<p>LOL. I'm Asian and I both agree/disagree with perniciouspimp.
Let me explain...
Actually, my parents are rather liberal when compared to the Asian parent stereotype. They have never said, "You're doing horribly in school!" or "You need to do better!!"
They always say crap like "Don't worry! We know you did your best!" </p>
<p>Yet,the pressure is still there.</p>
<p>My father came over here with ZIP in his pocket because his parents didn't want him living in the U.S.
So in contrast to the nice comfortable living he had back home (was from middle-class upbringing), he had to start out destitute in a foreign country. He got accepted into Yale grad, but didn't have the money to attend. Anyway, long story short, I have grown up reaping in the benefits of his hard-earned efforts.</p>
<p>I appreciate everything my parents have done for me. I understand the simple concept that education leads to opportunities and that opportunites taken lead to a good life. I can understand Asian parents wanting their kids to have these type of opportunities availabe to them.</p>
<p>I just gotta say, kudos to Asian/Jewish, basically any parent(s) who puts pressures (direct or indirect) on their kids. It works. And yes, I understand how overbearing Asian parents can get as some of my Asian friends' parents demonstrated. X_X</p>
<p>However, look at it from the parents' perspective. It must be annoying as HELL to constantly fret about your kid's future. As a parent, you feel responsible for the way they turn out. The truth is, parents are to an extent--a large extent.</p>
<p>i just think you guys give too many generalizations. You meet different people wherever you go. Anyone can go....whether whatever race or religion you are. lol.....(=</p>
<p>My situation is just like yours El Padrino! Although, in my case, my mom and dad came here with zip because they were refugees. We have only been making a lot of money very recently.</p>
<p>I have a lot of pressure on me to do well, but it's pressure I put on myself. They do the, "Don't worry! You did your best!" thing too, which makes me feel ten times more guilty and wretched than I would if they had just yelled at me.</p>
<p>Oh, lol. Well, I'm Chinese (Taiwanese more specifically... it might be important to distinguish since China has that anti-secession act that's probably going to lead up to war with Taiwan). </p>
<p>lol, I'm interested to know how you assumed I was Indian because I used the word "fob".</p>
<p>Around here (Irvine, CA) it's an incredibly common word (due to the large asian population).</p>
<p>I know plenty of Asians, Jews, Blacks, and Whites who are pushed to succeed in school by their parents and guess what? They succeed.
Academic success isn't exclusive to Asians. It just goes to show what can happen when parents have high expectations for their children. Also, emphasis on grades education in general depends on one's financial situation. One earlier poster said that in his community getting a job at 16 is a bigger deal than education, but we must realize that that's what some lower- income families have to do to survive and unfortunately it perpetuates the cycle of putting no emphasis on education.</p>
<p>I also have one question, do ya'll look at Jews as a racial minority or religious minority? I'm just curious because when people say Jew I automatically associate thm with caucasians and not necessarily a "minority."</p>
<p>no one ever said it is excluse to asians, its just much more prevalent in the majority of asians while it cant be said or generalized for other races</p>
<p>jews arent a race, they are a religious minority. most jews consider themselves caucasions =P</p>
<p>fob = fresh of the boat...no?
I've ONLY heard it in a south asian context...and i do have several east asian friends..who haven't ever heard that term...
so i guessed....lol</p>
<p>ahh...california...that makes sense then....i'm out in New Hampshire...where there's not much in the way of asian influence...</p>
<p>i'm asian and came here to the US when i was three. Although my parents never looked at my report card or went to parent-teacher conferences, I got my motivation to succeed from watching them. About 16 years ago, my parents both earned full-scholarships at US Graduate schools to come do research and earn their M.D.s. I think that is pretty amazing considering the millions of people at the time competing for such positions. My dad arrived first with only $40 in his pocket. Yet now my parents have their own Medical Practices in NYC and are both insanely successful. While I appreciate my lavish lifestyle, I know that if I want to be anything like them, I have to work with the same determination. Although I plan to simply take over the family business, watchin my parents has made me appreciate the pleasure hard work can bring. I think that is really important to point out about the Asian Culture. The rewards of hard-work and ability to suffer has been passed down from generation to generation and might account for why so many more asian kids are on College Confidential, stress about college and why so many asian parents encourage their kids to want more and work harder. </p>
<p>Dunno about the rest but koreans are upsessed with college. </p>
<p>in korea, they study their 12 years of education and take an exam to evaluate their 12 years. College admission is 99% entirely based on those examination score. if ur sick on the test date? tuff; u've just ruined yer 12 years...</p>
<p>For this reason, there has been a mass histeria in getting extra tuition to better prepare the kids for exams. I guess thats why korean kids gets such high test scores. I know HK and Chinas super competitive but not too sure about Japan.</p>
<p>But the trouble we face is that we all are carbon copies of each other. the conservative parents think that this formula still works;</p>
<p>1600 + 4.0 + 1 sport + 1 instrument + community service = Harvard</p>
<p>I know lots attend Canadian schools since US private schools are insanely exp. and public schools arent an option for non-citizens. There has been this phenomenon where the dad maintains his job while his kids study in canada with his wife supporting them.</p>
<p>I think the one problem with the pressure placed on kids by their parents (and yes, this is mostly asian parents it seems, but it certainly is not limited to asian parents) is that they pressure them into one or two professions - medicine or law or some other high-paying field. Academic success is one thing, but pushing someone into an entire field of life is just pathetic. Especially with something like medicine where if you are just there because your parents wanted you to go into it, you will basically suck at it. I'm a big believer in the idea that you have to love what you do, and parental pressure to do one thing disgusts me.</p>
<p>Also in Japan, there's no jobs once college is over. But things will get better...I remember reading that only 836 Japanese are born a day....but they all usually live to be 95 :-/</p>