Asian Stereotype in the Western World
Essay by people • October 4, 2011 • Essay • 1,095 Words (5 Pages) • 1,894 Views
Asian Stereotype in the Western World
In the Asian culture, it typically has a greater emphasis on higher education and success.
Many Asian parents want their children to do well in school or in life. I know my parents pushed
me to do get good grades since elementary school. I remember my dad would force me to stand
in front of him to read my English homework out loud multiple times until its worthy of passing.
While I am standing there, I can feel the electricity from the television monitor crawling up my
back. This is one way my parents pushed me to excel academically. In Western American society, Asian Americans are stereotyped as success-driven individuals but
lacks social skills and interactions.
Often reflected by the Asian heritage and traditional customs, the typical upbringing in an
Asian household is far more disciplined than your average American home. In America,
imperfection is acceptable and there is a "thats good enough" attitude versus in Asia, failure or
quitting should not be an option. Many Asian parents would have their children learn some
sort of instrument such as piano and violin. When I was 8 or 9 years old, I was forced to take piano lessons. It is known in the Chinese culture to have their children learn instruments to expand the capability of the mind. I remember practicing for hours at a time. I can feel the sharp pains in my fingers like someone just smashed me with hammer and crushed it. My sister and I would practice in front on my dad for hours while either he ís reading the newspaper or watching
television. My dad imposed this type of authoritative parenting because this was how he was
brought up by his family. This type of upbringing is very typical in the Asian heritage specifically Chinese heritage.
My parents were immigrants and they wanted me to have a better life and childhood than
they did. Even till today, many Asian countries are living in poverty and millions are not able to afford the money for schooling for themselves and/or their children. My parents too were not able to afford college therefore they migrated to America to give us a better life. That is why they force us to dedicate so much of our time and our effort in our studies so that we don't have to experience the type of childhood they did. They came to America with barely enough money to survive but yet, my parents were willing to sacrifice themselves for us to live the "American dream."
My parents and many other Chinese parents as well have a higher emphasis in education and success. There is this notion labeled on Asian students that we are smarter, overly studious and being successful academically and professionally. It may not be that we are smarter, but we live a more success-driven
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