Students and the Stifling Stereotypes

Asian-Americans only comprise of a mere five point four percent of the US population, but, since this racial group has the highest pay in the country, they are stereotyped as the “model minority.” Students are subject to face the disadvantages of discrimination. Unfortunately, these problems are more evident in society than we think with the start of discrimination happening at an early age.  In Fremont, Mission San Jose High School is the twentieth best high school in the state, and, as a result, people believe that all Mission students are smart, studious, and well-rounded.

Before diving into a discussion on the pros and cons of a being a “model minority” stereotype, we must first answer what exactly it is.  This stereotype is the cultural expectation that every Asian-American will be smart, hard-working, wealthy, independent, and obedient. People, including teachers, assume that all Asian-American students are naturally great at studies. This leads to people thinking that these students can easily get A’s and are admitted into renowned colleges with no effort. Due to this being the dominant ideology, several Asian-Americans feel that they must fit into society’s perceived idea of an Asian-American student in order to succeed and be content with life. Many students feel inadequate while trying to live up to this image of academic excellence that others seem to expect of them. These high standards put unnecessary pressure on students, which results in harmful long-term effects. Because of this, the MSJ community is targeted and is held at a large disadvantage.

In an effort to fulfill their society’s unjustifiable standards, Mission students take a large workload which causes them to lose good time management and a great amount of sleep.  To shed light on the topic of stress in the community, Mr. Larsen, the principal, and I led a team to create a documentary-style video regarding the notions of success held by students at MSJ. Through the time of interviewing people and editing the video, it was noticeable that many students had contrary definitions of what an ideal student was. An alumna stated that her biggest regret was “being down on myself a lot because of my peers. They were really competitive, and I lost motivation at a point.” This shows that the majority of students endorse this stereotype with full pride, and due to additional encouragement from everyone around them, including parents, they fall into an endless cycle of struggling to keep up to these outlandish standards. Another alumna said, “in junior year [she] took three AP classes and it was way too much to handle.” This example is one of the countless that are seen at Mission every year. Often, these students have to deal with a lot of stress and pressure from their parents, peers, and themselves. Students who do not meet this standard are faced with social isolation and additional stress, and the few people who do fit this stereotype feel socially accepted and in a higher position than others. This ignites a sense of superiority in them in comparison to other “dumb” students, catalyzing a toxic cycle. The “superior” students begin to let go of the obligation to accept and interact with other not-as-high-achieving students.

This dominant discourse caused the majority to change their perspective on school completely. The over competitive nature of students and the parents pressurizing causes them to strive to be the idealistic student. When asked for a solution, many students were speechless. Sophomore Anika Arora said, “The stereotype has been engraved in the students’ minds since a young age. It should be taught that an overload of weighted classes is not the route to achieve happiness.” Creating a healthy environment is imperative, and many other high schools have implemented a plan which has solved this issue.

Other high schools as well had had to deal with this unsolvable problem. Palo Alto Unified School District has implemented strategies to ease up the stress that their high schoolers face. Similar to Mission students, they have been burdened by the stress and overload of weighted courses. In order to ease this, the district implemented strict rules on the number of time students spent on homework. They also told teachers to be more lenient on late work and on make-up tests. One of the long-term reforms was creating a block schedule. Paly High School did this many years ago, and it proves to “improve student mental health, ease homework loads and boost teacher collaboration.” (Kadvany 2015)

In Mission, the stereotype causes groups to target one another. People in this over competitive environment tend to shrink their universe of obligation, which can result in severe repercussions. The students who do not live up to the Asian stereotype tend to lose their rights and privileges of being part of the MSJ community. They are pressured by their parents, their teachers, their peers, and themselves. The consequences of having a small universe of obligation cause those who meet the ideals of society to look down upon their peers who do not deserve to be associated with them. The other students lose respect from their peers and parents. They lose the privilege of having a peaceful and relatively stress-free childhood. These losses of privileges and rights are something that happens to the students at an early age, which can create lasting effects of racism and stereotypes throughout their adulthood. Therefore, it is imperative that the school implements some solutions, e.g. blocked schedule, healthier environment, and rules to limit the number of weighted classes that students can take. This issue goes beyond just the Mission community, with many other districts battling with the same issue. By prioritizing a change in the dominant discourse of an ideal Asian student in society, Mission takes a step forward in ensuring that the students can have a less stressful time in high school and, ultimately, a better future.