<p>i think ChaiMex is right. Like it or not, the model minority label will stay with East Asians for a long time. Many East Asians embrace this stereotype and even find it a blessing. They feel that being a model minority is empowering to their image.</p>
<p>And there are other East Asians who find the model minority label as a curse. </p>
<p>You would think that after the Virginia Tech massacre committed by Seung-hui Cho, the image of East Asians as a model minority will be thrown out the window. Instead, East Asians only worked harder to reinforce that image and remind everybody that East Asians are STILL a model minority and that Seung-hui Cho was just some mental nutcase and wasn’t part of “us” (meaning the Asians).</p>
<p>I’m not saying that Seung-hui Cho represents Asians (of course not). But I am saying that with the sad Virginia Tech massacre committed by someone who’s often associated with the model minority image, I was hoping that maybe this will change perceptions a bit and everybody will see that Asians are just like you and me. We have our share of struggles and personal problems. But the Koreans didn’t want any of that – no, they’d rather continue to be seen as the model minority. </p>
<p>So what does it take to destroy the model minority myth? Get a bunch of Ivy League educated Chinese guys to commit some kind of Enron or Watergate scandal?</p>
<p>While IAmYourFather phrased his argument in a rather unflattering way, he makes a valid pont that the “Asian” we usually think of encompasses only Chinese/Indian/Korean/Japanese(though I don’t really see the Japanese mentioned all that much).</p>
<p>“contrary to stereotype, most of the bachelors degrees that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders received in 2003 were in business, management, social sciences or humanities, NOT in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering or math.”</p>
<p>“more Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders were enrolled in community colleges than in either public or private four-year colleges”</p>
<p>I believe that if the study focused more intensely on the Chinese/Indian/Korean/ Japanese group, you will find that a great number of the degrees would be focused on the STEM fields. Also, I believe that most of this group would be enrolled in 4 year public and private colleges than community colleges. Of course, it could just be my stereotype and my mistaken observations of the people around me speaking though.</p>
<p>That was what I was thinking too. If the study focused on the East Asians (Chinese/Korean/Japanese), Southeast (Viets/Thais, etc.), and South Asians, I think there will be a higher percentage of those in four year colleges.</p>
<p>If we narrowed the study to just East Asians, I will bet you that there will be a considerably higher concentration of them at the elite universities. Southeast Asians (with the exception of Viets and maybe Thais) generally are not as academically strong as the East Asians. The Japanese group are still stereotyped as a model minority even though academically, the Japanese have fallen behind (The number of Japanese going on to elite universities have dwindled). I personally know three Japanese people. One of them was my favorite high school teacher, and the other two are classmates. One of the Japanese classmates went to art school and is a graphic artist in NYC. The other went to SUNY and does marketing. Meanwhile, all the Chinese and Koreans I know of are Ivy Leaguers either in medical school or making big bucks in Wall Street or management consulting. </p>
<p>South Asians (Indians) are definitely high achievers, but not really labeled the model minority as much as East Asians because South Asians are johnny-come-latelies. Majority of South Asian have emigrated to America in the 1990s, and while their meteroic rise is very impressive (South Asians are starting to rival East Asians are elite institutions and high power white collar jobs), South Asians don’t really carry the model minority label on their sleeve as much as East Asians.</p>
<p>African immigrants are also johnny-come-latelies, frankly. African immigrants weren’t really considered a model minority until the last 5 years or so. </p>
<p>So ultimately, in America’s consciousness, the East Asians are THE model minority. Some love and embrace it, others find it a burden and a curse.</p>
<p>With all due respect, white America doesn’t really think about “the Asians”, as a model minority or anything else, as much as you think they do.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that the top universities have more Asians, much more than proportionate to the Asian population. You can find thousands of universities in this country where Asians are truly URMs, but where admissions is most fiercely difficult is where there is a large concentration of Asian students. Yes, there is an Asian stereotype, just as there are for many if not all ethnic groups, and in certain situations it holds true. The true shame of these stereotypes is that they are often applied even when they do not hold. It typecasts people before they are individually known.</p>
<p>Try again, Keefer. No such thing. I’m reacting to what I see presented here on CC, and how personally sad I find all the pressure that a lot of very smart and talented kids are under to conform to a very narrow definition of “success” ( = $$$) and a very narrow definition of good schools which eliminates / ignores a lot of other very fine schools in this country. It has reinforced for myself the importance of letting my 2 hs students major in what they want to major in, and the importance of fit over prestige. I totally get that the parents love their children and are only doing what they think is best. I can respect that, but not respect the methods that they use to get there.</p>
<p>But really, Pizzagirl, as much as some parents might push their kids towards something, it’s not as if the kids make it their prerogative to listen.</p>
<p>They know there are other schools out there, and I know plenty of Asians who haven’t attended top universities. For the college time, however, everyone just wants to get into their top choice. I don’t see anything wrong with that. As much as people complain about Asian parents, I haven’t heard of anyone disowning their child, or even refusing to pay their child’s tuition, because they attend a “sub-optimal” university. If they define Harvard as the best – well, sure, why not? Plenty of people do think it’s the best, and as much as people argue with the technicalities, it is indeed a top notch institution.</p>
<p>Which begs the question: What are these methods that you so do not respect?</p>
<p>So many people make the stereotype that Asian students are intelligent and receive good grades – why, then, do so many people simultaneously label them as unthinking zombies? The US prides itself on teaching components such as critical thinking and interpretation. They’re not in China, where sheer hard work and memorization can get them through life. If they do well in school, then they must at least be competent.</p>
<p>Logically, all humans are in pursuit of happiness. So what if money is all these people want? If it makes them happy, then go for it.</p>
<p>Many people make the stereotype that Asian students are intelligent BECAUSE they receive good grades. Many of them are unthinking zombies: they LACK these essential skills to succeed known as critical thinking and interpretation. Indeed, they are no longer in the motherland. When the harsh reality of college academics finally hits them, their diligence and rote will serve them no good.</p>