All posts by Pei-chi Chuang

Positive Attachment Drives Students’ Motive

Creating Classroom Community

“Liking a teacher can help with learning. It kind of ruins a subject if you don’t like the teacher. I never liked history at all. But this year I have a really cool teacher, and so even if it’s hard, even if I don’t do well on tests, I’m starting to like it more.”– Cushman

Although teachers play just as a facilitator in students’ path on learning, teachers may be a nice catalyst in the learning chemical reaction. Teachers join the reaction but are the products of the students’ learning.

For example, the student I shadowed in Essex Street Academy told me that she didn’t like the course, analysis of literature, but she liked the teacher. Continue reading Positive Attachment Drives Students’ Motive →

Shortcuts of Smart Aleck

Reaching Adolescents and How to Respond

“Wouldn’t it be great if he could swallow a pill rather than study for the test? Perhaps he could take a pill and get a “mental tune-up” for the PSAT.
Why go through the pangs of self-doubt even when I study hard, if I can get something like this to power me up! I’ll do it every time because it helps so much and doesn’t seem to be illegal.” — Philip 2006

Continue reading Shortcuts of Smart Aleck →

Do I Sound Gay?

Gender Socialization & Identities

Take a walk down any hallway in any middle school or high school in America. The single most common put-down today is, “That’s so gay.” It is deployed constantly, casually, unconsciously. Boys hears it if they dare to try out for school band or orchestra, if they are shy or small, or physically weak and unathletic, if they are smart, wear glasses, or work hard in school. They hear it if they are seen to like girls too much or if they are too much “like” girls. They hear it if their body language, their clothing, their musical preferences don’t conform to the norms of their peers. –Kimmel, p.108

“That’s so gay.” It’s an adjective expression in adolescents. Actually, most of students may not even know what does gay mean in middle schools. They are just saying the words to fit into peers. Continue reading Do I Sound Gay? →

Costs Behind Model Minority

Newcomers & Perpetual Foreigners

A close examination of this stereotype (model minority), however, reveals its damaging effects both for Asian Americans and for other people of color. First, the stereotype denies the face that some Asian Americans continue to struggle against structural and other barriers. Second, it has been used as a political weapon against other marginalized groups of color. – Lee

Seeing many private after-school centers in my community where I live in surrounding area of Brooklyn China town reveals that academic performance plays a critical role within the ethnicity. Many studies show that East Asian Americans outperform non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Hispanics by a significantly large margin. For example, Chinese-Americans make up a high percentage of high school valedictorians and academic decathlon winners, as well as enrollment into prestigious universities. However, there are some costs behind the academic successes. Continue reading Costs Behind Model Minority →