Book Summary
The book, Up Against Whiteness: Race, School, and Immigrant Youth (Up Against Whiteness) by Stacey Lee, explores how a group of first- and second-generation Hmong students identified themselves as new Americans in response to the experience at the University Heights High School (UHS). Throughout the book, Professor Lee examines the broken relationship between the traditional and Americanized Hmong students. She explores the various views of ESL and mainstream teachers regarding the Hmong students and the minority students at school.
The author’s primary goal is to demonstrate how racism transformed the identity of Hmong American students at UHS. The book is about teachers at UHS and their roles in shaping the Hmong students’ identity. It describes the problems that Hmong students face and strategies they employ to cope with the problems of racism at school.
Chapter 1
Up Against Whiteness: Race, School, and Immigrant Youth contains five chapters. Chapter 1, titled “Becoming Racialized Americans,” provides an overview of the study by introducing the book’s central theme. Next, this chapter explains the research questions, the data collection methods (i.e., observations, interviews, and artifact collection), and the central arguments of the book. Next, to help readers understand the background of the study, Lee gives an overview of the history of the Hmong people (Lee, 2005). Finally, this chapter outlines the data sources used in this research, the participants involved, and the data collection process employed.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2, titled “At University Heights High School: Creating Insiders and Others,” explores the white students’ privileges and culture at the UHS. The chapter describes how the culture of the white is used in the school to define a good student. This white culture makes the Hmong American students feel racialized. The teachers at UHS use the cultural norms to determine the best students from various cultural backgrounds (Lee, 2005). They do not see the reason for learning based on cultural norms since most of the students who perform in the classes are white, which proves that the school is doing its job.
Chapter 3
While recognizing diversity among student experiences, Lee explains how students label themselves in the third chapter. The chapter titled “Traditional and Americanized Hmong Students” examines the contrast between the traditional and Americanized Hmong students.
The traditional Hmong students are usually first- or second-generation immigrants. They are always placed in ESL classes at UHS (Lee, 2005). The traditional Hmong are optimistic about life due to the experience of bitter life at home. The education system in America gives these students more opportunities, making them focused on achieving academically.
The Americanized Hmong students are American students who are naturally poor in academics. They always dress like gang members, and as a result, the traditional Hmong American students view them as criminals, while they also see the traditional Hmong students as problematic.
Chapter 4
In chapter 4, Lee examines how gender contributes to the identity development of Hmong American students. The American Hmong male students are not masculine, contrary to what many expect of me. They are physically shorter in height, silent in classrooms, and not involved in co-curricular activities. Although traditional Hmong female students are seen as victims of early marriage, they perform better in class than male students, who are viewed as passive (Lee, 2005). However, the traditional students are fully aware of their cultures, relationships with whites, and racial hierarchy.
Chapter 5
The final chapter, Race and the Excellent School, elaborates on the segmented assimilation theories. Lee drops a question on the definition of a good school concerning cultural preservation. While UHS has a positive reputation in academic performance, the school fails to accommodate the needs of Hmong American students’ culture. She, however, agrees that the priority of a school like UHS is to prepare students of the elite middle class (Lee, 2005). The conclusion of this chapter urges teachers at UHS to examine white privilege and accommodate racial inequalities.
Analysis and Critique of the Methods
Due to the increased rates of racial discrimination against non-Asian American students in schools, Stacey Lee’s ethnography is a timely and essential addition to the field of literature. Lee employs scientific description and a cultural approach to explain the experience of Hmong American students in University Heights High School (UHS). The primary data sources for this research work are interviews and observations of students and teachers at UHS.
In contrast to previous research, Lee conducted this research in a high-performing school in the region (Lee, 2005). She argues that the Hmong students are primarily excluded from the excellent performances witnessed in the school, and all the achievements are associated with white students. As the book suggests, the marginalized students are “up against” a culture that only appreciates white students’ achievements. Drawing on the interviews with the teachers, Lee says that the school is a barrier to the Hmong students’ performance.
Lessons Learned
Stacey Lee’s book, Up Against Whiteness, explores the education system in the United States and its effects on the academic engagement of the Hmong American students. The book provides the knowledge required in multicultural education, ethnic studies, and Asian American studies with compelling themes. One can learn that racism goes a long way beyond insults and physical abuse.
Readers also learn the need to adopt culturally relevant teaching pedagogy through the book. Furthermore, it suggests the employment of culturally competent teachers. Finally, the book gives researchers insight into the best data collection techniques for conducting educational ethnographic research in schools.
Reference
Lee, S. J. (2005). Up against whiteness: Race, school, and immigrant youth. Teachers College.