Searching for Equality: The Education of Cultural Minorities

5.1 What are the similarities and differences in different minority groups' struggles for educational equality?

• All minority groups started off in mission schools and/or segregated schools. Most of them struggle with language and cultural barriers in public schools. Some groups struggle with resistance and drop out rates more than others. Native Americans and Hispanics especially struggle in this area, while Asian Americans actually have higher achievement test scores and college attendance rates than other minorities and whites. Asian American have fared better overall than other minority groups, but still have problems in school and run into language and poverty obstacles. Considerable differences also exist between the educational experiences of different Asian American groups.

5.2 How does the concept of assimilation relate to Native American boarding schools?

• Native American education started in mission schools that attempted to assimilate Native Americans. These attempts were later formalized with treaties between the federal and tribal governments. Boarding schools tried to "Americanize" the children by forcing them to live at the schools. Tribal schools incorporated Native American culture but were underfunded and limited by poorly paid teachers and few instructional materials. Responsibility for their education has been shifted from tribal schools to public schools.

5.3 How does "separate but equal" relate to African Americans' educational experience in the United States?

• African Americans had very few educational opportunities before the Civil War. When the war ended slavery, the policy of separate but equal segregated African American children into separate schools that were unequal which received consistently lower funding and lower paid teachers. The policy remained in place until 1954 when it was overturned by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

5.4 How did the process of assimilation relate to Hispanic American and their native languages?

• Hispanic education began with Catholic mission schools in the southwest and shifted to public schools after 1848 (Mexican-American War). Assimilation was the initial policy and schools were often segregated with limited resources like with African Americans. Apathy, resistance to school, and dropping out are problems like Native Americans. Language differences often interfere with student learning and it has been a major barrier and the source of many problems.