Asian Parents

For the first time in my life I got lower than an 85 on a math test. In fact, I got a 65. The first thought that came to my mind was to hide it from my parents and just try to make up for it with better grades in the future. But what does it mean to a parent when you don't know what your child is struggling in?
This is how my parents raised me. They taught me that life was a dog-bite-dog society where only the strongest and toughest make it to the top. So I grew up as a cynic - one that prided academics over much else. In high school, I started losing it. It became hard to survive just with a competitive frame of mind. Grades are everything to my parents; grades are their top priority next to money. So I grew up hiding bad tests in my bed sheets, pillow covers, in between textbooks, heck even inside tissue boxes.

I can also truthfully say that I have never had a real conversation with my father. Whenever I tried to talk to my father about something not science-related or academic, he would tell me to "stop wasting time" or "do my homework." OF course, I rarely get the chance to talk to my father anyway, since he has around a 13 hour workday. My mother told me everything I know about my father. I learned that he swam across a river in hopes of finding a good job, was used by a young woman to pay for her college and then dumped when he came to America. If it weren't for my mother's stories, I would know nothing about the man who so fondly reads newspapers at the dinner table.

So what has the idea of parenting among Asian American parents come to? To get your son or daughter into an Ivy League? Is this what the Asian-American dream is?

TEAMWORK is best.. right?

There's always a time when you think things don't feel like how it should be going. Doesn't that just suck?

"What are they expecting of me? What should I do? Should I just shut up and listen to whatever they're saying?" if you ever thought those questions, well here's what you should do:

1. Stop thinking about these questions - just ask them. It might scare the person or it might make the person meaner. But it's all good! At least they how you feel.. a bit.
2. Don't shut up and listen. Sometimes it's good to give in your input - what if you don't like what that person is telling you to do? If they say go jump off the cliff? would you do it? I hope not. I really hope you do NOT jump off a cliff. I am not giving any suggestions for you to do so.. So don't!
3. If the person thinks that they're all that and that they should be the grand master of the plan, tell them it's a group effort and that they shouldn't be bossing people around. "There is no I in TEAM."
4. If anything fails, back it up. There's a reason why it's GROUP work - if one person falls, another person should be there to help..

I'm sorry if I rambled, but I've been told most of my school-life that, "Where ever you go in life, there's always a chance you'll be stuck in group presentations or group work".. something along those lines.

Now excuse me, as I go kill a mosquito that has been flying around my room for a while.

P.S. Eva says hi and she'll bake cookies for you if you Join CLP. Info on facebook.

C-Y-I! HUUUUH!

Opportunity!

Museum of Chinese in America’s
Docent Training Program with Voices of Young Chinese America
Throughout the 2008-2009 school year, MOCA will be bringing together a group of 10-
12 youth who will be trained to facilitate interactive, exhibition-based gallery programs
in the Museum and lead neighborhood walking tours for a wide range of audiences.
These youth will participate in an intensive training on Chinese American history and
culture, oral history, research, public speaking, group facilitation and museum education.
Upon completion of the training, participants will become part of the museum docent
team, where they will lead group tours and receive ongoing training.

I will post forms and deadlines later with more information, unless this post is deleted.