Week 3

Elizabeth Chang

Section 1

Week 3

The article “Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choices” by Oi Yan Poon and Ajani Byrd analyzes the choices that Asian American students make regarding their education. It specifically focuses on how Asian American students choose universities or colleges, and how big of a role parents play in this decision. It also talks about differences in the experience of choosing universities between 2^nd and 1.5 generation Asian Americans.

In a way, I did feel the pressure to do what my parents wanted me to do. Growing up, I had piano lessons even when I didn’t like it and have been told that having good grades guarantee you to be successful in life, so I always strived to get straight A’s in school. When I told my dad that I wanted to quit piano lessons, he refused and told me that if I didn’t learn an instrument I wouldn’t be as good as other people my age. However, when it came to choosing universities and my major, my parents were not as strict as I thought they would be. Of course, they would insinuate that they wanted me to go in a specific field, but they never made me choose a major because that is the path they wanted me to go into. I am grateful of this, but I can see that even though my parents try to give me my freedom of making choices, they still have characteristics that would be classified as what a Tiger Mom would do. Tiger Moms just want what they think is best for their children, but sometimes it is not necessarily what they want to do. I can see this reflected in my parent’s actions. They want the best for me, but sometimes they can get stuck in an old-fashioned way of thinking. Asian American youth are capable of finding their path in their own education, but parents think that because they have more experience they know what is best for us.

Question: How can the Asian American youth break through this cycle of Tiger Mom Anxiety?

References

Poon, O., Byrd, A. (2013, Fall). Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choices.

NBC News (2016, May 24). Voices: Do you have a ‘Tiger Mom’?. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrUgCe4e7t4