DISQUS

G · 1 year ago

I think it's hard to objectively classify Asians as over-emphasizing education, or perhaps I'm just biased because I came from a family that thought it was a big deal :)

I don't know too much about other people but the reason my mom really pushed the education thing for me and excelling in school had a pragmatic base and went like this, and keep in mind that this was her kind of a raw, blunt, overgeneralized sort of thinking:

-- in order for her son (Asian male here) to be successful in America, we pretty much have to create some sort of niche for ourselves in American society. High-end careers that arguably rely more on buddy-networks and connections are out of the question, so entertainment and politics for example, are out of the question. She told me that America is mostly white and they don't want some funny looking Asian kid on the cover of a magazine, or in office as a politician.

So given that we can't compete on equal grounds in those areas, being brainy is the way to go. Getting a perfect score on your SAT doesn't require those connections or anybody to know what you look like, and we can pretty much become an asset to American society in general and out-compete people of other races by being brainy.

Now that I'm older it sounds sort of dumb, but it kind of makes sense, no?

SC · 1 year ago

is there anything inherent in Asian culture that emphasizes education over other cultures?

Of course there is, east Asians have had this in cultural history for over 1000 years I mean the Chinese have been studying and taking standardized tests since Sui Dynasty in 605, in fact they are first to use standardized tests based on merit to determine who would become government officials. At the time this was the best and most prestigious jobs in the land and more importantly guaranteed family well being for many generations. This influenced even Korea, Japan with a similar systems.

So it is not surprising that Asian Americans parents value education since this system was in place until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1911 well within the range of our grandparents age.

The job types in America many have changed but education none the less creates better opportunities in recent immigrants minds based on historical content. Sometimes I even feel bad for other cultures that don't value education, i mean it seems like they are competing against a stacked deck with over 1000 year of tradition and experience..
.

Lana · 1 year ago

G, I'm sorry dude, but that makes sense and sounds VERY dumb, not 'sort of' dumb.

Xxxtine · 1 year ago

I think what G's mom really meant was that education was the foot in the door - and as long as your education was top notch and impressive and you excelled on that level, potential employers would be stupid not to at least give you an interview.

G · 1 year ago

Haha yeah I need to learn to be succinct like XXXtine :P

John · 1 year ago

SC - I was wondering if anybody was going to bring this up :-). Although my impression was that civil service exams started before the Sui Dynasty in 605, like shortly after Confucious' time (i.e. after 479 BC)

sc · 1 year ago

that's correct the civil service exam did start around 479 but it wasn't standardized and merit based until the sui dynasty, it was kind of like the SAT of the times higher scores meant better placement. the basic exam started in 115 on based on the six-arts.

So in essence the Chinese actually have been studying and testing for over 2000 years, it's no wonder they are damn good at school in general, it's part of the cultural heritage after all. In fact if you go to many schools in h.k, china and taiwan they still use the same studying/cramming rote learning methods of 2000 years ago, which according to Americans is better suited for exams taking than for pro-active learning according to Americans who of course score poorly when taking these exams against the rest of the world.