We have all heard of the model minority stereotype that people use to describe Asian-American students. While this myth is not true for all Asian Americans, many Asian-American families put a significant emphasis on education and hope for their children to find academic success. Some Asian-American students like to call their parents “tiger parents” to describe their strict attitude and high investment in their children’s success.
In her 2011 memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Yale Law professor Amy Chua brought the term “tiger mom” to public attention. Many Asian-American immigrants hope for the best future for their children, wanting them to work hard academically so they can find a stable career and live a better life than they did. However, because of these wishes, some Asian-American parents put too much pressure on their children, whether that is excessively high expectations or expecting their children to take a specific path that they might not actually like to pursue.
Many Asian immigrants come from hypercompetitive academic environments, such as the ones created in Korea, Japan, China, and India, where students study nonstop to achieve perfect results in college tests for admission into highly selective colleges. Take China, for example, where students study their entire lives to prepare for the Gaokao (高考). In this test, students need to get as high test scores as possible to compete against millions of other students for a spot in some of the top universities, as going to a good school is the only way to secure success in the country. This ideology of studying so excessively hard to compete against others has transferred from Asian countries to the United States through immigration. These immigrants who have had children in the United States make them follow a similar path, believing that their children need to secure admission to top schools to live a successful life.
While, from the outside, it may seem like a positive thing to see so many students working diligently in academics, hypercompetitiveness can contribute to a toxic culture and mental health issues. Returning to the example of China, many students there deal with issues such as anxiety or depression, which are often a result of the excessive pressure they have to ensure top performances in academics. Ensuring students have a more balanced lifestyle will contribute to a healthier life in the long run.
All in all, the pressure that some Asian-American students have can be detrimental to their lives and health. An emphasis on education can be beneficial if not exaggerated, so keeping a more balanced lifestyle is essential. While it may sound nice to be labeled a “model minority,” not only is this idea not accurate, but it can also contribute to excessive academic emphasis.