It Ends With Me: A Profile of Asian American Mathematics Teachers Combating the Myth of the Model Minority

• In Event: Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Practicing Social Justice Teaching in the Classroom

Abstract

Asian Americans are the fastest growing race or ethnic group in the United States, but are racially marginalized through the myth of the model minority. This myth valorizes Asian American students as superior to other non-white student groups, while still positioning Asian American students as perpetual foreigners. Asian American teachers are key players in the reproduction of this myth, especially within the subject of mathematics, a part of the “whiz kid” stereotype. Using photovoice, we study how three Asian American mathematics teachers situate their own identities, particularly in connection to the myth of the model minority. The teachers presented photographs of their lives and told stories about how powerlessness they felt in combating the myth of the model minority.

Authors

• Theodore Chao, Harvard University

• Kari Naomi Kokka, Stanford University