Chapter 11 – How Asians Learn to Excel in School

I was really struck by the idea that school success can be attributed to a culture in which academic excellence is valued and supported by the whole community. I was definitely supported academically by my parents and they had high expectations of me. I was lucky to go to school with a group of motivated peers, but I can’t say the message of doing well in school was explicitly encouraged by other family members, friends and the people in my community. I agree that we think academic success is due mostly to ability and intelligence. When we are trying to blame something or someone for poor academic performance and failing schools, we look at class size, bad teachers and small school budgets rather than the messages and support children receive from their parents, family, and the community at large about the importance of education. Don’t get me wrong – good schools and teachers do make a difference, but it’s obviously not the only factor in making a student successful.

Who we admire gives insight into what we value. We do celebrate people who are rich, or beautiful or have athletic ability. You don’t usually see inventors or professors in People magazine, only the incredibly wealthy Bill Gates. It is true that children can be ridiculed for being too smart or too interested in their studies – for being a nerd. One definition of “nerd” is “an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit”. Americans in general want their kids to be well-rounded, which means we want them to do well in school, but also make friends easily and participate successfully in a variety of activities and hobbies, including sports. So we might not sacrifice sleepovers and baseball practice for extra tutoring sessions.

Mei-Ling Hopgood talks about how Asian students are motivated to study hard by guilt and the desire to please their parents. If the goal of American parents is to help their children become independent and less attached to the family, then maybe parents are trying to instill in their children a motivation to succeed for themselves, rather than for the parents or the extended family.  

With the costs of higher education rising, many Americans are asking “Is a college degree worth it?” when graduates are struggling to find jobs. It seems like the value of a college education increases over your lifetime, but until Americans believe it’s “academics or nothing”, we may not see people come together to support the education of all children in their communities.

Jennifer