Expectations – Asians in America
Everyone has goals and expectations in life, especially when you are a student. People's expectation may be different for a boy or girl, and even more diverse for different cultures. For example, in general, Asian parents are rumored and known to be stricter and have higher expectations than other ethnicities. As an Asian student living in America, I believe we are under more pressure, however, also more successful at the same time.
In our society today, I suppose we have less discrimination against genders as before, but prejudices between races are still very common. Expectations may vary very differently for a Chinese American and Caucasian American family. For instance, a Caucasian family may center a child’s activity on sports or arts and crafts. While a Chinese family is pressuring a ten-year-old to memorize 100 SAT words a week.
Another example is the way grades are expected for different races. An Asian teenager in high school would probably be predicted to get As in all their AP or Honor classes along with extracurricular activities such as playing two or more instruments and running for class officer. A typical American family however, would be fine just with a B average grade and engage in recreation a sport they enjoy.
Lastly, the expectations for Asians in America are the idea of our future. All Asians hope for their children to grow up and be some kind of a doctor, lawyer, or professor someday. This idea is put in their brains since they were born so when in kindergarten and asked for what they want to be when they grow up, those are the only acceptable answers. Unlike other kids who had the dream of becoming a policeman, firefighter, or professional racecar driver.
Overall, not getting good grades, going to a good college, or becoming someone successful is kind of considered a dishonor to the family. Others looking at how Asians living in America may feel like all this pressure are horrible to the kids, but in reality, at the same time, it is allowing Asians to become more successful than other ethnicities in the future.
Everyone has goals and expectations in life, especially when you are a student. People's expectation may be different for a boy or girl, and even more diverse for different cultures. For example, in general, Asian parents are rumored and known to be stricter and have higher expectations than other ethnicities. As an Asian student living in America, I believe we are under more pressure, however, also more successful at the same time.
In our society today, I suppose we have less discrimination against genders as before, but prejudices between races are still very common. Expectations may vary very differently for a Chinese American and Caucasian American family. For instance, a Caucasian family may center a child’s activity on sports or arts and crafts. While a Chinese family is pressuring a ten-year-old to memorize 100 SAT words a week.
Another example is the way grades are expected for different races. An Asian teenager in high school would probably be predicted to get As in all their AP or Honor classes along with extracurricular activities such as playing two or more instruments and running for class officer. A typical American family however, would be fine just with a B average grade and engage in recreation a sport they enjoy.
Lastly, the expectations for Asians in America are the idea of our future. All Asians hope for their children to grow up and be some kind of a doctor, lawyer, or professor someday. This idea is put in their brains since they were born so when in kindergarten and asked for what they want to be when they grow up, those are the only acceptable answers. Unlike other kids who had the dream of becoming a policeman, firefighter, or professional racecar driver.
Overall, not getting good grades, going to a good college, or becoming someone successful is kind of considered a dishonor to the family. Others looking at how Asians living in America may feel like all this pressure are horrible to the kids, but in reality, at the same time, it is allowing Asians to become more successful than other ethnicities in the future.