Janine Macaraeg - Week 2

Janine Macaraeg

Section A01

Week 2

First and foremost, I enjoyed reading Poon and Byrd’s “Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choices” simply because I have seen it firsthand with a few friends and classmate I grew up with in elementary school. From my point of view though, there is a line from the article that states, “Specifically, Filipino Americans and Southeast Asian American students were found to be more influenced by their relatives’ views and the proximity of colleges to home in the final stage of college choice (24). I won’t reveal my age, but being Filipino and one of the more older transfer students, this statement was half true for me. I chose UC Davis because it has always been my dream school and it isn’t too far away from home. My parents may have wanted me to just attend San Francisco State or East Bay because it was closer. However, in the end they knew it was a no-brainer for me.

I like how this article included “tiger mom” not “tiger dad” as well. I think that it has always been a trend or part of a family’s routine to have the mom around much more than the dad which is why it was titled “tiger mom.” And I think that ties into the idea behind myths of Asians Americans and higher education because from what I have witnessed, I have always seen Asian moms dictating what her children should study in college, or what activities they should be involved in starting at a young age. My family and I have and currently host international students from China; from my observations, they are very obedient to what their parents ask of them despite being thousands of miles apart. In addition, I’ve noticed how very “to themselves” they are and only socialize with other international students, and they expect to only go to the best universities in America. Though my parents have never been very strict with me and my younger sister, when she wanted to move to San Francisco State University, my parents always brought up their situation when they lived in the Philippines. For example, “We had to walk for miles and miles and take the jeepney just to go to school.” These things ran through my head while reading this article and which is why I chose the following image because it shows how Asian American children may react sometimes to ask for what they believe is best for them.

References:

  

15 ways you’re (unknowingly) telling your kid to not listen to you [Digital Image]. Retrieved October 1, 2017, from https://sg.theasianparent.com/15-ways-youre-unknowingly-telling-your-kid-to-not-listen-to-you/

Poon, O., & Byrd, A. (2013). Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety:  Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choices. Journal of College Admission, 22-31. Retrieved September 30, 2017.