Korean Multiracial Students

In Korean classrooms, multiracial students struggle to fit in

The only Korean one 15-year-old Chinese boy knew was simple greetings when he came to Seoul last summer with his mother, who married a Korean man.

But even after spending more than six months learning Korean at an alternative school, going to school is still torturous. He was recently admitted to a public school near his home, but soon decided to quit.

It is almost impossible for him to follow the class or make friends, said Kim Ji-sun, a consultant from Seoul On Dream Multicultural Education center, where he learned Korean.

“His teacher told me that he always sits alone and hardly speaks to anyone,” she told The Korea Herald, noting that the boy is now only waiting to come back to the alternative school.

Children from China, Thailand and the Philippines attend a home-schooling program run by the Global Sarang School in Seoul. (Yonhap News)

Korea is rapidly becoming a multicultural society, with the increase in ethnic and cultural diversity already reflected in classrooms. Data puts the current number of multicultural primary and secondary school students in the country at near 48,000, more than double what it was three years ago.

It appears, however, many of them find it hard to fit into classrooms here. According to government data, more than 200 students from multicultural families dropped out of school from 2010-2011 due to difficulties adapting.

Student dropouts are nothing new, but there seems to be a genuine problem with the current education system which turns away, especially, multiethnic students.

Until recently, the multicultural children were mostly born in Korea from foreign women married to Koreans. Today, an increasing number of children are brought here from overseas following parents’ divorce, remarriage and immigration.

The language barrier is the major concern, especially for foreign-born multiethnic children, according to Ryu Bang-ran, a senior researcher from the Korea Education Development Institute.

Data from the Ministry of Justice shows that there are more than 6,000 foreign-born children of school age here, nearly twice as many as a year ago. Nearly 83 percent, or 4,800, are from China.

“The problem is most of them came here with little or basic Korean language skills, so it makes hard for them to go to school,” Ryu said.

In research, the problem is also apparent. A survey of 413 newly immigrated children in Gyeonggi Province found that about one-third of them cited learning the language to be the most difficult part of living in Korea, followed by adjusting to the new environment and making friends.

There is no official data available regarding school-age children outside of the public education system, but Ryu estimated that more than 6,100 multiethnic children are currently not in school, indicating that the government has been slow to meet the needs of those children.

Ryu suggested that the country should learn from the U.S., which has a long history of dealing with immigration.

In the U.S., English as a Second Language programs have long been in public education systems due the large influx of foreign-born children. Currently ESL programs are in place at all public schools from pre-kindergarten to high schools.

“We should encourage schools to develop Korean as a Second Language curriculum to teach foreign-born multiethnic students,” Ryu said.

The dilemma is, she added, it is difficult to introduce KSL in schools as only a small number of children are non-native Korean speakers.

“Also, schools here are reluctant to take the leading role, because they acknowledge that the more multiethnic children there are, the more work there is to handle,” she added, suggesting the government needs to solve the dilemma

In fact, KSL programs are being developed. The government announced last year that, starting this year, it would introduce the Korean language classes for newly admitted multiethnic children, allowing them to acquire a the level of Korean necessary to adjust to the regular school curriculum.

The plan, however, has been at a standstill amid the government transition since the presidential election.

To successfully benefit the non-native multicultural students, the Education Ministry should provide more trained teachers, according to Hong Jong-myung, a linguistics professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“Currently, teachers receive only short training to run the KSL program. But in the long term it is important to nurture teachers specialized in teaching Korean as a second language,” added Hong, who also heads the Seoul On Dream Multicultural Education Center.

The government has announced that it would increase the number of preparatory schools, where children can take basic language and culture classes before entering regular school.

There are currently 26 preparatory schools for multiethnic children around the country, each with a quota of around 60-90 students.

Although the government is planning to add 24 schools by end of this year, they are still significantly insufficient to meet the growing needs of multiethnic children.

In Seoul, for instance, there are 1,219 non-Korean children, but only 68 of them had been admitted to preparatory school as of April 2012.

Some believe building more alternative schools that use a nontraditional curriculum designed for multicultural children can be one solution. There are currently four alternative schools, one primary and three secondary schools.

“But alternative school can’t be a solution for all multiethnic children,” Ryu added, “It can also be disadvantage for them, because once they learn from the alternative schools, they can’t adapt to other public education.”

While the authorities have been slow to come up with ideas to help multiethnic children adapt here, like the 15-year-old boy, many of them are in despair, wondering about their future.

A survey of 1,275 multicultural students around the country showed that the majority of them answered they had “no idea” to the question about future education and career desire.

“The multiethnic children are suffering in our education system because their unique needs are not being met,” said Yoon Seok-ryong, the principal of Masongjungang Elementary School in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, where about 10 percent of students are from multicultural families.

Yoon noted he believes multiethnic content must be integrated into the overall classroom curriculum.

“We have many multicultural students, so we make sure every curriculum, even pictures on the wall, reflect these children,” he said.

“We also work very closely with their families, and invite them to teach their language and culture to other students. It really helps students understand each other.”

He acknowledged, however, he feels more teacher training programs are urgent to support the children.

“Many teachers still lack the understanding of these students, and don’t like to teach them as it might mean extra work. Teachers must understand that they are also part our society,” he added.

Source: The Korean Herald by Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)

ANNOUNCEMENT! Multiracial Advocacy News!

ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF PROJECT RACE KIDS AND A NEW PROJECT RACE TEENS PRESIDENT!

We are very pleased to announce the launch of Project RACE Kids with President Karson Baldwin! We will dearly miss Project RACE Teens current President, Kendall Baldwin, and wish her the best as she leaves us to attend Harvard. We are equally as excited about the new Teens President, Olivia Mukendi!

Launch parties are taking place on the East Coast and the West Coast today--so let's get started and check here soon and often for more news!

Multiracial Tissue Typing

Did you know?

Tissue typing for cord blood follows ethnic and racial background. Cord blood donations can be particularly important for patients from minority groups who need a transplant but often have a difficult time finding a bone marrow match. White adult patients have a 60 percent chance of finding an unrelated match among potential bone marrow donors, compared to a 5 percent to 15 percent chance among some minority groups.

Hispanic Girls face Barriers

Hispanic Girls Face Special Barriers on Road to College

Hispanic women are more likely than Hispanic men to complete high school and college, but they still trail white and African-American women

By Katherine Leal Unmuth 

 

Dallas-After 15-year-old Valerie Sanchez spent a day of her spring break in Fort Worth touring the well-manicured grounds of Texas Christian University and listening to an inspirational talk from members of a Latina sorority, she felt sure of her future.

 

"I'm going to college," says the teenager after the visit organized by the Dallas center of Girls Inc., a national nonprofit group. "I want to be the first in my family."

But like many young Latinas, she faces a host of challenges in the coming years, as she works to graduate from high school, go on to community college, and then enroll in a four-year institution.

Sanchez moved from Mexico when she was 9 years old and enrolled in the 156,000-student Dallas Independent School District. After taking bilingual classes taught in Spanish and English, she found the transition to all-English classes in middle school difficult.

Consequently, Sanchez was held back in the 8th grade last year at Edison Middle Learning Center here in Dallas. She now attends tutoring sessions after school in addition to programs provided by Girls Inc. that focus on career planning and pregnancy prevention.

The plight of Latino young men often dominates the discussion of graduation rates. But young Latinas also face cultural, economic, and educational barriers to finishing high school and entering and completing college.

"There's the assumption that girls are doing fine," says Lara Kaufmann, a senior counsel at the National Women's Law Center, in Washington. "It's true that within ethnic groups girls are doing better than boys. But they're not doing well."

Falling Behind

While Hispanic women are more likely to graduate from high school and college when compared with Hispanic men, some statistics suggest they trail behind African-American and white women on some such measures.

Postsecondary Engagement Lags for Latinas

 

Latinas ages 18 to 24 have lower postsecondary-engagement rates than Asian, white, and black women of the same age bracket. Asian women are twice as likely as Latinas to be either enrolled in higher education or to have a postsecondary credential.

According to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of 2011 Census survey data, about 17 percent of Hispanic females ages 25 to 29 have at least a bachelor's degree, compared with about 10 percent of Hispanic males, 43 percent of white females, and 23 percent of black females in that age span.

To delve into why such gaps persist, the National Women's Law Center collaborated with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund on a 2009 study on educational outcomes for Latinas.

While the middle and high school girls interviewed in the report said they wanted to graduate from college, they also said they didn't expect to achieve that goal. The report also cited challenges for them in reaching educational goals, including such difficulties as immigration status, poverty, discrimination, low self-esteem, higher rates of depression and attempted suicide, gender stereotypes, and limited English proficiency.

A cultural emphasis on loyalty to family also can play a role. Latinas may be expected to take on additional duties as caregivers, such as helping to watch younger children or aid elderly family members. They may be expected to live with their parents until they are married, making it difficult to leave home to go away to college.

Ties That Bind

Celina Cardenas mentors Hispanic girls in the 37,000-student Richardson Independent School District in the Dallas suburbs. Cardenas, a district community-relations coordinator, is Mexican-American and feels she can relate to their experiences.

"It's kind of like you're born with responsibility—especially the girls," she says. "Doing something on your own may not sit very comfortably with them because they may not want to let anyone down. I talk to them a lot about not feeling selfish that they're disappointing their family by going away, and understanding there's nothing wrong with having those goals."

Family loyalty can cause Hispanic girls to choose less-competitive colleges than they are qualified to attend so they can keep living with their parents. They may also not be well informed about financial-aid opportunities to attend more expensive schools.

University of Texas at San Antonio education professor Anne-Marie Nuñez says that when girls live at home while in college, they may have a hard time focusing on their studies because of family obligations.

"They may be juggling multiple responsibilities that pull them away from being able to focus on their studies," Nuñez says. "Other family members may not understand the energy they need to focus on their studies."

In Texas, a nonprofit online magazine written by girls, called Latinitas, aims to empower young women. The organization also provides workshops, mentoring, and college tours. On the website, Saray Argumedo, 23, shares her own experiences about the tension with her family when she studied at the University of Texas at El Paso.

"All I can do is ask for forgiveness when my mom questions why I spend all my time outside of the house studying, working, and getting involved in my community," she writes. "I thought that they would be proud of me, but why are they so angry?"

Teenage Motherhood

Young Latinas also are more likely than most young women in the United States to have their own children as teenagers. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, in Washington, about 52 percent of Latinas become pregnant before age 20, nearly twice the national average. In Dallas, the nonprofit group Alley's House helps mothers complete their General Educational Development, or GED, studies and build their confidence.

Yesenya Consuelo, 19, dropped out of Spruce High School in Dallas her freshman year when she became pregnant with her now-4-year-old daughter. Consuelo wants to study at a community college to be a surgical technologist, but she needs to pass the math portion of the GED, which she has failed twice. She comes to Alley's House for math tutoring four days a week.

Consuelo says her daughter is her motivation to finish school. "I'm trying to be the best I can for her," she says.

Despite the challenges, says Nuñez, the education professor, "the truth is Latino families have as high aspirations as other groups. Sometimes, they just don't know how to translate those aspirations to reality."
Source: Education Week