Amy Tan Opinion Column

Are Asians good at math? Maybe, but they're also good at other subjects too

Does your appearance and the land you were born in decide your future?

A problem that many ethnic children face while being raised in the West is breaking social norms developed from long established stereotypes. This is most apparent when in school age years when subject strengths are assumed based on a child’s ethnicity. This is further exacerbated when that child grows up and enters the work force and is pigeon holed into specific occupations because a person of their background is assumed to be good at it.

We can all remember as kids in our classroom always seeing the Asian kid scoring straight A’s in math or the Indian kid who was wicked at computer coding. I would like to point out that admitting these racial advantages is not racist, rather like anything in life, it depends on the context and how it is said. It is general knowledge and a valid statement to say that most Asians are good at math. This is likely the case because Asians who migrated to America would teach and install skills like math to their children at a young age. This was meant to give their kids a greater chance for a better life than the one they lived. As this tradition carried on, it became a social norm to think that all Asians must be good at math and can’t succeed in any other subject. The sad case is that, while many Asians excel at math, there are many other subjects and occupations that they also excel at. We should make it a point in our generation to highlight the skills that they bring in these other subjects as well and the skills that all ethnicities to many subjects

In America the majority of Asians in the workforce succumb to these types of social norms.  An example of this is highlighted in the following quote by the American Bureau of Labor Statistics comments on the employment of Asian Americans: “Asians were most likely to work in management, professional, and related occupations (58.0 percent) and least likely to work in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (4.0 percent). Compared with Asians, non-Asians were also most likely to work to work in management, professional, and related occupations (36.4 percent) and least likely to work in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (10.0 percent).  This is evidence that these social norms not only exist, but are structured career path for some ethnicities. The right of minorities of have continued to increase, but we must discount that these norms exist and there effects.

Further, it should also be noted that these types of social norms are not only set by individuals outside ones ethnicity, but are often driven from within.  In my personal experience being Arab and having two engineering generations before me, it was pressured onto me to become an engineer. As such I went out of the social norm and wanted to become an American football player or a video game developer. Ironically, I ended up choosing to be an engineer, but this was different in the fact that I was not pressured by my family or culture. I honestly could have chosen anything, and this point is what I stress upon. You should not succumb to the pressure of stereotypes and social norms that your race or culture might have tagged onto it, but rather do what you like, work as what you like, and be whoever you want to be and not someone who society chooses you to be.