Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/515703
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S C O T T B U S C H M A N Mira Loma High School in Sacra- mento. "Forty percent of Hmong, 38 percent of Laotians, and 35 percent of Cambodian populations do not complete high school." While there is a high overall col- lege degree attainment rate for Asian students, studies show Vietnamese Americans only have a college attainment rate of 20 percent. The rates for Laotians, Cambodians and Hmong are less than 10 percent. Fifteen percent of Pacific Islanders have an undergraduate degree. Income, more than race, factors into achievement, says Bach, noting large percentages of Hmong, Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Americans live in poverty. Children of educated and affluent parents are likely to do better in school than those with poor parents having little or no education, adds Bach, San Juan Teachers Association. K i m G e r o n , a p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e p r o f e s s o r a t C S U E a s t B ay, s e e s that firsthand. "Many Asian students do well academically, but others are just as chal- lenged as other minority students," he relates. "There are a significant number of Pacific Islanders from Tonga, the Solomon Islands and Fiji that tend to struggle more than other Asian students. Here, 60 percent of Asian students are the first in their families to attend college." Geron, whose mother is Japanese, co-directs the Student Ser- vice Operation for Success on campus, which provides counseling and cultural activities to help Asian American and Pacific Islander students succeed. "Our math tutors can tell you that some of the most challenged students in math are Asian American students," relates Geron, California Faculty Association, CSU East Bay. "But the real chal- lenge is that the myth puts a lot of pressure on students, because people assume they are going to be overachievers." Parental pressure not a myth On the TV show "Glee," a tearful student sobs about earning a B, calling it the equivalent of an "Asian F." It may be a joke, but there is a lot of parental pressure on Asian Amer- ican students to succeed, says Banther, whose mother is Chinese. And while the Tiger Mom may be an extreme version of the Asian parent who demands academic excellence — based on the book by Amy Chua describing a strict style of par - enting — students say parental pressure is commonplace. Banther asks a room full of students who hang out in her classroom at lunchtime if their parents expect aca- demic perfection. Nearly all of the students are Asian; most raise their hands. Meeting expectations of excellence in all capacities can be challenging for students, says Banther, who recalls that if she got 98 percent on a quiz, her mother would ask what happened to the other 2 percent. "Students may become stressed out and become superachievers to please their parents — or throw their hands up in the air because they'll never be good enough." Student Kevin Khau believes parents have good intentions — wanting their child to do better than they did, especially if they came from challenging circumstances. But it can be overwhelming. "Teachers may not know it because kids like to hide their problems," he says. "But it's a lot of pressure and sometimes we can't take it." Banther advises fellow educators to be sensitive to Asian students who are superachievers. "We need to show these children that we care about them and love them for who they are — and not just what they can achieve." Quynh Nguyen, who is Vietnamese, often meets people who assume she is Chinese. Kim Geron 12 www.cta.org Feature