Case in point: When I was an undergraduate, I took a course in modern Chinese history. I was interested in the subject and read the required reading and beyond. However, the professor was an admirer of Mao and made that known; I decidedly was not, and my essays reflected that.
I received a B- in the class for my open political disagreement with the professor. However, I was unwilling to compromise my belief that Mao was a monster just to obtain a good grade.
Good illustration. I know many parents who raised accomplished students who were near social basket cases outside their own community. There is a consistant ideal of the perfect child within the chinese community that may suit traditionally chinese society, but it doesn't work as well in one which still based upon the sovereign individual.