Article: Why Do Asian Kids Study Like Crazy? (UCLA)

flopsy · April 28, 2008, 4:54am

[Why</a> do Asian Kids Study Like Crazy?](<a href=“http://yukaichou.com/2008/04/27/why-do-asian-kids-study-like-crazy/]Why”>Why do Asian Kids Study Like Crazy - Yu-kai Chou)

Recent years, there have been many protesters on campus looking for diversity; as UCLA is University of Caucasians Lost among Asians, many minority groups are underrepresented. While I do think its great to have diversity, I think having the admission program go easy on some groups rather than others is not the real solution to a problem. I believe the problem extends from culture and value backgrounds of different groups. The university admission system is obliged to take students that are most fit to study and compete in an academic environment(which yes I will agree that the way they identify fitness is completely flawed, but they try), and in some cases, we probably all notice that schools also take the best fit people to compete against other schools in certain activities.

Now Im not looking to be politically correct or incorrect, but I will state beforehand that this blog is going to be mostly criticizing some Asian cultures and values. I think if a kid studies all day long since the first grade, gets extra practice problems when finished of homework while others are outside playing, stresses about college and SATs since freshman year of high school, gets illegal punishment from berserk parents every time he/she gets a B in class, and takes on all those extracurricular activities like learning new instruments and languages he/she may or may not like, just to get into a good college, he/she probably deserves to get into a decent college, at least compared to the kid who just played games most of the time. I dont think any group is really smarter than another, but just some groups have the cultural background to study like its their destiny so that they dont embarrass their families, ancestors, and everyone that is affiliated with them. Asians arent really good at math; its kids who do 20 practice problems everyday after finishing their homework since third grade that are good in math(which regrettably or not, is not me) . Luckily, things like these for minority groups can change, and should change. I believe that providing a better education as well as promoting more studious environments and values among the minority groups from elementary school to high school is the true solution for diversity in college. With good policy making, these are all possible. If you want to speak about diversity(and discrimination) on things that cant change, I propose that every NBA team be required to have at least 2 White guys and an Asian guy(which still isnt fair in the absolute sense) on the floor at all times, as there seems to be a clear absence in diversity in substitute of being fit. We might even need to make a rule that the Asian guy should have the ball at least 3 times in a game, because that probably wont happen without. We also might consider having diversity in physical attractiveness in the entertainment industry, because if you pay close attention to the industry often, you might notice that non-gorgeous looking people seem to be discriminated in getting lead roles in movies and such.

Ultimately, universities look for people that have the best potentials in being successful in society after graduation, so the reputation of the school would expand, as well as receive some alumni donations. It is true that by just looking at GPA, SAT scores, some extracurricular activities and a couple essays, you cant really tell if one would be successful in society, but thats how the university works even throughout college and into the work force, and until you figure out a better way that is cost-effective, there is no point in blaming the school.

So why do Asians study like crazy anyway? Whats wrong with them? Its really ingrained in the Asian culture that studying is everything. Getting into a good college is more like an end itself, rather than a means to an end, which is to get a successful job. As I went back to Taiwan and saw my Grandfather(88), after six years of not seeing his only grandson, one of the first things he asked was, when are you going to get your masters? Oh yea, not being here for awhile, I forgot that whether I want to get a masters or not isnt even a question. My aunt showed similar kindness as she innocently mentions, when you get your masters in this degree, Ill be blah blah blah (blah is Mandarin Chinese, so dont even try to read it). If I was still in middle school, whether I wanted to be a doctor or not would not have been a question either. These are just all assumed: if you can be a doctor, be a doctor, and if you can get a masters, get one. Now being an entrepreneur doesnt require an obliterating amount of education, but I remained polite so I wont **** off the whole family and put my parents in shame. They who started to save money for my education(almost $40,000 a year including living fees) since they were married deserve to have some peace.

So the reason why many Asian groups value education and degrees comes from the ancient traditions in China. During the old days, and I mean so old that I didnt even know how to ride a bicycle, the only way to become rich and prosperous is to take this mammoth national exam, score well, and become a government official. During the time, most people were only peasant farmers and could not afford an education. The ones who did went for an education, which is pretty much a no-brainer even without the education. Once you score well on the exam and become a government officer, supposedly you will bring prosperity and honor to all your family and ancestors. You basically arent worthless anymore in a monarchy society once you have some kind of scholarly title. It has been that for thousands of years, and scholars were always the most looked up upon, as kings and emperors always listen to them(think Confucius).

In the US, things are a bit different. People look up to individuals like Bill Gates, who quit his degree at Harvard, started Microsoft and were able to pay his bills quite well, while having some extras for entertainment. The whole system of what is great and prestigious has some differences in the cultures. In the US, being prosperous IS prestigious, excluding activities such as drug dealing etc. At this point I shall admit that I have been talking in extremes and absolutes, and that a common idea of prestige and such is still shared among the cultures. I have only been talking on a relative basis, as a PhD is certainly prestigious in the US, just not AS valued as in an Asian society.

In many Western countries, education is the means to an end. You go to school so you can get a better job with your better degree. Many times you can evaluate is it worth the money to get that education(and I have learned in an econometric class, that according to some data, on average you only make around 46 cents more per hour after each year of schooling). But in Asian societies, getting a strong degree is almost like an end, for the strong social status(which is also created in peoples mind) of a high degree is the determination of if one is successful. I can almost say in modest certainty that many Asian parents would be prouder of a child who went to Harvard but for some reason couldnt find a good job than one who went to a bad college but has an extraordinary job. For many Asian students, getting into an university is where life ends. Then another life independent of their past starts once they get out of college. However, there are some negative consequences to it, besides the high stress and suicide rates of students. Since getting into college is everything, once Asia students get into top universities, they start to slack and have fun all day, instead of really acquiring knowledge as they are there for. The system also makes it that your GPA hardly matters as long as you pass, so thats all people aim for. Getting into graduate school is simply determined by another test at the end of college years.

Another issue is that since students only aim to get the most prestigious degree, few people really look at what they like and what are their talents in life. Its a simple life-draining competition that determines a hierarchy in society. I plan to explain further the shortcomings of Asias education system, but seeing that this blog/article is long enough and no one will read it anyway, I thought Ill give it a rest. This is just some thoughts based on the observations I have in society and an attempt to explain the origins of it. If you happen to disagree with anything and have better insights about things, feel free to criticize this and enlighten me. Have a great time!

TB54 · April 28, 2008, 10:24am

I take it as this is the blog of the guy who started his own company and promotes it nonstop (Yu-kai)? Juicycampus had a thread on him but it’s gossip nether the less.

mme-lin · April 28, 2008, 12:16pm

Description that delegitimizes his arguments. Cop-out.

Poor word choice. He might as well talk about finches on the Galapagos and use some poorly defined idea of Social Darwinism - something already flawed and the sort of racial justification during the early century.

He might as well talk about erasing socio-economic discrepancies and reforming ‘values’ and ‘culture.’

East Asian academic hegemony - it’s not applicable to all Asians - something he fails to acknowledge.

Professional teams aren’t about ‘diversity’ - it’s about merit!

Motives are different for individuals! It’s not about learning purely - it’s about acquiring some form of social mobility or legitimacy in your skills.

namaste · April 28, 2008, 1:25pm

why do people care so much?

_allie · April 28, 2008, 10:30pm

i dont.

just saying.

ijreinsn · April 28, 2008, 11:40pm

1) His company sucks. 
2) He is a *ing snake oil salesman.
3) *ing shame to UCLA and the Asian race for stereotyping Asians based on his own childhood.

Who the **** thinks education is the end goal? Honestly, the reality is that for a successful career, most of us do need to get educated. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak did drop out. Yes, but they then self-educated/still went to lectures (Jobs just listened to whatever lectures he felt like and Wozniak went to De Anza College) themselves in what they needed to know to build their computer.

supery00n · April 29, 2008, 12:43am

I think every person needs to listen to Steve Jobs’ commencement speech @ Stanford.

moldau · April 29, 2008, 12:53am

flopsy, where do you find this garbage?

Castel · April 29, 2008, 1:10am

Cause our parents come from faaaarland China to born us in good world.

Why don’t ____ kids study like crazy?

pick · April 29, 2008, 1:19am

I’m Asian and I probably study less than the average Caucasian student :rolleyes:

also my mom doesn’t punish me for getting bad grades. I remember in middle school I got a D, and my mom just told me to try harder. That was in middle school though, I wonder what would’ve happened if I got a D in high school >_>

I hate how this article just groups all of us normal Asians with the Asians with soulless parents.

yahooo · April 29, 2008, 2:27am

lol

[YouTube</a> - Crazy Asian Mother by Erick Liang](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKnloiM-0Ns]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKnloiM-0Ns)

flopsy · April 29, 2008, 2:55am

Facebook. :rolleyes:

Deuces · April 29, 2008, 3:34am

Model Minority Mythaments

yukaichou · March 10, 2009, 12:49pm

Hello all! A bit late, but I’m the author :)

Let me try to address some comments:

@flopsy: thanks for posting my article. I know you have done it twice, so thanks.

@TB54: its normal that you promote your own business a lot because you put in 90 hours a week into it and you become what it is. I didn’t want to be in anyone’s face though but apparently some people are unhappy about it?

@mme-lin: wow, you spent some time taking the post apart :). I’ll try to respond to them.

How I describe myself should not delegitimize the statements that I say. That’s actually another Chinese thing where everyone says “Oh I’m really bad. I’m really bad.” “No no…I’m really bad.” but my arguments should be considered based on the logic instead of my pretext.
You say “fitness” is a flawed word, but I think the word itself is accurate: “Do we think you are fit to be in our college.” That’s admission. It has just been used in other context that makes you feel it shouldn’t be used here.
Yea actually I would talk about “values” and “cultures” because that’s where it all boils down to?
Yes, the example I brought up does not cover all Asians, but a lot of Asian cultures got their traditions from ancient China (think how many Asian countries also use Chinese characters in ancient text). Also, when Americans here think “all the asians study like crazy” (which is not true), the chances are they are seeing the Eastern Asian ones.
Yes, professional teams are about merit, not diversity. My post actually says that. I said that people are pushing colleges to go with diversity over merit, and if that makes sense, why does sports team not do that?
What I tell you about how college students in Asia work their butt offs in high school and slack off in college is universal knowledge. Everyone acknowledges that in at least China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.
Thanks for actually looking into what I wrote instead of just saying it sucks though :)

@ijreinsn: Hahaha. That’s a bit aggressive there. How much do you know about my company to say that it sucks? We’ve gotten a lot of industry validation and rewards…but even if my company is bad, why do you think I’m a snakeoil businessman? In truth I almost never pay myself and just pay my employees since the company was created to help people. Oh, and its not based on my own childhood. I actually didn’t go through all the things I described. Its actually based on socialogical research and such. Either way, its not a shame because everyone can voice their opinions. At least I took the time to say why I think so.

I also never said education was not important. I just said people study for the wrong reasons.

@pick: I’m sorry that I made you feel upset about grouping people. I understand that not EVERYONE is like ANY WAY. However, its impossible to write about anything if you consider ALL the cases, so one can only do some generalization because it is talking about trends in society. Most of all, its trying to answer what white people think is a generalization to begin with, which is that all asians study like crazy. You shouldn’t be upset about me for saying that because I don’t think all Asians study like crazy. I am simply responding on what the general trend things.

@supery00n: thanks for the recommendation. I have actually heard it before and loved it :)

Haha, alright. I think I covered most of the topics. Not sure if anyone will come back to read it, but might as well Feel free to contact me if you need help with things :)

yukaichou · March 10, 2009, 12:56pm

Oh, as an add-on:

The Juicy Campus post is actually just my friend pulling a joke on me, hahaha. Its cool though :)

Sephorazn18 · March 10, 2009, 1:20pm

You’re english is terrible. Get someone to proofread it before you even think about posting it. I’m Asian and I can’t relate to this article.

yahooo · March 10, 2009, 1:35pm

What exactly does your company do? Has FDWorld launched yet?

Fav · March 10, 2009, 4:58pm

. Most of all, its trying to answer what white people think is a generalization to begin with, which is that all asians study like crazy. You shouldn’t be upset about me for saying that because I don’t think all Asians study like crazy. I am simply responding on what the general trend things.

this is wat you said.
btw thanks so much for generalizing and stereotyping
like it’s OK to do so, pls u must be old enough to know that it’s never safe to generalize and stereotype and always wrong.

Fav · March 10, 2009, 5:07pm

And you are basically comparing two cultures, one that is deeply rooted
and then criticize one while praising the other.

I don’t know what to say but i definitely agree some and disagree some. In general, i’m against this article.

Plus saying that “people study for wrong reasons” doesn’t seem legit. How do you know about reasons and thinkings of millions and billions just by observing the few around you?
Maybe in your opinion, but you cant force upon ppl like this to the point where some ppl might get upset and feel offended.

Just because Asians culture value knowledge over money doesn’t make the culture less “right” which is basically what your saying.

i think your way too harsh on Asian culture than necessary.

Nit · March 10, 2009, 5:25pm

This topic is a blast from the past. Most of the users who posted before the necrobump don’t even go here anymore.

Article: Why Do Asian Kids Study Like Crazy? (UCLA)

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