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I'm at lunch and don't have the time to search for scientific/mathematics oriented rankings at the moment, but the links I provided will give you the resources you need to get a deeper understanding of rating changes over the past few years.
What makes Asian Students Perform Better in School?
Most of the Asian students I've taught have been the children of recent immigrants. My view is that those immigrants were probably some of the best and brightest in their home countries and they came to America for the opportunities that they couldn't access in India or Korea. These highly motivated (and usually well educated) parents tend to have kids who are also achievers.
The people who talk about rote learning and not being able to apply the knowledge are half right and half wrong.
In my experience, Asians are very specialized. They focus what they are best at and how to get a career out of it. Many Asians I went to school in failed (or got Ds and Cs) in most classes that weren't math, chemistry, and physics, but you damned sure that got nothing but As in those classes. I also knew a few Thais that weren't too interested in those subjects and got As in drama, history, English, etc.
Also, nearly all Asians had a very clear understanding as to what they wanted to do. They knew if they were going to university or not. The very few that weren't intending to go onto university were usually going to work in the family business, but still worked hard in the classes that piqued their interest. The ones who were going to university already knew what they were taking, which universities would take them for what grades, what their job options would they would have upon graduating college, and what kind of long term career they would have in their line of work.
I think a lot of it is due to culture. Asian cultures despite their collectivist stereotypes are very focused on competition, everyone has to be better than the next guy/gal. Parental pressure is another big one, they have parents that will often flip out if they get less than B, so they study very hard at and pick classes they know they can succeed in. Another reason is also that a lot of Asians take a personal pride in doing well in school. They like getting a reward after working very hard.
Last edited by Frank_Carbonni; 01-22-2008 at 08:52 AM..
Reason: Forgot a reason.
Culturally they are very education-oriented, at least in the US. They equate educational level of achievement as the primary yardstick for success. They are also extremely pragmatic and focused (which is why they are stereotyped as to not having personality).
From my experiences as a non-Asian grad student in a sea of asian grad students (both oriental and Indian) I can tell you their strength is their achiles heel. They are a one-trick pony. They seldom leave their field of study, choosing to rough it out for decades rather than diversify and roll with the punches. Those who are not lucky enough to attain a well-paying position in industry become somewhat forgotten in the underpaid halls of academia, where many become fiercely competitive amongst each other for the scraps of a tenured position, and many are driven to extreme measures like suicide or homicide (seen it at both schools I went/worked for). Small percentage yes, but quite telling as it pertains to what their social construct considers to be success and failure. They are also fiercely pragmatic when it comes to race, always seeking white partners to "ensure" their kin has a running start in the country. They are no-joke lol. They consider intermarrying other than white as regressive and although they are not public people emotionally, they make no mistake about those sentiments.
That aside, they certainly have done much better than the African-american and Hispanic communities in less time (I'm hispanic btw). I just wouldn't tout their recipe for success as a no-brainer, it's workable but it's not the end all be all by a long shot. That's in a nutshell why they "perform better in school". Kinda like the perfect SAT score kids, they too have flunked out of college, but their odds against such fate are better lol.
Culturally they are very education-oriented, at least in the US. They equate educational level of achievement as the primary yardstick for success. They are also extremely pragmatic and focused (which is why they are stereotyped as to not having personality).
From my experiences as a non-Asian grad student in a sea of asian grad students (both oriental and Indian) I can tell you their strength is their achiles heel. They are a one-trick pony. They seldom leave their field of study, choosing to rough it out for decades rather than diversify and roll with the punches. Those who are not lucky enough to attain a well-paying position in industry become somewhat forgotten in the underpaid halls of academia, where many become fiercely competitive amongst each other for the scraps of a tenured position, and many are driven to extreme measures like suicide or homicide (seen it at both schools I went/worked for). Small percentage yes, but quite telling as it pertains to what their social construct considers to be success and failure. They are also fiercely pragmatic when it comes to race, always seeking white partners to "ensure" their kin has a running start in the country. They are no-joke lol. They consider intermarrying other than white as regressive and although they are not public people emotionally, they make no mistake about those sentiments.
That aside, they certainly have done much better than the African-american and Hispanic communities in less time (I'm hispanic btw). I just wouldn't tout their recipe for success as a no-brainer, it's workable but it's not the end all be all by a long shot. That's in a nutshell why they "perform better in school". Kinda like the perfect SAT score kids, they too have flunked out of college, but their odds against such fate are better lol.
I guess this begs the question. It is always considerd the default in our country that whties are the more educationally advanced and start the race ahead of all other minority groups. However, has anyone ever stopped to think, that perhaps a lot of Asian Immigrants may have been well educated prior to hitting the shores and thus passed this educational effort of to their children?
Its one thing to say an Asian came from a tiny town and lived in a hut and then his children went off to Harvard, that is impressive, but what is not that impressive is an Asian child who comes here via very highly educated parents and goes to Harvard. I remember I dated an Asian girl who's father was technically an Asian immigrant when he came over, however he was a doctor in his native land of Korea and eventually tenured at MIT. His children ended up attending Ivy League schools, but to me this would be no mere coincidence and when the girl would tell me how her father came here as an immigrant I did not see the struggle? I guess i would have been more impressed if he grew up in a hut and came over with tea bags or something not with a PHD. This is no different than the influx of educated European labor that came to the states in the form of the French Hugenots in the 1600-1700's clearly they were more prepared to do better than the Southern American and many of the lowly educated Native WASP already here?
Also last point. I was looking at census data from 1940 until present. Asians have always been better educuated than both the white and black population from day one, so I have a hard time believing the "my parents were Asian immigrants with nothing." I guess i believe they had nothing in terms of wealth or material things, but they had education, which is way more valuable than any material possession you can come to America with. Math is still math worldwide no matter which language it is taught in. Anyone coming to a new country with a skill is much better off than one coming without.
In closing how fair is it to compare Asian and other immigrants who largely come over educated to native (US) Americans who are 3 or 4 generations of uneducated families?
Last edited by truthhurts; 01-22-2008 at 06:07 PM..
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What makes Asian Students Perform Better in School?
