Section A03
Week 2
The content of the article "Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender, and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choice" by OiYan Poon and Ajani Byrd becomes increasingly relatable for young Asian Americans across the world as Asian American enrollment in top universities grows with every passing school year. In Asian American households, academic achievement and the pursuit of higher education typically holds great value, especially in the eyes of the stereotypical "tiger" parent. Coming from an Asian American family with my own tiger mom, I understand how it feels to be a young student with immense pressure placed upon me to aim for an academic institution with the highest reputation possible. There is a common perception among Asian American adults that having their child(ren) enter the highest-achieving universities with the most competitive enrollment rates will automatically give them a leg up in future when entering the job market, ensuring the utmost wealth and success. As a young child, this pressure from my own tiger mom often made me feel like nothing I accomplished would be good enough—because she was always pushing for more, more, more. As an Asian American daughter, I felt like I was not allowed to have any flaws or imperfections, and that I was supposed to be the perfect model child 100% of the time. These unrealistic expectations can be a lot for a child to handle, but as I grew older, I realized that my parents' strictness and high expectations are their own form of love and care, and that they just want the very best for me—so much so that they were willing to sacrifice everything to immigrate to the United States and create the best life possible for their family. Even though my parents and I do not agree on everything, I am happy we have been able to communicate much more and find a nice medium between "tiger mom" parenting and establishing my independence.
Question: Why has the "tiger mom" concept only been perpetuated in Asian cultures and not as much in other cultures?
References:
Poon, O. & Byrd, A. (2013). Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choices. Journal of College Admissions, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2017
Tiger Mom [Cartoon]. (2011, March 6). Retrieved October 1, 2017, from http://www.knightlifecomic.com/comic/tiger-mom.
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