April+12+Questions


 * || ** What is a "Diverse Family"? Please provide supporting evidence to justify your answer. ** || ==== ====

**Who are considered the "model minority"and why is this group called that? **
|| - a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not. - a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for. - all those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor. || In my experience, the Asian and often Indian cultures are considered model minorities. As for why, it would depend on who is asked. There is a very proud American tradition of immigration and pulling one’s self up by the bootstraps and succeeding physically and financially. In a more recent wave of immigration, Asian cultures have established their communities in America and have succeeded to have healthy well-educated children and strong small businesses. The less “American” but potentially equally meaningful reason for this title has more to do with not attempting to influence government policies AKA the lives of those already in the country. I doubt that as many people would consider Asians model minorities if they attempted to have more government officials, lobbyists, and services to support their cultural communities. Also, the diversity of Asian languages prevents a sense of obligation to provide literature and translations, etc into the primary languages unlike Spanish. There are very few Asian politicians on the national stage. The only one that has national awareness is Bobby Jindal and he is far from making his heritage an issue in his politics. Matthew Fong also established himself in California politics. Both happen to be republican which, I believe, is necessary to be established as a national politics for most minorities. ||
 * Kate’s Answers || Webster’s Dictionary 2010 defines diversity as “The fact or quality of being diverse; difference.” Every family is different and therefore every family is diverse. Diversity can be seen through “genetics, residence, emotional ties, rules, or legal status” (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010, page 1) just to name a few ways. Families can be diverse through their “sizes, shapes, structure, configurations, and makeup” (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010, page 1). Families can also be diverse through where they live, how they sleep, and what they eat. My best friend’s family is diverse through my perspective as all 3 generations live in the same house and each family participates in “family bed.” Where as in my family all of the children leave the house when they are through with college, and we were never allowed to sleep in our parent’s bed. No one can say which is right or wrong, but that each is an example of a diverse family. || The myth of the model minority is that Asian American’s are “devoted, obedient to authority, smart, good in math and science, diligent, hard workers, cooperative, well-behaved,docile, college-bound, quiet, and opportunistic” (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2010,page 155). This isas a result of the belief that their culture teaches them the importance of obedience and education; this may bias class privilege in school. As a result this “reflects poorly on other groups (African Americans and Latino) that racism holds back” (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2010, page 15) ||
 * Jesse’s Answers || A diverse family is in the eye of the beholder. A diverse family is made up differently from one’s own perspective of what a traditional family is. Diversity can be seen in the size of the family, beliefs, and makeup. For example, families can be two-parent families, single-parent families, and extended families. According to Gonzalez-Mena (2010) there are many definitions for what a family is. || The group that is called a “Model Minority” is Asian Americans because of their perceived success in the United States. The reason for giving Asian Americans this label is because they are seen as overcoming great obstacles to be successful in the United States. Asians came to the United States not knowing the language of the land, having different beliefs, and different culture. But even with all these obstacles Asian Americans are perceived as having great success in the United States. ||
 * Jacquie’s Answers || A diverse family is not a term I’m familiar with. By reading the term in the context of our class, what first comes to my mind is a group of persons considering themselves “family” in which there are persons from differing backgrounds or groups e.g. culture, race, social class, provenance. Diversity in the social sciences refers to a heterogeneity of culture, race and/or class. Family is a broad term but these are the most common definitions in my experience-
 * Sabrina’s Answers || According to Gonzalez-Mena (2010), families “come in all sizes, shapes, configurations, and makeup “(p.1). Identifying who and what makes up a family varies across cultures. A diverse family is one that is composed differently from an individual’s perspective of a traditional or ideal family. For example, I grew up in a two-parent Filipino American household, while my colleague grew up in a stepfamily with an Irish-American and Italian background. Both of us would view the others’ family as diverse because each differs from our own familiar environment. A diverse family can also refer to a family consisting of members with a variety of ethnicities, religions, interests, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. For example, I might consider my own family diverse because our hobbies and interests vary. || Lisa Delpit (2006) wrote "There is a widespread belief that Asian-American children are the 'perfect' students, that they will do well regardless of the academic setting in which they are placed" (p. 170). The Asian and Pacific American community is considered a “model minority” in the United States because of the assumption that Asian and Pacific American students are hardworking, smart, and obedient. These assumptions stem from practices in Asian cultures of valuing submissiveness and compliance toward elders and teachers, as well as emphasizing the importance of high academic achievement. ||