White privilege and asian-bashing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think there is anything wrong with supplementing your child’s education. That is your right.

But a child, or rather their parent, should not be rewarded with special treatment by pushing their kid ahead in the standard curriculum.

Let Aiden study algebra in 5th grade with daddy. But he will not study algebra I in school until 7th grade—along with the other bright kids who had supplementation or not.

No ifs ands or buts.

This argument that because you’ve tutored a child ahead of the curriculum she is deserving of more advanced work needs to die.

But why do you care what the school does with Aiden? How does it hurt your child at all if Aiden is allowed to take Algebra early? Why isn't it a better model to try to teach kids where they are, rather than having they waste their time at school? What if Aiden is actually highly gifted in math and not just the product of tutoring? Do you also feel that all kids in Kindergarten should have to sit through letter sounds and BOB books even if they're already independently reading chapter books, because that would be an equivalent case of rewarding kids with special treatment for having parents who read to them and taught them to read?

Admit it. You don't want other kids to be pushed ahead because you feel like it makes your kid look worse in comparison. You're still clinging to the notion that your child deserves to be the best.

Aiden is not highly gifted in math. He’s doing algebra with dad in 5th grade—not advanced calculus.

School can not operate this way because too many parents will want to rush their kids through math. The kids who are rushed through will suffer. It affects the school and the teachers who have to teach these kids later and find out they have been rushed through. Hopefully it doesn’t affect the actual level of instruction for other kids but I think we can all imagining how it might.

It’s not about comparisons. Surely you understand quicker or earlier does not equal smarter. I think parents like you are the ones who have an obsession with being the best. Aiden is the best because he was skipped into algebra I in 6th grade? That’s validation for parents who need that sort of thing. It’s a way for Aiden to be the best without him actually being the best.

Aiden doesn’t look as advanced when he’s with his peers in 7th grade Algebra I. He may still shine in that class, or other kids may outshine him in that class because the have a deeper understanding. Even if he’s taking the next year’s math class with a tutor those same-aged, non-tutored kids may outshine him in his school class and I think that’s a source of anxiety for his parents. Much better to just keep pushing ahead... get the skip and rest on those laurels.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Aiden taking the normal math sequence in school. It’s not a race.

My oldest did enter kindergarten reading chapter books. They did not skip her into 4th grade reading.

there may in fact be a principled pedagogic reason not to advance kids in math too quickly ... but yeah, you care WAY too much about what Aiden is doing. I bet $1000000 you would be complaining if you deemed your child's class to be too slow too ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
this is so hilarious. I'm going to cut and paste it the next time some white parent complains that their "advanced learner" is not receiving "differentiation" at their Title 1 school.

Don't you realize that every white "advanced learner" is actually gifted, but every Asian one is a prep-robot?

I'm white, but I find the hypocrisy of white people stunning on this thread. White parents can get private coaching in sports, do travel teams, and spend 15+ hours/week on sports. When their kids excel, they are perfectly happy to praise the talent and hard work. Asian parents can put their kids in 1-2 hours/week of math enrichment, do better than the white kids, and then have all of the white parents throw a collective tantrum that it's unfair that their kids aren't the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
this is so hilarious. I'm going to cut and paste it the next time some white parent complains that their "advanced learner" is not receiving "differentiation" at their Title 1 school.

Don't you realize that every white "advanced learner" is actually gifted, but every Asian one is a prep-robot?

I'm white, but I find the hypocrisy of white people stunning on this thread. White parents can get private coaching in sports, do travel teams, and spend 15+ hours/week on sports. When their kids excel, they are perfectly happy to praise the talent and hard work. Asian parents can put their kids in 1-2 hours/week of math enrichment, do better than the white kids, and then have all of the white parents throw a collective tantrum that it's unfair that their kids aren't the best.

totally! and nobody stops to think that focusing on math enrichment might be legitimately because the family likes math, the same way other families like sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think there is anything wrong with supplementing your child’s education. That is your right.

But a child, or rather their parent, should not be rewarded with special treatment by pushing their kid ahead in the standard curriculum.

Let Aiden study algebra in 5th grade with daddy. But he will not study algebra I in school until 7th grade—along with the other bright kids who had supplementation or not.

No ifs ands or buts.

This argument that because you’ve tutored a child ahead of the curriculum she is deserving of more advanced work needs to die.

100% disagree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This argument that because you’ve tutored a child ahead of the curriculum she is deserving of more advanced work needs to die.

Let's get rid of reading groups, too. Just because Suzie loves reading and as a result is a much stronger reader than Larlo doesn't mean that she should be given the special privilege of being in a higher reading group or getting more advanced books than Larlo. It's just not fair that she's reading a couple hours per day, while Larlo is only reading 10 minutes. Even if she's at a 5th grade reading level as a 2nd grader, she should be forced to read Magic Treehouse in school just like all of the other kids are doing.

[Anonymous]

I'm white, but I find the hypocrisy of white people stunning on this thread. White parents can get private coaching in sports, do travel teams, and spend 15+ hours/week on sports. When their kids excel, they are perfectly happy to praise the talent and hard work. Asian parents can put their kids in 1-2 hours/week of math enrichment, do better than the white kids, and then have all of the white parents throw a collective tantrum that it's unfair that their kids aren't the best.

Stereotype much?

[Anonymous]

Thank you for being aware of this and speaking up OP. It’s wrong and must be called out.

[Anonymous]

Look. Let’s just expand TJ, and make sure all the kill and drill families have a spot. Heck, make another TJ!
Most of us have been around long enough, and know enough Valedictorians and TJ grads to have figured it out.
There is no cheese in the center of the maze.
That juice isn’t worth the squeeze. So, let them have it. Crush your kids, their dreams, their childhood, and dip your toe into the deep waters of mental illness. Have at it! Make up new awards. Create another SAT! Jump through those hoops!
But keep it over there. I don’t want my kids running a race to nowhere.

[Anonymous]

What do you consider a kill and drill family? My kids are in AAP with a variety of kids from a variety of backgrounds. All of the kids seem happy and seem to have hobbies outside of school. Some of the kids are also doing Mathnasium/RSM/AoPS/Kumon a few times per week and practicing a musical instrument an hour each day. No one seems negatively affected by the extra work. No one's dreams and childhoods are being crushed.

Are there really kids doing hours of cram school every night, or is that just an exaggeration to justify why Asian kids are outperforming your kids? Even if people are doing hours of cram school, it's no big deal. You don't need to try to abolish the race to nowhere. Just teach your kids not to participate in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for being aware of this and speaking up OP. It’s wrong and must be called out.

+1

[Anonymous]

The nova burbs are driving y’all crazy, it seems.

[Anonymous]

What can white people do? Start doing the same things to help their kids get better grades and win awards. It's not like the Asian kids are inherently smarter than your kids, it's just that the parents make them work harder, do more outside work, etc - so do that too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look. Let’s just expand TJ, and make sure all the kill and drill families have a spot. Heck, make another TJ!
Most of us have been around long enough, and know enough Valedictorians and TJ grads to have figured it out.
There is no cheese in the center of the maze.
That juice isn’t worth the squeeze. So, let them have it. Crush your kids, their dreams, their childhood, and dip your toe into the deep waters of mental illness. Have at it! Make up new awards. Create another SAT! Jump through those hoops!
But keep it over there. I don’t want my kids running a race to nowhere.

Asian here who went to the equivalent of TJ where I grew up - no doubt that my parents made me work harder than my white friends, but there was no "kill and drill" and certainly no mental illness. I'm not really sure what you're trying to say here -- Asian kids are mentally ill? Going to end up mentally ill because their parents are pushing them to work harder? Are you just jealous?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What can white people do? Start doing the same things to help their kids get better grades and win awards. It's not like the Asian kids are inherently smarter than your kids, it's just that the parents make them work harder, do more outside work, etc - so do that too!

+1 Or, accept that winning the award is not a huge priority for you, don't practice, and be gracious when someone who worked harder wins.

It seems like people who prioritize sports for their bright children are perfectly content to praise their kid's hard work and claim all of the awards in the sport, but then get upset when people who prioritized academics rather than sports are winning the academic awards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both Asians and whites should know that they are The Privileged Enemy in the “equity training” your kids’ teachers are now forced to go through.

I just stay quiet and let it wash over me. Such BS.

- a teacher in NoVa

Can you tell us more? Clearly that statement was hyperbole, but you are also very bothered by the training. Can you give us examples of the actual language?