2 Suggested Teaching Strategies For African American Students

1)      Allow the students to often work together since this is a preferred learning style for many African Americans.  But do not segregate them by culture groups, and do not allow the students to segregate themselves.

2)      Attribute human characteristics to concepts and principals when teaching.  Many African American students learn better when the curriculum is humanized 

Asian-American Poetry

“Otherness” by Diana Chang

“Are you Chinese?

“Are you American?”

I am fascinated

But other

Anywhere

I

Must

Be

Jewish

Leading to an eye-opener:

Real Chinese in China

Not feeling other,

Not international

Not cosmopolitan

Are gentiles, no less

No wonder

I felt the way I did

In the crowd

My Israel

Not there

Not here

I chose this poem because it really gets at what immigrants to America feel like.  They are not sure who they are, and search for their identity.  They are not like everyone else, and they are not sure where they can call home and claim their true identity. 

Asian-American Learners

Learners from the Asian American culture are very bright.  They score higher than any other race on proficiency tests.  They are stereotyped as the “model minority”, and many people think that they all excel at math and science just because of their race.  Because of this, these students are not being adequately served by the nation’s public schools.  Families who struggle with finances often urge their children to drop out of school and get a job instead.  Also, many students also arrive in the United States after they have experienced the trauma of war or violence.  This puts these students at a disadvantage, and they also often have academic and psychological needs. 

There are a few teaching strategies that can help you help your student reach their highest achievement level.  First, you can show students you care by getting to know their individual needs and strengths and sharing their concerns, hopes, and dreams.  Students are more willing to listen and learn to their teacher if they are caring and nurturing.  Another strategy that you can use is to understand students' home cultures to better comprehend their behavior in and out of the classroom.  In this way, you can understand how your student’s parents view education.  Each parent is going to have a different view of how the education of their child should happen.  This will also affect the way their child acts and behaves in school.  

Asian-American Historical Events

The first historical event I chose was World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.  This event is one of the most significant in American history, and it had a large negative effect on Asian-Americans during that time.  The United States was afraid that any Japanese-Americans living in the United States would also turn against America and attack.  Because of this belief, the United States placed all Japanese-Americans in camps surrounded by fences and guards. 

The second historical event I chose was the effect of the Gold Rush on America.  Because of the Gold Rush in California, many Chinese came and began searching for the “mother load”.   After many of them came, they began to experience harsh, restrictive laws, and people were violent against them.  However, after World War II, these laws were repealed, and it then became a lot easier for Asians to become American citizens and not face violence or unfair laws.  

Asian-American Movie

This movie was created and filmed in 2001.  It highlights the relationship between an Asian-American woman and a white man during World War II.  Many of these relationships were put to the test and were either made stronger or failed because of the war and the false rumors going around during this time.  

Asian-American Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUCcuETqcXM

I chose this piece by Jake Shimabukuro for a couple reasons.  First of all, this is not the kind of music many of us are used too.  But, he continues to amaze everyone with his amazing talents.  Shimabukuro also recorded and dedicated a piece to the Japanese-American soldiers who fought and died in World War II.  Shimabukuro grew up in Hawaii, and many of these men were also from there.  This is why he was compelled to really embrace his cultures music and make it popular.  

Asian-American Literature

This children’s picture book is called Baseball Saved Us.   This book takes place on the West Coast during the start of World War II after Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor.  It is about a Japanese-American boy and his experiences in the camp that he and his family were placed in.  His father helps dissolve the tensions between those in the camp by proposing they create a baseball field.  Baseball not only helps the Japanese-Americans survive in the camps, but in the end it also helps the little boy overcome the fact that he is smaller than all the other boys his age. 

            I liked this book because this event was very significant in American history.  The Japanese-Americans were wrongly persecuted, and this book gives a good description of what it was like to be one of them during this time in American history.