Analysis Of The Article ' The Model Minority ' Losing Patience '

You would probably be very disappointed if you were rejected from your dream school and a kid who scored significantly lower than you did on standardized tests got your spot. Asian Americans are treated unfairly in many elite college admissions such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. They score higher and achieve higher on average compared to other races and are forced to outperform them by a significant margin to gain acceptance into the same college. They are also fairly underrepresented at top colleges as a larger percentage of them that have the required test scores are denied spots than any other race. They are also now pitted against each other for a certain spot as they will only take a “specific” amount of Asians which causes a significant amount of stress. To truly provide fair access to education and opportunity, universities should accept people based mainly on their abilities rather than their ethnicity.

In the reading “At the Elite Colleges” by Peter Schmidt the nature of admissions in top colleges was discussed in relation to class and race status. Schmidt states that affirmative action is often serving white populations of upper middle class females rather than those in minority races and ethnicities. This was a great relevant point, especially when considering why affirmative action was proposed and enacted in the first place. Affirmative action was created to serve those who are part of groups who had been quashed in some way by oppression. This stands in stark contrast. Colleges often make excuses for these undeserved admissions because, they are looking for future donors or are aiding an athlete. However, this is still inexcusable. On

As a first-generation Asian-American college student and the first in my family to move onto higher education, my chances of academic success were improbable.

Asian Americans may also face the realities of racism and discrimination in the United States. Institutional racism, like initiatives to speak English only, as well as individual racism that includes “differential treatment, verbal insults, and racial slurs” are a reality that some Asian

Have you ever heard the statement that all Asian Americans are good at math and science and they excel educationally? This paper defines the model minority myth, provides historical context in perspective of the Chinese Americans and explains how these Chinese American’s experiences do not fit the model minority myth. The model minority stereotype has various negative assumptions towards Asian Americans and one of them is that it assumes all Asian Americans are a homogenous ethnic group. There are several ways how Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans do not fit the model minority myth. Specifically, the historical context of these Chinese Americans contradicts the model minority stereotype.

Though Asians make up the largest portion of the world’s population, Asian-Americans are one of the least represented minority groups within the United States. Out of an estimated 318 million people living in the U.S., Asians account for 5.2%, or approximately 17 million people. Compared to Hispanics at 54 million and African-Americans at 42 million, Asians and/or Asian-Americans are vastly outnumbered by the two other major minority groups and even more so by the majority, European-Americans. Even though Asians are typically considered the “model minority”, they are faced with the same issues that plague many other minority groups within the U.S. today to include stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination and ethnocentrism. There has been a history of discriminatory national policies directed at the immigration of Asians to the U.S. and in times of duress, the labeling and targeted institutional discrimination of specific ethnicities of Asian-Americans as traitors based solely on country of origin and not on the deeds and actions of said U.S. citizens (Japanese internment camps of World War II).

Many people ignore the blinding facts that support white privilege but are aware that it exists in society. White privilege impacts every decision made within the educational system. When applying to colleges, a white student is 78% more likely to get accepted than a student of color with identical successes. A study done in 2011 by the US Department of Education suggests that whites are not only more likely to get accepted, but are more likely to receive their bachelor’s degree once they enter (2011 US Department of Education). This recent study demonstrates that white privilege is still relevant in society and must be altered. Even if the education system is not consciously making an effort to support white privilege it is evident that it

Statistics that support this model minority theory can be found in many areas, the first being education. Fifty percent of Asian Americans 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree compared to twenty-nine percent of the white population. Many studies have used standardized tests and school records, such as SAT, GPA, and other measures to compare the academic performance of Asian American students with non-Asian American students. Several studies have indicated that the outstanding academic performance of Asian students might be attributed to their cultural and family values. Another area of model minority success is found in the professional workforce. Asian Americans as a group work in the same place of employment as whites. This alone suggests that they have succeeded. A high percent of Asians are found at the top of professional and managerial positions. This success in the workforce has also lead Asians to hold one of the highest income figures per family by race. On the other hand, the model minority label is also seen as a myth. This label suggests that Asian Americans conform to the norms of society, do well in school and careers, are hardworking and self-sufficient. It follows that Asian Americans are a model for all groups, especially other minority groups. However, a closer look uncovers

There is a model minority group called “Combating the stereotype,” which is based on ethnicity, race, or religion whose members are to achieve a higher degree on socioeconomic success than the population average. There is a myth that other races should not counted for and the Asian Americans are successful in life. Asian Americans are usually denied assistance if they need help in some ways. When Asian Americans are discriminated their society and their achievements are undstandable and ignored. Asian Americans are percepted of high income level and

Modern Day example would include the “English Only Movement” and the “reverse quotas for Asians in college admissions” (Ngai, p. 67). The limitations of Asian access to postsecondary education is troubling because they are amongst some of the brightest American citizens, especially when using measures of college readiness benchmarks used for college admissions. For example, Asian Americans taking the ACTs during high school scored higher on math and science portions than any other recorded racial group. In an economy where science, technology, engineering and mathematics

A reading that stood out in Current Issues and Enduring Questions was “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority” by Ronald Takaki. Throughout his essay Takaki expresses how although it seems the Asian minority in the United States has superiority over other minorities, this assumption is false. He touches on many ideas why Asian Americans seem superior. These ideas include: acceptance into universities, high household incomes, and praise for their entrepreneurial effectiveness (Takaki,1990,p.123).

To some people this is not be viewed as a stereotype due to the fact it is not instantly perceived as “negative”; for those readers who delve in deeper, this stereotype outlines the educational daily hidden pressure of people from Chinese descent whom do not fit this “positive” stereotype. Every day, especially in American society, classmates look to their Asian counterparts to provide the answers to questions they do not know in every subject they take. Nonetheless, this ridiculous assumption hurts the Asian students that do not feel comfortable with their intellectual abilities. Placing Asian students as the “model student” excludes the students who actually have problems and need help that other classmates are reluctant to give the students simply because their classmates do not view helping their struggling Asian classmates as an actual necessity. By “poking” fun and bringing into light both Asian stereotypes, Yang enforces view that stereotypes are in use today.

American society likes to believe that race relations in our country are no longer strained. We do not want to hear about the need for affirmative action or about the growing numbers of white supremacist groups. In order to appease our collective conscious, we put aside the disturbing fact that racism is alive and well in the great U.S.A. It hides in the workplace, it subtly shows its ugly face in the media, and it affects the education of minority students nationwide. In the following excerpts from an interview with a middle class African American male, the reader will find strong evidence that race plays a major role in determining the type and quality of education a student receives.

Affirmative action has been viewed as an effective tool for rectifying the inequalities of racism in our country’s past. It is a set of procedures intended to eliminate the discrimination of an applicant based on their ethnic origin. President John F. Kennedy first introduced the concept “broadly across the United States with his Executive Order number 10925” and “in 1978 the Supreme Court ruled that race could be used as an admission standard” (Wilcher). The utilization of race is a “plus factor” for minority races but it has developed into a disadvantage for Asian-American students who demonstrate academic excellence. They often find their achievements overlooked because of their racial background (Bronner). Although affirmative action

Thanks to California Proposition 209 in 1996, which prohibits state institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity specifically in the areas of public employment and public education, Asian American enrollment rates in the University of California system remained stable at a rate of around 40 percent. In contrast, the percentage of Asian-Americans admitted to Harvard, and other Ivy League schools remains remarkably stable for the past 20 years at around 16 percent despite the increasing Asian American applicants (Washington Post). Apparently, AB 1726 is used as a backdoor way to overturn Proposition 209, which bans the affirmative action. Concerns have been rising among Chinese American communities that AB 1726 will be a threat to Chinese American’s struggle for social and economic equality. Also, AB 1726 is not the first act that attempts to reintroduce affirmative action in California. Senate Constitutional Amendment No.5(SCA 5) was proposed to eliminate Proposition 209’s ban on the use of race, sex, color and ethnicity in college admission in California admission system (California Legislative Information), but was withdrawn because of the fervent opposition from primarily Asian American communities. If SCA 5 is highway robbery, AB1726 is deception and inseparably linked to SCA 5. Instead of supporting overt racial discrimination, supporters who crave