Sunday, July 22, 2012
Reflection #6
I read Finding Ways In: Community Based Perspectives on Southeast Asian Family Involvement with Schools in the State of New England by Francine F. Collignon. I found myself thinking back to lots of class discussion and my own recent experience with UTEC and LCHC and the Teen Coalition when they visited our class. One thing I had not noticed among these groups was a mention of family. In Collignon's article, a CBO is brought up that is aimed "at the intrapersonal level (a Summer Academy for youth and their families)." I really like the idea of community programs that involve a range of ages and cause parents and their children to spend time together in a different way outside of the home. Involvement like this could possibly help parents understand the way US schools operate and educate their children. Collignon writes that these current parents were once refugee children. They grew up in a time of war and had to abandon education in order to survive. Instead of the separation between home life and school life that these parents were used to, they are finding that school and family are more closely intertwined. As a future educator, I believe it is important for parents to be involved in their child's education. It is strange for me to think about my childhood and my parents not being interested in what I was doing at school. I am not quite sure how this connects to the stereotype of Asian students being very intelligent and hard working. Is this article implying that they are also very independent and do not need family involvement in school?
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Becca, I enjoyed reading your post for this weeks blog. I also read the article, as well as the one titled "Beyond the Bake Sale: A Community Based Relational Approach to Parent Engagement in Schools" by Warren et al. These both discussed CBO's that got the families and parents of local students more involved in their children's education as well as getting the school more involved in the community. As you point out, it is so important for the families to be involved. This way they know what they're children are learning and how they are spending their time. It also gives them a voice in the school atmosphere. As Warren et al points out, it also can lead to improvements on testing and overall scores for these students. I think you also raised some interesting questions in your post. Good job!
ReplyDeleteOn your last statement about this article possibly suggesting that since Asian students are intelligent and independent they don't need family involvement, i have to agree that it kind of seems that it is implied but it is wrong. I am a very independent person and would consider myself to be pretty intelligent and I honestly do not believe I could have made it through school, especially college, without my family. Just knowing that they supported me and believed in me pushed me to do my best and i believe that all students need that no matter how intelligent or independent they may be.
ReplyDeleteYes, remember it is the model minority stereotype at play here. Some people believe that the Asian culture breeds naturally gifted and intelligent people and that they do not need help from teachers or parents. What they are ignoring is the fact that there is no "super-race" that produces only intelligent beings. They are not disaggregating the racial category by ethnicity where we know there are educational disparities especially within the Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian students.
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