Stop Anti-Asian Bias in Your Classroom

A group of people protesting in masks. One woman is holding a sign that reads ‘#StopAsianHate.’

By Maria Lee

What Does the Term Asian-American Mean?

Racial discrimination has existed among the people of Asian descent in American history. Andrea Bittle, author of the article  I Am Asian American, mentions the earliest Asian-Americans met with resistance and violence. The restrictive legislation in the US, like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, put in place to prevent Asian immigrants from entering the country. The U.S. government incarcerated over 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry in remote internment camps in 1945 when the U.S. was at war with Japan. What is worse, most of those people were U.S. citizens or legal residents who were forced to abandon their homes and businesses until the war was over.

The discriminatory anti-Asian immigration policies removed in 1965. This paved the way for the Asian-American population to grow. 17.3 million Asian Americans live in the United States - 6 percent of the population - and it projects this number to increase further, reaching 41 million by 2050. 

The term Asian refers to people having origins in East or Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yukon Ichioka, a pioneer in Asian-American Studies, coined the term Asian American in the early 1970s to help unify different Asian ethnic groups for political strength and study, according to. Bittle notes the meaning of the term can be elusive and that the U.S. government added the term NHPI for “Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders” in the 2000 Census. These groups, Bittle says, combined include people from over 18 countries of origin and many ethnic groups. Also about 15 percent of Asian Americans are of mixed race.

Books are an excellent way to encourage students to examine multiple perspectives and start a conversation. For elementary level, My name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits and Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say. For middle school level, Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. And for High school, Mixed: Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience edited by Chandra Prasad and Song I Sing By Bao Phi.  Bittle shares a toolkit for “I am Asian American” alongside the article which provides professional development resources to help teachers reflect on their own assumptions and knowledge gaps about Asian Americans and to include various Asian American voices in their curricula. 

Understanding Bias, Ignorance, and Hate 

The ingredients that lead to bias, ignorance, and hate are insufficient knowledge, fear, and ignorance. An excellent illustration is an article called (In)Visible Identity by Vishavjit Singh. Vishavjit notes a drawing by the artist, Hari Singh Everest, where eyes are everywhere peering from the stones of buildings, from steps, from the roots and fronds of a palm tree. Hari Everest was born in Pakistan in 1916. During the partition of 1947 following the end of British Colonial rule, Hari’s family was forced to move. Two years after he came to the United States, in 1956, he drew “Stanford: A Sea of Eyes?” 

Everest earned his master’s degree at Stanford, studying communications while working on farms to support himself. His turban and beard not only attracted attention at school but prevented him from getting a job in the profession he trained for. A conversation between Everest and an administrator at Chico State where Everest applied for an academic job as professor went like this “You’re overqualified for this position, but you’re not an all-American boy.” Vishavjit points this out despite Sikhs having been in the United States since the late 19th century.

Everest became an elementary school teacher - the first South Asian teacher in his district. He taught there for 20 years. Later, he became a prolific writer, a poet, a community leader, the president of United Sikhs for Human Rights, an editor of magazines and a volunteer at many institutions including the California Department of Education Ethnic Advisory Council. Despite his successful immigration story, they did not regard him as fully American to many who met him.

The author of (In)Visible Identity notes it has been 60 years since Everest drew the sea of eyes, but the ignorance and suspicion the eyes represent is still prevalent today. He emphasizes the need to fill the lack of knowledge about the Sikh community and widespread bias against those who wear turbans in the United States. The author gives a key findings, from the 2013 report Turban Myths, revealing:

  • 49 percent of Americans believe “Sikh” is a sect of Islam (it is an independent religion).

  • Only 21 percent of respondents identified India as the geographic origin of Sikhism.

  • When shown a photograph of a Sikh man, about 70 percent of respondents could not correctly identify his religion.

Vishavjit states, “It’s not just a lack of information. One in five respondents in the same study said that when they saw a stranger wearing a turban, it made them feel ‘angry’ or ‘apprehensive’. Together, this fear and ignorance have resulted in Sikhs being targeted for hate and bias crimes.” Sikhs have been paying the price, ever since post-911, for the toxic combination of religious ignorance and fear for decades. 

Questioning the Model Minority Myth

Besides lack of knowledge, ignorance, and fear, stereotyping is another ingredient that leads to bias, hate, and ignorance. Stereotyping is the base for Model Minority Myth. According to the article What is Model Minority Myth? By Sarah-Soonling Blackburn, the myth portrays Asian American children as whiz kids or musical geniuses. This myth characterizes Asian Americans as a law-abiding group who are polite and non confrontational. Her article mentions that Asian Americans achieve a higher level of success than the general population through some combination of innate talent and pull yourself up by the bootstrap striving immigrants. So, what is troubling about the myth? Blackburn says like all stereotypes, it erases all differences among individuals and ignores the diversity of Asian Americans. Blackburn offers her own experience as an example of erasing all differences among individuals. When Blackburn was in 11th grade, the expectation of  being Asian was good at math, but when she failed the math test her teacher told her, “I am surprised by grades like this from someone like you.” Blackburn felt like a failure. She said, “Instead of differentiating for me like I saw him do with others in the class, my teacher let me continue to slip. I was not offered extra help or any other support, and I did not know how to live up to the image of the model minority student. I stop trying.” 

Blackburn eventually overcomes this negative self-image, but she says many did not. According to her article, the model minority myth hides the pressures and paradoxes within an Asian American identity. Therefore, some Asian American college students have higher rates of attempting suicide than those in other groups. Blackburn said this “If you don’t fit into the myth, it is hard to find your place at all.”

I can understand where she is coming from. In high school I had a hard time making friends I can trust with the bullying and verbal harassment from other students. I also struggle with my identity as Chinese. I was wondering why I was being harassed, and for a period, I wanted to give up as well.  

What Educators Can Do to Stop Anti-Asian Bias

Blackburn wants to emphasize, as an educator, it is important to understand the different histories and experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander students and communities. Educators must unlearn the bias, simplistic beliefs that we might hold about what it means to be Asian American or Pacific Islander to better attend to the actual needs of our students and communities. Also, she encourages educators to raise awareness in yourself and others. Check your own biases and assumptions. Do not let a student like Blackburn slip through the cracks because you expect her to be smarter or more studious than her classmates.

Teaching Students Empathy

My mom taught me at an early age to have empathy for others and understand where they are coming from. The author, Elizabeth Kleinrock, illustrates how she teaches empathy or understanding of Anti- Asian Bias to her 6th grade students by identifying the bias, first. Her article After Atlanta: Teaching About Asian American Identity and History, she reflects on her teaching of this subject by asking herself this, “If we truly intend to center our students, we have to ask ourselves, ‘Am I engaging my students in the inquiry process by allowing their questions to guide their own learning?’” Elizabeth took a step back to consider, “what questions am I asking my students?” If we don’t ask, the author mentions, “We can’t fix what we don’t know is broken.”

Conclusion

My eyes are wide open to Stop Anti-Asian Bias for the first time in a long time. I understand why there is bullying, harassment, and hate just by reading these articles. There are two important points I want to reiterate:

  • Understand that the collective is important while individual differences still exist.

  • Raise awareness in yourself and others.

As you raise your own awareness, you will help those around you to understand and dismantle the model minority myth as well, according to Blackburn, a professional development trainer for Learning for Justice.

Reference List

To Further Your Learning

Read more from Maria on her website

Anti-Bias Education, Leading for EquityConfianza: For Educators of Language Learners1c