In Findlay and Kohler’s controversial article “Too Asian” an insightful look is given into campus racial balance and its implications within Canadian universities and their students. Findlay and Kohler stress that some institutions risk losing their reputations as “cultural mosaics” and instead becoming places of “many solitudes” or “deserts of communication” because they are overrun by one race. One of their initial points is that cultural differences separate Asians from Caucasians academically, from the way they approach schoolwork to the way they choose a university.
Findley and Kohler state,
“That Asian students work harder is a fact born out by hard data. They tend to be strivers, high achievers and single-minded in their approach to university…. White students, by contrast, are more likely to choose universities and build their school lives around social interaction, athletics and self-actualization – and, yes alcohol.”
These differences of course stem from the way one is brought up and the values instilled in them by parental figures and their culture not their race. Findley and Kohler regard an “Asian” school as one that has come to be so academically focused that some students feel they can no longer compete or have fun because of there elite Asian counterparts. Despite quotes from both University of Toronto’s president David Naylor and UBC president Stephen Toope stating that in fact racial imbalance is a “non issue” at their respective schools, the authors maintain that privately many in the education community worry that universities risk becoming too skewed one way. The article gives little evidence that there are people concerned about the mix of students at Canadian universities; “a growing cohort of students” that are concerned, “students talk about it all the time”, several students are interviewed and retired guidance counselor expresses his opinion. The only hard data is given in UBC’s 2009 survey which shows 43 per cent of it’s students self-identify as ethnically Chinese, Korean or Japanese compared to 21.5 per cent of Vancouver residents identifying as Chinese, Korean or Japanese.
The Development Of A Prevention Dropout For Secondary Student In An Urban High School Setting
The Development of a Prevention Dropout for Secondary Student in an Urban High School Setting According to Noguera and Dimon (2003), the rate of dropout in American urban high schools may be the biggest but least known problem today. Noguera and Dimon estimated that at a great amount of schools 50% and even more of the students who start their ninth grade leave it without graduation. [3]. Many ...
I think what is being missed within this article is the distinction between domestic Asian-Canadian students and Asian international students, something Findlay and Kohler did not care to mention. They failed to recognize that these “Asians” are also Canadian citizens and they’re grouping together Canadian citizens of Asian descent with international students. By overgeneralizing and stereotyping an entire race of people the authors jeopardize making factual points. There is potential in this article to make valid points if they were discussing international students. As you cannot claim another Canadian citizen is stealing your position at a university, that is plain and simple nonsense. However Canadians could show disapproval towards universities who sell-out to international students for profits sake over Canadian citizens who can’t get a place in university. It is a fact that Canadian citizens should have priority and full access to Canada’s education system. Our right as citizens to an education should not be sidelined for the growing profit motives of commercialized academia.
The authors claim that,
“ “Too Asian” is not about racism say students like Alexandra: many white students simply believe that competing with Asians requires a sacrifice of time and freedom they’re not willing to make.”
But maybe “Too Asian” is about racism. Isn’t there a problem when a journalists viewpoint is in virtual agreement with a young ‘student’ that “looks like a girl from an Aritzia billboard” that has not developed enough critical thinking skills to differentiate entire complex groups of people with diverse cultures by simply labeling them all as “Asian.” Is there pressure from parents to get their kids into university? Probably. Is it at a higher rate among “Asians”? Maybe – But is it now acceptable for Findlay and Kohler to portray all “Asians” as academic based automatons, learning machines that won’t intermingle with anything but their math and engineering books? It’s insane to address this by race, it is not race. It is a question of different cultural values. There is an utter failure to address the cultural distinctions between Asian Canadians and Asian international students. Isn’t it true that ‘Canadians’ includes ‘Asians’, just as much as it includes ‘Caucasians’? What about those Asian Canadians who are very much involved with their schools and are far from socially inept? By asking these questions my point is that it’s careless for Findlay and Kohler as Canadian citizens to draw a big circle of generalization around such diverse groups and label them all as “Asian” for the sake of simplicity.
The Essay on Teacher Student Interactions And Race In Integrated Classrooms
"Teacher--Student Interactions and Race in Integrated Classrooms" Studies have shown in the past that there is racial bias in classrooms. Many say that African American students are treated more poorly than Caucasian American students. Examples include less student-teacher interaction, less praise given and less help being given to African American students. A recent study showed that ...
There is no doubt that multiculturalism and the diversity that has entered our Canadian universities in recent decades is valid topic of discussion. One that should be tip toed around with the respect and dignity hard working immigrants deserve. Findlay and Kohler bluntly and recklessly stereotype an entire race of people as academic robots. Some who are legitimate Canadian citizens and have every right in the world to attend our countries universities. Shouldn’t the competition serve to push us all to be better students and work harder? There will always be cultural distinctions within our universities demographics, learning to discuss these as distinctions of cultures rather than race is crucial in keeping our cultural mosaics intact.
-Jordan Coulter
