“Ask the Asian! He Knows!”: Dismantling the Model-Minority Stereotype in Mathematics

Authors

  • Keith Nabb University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Two firsthand experiences with the stereotype “All Asians are good at math” are shared—one as an undergraduate
mathematics student and another as a teacher of mathematics. Although the two episodes are separated by nearly twenty
years, the experiences are remarkably similar. The article discusses the origins of the stereotype, as well as how it racializes
the subject of mathematics and burdens members of the Asian American community. Through narrative storytelling, advice
is offered on how to confront and defuse racial prejudice in mathematical settings.

Downloads

Published

2023-02-08

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2022): Teaching for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics (TEEM): Special Issue on Antiracism in Mathematics Education, Part 1

Section

Articles

License

Authors of papers submitted to TEEM agree not to publish or submit for publication their paper while it is under consideration for TEEM. Authors agree to transfer copyright of the paper to TODOS, but still keep the right to share (without charge) print or electronic copies of their TEEM article with their students and colleagues. Authors may post a pdf of their article on their personal or school’s website after that article’s issue of TEEM has been made available to all on the TODOS webpage (since the most current TEEM issue is available only to TODOS members).