I spent the weekend sending off both my kids to college. One entering her first year as a freshman. The other his first year of grad school.
I was amazed at how many other parents have congratulated me.
I’ve tried to instill a sense of good sound moral values and social justice in my children. But they’re the ones who should be getting the congratulations, not me and my wife.
A story in the Global Times  quotes Charles Murray, a resident scholar at Washington DC-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI) who credits both hard work and parents for the success of many Asian Americans in education.
“Chinese and Indian students grow up in families where parents value education highly and are demanding. Non-Asian parents, on the other hand, do not push their children so hard,” said Murray.
New statistics released today by the College Board show Asian American students have widened the gap in test scores, reports Inside Higher Ed.
Asian Americans on average outscore all other ethnic groups in overall SAT scores. The test scores of Asian Americans were up on average four points in all three parts of the SAT when other groups remained flat.
My kids also scored above the average in their test scores. I don’t think I pushed my kids any harder than most parents. That sounds like the whole tiger parenting argument all over again. Sure, I monitored my kid’s grades and patted them on the back when they did well. I gave them all the advantages of a middle to upper middle class upbringing. But other than read to them when they were younger, I honestly don’t know what I did to help them achieve good grades.
You can get a closer look at the SAT scores for Asian Americans and the overall trends in Inside Higher Ed.
You can read more about how some give Asian American parents all the credit in the Global Times .
What’s your opinion? Should Asian American parents get the credit?
