They are smart kids because they are not allowed a life outside of school, generally speaking. They are involved in activities, but even that has to be done to perfection. In Plano several years ago, the district found out that several of the Chinese schools had purchased the test we use for g/t identification and that they were giving the kids the tests to memorize before they would go in to take it. Get a life....
Same except the one class here is called Human Geography and that's the one for college credit. I figure this is her last summer to really just "be a kid" so why not let her enjoy it. Plus, our district has moved things around and the kids will all have one less week of summer to enjoy. That's where we are. Geom Honors, Spanish 2, and Biology. Math is one of the areas where kids can obtain an IB degree if they want. I went and talked to the guy who runs that program and he is really a dynamic and engaged teacher. He had Bama stickers and posters all over his room so I gave him some shit. He's from the OC but graduated from Bama and is now an academic recruiting coordinator for them out here. That is quickly becoming a destination school of choice for lots of kids in South OC. It is rough trying to find the balance between academic success and having a well-balanced kid. Sometimes they just need to do something fun or non-stressful so I will take my kids out of school for a day or two during the year, just as a surprise and go to Disney or Knotts or the beach.
Asians and Hispanics are the two extremes. Asians really have total parent involvement and it shows in the results just as the non-involvement in many Hispanic homes also show results. For Asians, I have seen it as clearly defined roles and responsibilities within the family unit. Kids learn early that they have 2 things they are totally responsible, held accountable, and rewarded/punished for.....respect your elders and obey your parents and study hard and do well in school to secure a bright future. They do make more money than non-Asian counterparts and more often hold advanced degrees. Non-Asian kids I see out here pretty much see the end of the school day as "the end" minus a few hours of homework. Asians see the entire day up to bedtime as being a student plus doing the jobs in the home. It sure can take a toll and they aren't always the most socially adept group. I rarely see them in any sports or other activity other than playing a classical instrument like piano or violin.
Yes and no. They are co-dependent but they typically place little value on higher education or even regular attendance at public school. Their aspirations are much less lofty than in an Asian family. For many of the immigrants, illegal and otherwise, fathers may not be present much in the home or both parents work full-time. With the language barrier, they often miss parent teacher conferences and have little communication with the school or administrators. It's really about how both cultures view education and future employment.
It should be noted that, at least at the university level, the students from China and India studying overseas are the best and the brightest among their populations. I'm sure there are many poor Asian families living in squalor who have higher priorities than browbeating their children into success at school. But the ones getting the fast track take on schooling with a seriousness not always found in American graduate students. The same holds true in college. I've seen Chinese graduate assistants that spent four or five years here and never once partied in New Orleans, went to a spring festival, traveled the US for pleasure, or gotten involved with any student activity outside of their major college. The Indian GA's are almost as dedicated to school, but they find time for a little fun, even if they are a bit clannish. The Chinese students are often solitary and rarely socialize, even with each other.
This is why Asians rarely have a sense of humor. Don't turn your kids into drones. Creativity comes from an open, free thinking mind. As does happiness. Thus is America's real gift to the world.
Last year, a Chinese professor from the University of Oregon came to talk to all of the secondary teachers in my district. He insisted that Americans have always sucked at standardized tests, while the Chinese have always performed well. However, American children have audacity, so they will report that they did well, while Chinese students will be sure they have failed (the joke in Plano is that a 95% is the Asian F, as a side note.) Regardless, Americans are inventors, and inventors are created through trial and error and failure and creativity--all things that standardized tests cannot measure. Many of the Asian children in Plano are not allowed to date at any point in high school, and while many of them excel in music programs in middle school (yes, particularly orchestra), their parents make many of them quit school orchestra in high school/senior high school because those grades are on a 4-point scale, not up to the 5-point AP scale. Basically, any of their electives must be academic, not ones where they can follow a passion like music or art or theatre. My daughters are friendly with a number of Asian kids, but they really aren't friends with any, with the notable exception of my younger daughter's close friend since preschool, who is quite Americanized and half Caucasian.
Have you ever seen a Chinese stand up comedian? On the other hand there are lots of Jewish comics and the Jewish people do quite well academicly and financially.
