The stereotype that Asians are generally good at maths and/or science is an image that comes along with being Asian and something that I challenged during my final years of high school. Until year 10, maths and science is a part of the compulsory curriculum and the subjects that I dreaded each lesson but something that I couldn’t escape. Each passing year my results would get worse and I found myself in the bottom ranked class in both subjects. Interestingly, at least half of the class was made up of girls very similar to me- Asians. I remember my Australian and European friends would always make comments like “What are all you Asians doing in here?” or “Isn’t maths your second language?”
As soon as I progressed into our final senior years, I took up subjects that did not involve numbers or the periodic table. When I was asked my final subjects, I would answer English, History Extension, Modern History, Ancient History and Studies of Religion and the immediate response would be, “they aren’t very Asian subjects!” or “they are such low scaling subjects”. My parents doubted my decisions and when I complained about the countless essays, they would always say, “you wouldn’t be complaining if you listened to me when I told you to take up maths!”.
Throughout my final year in high school, the reality of my subject choice became such a burden to the point that I felt pressured to perform exceptionally better than most of the other girls as I had to ‘make up’ for not choosing the subjects I was expected to choose.
This whole matter made me wonder, how did Asians become associated with being good at maths? Why is it that generally all Asians are expected to excel with things related to formulas and numbers? The only reason that I could possibly think of was the fact that we weren’t “white-Australians” and the misconception that for all of us, English is our second language?
Similarly to me, my best friend, an Australian born Chinese also dropped maths and science but obtained exceptional results in English all throughout year 12. Coming from a background where both her parents spoke very limited English and never receiving any form of English tutoring outside of school , she was one of the 3 ‘non-white’ students topping the grade. Close friends that came from a non-Asian background always seemed to be amazed that considering her background she would be performing so well. How could an Asian be doing so well in English? It didn’t make sense to a lot of people…
However, eventually I realised that stereotypes shouldn’t define who I am or anyone else based on their culture or my physical appearance. If I was to follow what everyone expected or wanted me to do, then I believe that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the results I received. I strongly believe that stereotypes aren’t made to be permanent but rather a factor that can be challenged and changed.
Your comment on maths as a second language, made me chuckle, it reminded me in school that I used to stereotype the Asian girls as being good at maths and bad at English, and really bad at PDHPE. I agree that stereotypes should not be permanent and should be looked upon as things to challenge and oppose in order to understand that everyone has the capability of doing well in whatever they choose to excel in.
ReplyDeleteI remember in school I was the opposite to your stereotype, that I (being White) was good at English was expected to top the class. And whilst I did, it only reinforced the idea that English (all 4 units that I did) was my "subject". I can recall girls around me, including my friends, expected great results from me all the time... It placed a lot of pressure on me to make sure that I excelled which made me less inclined to like the subject over time because if I didn't top the class people were surprised and would ask me what happened?
However, I can't deny that I was one of those kids in class that used to embellish the stereotypes at school, including the ones that you have outlined here... I think it becomes almost a common thing to do when you're in school and want some sort of excuse to understand why you're not achieving as well as others.
Doing well in a certain subject is really about the students interest and dedication for the subject. I have never been good at mathematics although I'm Asian and I don't see it as a problem at all. I personally think that I'm not good at maths because I don't enjoy the subject at all, my parents have never pressured me to excel in this subject and I did not seek for help such as tutoring for this subject.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment on how non-Asians would be quite "surprised" when an Asian student does really well in subjects which are associated with a lot of reading and writing such as English and History. I remember when my Australian born friend said "How do you Asians do so well in English? My mum said to me that I'm born here and I really should be doing better than you guys." Therefore, to reiterate, I think that it really is about the individual's interest for the subject and not their ethnic background so hopefully these stereotypes will slowly fade away.
This is a very well written reflection! And thankyou for commenting on what I believe are some of the most hateful and hurtful issues for students. If it were not for stereotyping how could bullying exist after all? And I most certainly agree with your final comment, stereotypes can change SHOULD be challenged wherever possible. Particularly within the classroom!
ReplyDeleteYour comments also remind me of an article I was reading about stereotyping (called "Stereotypes and Standards of Judgement" by Biernat, Melvin and Nelson) which studies how both subjective and objective stereotypes (in relation to sex, gender, wealth, etc.) influenced the judgement of certain subjects. It is a very interesting read and it is intriguing to see how stereotyping is understood through a scientific and psychological standpoint.
It was also very interesting for me to read your article and see how different stereotypes effect individuals in different ways, as my experience of stereotyping has been radically different to what I can see of yours. I find it interesting how stereotyping, at its core a mode of generalizing large quantities of people, can, in this respect, show the diversity of life in how different stereotypes are only applicable to different people! I guess that just goes to show you further evidence of how stereotyping is a flawed concept......
Your reflection was really resonated with me because I’ve experienced the same situation in my high school as well. My school is a multicultural school with 80% non-English language background students. Being Asian, my Australian friends expected me to do well in chemistry, mathematic or science, I think it was because the students in 4-unit-maths class were all from Asian background at that time. Hence, they believed that I must be strong at these subjects as well. However, I had no idea neither about mathematic questions nor chemistry experiments.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone may be interested in a variety of subjects and has their own learning style. Doing well or not in a particular subject can’t only depend on their identities. This issue can also be connected with the stereotype view of women position. Although people believed women could do well in studying compared with men, it is easy to find the top-achievement student that is girl in the classroom. I think what do matter a students educational outcome depends on his or her interests, efforts and so on. People should not only consider the gender and cultural background.