Challenges To Reckon With

Here are a few challenges the Hmong community is up against currently. They may sound a little theoretical, not practical, so I apologize. However, the practical problems are the ones that are solved on a case-by-case basis. These theoretical problems must be tackled by a larger discussion and informed action.

• Inter-generational connections. Because all Hmong grandparents and most parents started their lives in Laos or Thailand, the disconnect between generations literally seems as wide as continents at times. While children of any culture don't truly understand their grandparent's younger lives, I argue that it the Hmong families have a particular challenge. Connections between grandparents and children naturally form, but the passing on of history, language, and culture need some common language. Children born in the United States and attending school often speak English with higher fluency than Hmong. In fact, it would take conscious not-learning of English to continue to hold Hmong as your primary language. See the page entitled "Who's Who in the Hmong Community" for Kao Kalia Yang's book The Latehomecommer. She deals with the these topics with much more insight than I can. 
• The Model Minority Myth. Everybody in the nation agrees that we have a problem with the achievement gap. However, racial categories are clunky and inefficient. Because Hmong students are categorized as Asian students, they are grouped with students whose families may have been in the country for much longer and may have come from a different level of privilege. In fact, Asian students nationally are doing quite well statistically. Hmong students are grouped in these stereotypes, and may not be given the same assistance because their "race" isn't statistically under performing. Any time students have unfounded expectations put upon them, they will have to work to reconcile them with their real lives. 
• Disenchantment. This last one may not be able to be proven in all research literature. However, I see it in our students at times. Often, first generation immigrants remember the trials of the previous country: running away from soldiers, not having enough food in refugee camps, and looking forward to America or another country. On the other hand, second generation students see the un-kept promise of the American dream. It's the second generations students that find it improbable to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps. They see the racism of America, they confront sky-high tuition costs, they wonder how they will support their parents. Often this sense of futility can lead to dropping grades, or dangerous behavior. 

I consider our role as educators not to be people to solve these problems, but to recognize them, to partner with community members to find solutions, and then to actively teach towards more opportunity and empowerment of our students.