Hispanic Americans v. Asian Americans

1. Overview: I have many Asian students who face many stereotypes and prejudices from their American counterparts. The following is a plan I use in my 11th grade physics class. 1. WHAT- to better understand Asians students. I will make an attempt to get to know the student and learn about their family and upbringing. I will teach physics using sports analogies as a lesson plan, students will work in teams, gather data and make charts and graphs of data from sporting performances. Students will use mathematical formulas and equations to compute the correct answer. 2. WHO- I will be responsible for executing and overseeing plan. Students will carry out lesson plan, with additional assistance from library staff. 3. WHEN- This research will take place during specific class periods and for homework. 4. WHERE- in my classroom, library computer lab. 5. HOW? 1. Teacher will explain research project to class and divide students into groups 2. Each group will be responsible for researching a specific component of the sports performance. Groups will work to write a summary, create a power-point, and an accompanying visual display for class presentation. Groups will use computer software to display where findings graphically. 3. On assigned days, students will present their work to class. 4. Students will then set up their visual displays in hallway and will present to classmates and other classes/teachers in school on assigned day. 5. Parents and guests will be invited to see hallway showing during the final week of the project. 6. If possible, Asian snacks will be available in the classroom.

2. Overview: I have many Hispanic students who face many stereotypes and prejudices from their American counterparts. The following is a plan I use in my 12th grade Active Physics class. Active Physics allows students to investigate physics concepts without having to perform rigorous mathematical problems. Students that show adequate ability will be given the regular physics lesson plan. 1. WHAT- to better understand Hispanic students. I will make an attempt to get to know the student and learn about their family. Try to get to know any siblings or cousins a student has at school, especially since older siblings are often expected to look after their younger siblings. I will teach active physics using sports analogies as a lesson plan, students will work in teams, gather data and make charts and graphs of data from sporting performances. 2. WHO- I will be responsible for executing and overseeing plan. Students will carry out lesson plan, with additional assistance from library staff. 3. WHEN- This research will take place during specific class periods and for homework. 4. WHERE- in my classroom, library computer lab. 5. HOW? 1. Teacher will explain research project to class and divide students into groups 2. Each group will be responsible for researching a specific component of the sports performance. Groups will work to write a summary, create a power-point, and an accompanying visual display for class presentation. 3. On assigned days, students will present their work to class. 4. Students will then set up their visual displays in hallway and will present to classmates and other classes/teachers in school on assigned day. 5. Parents and guests will be invited to see hallway showing during the final week of the project. 6. If possible, Hispanic snacks will be available in the classroom.

3. Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as "Asian" or reported entries such as "Chinese", "Filipino", "Indian", "Vietnamese", "Korean", "Japanese", and "Other Asian" or provided other detailed Asian responses. They comprise 4.8% of the U.S. population alone, while people who are Asian combined with at least one other race make up 5.6% As of 2012, Asian Americans had the highest educational attainment level and median household income of any racial demographic in the country, and in 2008 they had the highest median personal income overall of any racial demographic.

4. Hispanic (Spanish: hispano, hispánico Galician: hispánico, Basque: hispaniar, Catalan: hispà) is an ethnonym to people of country heritage that speak the Spanish language, in some definitions, to ancient Roman Hispania, which roughly comprised the Iberian Peninsula including the contemporary states of Spain, Portugal, Andorra and the Crown Colony or British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar. Today, organizations in the United States use the term as a broad catchall to refer to persons with a historical and cultural relationship with Spain, regardless of race and ethnicity. The U.S. Census Bureau defines the ethnonym Hispanic or Latino to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American (except for Brazil), or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race" and states that Hispanics or Latinos can be of any race, any ancestry, any ethnicity. Generically, this limits the definition of Hispanic or Latino to people from the Caribbean, Central and South America, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race, distinctly excluding all persons of Portuguese origin.

5. Additional Information not included in word count: Because of the technical distinctions involved in defining "race" vs. "ethnicity," there is confusion among the general population about the designation of Hispanic identity. Currently, the United States Census Bureau defines five race categories: • White or Caucasian • Black or African American • Native American or Alaska Native • Asian • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander According to census reports, of the above races the largest number of Hispanic or Latinos are of the White race, the second largest number come from the Native American/American Indian race who are the indigenous people of the Americas. The inhabitants of Easter Island are Pacific Islanders and since the island belongs to Chile they are theoretically Hispanic or Latinos. Because Hispanic roots are considered aligned with a European ancestry (Spain), Hispanic/Latino ancestry is defined solely as an ethnic designation (similar to being Norse or Germanic). Therefore, a person of Hispanic descent is typically defined using both race and ethnicity as an identifier—i.e., Black-Hispanic, White-Hispanic, Asian-Hispanic, Amerindian-Hispanic or "other race" Hispanic. The term "Hispanic" broadly refers to the culture, peoples, or nations with a historical link to Spain. The term commonly applies to countries once colonized by Spain, particularly the countries of Latin America that were colonized by Spain. It could be argued that the term should apply to all Spanish-speaking cultures or countries, as the historical roots of the word specifically pertain to the Iberian region. It is also difficult to label a culture with one term, such as Hispanic, as the customs, traditions, beliefs and art forms (music, literature, dress, architecture, cuisine or others) vary widely depending on country and even within the regions of said country. The Spanish language and culture is the main culture. Officially, however, the U.S. Government has defined Hispanic or Latino persons as being "persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America (except for Brazil), and other Spanish cultures". This includes Spain which is the origin of Spanish culture. The United States Census uses the ethnonym Hispanic or Latino to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race." These definitions include Spain but fully exclude non-Spanish speaking persons of Portuguese culture or origin based in Europe (as well as in Africa or Asia), but leave room for misinterpretation regarding persons of Brazilian origin (as Brazil is indeed located in South America, even if it does not speak Spanish or derive its culture from Spain, but from Portugal). The same happens to persons who can trace their origins to Suriname and Guyana (also in South America, but deriving their culture from The Netherlands and the United Kingdom). None of these countries regard themselves as Hispanic. Under the aforementioned definitions by the U.S. Government, it is clear that persons of Portuguese culture (Brazil) should not be classified as Hispanic.