NationStates Jolt Archive


Family desire/respect makes all the difference in education.

Syniks
09-11-2005, 20:30
My Kudos in Bold:

By Diane Rado, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune reporter Darnell Little contributed to this report
Published November 9, 2005

Year after year, Asian students in Illinois outpace their peers on state tests.

Test results from the Illinois State Board of Education show the state's small population of Asian students posting higher passing rates on reading and math tests than every other racial group--at every grade tested--this year.

And a Tribune analysis of average test scores by grade shows Asian students consistently scoring higher than white, Hispanic and black students since 2000. What explains the gains?

Educators, parents and students say Asian students' gains are fueled by their family's attitudes, with parents pushing harder and almost exclusively on academics, particularly in the early grades, while whites emphasize sports and extracurricular activities as well as good grades. The state doesn't break out Asian students by country, but census data show that the largest groups in the Chicago area are Indian, Filipino, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

Since federal No Child Left Behind reforms were enacted in 2002, educators have focused on narrowing performance gaps between white and black or Latino students.

Meanwhile, the gap between white and Asian students in Illinois has mostly widened in five years, the Tribune found.

In 2000, for example, less than 1 point separated white and Asian average scores on the 5th grade reading test. This year, that difference grew to about 4 points. In 8th grade math, Asians scored 6.3 points higher than whites in 2000, but 8.5 points higher this year.

Only in high school math has the gap narrowed slightly between Asian and white students. Both groups have posted slight declines since 2000, but Asians dropped a little more on the 11th grade test.

In grade school, the gap has widened in part because white students have posted flat reading scores since 2000, while Asians have improved some of their already high average scores.

Asians also have posted larger gains than whites in grade school math since 2000.

Several Asian students, recently named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, said academics come first in the minds of their accomplished parents.

"Growing up in a Chinese family, grades are highly emphasized," said Naperville North High School senior Eugene Wang, who recalled having to lobby his parents to let him play in middle school sports.

"When it came to academic opportunities, my parents would present research opportunities, camps--they'd bring the brochures to me," he said.

Extracurricular activities are more acceptable in high school, when students need to build resumes for college applications.

But Nanditha Ramachandran, an Indian senior at Naperville North, said she still encountered some resistance from her mother when she joined the track team last year. "She said, `I don't know if you're going to get your schoolwork done.'"

Jack Zhou, a Chinese senior at Lake Zurich High School, said in elementary school his father, who is an engineer, would teach him math far more advanced than what he was doing in class.

When he read fantasy and science fiction in middle school, he said, his parents would remind him to read "famous books by famous authors," as well as biographies of scientists and entrepreneurs.

Beilin Ye, a senior at Chicago's Whitney Young Magnet High School, said getting good grades isn't just about bolstering her academic record. Respecting her Chinese heritage also is important.

"You bring honor to your whole race," she said.

She said her father, who works in computer science, would add his own math problems to her homework and her mother would take her to the library every day.

Ye's mother, Xiaohong Chen, was a doctor in China and is a nurse here. In her homeland, she said, people respect those who are smart and study hard.

She and her husband came to the United States in the early 1990s with high hopes.

"Our dream ... is giving my daughter the better life. But she has to do her part."

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drado@tribune.com http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0511090213nov09,0,3285686.story
The Icy Angel
09-11-2005, 20:42
I go to cornell, where half the suicides over the past years have been asian students. I wonder why.
Jello Biafra
09-11-2005, 20:43
I can believe it, which is one of the many reasons that the effects of previous legal discrimination are still felt today.
Sinuhue
09-11-2005, 20:45
My husband and I have talked about this a lot...you see, in Canada (and I daresay in much of the 'West') there is an emphasis on working towards a career that you will ENJOY, and that trickles down all through your schooling. Enjoy atheletics. Enjoy courses, take options, take art, take this, take that so you can find out what you enjoy most. Which sounds great, but the ultimate goal is a 'fulfilling career'.

Other cultures...usually among people who grew up, or still have ties to nations that are significantly poorer in wages and opportunities, push the idea that you should get the best paying job you can so you can enjoy LIFE. Fuck the job! Be a dentist, even if you hate it! The payoff is the salary, and the vacations you'll be able to afford...and the family you'll help support!

Two views, almost polar opposites...but it explains why we can't understand why certain ethnicities all study engineering, and others take Arts Degrees for 10 years before getting a job as a waitress.
Deep Kimchi
09-11-2005, 20:47
My husband and I have talked about this a lot...you see, in Canada (and I daresay in much of the 'West') there is an emphasis on working towards a career that you will ENJOY, and that trickles down all through your schooling. Enjoy atheletics. Enjoy courses, take options, take art, take this, take that so you can find out what you enjoy most. Which sounds great, but the ultimate goal is a 'fulfilling career'.

Other cultures...usually among people who grew up, or still have ties to nations that are significantly poorer in wages and opportunities, push the idea that you should get the best paying job you can so you can enjoy LIFE. Fuck the job! Be a dentist, even if you hate it! The payoff is the salary, and the vacations you'll be able to afford...and the family you'll help support!

Two views, almost polar opposites...but it explains why we can't understand why certain ethnicities all study engineering, and others take Arts Degrees for 10 years before getting a job as a waitress.


You're not including the other cultural option - drop out of school, be stupid, have babies, and sell drugs - because school isn't worth the effort and because you'll be more like the people we hate if you do go to school and do well.
Sinuhue
09-11-2005, 20:59
You're not including the other cultural option - drop out of school, be stupid, have babies, and sell drugs - because school isn't worth the effort and because you'll be more like the people we hate if you do go to school and do well.
This is true:) I was focused on two kinds of culture that promote education, regardless of the philosophy. My bad:)
Vaitupu
09-11-2005, 21:10
My husband and I have talked about this a lot...you see, in Canada (and I daresay in much of the 'West') there is an emphasis on working towards a career that you will ENJOY, and that trickles down all through your schooling. Enjoy atheletics. Enjoy courses, take options, take art, take this, take that so you can find out what you enjoy most. Which sounds great, but the ultimate goal is a 'fulfilling career'.

Other cultures...usually among people who grew up, or still have ties to nations that are significantly poorer in wages and opportunities, push the idea that you should get the best paying job you can so you can enjoy LIFE. Fuck the job! Be a dentist, even if you hate it! The payoff is the salary, and the vacations you'll be able to afford...and the family you'll help support!

Two views, almost polar opposites...but it explains why we can't understand why certain ethnicities all study engineering, and others take Arts Degrees for 10 years before getting a job as a waitress.

regarding the OP, that is so insanely true, it is rediculous. The irony is kinda amusing...White parents tend to go to all the meetings, but in many cases are higher or equally educated and look at teachers with the "those who can't, teach" eyes. They appear involved, but have a superiority complex. Black and hispanic parents are often the exact opposite. Many barely speak english, let alone have degrees, and therefore stay out of the education process.

The involvement of parents is so vital. When parents are positivly involved (not doing their childs work, but providing support and such) the job of teacher, student, and parent are much improved.

I would say in the western world, we can afford to get those arts degrees because almost every job falls into the category of minimum wage or high paying. A degree in anything can get you that high paying job (atleast something decent).

The way I was raised was it doesn't matter WHAT I study, but that I become educated. My dad was always called "my little doctor" by his mother. his brother was "my little dentist". surprise, they're a doctor and a dentist. My parents saw that my dad doesnt like his job and said get educated in something you love. Therefore, I am an English major. And I will one day sell tires.
Sinuhue
09-11-2005, 21:24
Therefore, I am an English major. And I will one day sell tires.
:D
The South Islands
09-11-2005, 21:25
Geez, everyone knows that Asians are the master race anyway!

(FYI, this was said in jest)
Vaitupu
09-11-2005, 22:00
:D
long running joke in the English dept. here...
I'm gonna quadruple major in English, Philosophy, Theology, and Anthropology. Then, I'm gonna get a masters in art history. Then, I'm gonna ask people if they'd like fries with that.
Sinuhue
09-11-2005, 22:03
long running joke in the English dept. here...
I'm gonna quadruple major in English, Philosophy, Theology, and Anthropology. Then, I'm gonna get a masters in art history. Then, I'm gonna ask people if they'd like fries with that.
It's funny because it's true! I applied for four years at this used bookstore close to where I was living while I went to Uni...they always turned me down. When I graduated (and started looking for a teaching job, unsuccessfully for a year), I applied again for the heck of it AND THEY HIRED ME. I guess my degree was good enough to get me $6.00/hr! W00T!:(
Willamena
09-11-2005, 22:04
My husband and I have talked about this a lot...you see, in Canada (and I daresay in much of the 'West') there is an emphasis on working towards a career that you will ENJOY, and that trickles down all through your schooling. Enjoy atheletics. Enjoy courses, take options, take art, take this, take that so you can find out what you enjoy most. Which sounds great, but the ultimate goal is a 'fulfilling career'.

Other cultures...usually among people who grew up, or still have ties to nations that are significantly poorer in wages and opportunities, push the idea that you should get the best paying job you can so you can enjoy LIFE. Fuck the job! Be a dentist, even if you hate it! The payoff is the salary, and the vacations you'll be able to afford...and the family you'll help support!

Two views, almost polar opposites...but it explains why we can't understand why certain ethnicities all study engineering, and others take Arts Degrees for 10 years before getting a job as a waitress.
Thank you... for making my life a little more justified. ;)
Vaitupu
10-11-2005, 03:32
It's funny because it's true! I applied for four years at this used bookstore close to where I was living while I went to Uni...they always turned me down. When I graduated (and started looking for a teaching job, unsuccessfully for a year), I applied again for the heck of it AND THEY HIRED ME. I guess my degree was good enough to get me $6.00/hr! W00T!:(
haha...put in a good word for me. I have the feeling even being specialized in secondary education (only because there are no undergrad degrees for education) I will still be spending a bit of time waiting tables.
Syniks
10-11-2005, 03:49
haha...put in a good word for me. I have the feeling even being specialized in secondary education (only because there are no undergrad degrees for education) I will still be spending a bit of time waiting tables.
As long as Extroverts are allowed to run HR departments, hiring will forever be more about Who you know than What you know.

Knowledge and skill is less important than being able to be chipper while kissing ass.