Posted on 11/29/2005 11:38:54 AM PST by JZelle
Racehorse,
I think there are differences. The real hard core are the Chinese and Koreans. Most Japanese (esp on west coast) have been in US for a few generations, so I suspect their attitudes are fairly similar to whites. The Hmong were pretty much brought into the 20th century when they left the hills of Laos--poor folks are still suffering from culture shock, let alone trying to be a summa cum laude college graduate. Vietnamese, I don't know---what was their class background in Vietnam---that I believe colors how this group approaches this subject.
Maybe not jobs, certainly colleges.
Frankly, I see alcoholics EVERYWHERE.
I spend about three months a year in Korea and another three months a year in Mexico and they all remind me of the US in that manner.
Next year we "do" China, so I'm interested to see how it works over there.
Never met a depressed, alcoholic asian before. How many do you know?
High school, college, grad school, work.
I'm still betting on GPA.
Well, not all were alcoholic or suicidal, of course. But living in New Jersey and going to Rutgers, you meet a lot. And a lot of them have problems, especially the ones whose parents came over from the old country.
A few years of her son playing soccer while the Asian kids were hitting the books would be bound to create academic disparities.
Which kid is more likely to be well-adjusted 10 years down the road?
This just shows how many people value playing with a ball over education. Education determines your future and teaching that hard work and sacrifice leads to greater success made America a great country. It is sad that too many descendents of these people have given up the work ethic and believe in self centered entertainment is more important. These immgrants, especially from Asia, believe that a good education is a top priority. They look at it this way. In life, once you have an education, it can't be taken from you, like money or fame can be taken.
Nobody, least of all me, is going to deny the importance of an education. And nobody will say it's more important to kick a ball around. But there's more to life, and it's important to experience that. Otherwise we become nothing but robots.
Conservatives use the word, too. :-)
It simple describes how people learn to adapt to the world(s) in which they live.
well the "world" of public schools is not the "socialization" I want for my kids...
I have to agree that athletics are important.
My mistake was originally equating soccer with "TV and nintendo", out of hand, when compared to education. If my kid wanted to read OR play ball instead of watch TV or "hang out", that would be fine with me.
Exactly. When it's time for my kid to hit the books, it's time, not negotiable. That's what my Dad did. But he'll have a chance to be a kid, too.
I preferred private schooling. Nobody was home to do any of that there homeschooling stuff.
Ain't choice wonderful? :-)
My daughter-in-law wants to homeschool her children. I'm not so sure that will work as she hopes it will. They are a career military family.
So far, he has spent his service at one base, almost like homesteading. But, he has made one deployment to Afghanistan and made a few TDYs to other exotic places. His irregular duty hours and irregular absences will place all the burden on her. Plus, they can't homestead forever. They are overdue for a permanent change of station.
He who dies with the most..... is nevertheless DEAD.
True. But "formal" education can not replace common sense/street smarts. I've seen too many folks educated beyond their intelligence...
OK, now I can talk apples to apples. I live in New Jersey. My wife and I went to Rutgers. Heck, my wife works at Rutgers. Unless you are talking about the engineering or pharmacy students, the Asian kids who go to Rutgers are the kids who can't hack it. I knew one guy who went to my wife's high school. His sisters were the 1600 SAT Magna Cum Laude over-achievers. He was just a party dude who disappointed his parents. Did he have problems? Yes. But I also work in the tech industry and there are plenty of Asians doing pretty well. Don't take the slice of Asians you see at Rutgers, particularly outside of the engineering or science programs, as the norm. They aren't. I also know a guy who only slept every other day. He's doing pretty well. When I was in Rutgers, it was nobody in the top tier of academic achievement's first choice except for, maybe, the engineering or pharmacy programs. The main reason I went there was to save my father money since I didn't know what I wanted to do with myself at the time. And the main reason why you aren't seeing the one's who make it work there is because they are all going to MIT, Columbia, etc. and not Rutgers. I loved Rutgers and still do, but it's not the first choice of over-achieving students. Really it isn't.
"I'll be a bit crass here; little Buffy Muffy and Todd from the burbs want to study drama or expressive this that or the other when they go to college while the Wangs, the Changs and the Lees will do the science and math courses and become doctors and scientists."
And Buffy, Muffy and Todd will become the lawyers and deal makers and political leaders because of their verbal skills, which are key for the jobs with power.
Math will get you a high paying job, if you apply it.
Language skill will give you command, if you apply it.
Flip it and look at the sports experience of CEOs, real estate moguls and top politicians - people with command authority.
Professional sports is not the key.
But the competitiveness, and the ability to play by rules, and to stretch to win, these are athletic talents.
Asians don't outperform Anglos. Chinese, Koreans and Japanese outperform Anglos (including Jews) in mathematics, and in the physical sciences (less so in the biological sciences). Nice, rigid things, with right and wrong answers.
Anglos outperform Asians in the various linguistic skills and liberal arts. Sloppier things, with less clear cut answers, and where style matters a great deal.
Now look very carefully at Wall Street and investment banks, and Congress. When we speak not of GOOD jobs, or high-paying jobs, but jobs that involve command and influence over people and great enterprises, all of a sudden the field completely reverses. The people in command are the best liberal artists, because they can communicate their ideas better. And most of them are really quite athletic, and competitive in social sports.
Also, the Asians LAMENT the white flight. THEY want their kids to fit in. They don't want their kids to be raised in an Asian ghetto. My neighbors, who are Chinese, and I discussed this very article at length over Thanksgiving. They view is that white flight is bad, because it will marginalize the Asian kids. And they're right. Because getting perfect scores in math is not really what gets people jobs in America. Certainly it does not get anyone command.
Take a look at Wall Street and Washington, where the top money is.
What Asians are in command there? The ones who also developed the language and diplomatic skills.
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