Time and time again, we see Asian-American students quietly but surely rising above their peers through their quiet, studious, and high test scores. What differentiates these students from their peers? Keith Osajima, professor of racial ethnic studies at the University of Redlands, delves into this topic in “Internalized Oppression and the Culture of Silence: Rethinking the Stereotype of the Silent Asian-American Student.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get an original essay In this article, Keith Osajima examines why so many Asian American students avoid participating in class, which he also calls non-situation. insurance. He has three theories as to why students are so quiet: the first is what he calls traditional Asian cultural values, the second is simply that English is not the first language of Asian students, and the third is called “internalized oppression,” which is the native language of Asian students. subject of this article. In a nutshell, internalized oppression occurs when an oppressed group comes to accept stereotypes about themselves and comes to reflect the identity given to them by the dominant group. For example, take the stereotype that Asians are good at math. In America, it is both a stereotype and an identity given to the oppressed group (Asians) by the dominant group (Whites). An Asian student will respond to this stereotype by striving to live up to it so as not to disappoint everyone, because they believe that being good at math is an integral part of their identity. Even though this stereotype is related to the Asian-American student being good at something, many of these students who are merely average at math are seen as less proficient simply because of this stereotype. This is a perfect example of internalized oppression because no one is pushing the student to reinforce these stereotypes except themselves. With the previous example, we can see how the behaviors of Asian American students are often manifestations of internalized oppression as students and as students. racial minorities. As students, Asians must participate in an oppressively structured educational system. This system is also known as the “‘banking system’ of education” (Osajima, 154). Teachers are seen as disseminators of knowledge and students as mere passive receivers of this knowledge. With this, a student does not need to think critically or ask questions, they just need to sit back and absorb the knowledge provided by the teacher. In this system, “a “good student” is calm, obedient, unconditional, prompt and attentive. They do well on teacher-designed tests. They can give the “right” answer” (Osajima, 154). For many Asian students who want to succeed in school, this message becomes a "natural, internalized indicator of our self-esteem" and it "creates a tremendous incentive to adhere to the image of a 'good' student" ( Osajima, 154 years old). . By adhering to this image of being a good student, Asian students simply perpetuate the stereotype that they are quiet, studious, and achieve well. The way Asians, as a minority, fought racial oppression is very similar to the way they approached school. As a minority, Asians remained silent and content to draw attention to themselves and worked hard to.