Taking a Chance With Words – Why are the Asian-American kids silent in class?

I really liked this article and the insight it gave me into “some”  Asian-American families.  However, I feel as though in any family, regardless of its cultural background, if the active-talk that Tateishi describes her family as having does not take place it can sometimes hinder a child in the school setting.  Kids need to be talked to and interacted with – period.  In my opinion, the home is the most ideal setting in which children learn the norms of communicating with others.  This is not to say that a child is “doomed” in regards to socialization if he or she does not receive the ideal amount of interaction with his or her family.  I’m just saying that I think it helps, and to me its one of the easiest things parents can do to help their children.

I was a bit confused by the fact that Tateishi lumped Jeff and Dan in with a group of students that she feels does not participate or participates minimally within the classroom.  Did she read the excerpt from his essay?  It was phenomenal!  And the fact that he actually led a classroom discussion on a book is very impressive.  Something like that would be incredibly overwhelming for me.  :~) I think that these two just participate in their own way.  I mean Dan is on the debate team for crying out loud!  I do think that their teacher, Joan, needs to rethink the way she organizes her cooperative groups.  First of all, why is there even a group consisting of only Asian-American students?  Could she organize and then reorganize the groups when they work together so that each student is given the opportunity to work with more than just one group.  I’m not saying that I think this would ultimately solve the problem of the Asian-American students not talking in the group.  And frankly, I’m not even saying that the fact that they don’t speak as much as others in a group is even a problem.  The fact that they don’t speak up as much in class does not mean that they are not learning.  However, by rotating groups of students, everyone might begin to feel more comfortable with one another, and in turn possibly talk more. 

Tateishi made mention of a comment made by Professor Lily Wong Fillmore, in which she spoke about Asian-American students being “authored” to speak.  I think that Joan’s entire class could possibly benefit from there being more structure in their cooperative groups so that everyone knows what to expect.  It can be very intimidating staring into the faces of peers that you feel are more competent than you.  (Believe me – I know!)  If everyone is given a direction from which to begin, such as a group leader who will lead and/or begin the discussion, the other students might in turn feel more comfortable because they know what to expect.  Some people might feel as though the structure would hinder the discussion, but it is possible for creativity and free-thinking to occur in a structured setting. 

As I stated in my response to the other article we read, I feel that the suggestions that are given to teachers in this article are common sense and should be put into practice with all students.  It is simply good teaching to listen to and respect each of your students, establish a sense of community within your classroom, and help each child realize that he or she has a voice that is important and worth being heard.