{"id":1456281,"date":"2022-04-28T07:46:32","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T11:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1456281"},"modified":"2022-04-28T07:46:42","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T11:46:42","slug":"asian-students-excel-because-of-hard-work-not-rich-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/asian-students-excel-because-of-hard-work-not-rich-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian Students Excel Because Of Hard Work, Not Rich Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fasian-students-excel-because-of-hard-work-not-rich-parents%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1456281&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/33027693636_b787c2a3c6_h.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A San Diego-area superintendent was placed on administrative leave last week after her\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/voiceofsandiego.org\/2022\/04\/22\/san-dieguito-superintendents-remarks-about-asian-students-sparks-outrage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disparaging remarks about Asian students sparked outrage.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training on April 11, when asked why Asian students perform so well in school, Cheryl James-Ward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vefyGdb613s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">attributed<\/a>\u00a0it to family wealth. She said: \u201cWe have an influx of Asians from China, and the people who are able to make that journey are wealthy. You cannot come to America and buy a house for $2 million unless you have money. You cannot come to America and buy a house for $2 million unless you have money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>James-Ward doubled down when the board\u2019s president pushed back. She said: \u201cIn my community, Carmel Valley, I have, not so much today, but up until a couple of years ago, we had a large influx of Chinese families moving in sight unseen into our homes, into the community, and that requires money.\u201d In comparison, according to James-Ward, \u201cin some of our Latinx communities, they don\u2019t have that type of money, parents are working two jobs. They\u2019re working from sunup to sundown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>James-Ward\u2019s attempt to use the wealth of a small subset of Asian Americans to explain away Asian students\u2019 overall academic achievements is a common false narrative spread in an attempt to explain away why, as a group, Asian-Americans tend to perform the best academically and often economically.<\/p>\n<p>This narrative is ignorant, false, and rude in a way that would not be culturally acceptable were it spread about other racial groups. So let\u2019s look at her comments and the truth, as it\u2019s clear many people need to understand that Asian Americans\u2019 excellence comes not from privilege, but from hard work and cultural virtues accessible to all.<\/p>\n<h2>Asians Have Been in America for a Long Time<\/h2>\n<p>Contrary to James-Ward\u2019s remarks, not all Asian Americans are new immigrants. Some Asian families have been in the United States for more than 150 years. Their ancestors helped build transcontinental railroads and turned swamps in California into thousands of acres of fertile farmland between 1860 and 1880.<\/p>\n<p>Yet some in America still treat Asian Americans as forever \u201coutsiders.\u201d Many of us have been told to \u201cgo back to where you come from.\u201d As an educator, James-Ward should have known better than perpetuating this offensive stereotype.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Second, James-Ward ignored the ethnic and economic diversity among Asian Americans. There are about 22 million Asian Americans in the United States, and we trace our roots to more\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2021\/04\/29\/key-facts-about-asian-origin-groups-in-the-u-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">than 20 countries<\/a>\u00a0in East and Southeast Asia. In addition, according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/social-trends\/2018\/07\/12\/income-inequality-in-the-u-s-is-rising-most-rapidly-among-asians\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pew Research<\/a>, while Asian Americans as a group have the highest earnings in the nation, they have displaced blacks as the most economically divided racial or ethnic group in the United States.<\/p>\n<h2>Asian-Americans Are Not \u2018All Rich\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The poverty rates were \u201c35% among Burmese, 33% among Bhutanese, and 28% among Hmong and Malaysians, compared with 15.1% in the U.S.\u201d In New York City, Asian Americans have the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2014\/07\/19\/why-nycs-push-to-change-school-admissions-will-punish-poor-asians\/\">highest poverty rate<\/a>, \u201cwith 29\u00a0percent living below the poverty level, compared with 26\u00a0percent of Hispanics, 23\u00a0percent of blacks and 14\u00a0percent of whites.\u201d<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If James-Ward wants to witness poverty in the Asian American community, all she has to do is visit tenants living in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chinatowncdc.org\/sro-families-the-core-of-our-chinatown-community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">single-room occupancy (SRO) housing<\/a>\u00a0in San Francisco\u2019s Chinatown. A typical\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ManKitLam4\/status\/1484718381865443329\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SRO room<\/a>\u00a0is so small that \u201cit barely fits in a bed and a small table, with shared communal kitchens, showers, and toilets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During the San Francisco school board campaign early this year, I met Allene Jue, a campaign volunteer and a daughter of Chinese immigrants. She told me from the time she was born until she was six, her family of four crammed into such an SRO room. Her dad worked as a cook, and her mom had multiple jobs, including being a hotel housekeeper. They worked from \u201csunup to sundown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By focusing on a few wealthy Chinese families in San Diego, James-Ward papered over the poverty that many Asian Americans experience, and often triumph over.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Asians Do Well Through Hard Work, Not Money<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s a fallacy to claim Asian students\u2019 typically strong educational outcomes result from money. About half of the Asian students enrolled in New York City\u2019s elite high schools qualify for free or subsidized school lunches. The latest\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibo.nyc.ny.us\/iboreports\/student-achievement-3-8-academic-performance-2022.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">test data<\/a>\u00a0from NYC public schools shows that Asian students from low-income and well-to-do neighborhoods have the least disparity in academic achievements than do other racial groups.<\/p>\n<p>My own story testifies that a culture prioritizing education is why Asian students typically perform well in school. I grew up in poverty and on food rations in Mao Zedong\u2019s China. Despite the harsh economic circumstances, my parents taught my siblings and me how to read and do simple arithmetic before we even began the first grade.<\/p>\n<p>After we started school, besides completing homework from teachers, we had to finish additional assignments from our parents, which usually involved solving math questions and memorizing Chinese poems. My parents ensured we all understood that there is nothing more important than education. They also told us \u52e4\u80fd\u8865\u62d9, a Chinese idiom that means hard work can make up for weakness or lack of talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When I came to the United States in the mid-90s, I had less than $100 in my pocket. The values my parents instilled in me helped keep me focused and disciplined. I completed two master\u2019s degrees, and education became my ladder to achieve upward economic mobility.<\/p>\n<p>My experience is hardly an outlier. Almost every Asian American I met can point to education as the key that opened doors either for their ancestors or themselves in the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Asian Cultures Also Value Intact Families<\/h2>\n<p>In addition, Asian cultures place great value on family and marriage.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthymarriageinfo.org\/research-policy\/marriage-facts-and-research\/marriage-and-divorce-statistics-by-culture\/asian-and-pacific-islanders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Research<\/a>\u00a0shows, \u201cAsian-Americans have the highest percentage of marriage (65 % versus 61% for whites) and the lowest percentage of divorce (4% versus 10.5% for whites).\u201d In addition, \u201cEighty-two percent of children under 18 in the U.S. Asian\/Pacific Islander population live with both of their parents.\u201d It has long been\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcateepsychology.com\/post\/unstable-family-dynamics-and-children-s-academic-performance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proven<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cc<em>hildren<\/em>\u00a0within a safe,\u00a0<em>stable<\/em>, and supportive\u00a0<em>family<\/em>\u00a0environment academically\u00a0<em>perform well in school.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>One would imagine that a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training would be the perfect venue to discuss how these cultural factors such as prioritizing education, emphasizing hard work, and valuing family and marriage contribute to Asian American students\u2019 academic success. Instead, James-Ward chose to focus on finances alone. Her comments were disparaging and divisive.<\/p>\n<p>She had since\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/education\/story\/2022-04-13\/san-dieguito-superintendent-apologizes-for-her-comments-about-asian-students\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">apologized<\/a>, claiming her words were taken out of context. Last week, the school board voted 3-1 to place her on administrative leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>These False Claims Hurt People<\/h2>\n<p>But the bigger issue here is that many on the left widely share James-Ward\u2019s belief that academic achievement is the result of money. They have used similar arguments to successfully push K-12 schools to eliminate gifted and talented programs, and elite high schools from San Francisco to Virginia to cancel entrance exams.<\/p>\n<p>Under similar pressure, colleges have dropped SAT and ACT scores from admission criteria. These so-called education \u201cequity\u201d reforms have\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/edsource.org\/updates\/california-has-the-lowest-literacy-rate-of-any-state-data-suggests\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lowered education standards<\/a>\u00a0and hurt children from disadvantaged backgrounds, including\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/us\/judge-calls-thomas-jefferson-high-admissions-changes-illegal\/ar-AAUjMUn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">many Asian students<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, Asian Americans are fighting back. A coalition of Asian parents and community members brought a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pacificlegal.org\/case\/coalition_for_tj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0against the Fairfax County, Virginia school board, arguing that its racial quotas for admission to the highly ranked Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) violated the rights of Asian-American applicants. The Supreme Court recently denied a request to pause the racial quotas, but the case is moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court has also already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/think\/opinion\/supreme-court-affirmative-action-cases-challenging-harvard-unc-policies-are-ncna1287939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agreed<\/a>\u00a0to take a college affirmative-action case brought by Students for Fair Admissions on behalf of Asian students and parents, which\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/studentsforfairadmissions.org\/harvards-education-in-discrimination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alleges<\/a>\u00a0the undergraduate admission processes at Harvard University intentionally discriminates against Asian Americans. Hopefully, the court will uphold the Constitution and ensure no American students will be subject to racial prejudices when pursuing educational opportunities.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Helen Raleigh, CFA, is an American entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She&#8217;s a senior contributor at The Federalist. Her writings appear in other national media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Helen is the author of several books, including &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confucius-Never-Said-Helen-Raleigh\/dp\/1499185278\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&#038;keywords=Helen+Raleigh+Confucius+Never+Said&#038;qid=1606079469&#038;sr=8-1\">Confucius Never Said<\/a>&#8221; and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Backlash-How-Chinas-Aggression-Backfired\/dp\/1736008501\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;qid=1606006113&#038;sr=8-1\">Backlash: How Communist China&#8217;s Aggression Has Backfired<\/a>.&#8221; Follow her on Parler and Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A San Diego-area superintendent was placed on administrative leave last week after her\u00a0disparaging remarks about Asian students sparked outrage.\u00a0 During a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training on April 11,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1456281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1456281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1456281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1456281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1456281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}