Like many schools in the area, until recently Alhambra High had a largeconcentration of “veteran,” predominantly white teachers who exerteda great infl uence on the school culture.
This reveals the impact teachers have in a school's culture. The predominance of veteran, white teachers at Alhambra High suggests that institutional norms, values, and practices may have been aligned with dominant cultural perspectives, which marginalizes the experiences and needs of a racially diverse students.
acialized privilege foregrounds thecentrality of racialized meanings and outcomes—that the circulation ofmodel minority discourse is not merely incidental or external but itselfparticipates in the production and reproduction of privilege. Accord-ingly, Asian American racialized privilege, in concert with being markedas a model minority, constitutes not a privilege to be considered normalbut a privilege to be considered exceptional (in comparison to other non-white minoritized groups). The prioritization of exceptional, racializedidentity collapses racial and class identities into one another and allowsfor a subsumption of class differences under presumed racial or culturalcommonalities
This exposes the mechanics of racialized privilege by exposing how the model minority discourse operates as a structural force that reproduces inequality. By framing Asian American success as exceptional, institutions conceal the systemic barriers faced by other minority groups and reinforce racial hierarchies that rewards proximity to whiteness. This is used as a scapegoat and used to suggest that failure is cultural rather structural.
Because AP and honors classes as well as many extracurricular activi-ties such as social clubs and student government were so predominantlyAsian, for many students, especially those categorized as “high-achieving”students, racially segregated social groups were easily perpetuated andnaturalized
This highlights how racialized patterns of academic tracking and class placement unintentionally reinforce social segregation within schools. The predominance of Asian American students in AP and honor classes reveal how academic tracking, cultural expectations, and institutional biases converge to racialize achievement. I think its also important to not how this could potentially harm students within that race, especially when they don't meet those levels of expectation. It makes me wonder how students who don't fit these expectations are perceived by institutions that perpetuate this kind of racialized thinking.
Some earlier studies during the legal segregation era indicated that manyAfrican Americans were encouraged, from a young age, to rigidly control theiranger and rage over discriminatory incidents affecting them.10 Historically, it wasvery dangerous for African Americans to unleash their anger about racist attacks.In earlier decades, black parents taught their children to remain even temperedin the face of extreme Jim Crow oppression, which silence demonstrably hadsevere effects on self-esteem and mental health—as it likely does in the case ofAfrican Americans and Asian Americans today
This reveals how systemic racism not only inflicts external harm but also demands internalized emotional discipline. The legacy of emotional containment reveals how racism operates through the regulation of affect shaping how marginalized communities are allowed to feel or express themselves. Seeing how both African Americans and Asian American communities have similar constraints shows how institutional racism continues to police emotional expression which tends to have negative effects on mental health and identity formation.
Althoughshe was rarely recognized for her significant involvement in important extra-curricular activities, people did associate her with academic excellence. Whileperforming well in school made her feel like an outsider, she worked hard foracademic success as a defensive mechanism
This really comes to show that academic success is no longer being a source of empowerment and joy but a shield against exclusion. Her excellence is only acknowledged narrowly and deeply confined to academics while her broader contributions are overlooked. This shows a systemic bias in regards to how merit is recognized. I think her relationship with school reveals how institutional cultures can distort the meaning of success, turning it to a coping mechanism for navigating environments.
Most school systems seem to allow much racist teasing. Respondents whoprotested to teachers were usually told not to take racial taunting seriously.Young Asian Americans are told to thicken their skin, while white and othernon-Asian children are often allowed to continue. The parents of tormentedstudents are frequently fearful about complaining of racial taunting and teasingand do not want to “cause trouble” or generate white retaliation. In this era ofschool multiculturalism, many administrators encourage teachers to celebratediversity in classrooms, and this superficial “be happy” multiculturalism maysometimes reduce their ability to see the impact of such racist treatment onstudents of color, as well as the underlying reality of institutionalized racism intheir educational institutions
This exposes how school systems tolerate racist bullying and exposes the tendency of institutions to mask harm with performative multiculturalism. Telling Asian American students to toughen up while excusing white peers behavior not only reflects bias but the systems refusal to confront racism. It is really upsetting to see that parents fear speaking out and feel that it is unnecessary due to the fear of being further discriminated against.