Systemic bias against Asian-Americans in schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a school with a significant percentage of Asian-American students but mostly white teachers. We've noticed over the past year that when teachers have a choice to choose students for leadership positions such as for panels, if they have a request from an outside entity for students to speak with, student hosts for assemblies, or for leaders for class project they are not selecting AAPI students. It's really striking and when parents first brought this up to us I was skeptical but then we saw it happen again and again. They will choose students from other minority groups who comprise only a small percentage of students at the school so it is not all white students who are being chosen.

We moved to the area from California where we were at a school with a similar percentage of AAPI students and did not see this issue. What is going on? Is it just gross stereotyping that AAPI students are not good leaders or speakers? Are we just at a terrible school?

Ahem...have you asked those students whether they want to become teachers when they grow up?

+1 Weird to complain about no Asian teachers. 3% of teachers are Asian. 20% of doctors are Asian. 7% of Americans are Asian. Doesn't look a lot like racism.

[Anonymous]

I'm so disgusted by our school's teachers in this regard too. Just found out about yet another event where teachers did not take applications and handpicked their favorites to represent the school. No AAPI students again.

This is the 5th event this year. If anyone starts posting about how AAPI students are quieter and do not want leadership positions and that is why they are not getting picked I'm going to cry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread hasn’t been too bad, but anyone who doubts the existence of anti-Asian racism just needs to spend some time in the AAP forum. It can get shockingly explicit there.

Of course there’s anti-Asian racism there’s also racism among the Asian community. I have a friend from China who came here at age 11. The whole extended family is here. She told me that the rest of her family would not let their children be friends with White kids because of the possibility of bad influences.

So Asians deserve to be underrepresented in their schools? How is this story relevant to the topic of the thread?

If a kid isn’t allowed to interact socially with some of the kids in a group, that kid is a poor choice to lead the group. That’s how it’s relevant.

Sounds like you’re stereotyping all AAPI based on an experience with one Chinese family. Then you’re using that stereotype to justify the bias against AAPI as leaders.

You said the point wasn’t relevant. It’s relevant. And I didn’t say all AAPI kids should be denied leadership roles on that basis. Reread my comment. I said that any child (of any race) who is unwilling to interact socially with his peers (for any reason) is a poor choice to lead those same peers. That’s obviously true. It may or may not be what’s going on at OP’s school. I have no way of knowing that, and neither do you.

This is really offensive. There are many AAPI kids in the school who are very involved in different activities just like there are kids of every race who are very involved.

[Anonymous]

Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you've described a school that selects URMs. That's not anti-AAPI bias.

Fwiw, there a number of AAPI students in FCPS of different backgrounds and some are high achieving and others are average. Don't have all the same concerns.

It is biased if the selection is not based on merit.

Who defines what is merit? In NVA we had a selection process to TJ which was supposed to be merit but turns out about half the kids had access to the exam questions from having attended expensive outside prep.

Do you have a current student @TJHSST? Doubt it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The way this area handles race is very different than how they do it out West. Race is much more explicit here, everything is about race. It's really strange, coming from other parts of the country. Doesn't seem to be better, either. But that's how they roll here.

LOL, sure, now do UCs and their bias against accepting the strongest students from majority Asian high schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

I feel like your child goes to the same school as mine but it's probably universal in this area. HS with high Asian American percentage. More than 20 awards for things like leadership. 0 Asian Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

I feel like your child goes to the same school as mine but it's probably universal in this area. HS with high Asian American percentage. More than 20 awards for things like leadership. 0 Asian Americans.

the Asian American experience imo is better in flyover country than in mega-city suburbs

You are treated as an individual more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

I feel like your child goes to the same school as mine but it's probably universal in this area. HS with high Asian American percentage. More than 20 awards for things like leadership. 0 Asian Americans.

the Asian American experience imo is better in flyover country than in mega-city suburbs

You are treated as an individual more.

Not really. People feel less threatened and are less likely to lash out at you, but you'll still run into bias and discrimination. You aren't white. You stick out like a sore thumb. People are just nicer about it. That doesn't make up for the lack of immigrant enclaves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

I feel like your child goes to the same school as mine but it's probably universal in this area. HS with high Asian American percentage. More than 20 awards for things like leadership. 0 Asian Americans.

+1 MCPS

Of course, they skip things like highest GPA, 4.0 GPA, etc... but they give out subject awards which is not based on grades, and very few of those recipients are Asian American. These awards get called out, but the "smart" kids don't get called out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

I feel like your child goes to the same school as mine but it's probably universal in this area. HS with high Asian American percentage. More than 20 awards for things like leadership. 0 Asian Americans.

the Asian American experience imo is better in flyover country than in mega-city suburbs

You are treated as an individual more.

Not really. People feel less threatened and are less likely to lash out at you, but you'll still run into bias and discrimination. You aren't white. You stick out like a sore thumb. People are just nicer about it. That doesn't make up for the lack of immigrant enclaves.

I grew up as an Asian-american in flyover country and didn’t meet Asian Americans who grew up in “enclaves” and bigger cities until i went to college and grad school and found those Asian-Americans really maladjusted

But maybe that was my experience as a millenial and things are different for Gen Z

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

I feel like your child goes to the same school as mine but it's probably universal in this area. HS with high Asian American percentage. More than 20 awards for things like leadership. 0 Asian Americans.

the Asian American experience imo is better in flyover country than in mega-city suburbs

You are treated as an individual more.

Not really. People feel less threatened and are less likely to lash out at you, but you'll still run into bias and discrimination. You aren't white. You stick out like a sore thumb. People are just nicer about it. That doesn't make up for the lack of immigrant enclaves.

I grew up as an Asian-american in flyover country and didn’t meet Asian Americans who grew up in “enclaves” and bigger cities until i went to college and grad school and found those Asian-Americans really maladjusted

But maybe that was my experience as a millenial and things are different for Gen Z

Define maladjusted. Do you mean not assimilated or something else?

Being near enclaves is helpful if you care about your heritage. The access to the culture and community is just different. Some people don’t care and that’s fine, but a lot of people do. You can’t find that to the same degree in flyover country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you've described a school that selects URMs. That's not anti-AAPI bias.

Fwiw, there a number of AAPI students in FCPS of different backgrounds and some are high achieving and others are average. Don't have all the same concerns.

It is biased if the selection is not based on merit.

Who defines what is merit? In NVA we had a selection process to TJ which was supposed to be merit but turns out about half the kids had access to the exam questions from having attended expensive outside prep.

Do you have a current student @TJHSST? Doubt it.

Yes, and they got in on actual merit. They did not pay for test access at one of the prep centers for wealthy families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

I feel like your child goes to the same school as mine but it's probably universal in this area. HS with high Asian American percentage. More than 20 awards for things like leadership. 0 Asian Americans.

+1 MCPS

Of course, they skip things like highest GPA, 4.0 GPA, etc... but they give out subject awards which is not based on grades, and very few of those recipients are Asian American. These awards get called out, but the "smart" kids don't get called out.

At our school, the smart kids get these awards. It's based on merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you get to MS and HS when teacher choose award recipients. You'll see how few Asian American students especially East Asian students get awards for anything other than grades.

I feel like your child goes to the same school as mine but it's probably universal in this area. HS with high Asian American percentage. More than 20 awards for things like leadership. 0 Asian Americans.

the Asian American experience imo is better in flyover country than in mega-city suburbs

You are treated as an individual more.

Not really. People feel less threatened and are less likely to lash out at you, but you'll still run into bias and discrimination. You aren't white. You stick out like a sore thumb. People are just nicer about it. That doesn't make up for the lack of immigrant enclaves.

Nope. This is just scared racist logic from people who grow up in a ethnic enclave bubble, and then call it racism.

Compare people who grow up in ethnic ghettos to those that don’t, and you’ll see the difference every time.