Du Bois talks about the Color Line. I have been in this country for a long time, but honestly speaking, I have not encountered discrimination because I am yellow. I think this is because many American people do not think Japanese and other East Asians are intellectually inferior, thanks to the extreme modernization of Japan and other Asian nations. Rather, American people tend to think I am smart once they find out that I am Japanese, and sometimes I am embarrassed when I can not meet their expectation on intellectual matters.
But I did encounter something which should be called the Culture Line. Rather than explaining this concept, I should give you one specific example.
When I finished my B.S. in math, I once tried to be a high school math teacher. So, I went to LAUSD for an interview. This interviewer had a strange look on me, and as soon as I finished introducing myself, he asked, "Are you familiar with American culture?" I was puzzled because I was trying to be a math teacher, and math was a universal subject. But he kept saying that teaching at American high school was really difficult, and he doubted whether I was a good fit to American high school. But the fact was that I went to American high school - Gardena High School which was one of LAUSD's high schools. I told him that, but he kept saying that American high school was quite different from Japanese high school. And he kept talking about cultural difference between the U.S. and Japan. I acknowledged that there was such cultural difference, but at the same time, I kept telling him that I went to Gardena High, graduated from UCLA with Department Honor and had a valid teaching credential. But he kept saying that I was not Americanized enough, so I was not hired while my other classmates whose qualifications were very similar to mine were hired.
This interview was really uncomfortable, and after that, I stopped thinking about teaching math at high school.
It seems many White people think that we (East Asians) are competitive intellectually, but they believe there is a huge cultural difference so that East Asians are "aliens" who are incapable of sharing American ethics and values.
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It is so interesting to read that Gardena High School questioned your Culture. I went to Gardena High School for the 2003-2005 school year and a month of 2004-2005. It was a horrible school. One thing I can say I gained from Gardena High was a better proficiency in math. However the question of your background should never be an issue, instead the question of their students ability to learn should be. LAUSD is one of the worst school districts EVER. Students do not know the clear differeces between taking a break and using your brakes to stop your car. Or the our and are. The their there and they're. Its really disgusting! Im sorry you had to deal with them.
I guess my story was not clear enough. "I went to Gardena High" means I went there as a student and graduated from there. The interview took place at LAUSD's office in Downtown L.A. I kept telling the interviewer that I graduated from Gardena High, but he kept saying that I did not know American high school well.
Ohhh okay then excuse my rant. But I am sorry for your awful experience.
Fellow GHS grads! To be quite honest, I was momentarily stunned to have come across something as well written as I just had, while simultaneously associated with the keywords "Gardena High School"-- really unfortunate, to be honest.
I graduated in the class of 2005, and laugh sadly at the comment from JaneBonD-- because, as we all know, it's true and then some.
I'm really glad to read about recent GHS grads who not only went into the real world, succeeded, but are also placing themselves in a position to be of service to schools/areas/populations that are subject to these kinds of conditions (especially you, Robert, as a math teacher.) Math is so important-- and so lacking, especially at GHS/in LAUSD/urban and rural community schools all together. Personally, I didn't take beyond geometry at GHS and even that was a struggle to get through. Now before you shake your head and sigh at the shame of a north east Asian unable to meet basic college entrance level requirements in math, I'll give you the good news-- I went on to El Camino, retook math from the ground up-- and I do mean ground-level ... learning fractions as an 18 year old is a piteous thing-- but I just graduated from UC Davis with a BA in Sociology, Political Science and Ancient History, with all math requirements cleared.
Good luck, Robert! The best of wishes and the whole of my heart goes out to you and all of your endeavors.
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