East Asian parenting places strong emphasis on education, which has both benefits and drawbacks. While it has led to academic success for many Asian American students, it also places significant pressure that has caused distress, anxiety and even suicide for some. A balanced approach is needed that still cultivates discipline and skills but also accepts individuals' inherent talents and allows them to pursue their interests. Education should not be emphasized to such an extent that it comes before a person's well-being. Overall communities, not just governments or families, must work together to support all individuals and ensure opportunities are available to all.
Fifty Years of Boy Child Education in Kenya: A Paradigm Shiftinventionjournals
Discourses on gender parity over the last fifty years in Kenya have been focused on the girl child and women as victims of societal subjugation, perhaps a reaction to the philosophy of patriarchy. The fight to subvert patriarchy has seen numerous gender activist groups, human rights crusaders and others come forward to route for the right of the girl child to get education. For reasons that can be understood and perhaps considering that setups had always favoured boy children, little talk has over the years gone into the education of the latter. This has had implications. Recent researches are now revealing that in majority of the communities in Kenya, the boy child is beginning to lag behind the way the girl child was years back. Soon there may be a boy child crisis and a new gender gap between boys and girls. This paper explores the challenges facing boy child education suggesting an equitable approach to the provision of education for both girls and boys. Data was collected using interviews, questionnaires and observations of the boy child in the homes, school and community at large. Researches on the current trends in education were also consulted.
Fifty Years of Boy Child Education in Kenya: A Paradigm Shiftinventionjournals
Discourses on gender parity over the last fifty years in Kenya have been focused on the girl child and women as victims of societal subjugation, perhaps a reaction to the philosophy of patriarchy. The fight to subvert patriarchy has seen numerous gender activist groups, human rights crusaders and others come forward to route for the right of the girl child to get education. For reasons that can be understood and perhaps considering that setups had always favoured boy children, little talk has over the years gone into the education of the latter. This has had implications. Recent researches are now revealing that in majority of the communities in Kenya, the boy child is beginning to lag behind the way the girl child was years back. Soon there may be a boy child crisis and a new gender gap between boys and girls. This paper explores the challenges facing boy child education suggesting an equitable approach to the provision of education for both girls and boys. Data was collected using interviews, questionnaires and observations of the boy child in the homes, school and community at large. Researches on the current trends in education were also consulted.
The Division of Student Life at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville welcomed Kevin Kruger, president and CEO for NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education on February 11. Kruger spoke during the 2019 Southeast Chief Student Affairs Officers (SECSAO) annual meeting on February 10-12, 2019.
Kevin Kruger, Ph.D. draws on more than 35 years of experience in higher education. As NASPA president, Dr. Kruger represents student affairs at a variety of national forums and is a frequent contributor to higher education news stories on the college student experience.
Fifty Years of Boy Child Education in Kenya: A Paradigm Shiftinventionjournals
Discourses on gender parity over the last fifty years in Kenya have been focused on the girl child and women as victims of societal subjugation, perhaps a reaction to the philosophy of patriarchy. The fight to subvert patriarchy has seen numerous gender activist groups, human rights crusaders and others come forward to route for the right of the girl child to get education. For reasons that can be understood and perhaps considering that setups had always favoured boy children, little talk has over the years gone into the education of the latter. This has had implications. Recent researches are now revealing that in majority of the communities in Kenya, the boy child is beginning to lag behind the way the girl child was years back. Soon there may be a boy child crisis and a new gender gap between boys and girls. This paper explores the challenges facing boy child education suggesting an equitable approach to the provision of education for both girls and boys. Data was collected using interviews, questionnaires and observations of the boy child in the homes, school and community at large. Researches on the current trends in education were also consulted.
Fifty Years of Boy Child Education in Kenya: A Paradigm Shiftinventionjournals
Discourses on gender parity over the last fifty years in Kenya have been focused on the girl child and women as victims of societal subjugation, perhaps a reaction to the philosophy of patriarchy. The fight to subvert patriarchy has seen numerous gender activist groups, human rights crusaders and others come forward to route for the right of the girl child to get education. For reasons that can be understood and perhaps considering that setups had always favoured boy children, little talk has over the years gone into the education of the latter. This has had implications. Recent researches are now revealing that in majority of the communities in Kenya, the boy child is beginning to lag behind the way the girl child was years back. Soon there may be a boy child crisis and a new gender gap between boys and girls. This paper explores the challenges facing boy child education suggesting an equitable approach to the provision of education for both girls and boys. Data was collected using interviews, questionnaires and observations of the boy child in the homes, school and community at large. Researches on the current trends in education were also consulted.
The Division of Student Life at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville welcomed Kevin Kruger, president and CEO for NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education on February 11. Kruger spoke during the 2019 Southeast Chief Student Affairs Officers (SECSAO) annual meeting on February 10-12, 2019.
Kevin Kruger, Ph.D. draws on more than 35 years of experience in higher education. As NASPA president, Dr. Kruger represents student affairs at a variety of national forums and is a frequent contributor to higher education news stories on the college student experience.
Literacy Skill for the Girl Child - A Panacea for Reducing World Povertyleadershipmgtservice
A literate community is a dynamic community, one that exchanges ideas and engages in debate. Illiteracy, however, is an obstacle to a better quality of life, and can even breed exclusion and violence.
Yolanda martin gsu balancing the pros and cons of controlling images of asia...Yolanda Michelle Martin
Another of my graded collegiate papers. It is necessary to actually download this document to see electronic comments that I made responsive to comments made by the grading professor of this paper.
Adolescent Boys and Gendered Social transitions in Ethiopia (7 September, 2015)Young Lives Oxford
"Adolescent boys and gendered social transitions: Findings From the Young Lives Study in Ethiopia" by Gina Crivello and Nikki van der Gaag.
Presented at the Annual Development Studies Association Conference, Bath, UK
7-8 September 2015
What affects boys’ trajectories through school and work, including their aspirations, agency, place, and changing roles and responsibilities within family and community contexts? What obstacles do adolescent boys face as they seek to transition into young adults?
These questions were addressed in a presentation by Gina Crivello and Nikki van der Gaag at the UK Development Studies Association conference on 7 Sept 2015.
In recent years, adolescence has risen high on the global agenda, but boys are marginalised by an overwhelming focus on female adolescence. While there has been much focus on the harms that social norms and expectations can cause for girls’ well-being, what it means to be a boy in any given time and place is also socially constructed and dynamic. This paper shows how boys too can be disadvantaged by sexual stereotypes, social norms and economic adversity, and how gender norms become more entrenched as adolescents develop into young adults. In particular, we see how boys’ aspirations decrease over time while girls’ aspirations increase, particularly after age 15.
Securing paid work is key to boys’ transitions to adulthood, and at age 19, they strive for financial independence. They consider paid work to be a ‘protective factor’ in the sense that working prevents idleness and stagnation which they fear and resist. They also see themselves as ‘in-between’ childhood and adulthood – with a growing sense of responsibility and maturity, yet lacking adult authority and access to adult networks. Focusing much less on the promises of education for boys becoming men, work promises ‘change’ and represents persistence, hope and moral fortitude. But the reality of work is usually very different; a continual struggle to provide enough for themselves, their families, and their futures.
Sociology Essay Topic Ideas. Sample essay on sociology for the 21st centuryMichelle Kennelty
350 Sociology Essay Titles to find out how humanity, as a whole, works. Essay on Sociology Topics Sociology Topics Essay for Students and .... Education: AQA A Level Sociology Topic Essays tutor2u Sociology. Examples of sociological research topics. 100 Best Sociology .... Sample essay on sociology for the 21st century. Analytical Essay: Sociology essays topics. 50 New Sociology Essay Topics Samples, Ideas, Writing Tips. 11 Smart Sociology Research Topics That Will Get You an A - Owlcation .... Sociology Essay Essay on Sociology for Students and Children in .... What Separates Sociology from Common Sense Essay Example Topics and .... How to Write a Sociology Essay. Sociological investigation topics. Top 50 Sociology Research Topics .... Sociology essay ideas. Sociology Essay. 2022-10-30. 100 Interesting Sociology Essay Topics for college and university .... First Sociology Essay - David Flynn 117451924 SC Karl Marx and The .... Soci
The Success Frame and Achievement Paradox The Costsand Cons.docxsarah98765
The Success Frame and Achievement Paradox: The Costs
and Consequences for Asian Americans
Jennifer Lee • Min Zhou
Published online: 30 January 2014
� Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract The status attainment model highlights the role
of family socioeconomic status (SES) in the intergenera-
tional reproduction of educational attainment; however, the
model falls short in predicting the educational outcomes of
the children of Asian immigrants, whose attainment
exceeds that which would have been predicted based on
family SES alone. On the other hand, the cultural capital
model gives primacy to the role of middle-class cultural
capital in reproducing advantage, but neglects contextual
factors outside the family. We fill a theoretical and
empirical niche by introducing a model of cultural frames
to explain how the children of immigrants whose families
exhibit low SES and lack middle-class cultural capital
attain exceptional educational outcomes. Based on in-depth
interviews with adult children of Chinese and Vietnamese
immigrants randomly drawn from the survey of Immigra-
tion and Intergenerational Mobility in Metropolitan Los
Angeles, we show that Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant
parents and their children use ethnicity as a resource to
construct and support a strict ‘‘success frame’’ that helps
the poor and working class override their disadvantages.
However, there are unintended consequences to adopting
such a strict success frame: those who do not meet its
exacting tenets feel like ethnic outliers, and as a result, they
distance themselves from coethnics and from their ethnic
identities because they link achievement with ethnicity. We
conclude by underscoring the benefits of decoupling race/
ethnicity and achievement for all groups.
Keywords Second generation � Educational attainment �
Chinese � Vietnamese � Asian Americans
Introduction
In January 2011, The Wall Street Journal published an
article by Amy Chua, titled, ‘‘Why Chinese Mothers are
Superior,’’
1
shortly before the release of her memoir, Battle
Hymn of the Tiger Mother. The article and subsequent book
set off a firestorm of controversy; some lambasted Chua for
reifying the stereotype of the authoritarian Chinese mother
(and Asians parents more generally), while others praised
her for the candor with which she contrasted Eastern and
Western parenting styles. Chua argues that the Eastern
parenting style is more likely to produce ‘‘successful kids,’’
‘‘math whizzes,’’ and ‘‘music prodigies’’ because the ‘‘Tiger
Mother’’ understands the cultural formula for success: an
unyielding schedule of hard work, discipline, and rote rep-
etition. By contrast, the Western parenting style focuses on
developing children’s individuality through positive rein-
forcement—asking them to ‘‘try their best,’’ and allowing
them to follow their passions and make their own choices.
Chua attributes her successful parenting style to Chinese
.
Literacy Skill for the Girl Child - A Panacea for Reducing World Povertyleadershipmgtservice
A literate community is a dynamic community, one that exchanges ideas and engages in debate. Illiteracy, however, is an obstacle to a better quality of life, and can even breed exclusion and violence.
Yolanda martin gsu balancing the pros and cons of controlling images of asia...Yolanda Michelle Martin
Another of my graded collegiate papers. It is necessary to actually download this document to see electronic comments that I made responsive to comments made by the grading professor of this paper.
Adolescent Boys and Gendered Social transitions in Ethiopia (7 September, 2015)Young Lives Oxford
"Adolescent boys and gendered social transitions: Findings From the Young Lives Study in Ethiopia" by Gina Crivello and Nikki van der Gaag.
Presented at the Annual Development Studies Association Conference, Bath, UK
7-8 September 2015
What affects boys’ trajectories through school and work, including their aspirations, agency, place, and changing roles and responsibilities within family and community contexts? What obstacles do adolescent boys face as they seek to transition into young adults?
These questions were addressed in a presentation by Gina Crivello and Nikki van der Gaag at the UK Development Studies Association conference on 7 Sept 2015.
In recent years, adolescence has risen high on the global agenda, but boys are marginalised by an overwhelming focus on female adolescence. While there has been much focus on the harms that social norms and expectations can cause for girls’ well-being, what it means to be a boy in any given time and place is also socially constructed and dynamic. This paper shows how boys too can be disadvantaged by sexual stereotypes, social norms and economic adversity, and how gender norms become more entrenched as adolescents develop into young adults. In particular, we see how boys’ aspirations decrease over time while girls’ aspirations increase, particularly after age 15.
Securing paid work is key to boys’ transitions to adulthood, and at age 19, they strive for financial independence. They consider paid work to be a ‘protective factor’ in the sense that working prevents idleness and stagnation which they fear and resist. They also see themselves as ‘in-between’ childhood and adulthood – with a growing sense of responsibility and maturity, yet lacking adult authority and access to adult networks. Focusing much less on the promises of education for boys becoming men, work promises ‘change’ and represents persistence, hope and moral fortitude. But the reality of work is usually very different; a continual struggle to provide enough for themselves, their families, and their futures.
Sociology Essay Topic Ideas. Sample essay on sociology for the 21st centuryMichelle Kennelty
350 Sociology Essay Titles to find out how humanity, as a whole, works. Essay on Sociology Topics Sociology Topics Essay for Students and .... Education: AQA A Level Sociology Topic Essays tutor2u Sociology. Examples of sociological research topics. 100 Best Sociology .... Sample essay on sociology for the 21st century. Analytical Essay: Sociology essays topics. 50 New Sociology Essay Topics Samples, Ideas, Writing Tips. 11 Smart Sociology Research Topics That Will Get You an A - Owlcation .... Sociology Essay Essay on Sociology for Students and Children in .... What Separates Sociology from Common Sense Essay Example Topics and .... How to Write a Sociology Essay. Sociological investigation topics. Top 50 Sociology Research Topics .... Sociology essay ideas. Sociology Essay. 2022-10-30. 100 Interesting Sociology Essay Topics for college and university .... First Sociology Essay - David Flynn 117451924 SC Karl Marx and The .... Soci
The Success Frame and Achievement Paradox The Costsand Cons.docxsarah98765
The Success Frame and Achievement Paradox: The Costs
and Consequences for Asian Americans
Jennifer Lee • Min Zhou
Published online: 30 January 2014
� Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract The status attainment model highlights the role
of family socioeconomic status (SES) in the intergenera-
tional reproduction of educational attainment; however, the
model falls short in predicting the educational outcomes of
the children of Asian immigrants, whose attainment
exceeds that which would have been predicted based on
family SES alone. On the other hand, the cultural capital
model gives primacy to the role of middle-class cultural
capital in reproducing advantage, but neglects contextual
factors outside the family. We fill a theoretical and
empirical niche by introducing a model of cultural frames
to explain how the children of immigrants whose families
exhibit low SES and lack middle-class cultural capital
attain exceptional educational outcomes. Based on in-depth
interviews with adult children of Chinese and Vietnamese
immigrants randomly drawn from the survey of Immigra-
tion and Intergenerational Mobility in Metropolitan Los
Angeles, we show that Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant
parents and their children use ethnicity as a resource to
construct and support a strict ‘‘success frame’’ that helps
the poor and working class override their disadvantages.
However, there are unintended consequences to adopting
such a strict success frame: those who do not meet its
exacting tenets feel like ethnic outliers, and as a result, they
distance themselves from coethnics and from their ethnic
identities because they link achievement with ethnicity. We
conclude by underscoring the benefits of decoupling race/
ethnicity and achievement for all groups.
Keywords Second generation � Educational attainment �
Chinese � Vietnamese � Asian Americans
Introduction
In January 2011, The Wall Street Journal published an
article by Amy Chua, titled, ‘‘Why Chinese Mothers are
Superior,’’
1
shortly before the release of her memoir, Battle
Hymn of the Tiger Mother. The article and subsequent book
set off a firestorm of controversy; some lambasted Chua for
reifying the stereotype of the authoritarian Chinese mother
(and Asians parents more generally), while others praised
her for the candor with which she contrasted Eastern and
Western parenting styles. Chua argues that the Eastern
parenting style is more likely to produce ‘‘successful kids,’’
‘‘math whizzes,’’ and ‘‘music prodigies’’ because the ‘‘Tiger
Mother’’ understands the cultural formula for success: an
unyielding schedule of hard work, discipline, and rote rep-
etition. By contrast, the Western parenting style focuses on
developing children’s individuality through positive rein-
forcement—asking them to ‘‘try their best,’’ and allowing
them to follow their passions and make their own choices.
Chua attributes her successful parenting style to Chinese
.
Safalta Digital marketing institute in Noida, provide complete applications that encompass a huge range of virtual advertising and marketing additives, which includes search engine optimization, virtual communication advertising, pay-per-click on marketing, content material advertising, internet analytics, and greater. These university courses are designed for students who possess a comprehensive understanding of virtual marketing strategies and attributes.Safalta Digital Marketing Institute in Noida is a first choice for young individuals or students who are looking to start their careers in the field of digital advertising. The institute gives specialized courses designed and certification.
for beginners, providing thorough training in areas such as SEO, digital communication marketing, and PPC training in Noida. After finishing the program, students receive the certifications recognised by top different universitie, setting a strong foundation for a successful career in digital marketing.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Biological screening of herbal drugs: Introduction and Need for
Phyto-Pharmacological Screening, New Strategies for evaluating
Natural Products, In vitro evaluation techniques for Antioxidants, Antimicrobial and Anticancer drugs. In vivo evaluation techniques
for Anti-inflammatory, Antiulcer, Anticancer, Wound healing, Antidiabetic, Hepatoprotective, Cardio protective, Diuretics and
Antifertility, Toxicity studies as per OECD guidelines
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
Digital Tools and AI for Teaching Learning and Research
Stupid is as parents does.
1. Stupid is as Stupid Does
An Essay on East-Asian Parenting in Regards to Education
2/10/2014
2. “I’ve come here to commit suicide.”
Ernest Hemmingway once said that a true story can be told in 6 words. The above sentence tells
the story of the East-Asian parenting system, as told by one of its victims. In 2002, Jack Neo,
along with the help of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, created a compelling satire of the Singapore
educational system that inspired political reform and addressed a critical issue in eastern culture.
This issue stems from parenting and comes in the form of what many westerners might deem as
an overemphasis on education. However, while many students in the eastern-traditional cultural
paradigm face duress, anxiety and potentially failure from an overbearing system that places
weights of perfection on tender shoulders; this same system has also spawned 1000’s of years of
wisdom, productivity, and what is now the second largest economy in the world. In this essay,
we will be discussing certain methods of parenting that east-Asian traditional families are
accustomed to and analyzing their effects on the recipients of these systems in the present day.
The 66%
In 2007, a study on academic performance across ethnicities revealed that 66% of Asian
American students studied/completed homework at least 5 days per week, in comparison to their
Caucasian, Hispanic and African-American peers at 40% and 33%, respectively. (Seal, 2010) In
retrospect, other studies have concluded that this may be due to an increased pressure placed on
education in Eastern-Asian households from an early age. A report by the sociological research
magazine, “The Pacific Standard,” suggests that this culture derives from age old principals of
Confucius, who taught the concept of ‘filial piety,’ among other things. This term stands for the
balance of relations between parent and child, stating that a child should be respectful and
obedient to their elders while the parents should responsibly and dutifully govern and discipline
3. their child. In modern day culture, this discipline has correlated with a need for educational
superiority to allow one’s child to get the highest grades, go to the best schools and be rewarded
with the best salaries; ultimately leading a better life. Hence, in 60% of East-Asian cultures,
skills such as reading, mathematics and science are taught as early as the pre-school level, in
comparison to this same practice in only 16% of Caucasian households. This often however
leads to Asian high school students leading more independent lives when it comes to preparing
for homework and quizzes, as they have already been taught how to manage their time, be
focused, concentrate and persevere. At this same period of time, while their counterparts are still
mastering the concepts of getting good grades, Asian Americans are focused on quality highereducation options; perhaps leading to an astonishing 40% Freshman enrollment at colleges like
the University of California Los Angeles (a state where the Asian population is only at 14%).
(Seal, 2010)
The Few, the Proud, the Educated
So why is it exactly that Asian parenting gets the attention centered around the topic of
educationally elite children? Well, women’s education advocate Carol Fishman Cohen shares
that it’s because in the Asian household, the mom is often responsible for 100% of the
upbringing of the child. It’s the mother who has the job of raising the child and it is the mother
whose honor is on the line when a child is faced with life’s ultimate crossroads: “failure” or
“success.” Speaking at a women’s empowerment conference in Japan, Cohen was confronted
with the harsh reality that often, the women are pressured to give up their lives, job hopes and
other potential sources of happiness for the sake of making sure their children attend top
universities; often suffering shame and ridicule from their husbands, in-laws and parents if they
don’t. This pressures the mother figure to go to extremes to make sure that the child provides
4. honor for the entire family. While this might present itself to some as a harsh and overbearing
method of love, in some senses empirical data proves that it works. 44% of Asian American’s
boast college bachelor’s degrees, compared to 26% of white American’s and according to the
National Assessment of Educational Progress, Asian American’s top the charts at reading levels
in the categories of 12th grade reading, 4th grade reading and 8th grade reading. This isn’t just the
typical “math and science” bias that Asian Americans get, but it shows that apparently, Asians
can read better than white people with long standing heritage in this country. While many of this
is fodder for pride, congratulations and private lectures (“son, you better show these white folks
that you can read and write better than they can), it is also a source of pain for some, as the
culture of “saving face” prevents many Asian women from crying out against the pressures they
face to produce educated children. (Cohen Fishman, 2011)
Good Cop Bad Cop
So we’ve seen the results: Asian parenting wins the race in regards to distance gained, but how
about stamina and overall performance? In the movie, “I Not Stupid,” one of the main characters,
Liu Kok Pin attempts to commit suicide based on frustration of not being good enough to
compete academically. Although he was unsuccessful, recent tragedies throughout the US have
shown that the pressure to succeed academically is one that plagues us- not as an ethnicity- but
as humans. Since returning from the winter break period, 4 students have since committed
suicide at the University of Pennsylvania citing issues related to grades and academic
performance. With many more cases throughout the country also being noted, a question we
must ask ourselves as a county is: are we focusing too much on academic performance? Let’s
take a look at the case of Mr. Kok Pin in the “I Not Stupid,” movie. Although he was not
succeeding academically, his personal talent in the realm of art was so highly regarded that he
5. even won second place in an international art competition; a feat that was overshadowed by his
mothers collapse due to a sudden onset of Leukemia. Should we as a nation, world, shift our
focus to providing acceptance for inherent gifts that we each posses and away from churning as
many people as possible through the economic machine that seems to fail a majority of them
anyway? An academic pursues his interest and he becomes a professor. An artist pursues her
interest and she becomes a painter. An entrepreneur pursues his interests and he becomes a
successful businessman. A child is not told to pursue his interest, so he spends $50,000 a year in
college, leaves indebted to the government and maintains an average lifestyle that constantly
stresses him and puts him in a class lower than those who have been able to obtain wealth
through inheritance or creation spurred by the ability to pursue their interests. While having a
society of individuals that are well-educated is not a bad thing per say, there are ways to
incorporate traits of the East-Asian parenting system within a holistic worldview and approach.
For example: 79% of Asian college students viewed knowledge as a continual quest for selfimprovement while their Caucasian counterparts likened knowledge to a set of facts and
information that was memorized. The Chinese mindset in studies noted was to, “focus, practice
diligence and master concentration,” all traits that can be applied to any field of endeavor. An
acceptance of human behavior, desires and abilities, matched with an early development of
critical skills and discipline may very well be the situation we need.
Mortal Kombat
In the Indian film, “Taare Zameen Par,” 8 year old Ishaan goes through a similar predicament as
young Liu Kok Pin. Ishaan does not show the academic progress that his parents, a businessman
father and housewife mother, desire. Instead, he is filled with imagery and applies it to the world
of art- a subject that his society does not deem as fitting. Through the help of an art teacher at the
6. boarding school he gets sent to, Ishaan discovers his dyslexia, learns to overcome it and
eventually excels in his artistic endeavors; leaving his mother speechless and his father in tears.
This inner struggle, to accept what we are told is imperfect, is indicative of our human natures.
To survive means to have access to the means of production and to do so means to give up
internal wants and needs and succumb to a standard placed upon oneself. I call this a mortal
kombat- a human fight to release the energy within them.
The Tree of Life
As I make these comments I do so with the reality that there are billions of people across the
world that desire the basic forms of education to build a life for themselves and their families and
do not have access to it. There are millions more who are underperforming in our own country.
This essay is not meant to disrupt the paradigm of education as a useful tool, but to understand
that education is just that: a tool. To place greater emphasis on education than the person is to
live in a society where billions are left hungry, sick and poor in order to justify an existence that
produces wealth at a perpetual rate. At a certain point in time we must make a few clear points to
ourselves to see the way forward:
1) Humans create wealth and build the systems that maintain it. They then seek
educated people to help support the systems.
a. Therefore, when shaming the concept of wealth, one is really shaming the human
potential. The object of wealth is neither bad or good, it is simply a tool. The
person creating wealth is (in a positive light), creating opportunity based out of
one’s vision matched by the opportunity they see. The system that is designed to
increase wealth overtime is doing only what it is programmed to do. The fingers
7. should never be pointed, because in cases where true evil is occurring, only an act
of love can stop it. An evil individual should never be expected to voluntarily stop
an evil act, that is a why a good individual must always be performing a good act
to catch up.
2) Governments are too preoccupied with managing risk to place an active effort
towards bettering the people.
a. Great, President Obama got elected. So he’s going to spend the next 4 years trying
to get reelected. Oh he won? Well, he’s going to do whatever he damn well
pleases, because he’s already out. But he better not mess it up for his party,
because that will ruin the cycle of power. And vice versa. Governments, while
they (or at least some), genuinely try to do a good job to help the world, they’ve
got to protect themselves from millions of pointing fingers, which distracts them
from actually helping the world. Therefore, we should never expect the
government to solve a problem for us- a governments sole agenda (outside of
protection), should be to allow the opportunities for all individuals to have access
to success. With that being said, it is up to the village to raise the child. And how
do children learn? Be example.
b. So if it’s up to us to change the world, how do we do it without all of the power,
money and wealth? Simple- by realizing that we are the ones with power money
and wealth. Hating a man because he’s rich is just as bad as a man hating you
because you’re poor. Judge not by the wallet but by the heart. With that in mind
you’ll realize that individuals who give the most of their money to charity are the
8. wealthy and individuals who give the most of their time to charity our middle
class and individuals who benefit the most from charity are lower income. You
see the pattern? We must work together to achieve our goals, not putting pressure
on others because they are rich and are forced to give, but to share ideas to help
make the giving process more efficient and allow the recipient to benefit with
longevity. A.K.A., Public-Private Partnerships launched out of community
councils and organizations are probably the most sustainable and effective ways
to curb injustice.
3) Smile, Think, Act.
a. Sometimes that’s all you can do. When you smile the world smiles with you. A
little bit of positive energy can go a long way. A little bit of creative thought can
bring the right results and the right actions- as simple as spreading awareness of
issues through social media (along with your Justin Bieber trolls), can also bring
the issues of poverty and injustice to a greater light where the world can one day
come to a conclusion that evil is not sustainable-as told by the revolutions of our
time.
So there you have it, an essay on education turned into a political discourse. I think. All in all, In
a world where there is privilege such as ours, we must not focus on the education but focus on
the human behind the education; which will then spawn us to create opportunities for those
without education to receive the opportunities provided by the education of injustice we spread
to our peers- those who are happier now that they get to play with clay instead of write an essay.
9. Bibliography
Cohen Fishman, C. (2011). In Japan and Korea, Asian-style Parenting Means Mom Stays Home.
Working Mothers .
Seal, K. (2010). Asian-American Parenting and Academic Success. The Pacific Standard: The
Science of Society .