[Mis] Education

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mis] Education

Student’s Name

Institution affiliation

Course

Date

 

A. Kohl and working with text

Passage 1:

“The counselor, to our astonishment, refused to accept the class and told us that he wasn’t sure Akmir was repentant enough. He informed us that he would release the diploma at his own pleasure. I pleaded and did everything I could to convince him to change his mind, including trying to use the prestige of Teachers College. I even threatened to go to the Board of Education and create a scandal, but nothing worked. The counselor was adamant. Akmir was devastated. There was no appeal, though, and we both left the school ready to blow the place up.”

Why I chose this passage: This moment points out a random display of power by an authority character, in which the counselor’s individual judgement of Akmir’s ‘repentance’ became the motive for denying him his diploma. The idea of authority figures withholding something as important as education based on personal biases is worrying and reflects the larger oppression theme.

Relation to my own experience: In my education realm, I have come across situations in which authority characters made choices that felt more about power dynamics than fairness. While I haven’t gone through anything severe as Akmir, I recall times when teachers used their position to enforce judgement or rules that seemed unrelated to academic performance, which created frustration. In contrast, I was lucky to have other supportive educators who prioritized fairness over individual prejudices.

Passage 2:

“As it turned out, Akmir didn’t really need the diploma. He was going to be drafted anyway. But he was devastated by that rejection, which seemed to him to be the end of everything. After that, he began wandering the streets aimlessly. I found him a few times in the Village, but he didn’t have much to say. I felt the pain of having failed him, not being able to convince the counselor to give him his diploma. He ended up being abandoned in the emergency room of a nearby hospital where he died of an overdose of heroin—one more victim of what he spent his life not-learning. I felt that I had failed him again.”

Why I chose this passage: This excerpt demonstrates how profound emotional devastation, caused by personal struggles and systemic barriers, can lead to tragic outcomes. Akmir’s overdose is framed not only as a individual loss but as a consequence of the universal forces that excluded him leading to his ‘not-learning’. It’s a authoritative annotation on how societal rejection and systematic failure affect vulnerable people.

Relation to my own experience: While I have not experienced systematic rejection to the Akmir’s level, I have seen peers struggling with feeling of alienation by the education system, which was usually rigid and not tailored to diverse requirements. The idea of “not-learning” because the system fails to respect or include individual is something I can relate with. The excerpt made me mirror on how educational settings can either contribute to decline or nature students based on how exclusive or inclusive they are.

Passage 3:

“Imitating your oppressors and trying to integrate yourself into their society might work better in the short run and keep you out of trouble, but it costs more in the long run. Akmir was among those brave people who refused to abandon self-respect or allow himself to be consumed by hatred and self-hatred. Not-learning to think white was a strength that got him in trouble with those who believed in that kind of thinking, but so far as I’m concerned, his life was honorable and his death a tragic loss. He didn’t give in to the way things were. He didn’t assimilate, and he didn’t try to fit in where he wasn’t wanted.”

Why I chose this passage: This echo on Akmir’s decision to resist integration into a society that oppressed him echoes deeply. The ideology of “not-learning to think white” speaks to the larger identity and self-preservation theme in the aspect of systematic racism. Kohl respect’s Akmir’s position, even though it brough hardships, leading to an authoritative argument for the value of upholding integrity.

Relation to my own experience: This passage reminds me of the subtle pressures to conform within educational spaces. While I didn’t face the extreme circumstances Akmir did, there were moments when I felt that success was tied to fitting into specific molds or ideologies. This passage challenged me to think about the fine line between integrating into a system and losing one’s identity. It makes me appreciate the importance of educators who create spaces where students can succeed without sacrificing their uniqueness.

 

A. Mura and working with text

Passage 1:

“In 1992, I worked with a number of local Asian Americans to start the Asian American Renaissance, an Asian American community arts organization. During the inaugural conference of the AAR, at a party at my house, theater artists Rick Shiomi and Dong-il Lee started a conversation about creating an Asian American theater company here, and the two became the co-founders of what is now called Mu Performing Arts. In the years since, the Twin Cities have become a center for Asian American art and artists (Mu is the second-largest Asian American theater company in the country).”

Why I chose this passage: This except points to the significance of creating community spaces for the alienated voices, particularly for Asian Americans in the arts. Mura’s role in launching the Asian American Renaissance shows how intentional efforts can lead to success of cultural spaces that provide opportunity and visibility to underrepresented groups.

Relation to my own experience: In my educational journey, there were usually student groups formed around cultural identities, but they were faced with difficulties in gaining appreciation or institutional support. Visualizing how Mura’s efforts helped create a significant space for Asian American artists makes me mirror on how powerful grassroots organizing can be. I appreciate that creativities led by those withing disregarded groups, like Mura’s, can be transformative for the whole community, opposing with my own experience of limited institutional support for diversity initiatives.

Passage 2:

“In part because so many of us artists of color here still feel shut out from the mainstream, so many of us feel unrecognized or under recognized, we don’t see art as a refuge from or as separate from political and racial concerns. And especially among the Asian American artists here, we’re more openly pissed with the status quo; we’re more up front about our identity and issues as Asian Americans than places where there are more substantial numbers of Asian Americans, as in parts of California.”

Why I chose this passage: This passage illustrates the frustration that many artists of color feel regarding exclusion from the mainstream. Mura captures the way art and activism intersect for marginalized groups, expressing that art is not just a space for creativity but also a means of confronting political and racial issues.

Relation to my own experience: This passage contrasts with how art was presented in my educational experience, where it was often discussed as a neutral, apolitical space. In school, artistic work was seldom linked to activism or social justice, even though many students of color, myself included, felt the weight of racial and political issues in our daily lives. Mura’s perspective here resonates with the realization that art can be a powerful form of resistance and self-expression for those who are otherwise excluded or silenced.

 

Passage 3:

“In the 1930s the Nation did a similar anthology. Langston Hughes wrote about Georgia; Sherwood Anderson about Ohio; Edmund Wilson about New Jersey. Sinclair Lewis, in his essay about Minnesota, talked about the strange new immigrants—the Swedes. Most white Minnesotans have forgotten that they were strangers here once. Or that they are not native to this land. One night at the Cabooze, back in the seventies, a Native American woman started talking to me, and she asked me to go with her to a Native bar on Franklin so she could show me her people. When I was younger and had long hair, there were times when Native Americans mistook me for Native, but this obviously wasn’t the case, since she used the phrase ‘my people’ and not ‘our people.’ Still, I sensed she wouldn’t have asked someone white to do this.”

Why I chose this passage: I picked this passage since it addresses both present day and historical issues of identity, belonging, and the way we define “outsiders” or “strangers”. Mura’s reflection on white Minnesotans overlooking their immigrant past attracts attention to how historical amnesia allows current dominant groups to alienate others. He also points out how Native American woman drew a boundary between “your people” and “my people” reminding Mura of the walls that persist even among the sidelined groups themselves.

Relation to my own experience: This passage resonates with the way I was thought history in my educational background, where the immigrant stories of European settlers were often romanticized, while the stories of original people or other racial minorities were alienated. In school, I saw how the struggles of non-white immigrants or native groups were either omitted or diminished, fostering a sense that we usually forget or ignore the manners in which we or those in out society, were once viewed as “strangers”. His insight pushes me to critically think regarding how societal narratives are constructed in favor of particular groups while dismissing others, which opposes with the selective history I was taught.

 

 

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