The "Asian" Way

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate October 2001

download word file, 4 pages 3.0

Studying. At a first glance, one would conjure up the mental images of caffeine pill-popping, staying up until the sun rises, only a couple more hours, dark bags under your eyes that are so tired that you could fall asleep any minute. Why would anyone want to subject his or her body to endure so much just for the sake of studying? Do you believe we study too much or too little as students? Well the answer to that question is who knows. It is entirely dependent upon the individual. In most cases, the student would argue that they spend too much time studying whereas their parents think they don't apply themselves enough academically. We automatically get the impression that those who study too much are dorks and those who don't study enough are dumb. Ironically, some of us who do tend to over-study sometimes may not do as well as the person who just studied the previous day or the hour before the exam.

When it comes to the methods of studying, there are generally three ways to do it: the "asian-way""”there is no other way to refer to how Asian teens study, the way of the procrastinator, and the whatever-I-don't-really-care way. Presently, the "asian-way" is becoming fairly popular among the households who have teenage daughters and or sons. Normally when you think about Asian kids studying, what do you picture? Basically the same image you imagined when you thought about studying in general right? But you are wrong. In fact, the way Asian kids study is in fact a lot worse than you could possibly imagine. You know you have heard the rumors and frankly, they are all true. The worse one by far has to be where the Asian parent tells their teen that if they manage to score anything "lower than an A you will be disowned." It is sad but entirely true. Possibly it is due to the fact that success and prosperity has been instilled in every parent from generation to generation, each new generation passing down their "divine wisdom" in the same manor"”threatening and yelling at your kids"”basically verbal abuse. Can you actually picture that image; a short, middle-aged Asian woman, yelling until her face turns red with her veins popping out of her neck, at you, her own child. What is even worse is that she is probably yelling at you in two dialects, English and her native language, whatever that might be.

When you think Asian, you might picture book smart. Parents, Asian parents for that matter, train their kids to be nerds, just like a trainer trains his or her pet to obey what they say. If you are anything less than perfect in an Asian household, you will be happy to just get a scolding. By not obeying what your "master" barks at you to do, most likely you will get another long, boring lecture, a back-hand to the face, or a punishment so harsh you wish you could just shrivel up and die, but than again, that is taking it to the extremes. How does one become book smart, you might be asking yourself right now. Well if that's the case, take the thought completely out of your mind because it requires years of hard work"”nights upon nights of your mom bitching at you in your ear, lectures that you have probably heard before but they just had to repeat it because it was so good"”and determination"”those long angry, tear-soaked nights where you wish the sun would just rise so you could get to school and out of the hell of your own home, only to repeat it again when the clock reads 2:30pm. Just because your book smart does not mean you are necessarily smart in other areas. Since you spend so much time indoors behind your desk slaving away at books, notes, homework, and becoming more "yellow", the rest of the world is passing you up. A well-rounded person is not only intellectual but also "street-smart" and that is not the case for most Asian kids.

But studying like Asian kids do in fact does have its benefits. Because you spend so many hours reading and re-reading, you will in fact be ahead of the game. You will be more than well prepared for whatever discussions, tests, or essays come up in class. You will have extensive knowledge on the subject, more likely be one of the top students in the class. In the future if you keep this up, you will be going to a highly accredited school, majoring in something that will not only guarantee you an early retirement, but something you like doing also. But than again, it all depends on the person and their study habits.

You cannot instruct a person on what to do, especially how they should study. You can only pass on your guidance and hope that they will listen to you because you are trying to do what is best for them. Being a teen in today's America is very tough because parents expect more out of their kids than ever before. But if you are lucky enough to have a kid that studies the way most Asian kids study, be thankful for you know they will succeed in whatever they do in life because they are determined and hard-working.