they are willing to give up their heritage. 

Teachers are in a unique position where they see students for large portions of the week. One could even say that teachers see more of their students than some of their parents do. Because they are in this position, teachers need to be even more mindful of what they say and how students perceive their words. Something as little as mispronouncing a Asian name will lead to lasting consequences outside of the classroom. 

Stereotypical Beliefs

In the classroom, teachers are not immune to preconceived notions about Asians and their performance in schools. Unless warranted, teachers will often not check in with their Asian students because they believe that they are not struggling. With the stereotype of Asians and academic performances, teachers believe that they have no reason to believe that the student is having issues with their studies. And because Asians are taught to not create conflict wherever they go, they will not bring up the struggles that they are going through and will bottle up their feelings of inadequacy which, in turn, brings down their self-esteem. 

What can Teachers do?

• Familiarize themselves with Asian culture. 

While it is impossible to anticipate the needs of every single student, I think that all teachers can make a more conscious effort to be mindful around students especially with choice of words that they use in the classroom.

Many Asian names have such beautiful roots and come from such a rich background. The origin of many Asian names typically mean something beautiful and meaningful in their home language. In many cultures, names usually represent a much deeper meaning that is important to the family or to the culture. However, many Asian students are trading in their roots out of fear of ridicule of their classmates. They want to fit in so bad that they are willing to give up their heritage. 

• Utilize familial support systems

While this problem is not limited to Asian students, many students will try to hide their academic struggles from their parent. As teachers, one thing to keep in mind specifically about Asian students is that they do have a support system that is different from the typical American household. Asian children tend to learn on their parents for support, so reaching out to the parents of students and encouraging honest communication from all parties will not only help parents feel included in the learning process at school, but strengthen the relationships between everyone.