Being an Asian is as bad as it already is with all the stereotypes and standards society has placed on this specific race. What is worse is being Chinese. Bear with me here, I love who I am, but I cannot, let me say this again, I cannot, stand this constant barrage of slanderous remarks, stereotypes, and standards of society.
Everyone - and I do mean everyone - looks at me and says "Your Asian, you must be smart."
And of course following standard procedures, my reply is "Yeah, you?" What gets to me the most is when people realize that when they say these remarks, it pressures me, and others that I know of, to try even harder and compete with each other, which then drives us into madness. The constant "Oh my GOD! He didn't get an A?!" or "Wow you got a B, how stupid are you?" irritates me to an astronomical level.
Worse of all, when I fail a test, everyone, and I DO mean everyone, stares at me, as if I am some sort of a failure.
Now, do not get offended when you are read up to here, I am by no means bragging, I am just trying to express my emotions on being a Chinese student in high school. There are, of course, been many other students to be at the top of my class, but never, have I felt so pressured in my Junior year of high school. It is very stressful to keep being pressured by peers and teachers alike.
What about you guys? Does your school have a standard for your specific ethnic group?
As much as I whole-heartedly believe that stereotyping is always wrong as it pegs people into a category, as in your case, I still think that stereotypes stem from the truth. It's pretty much known that the average Asian student does better scholastically than the over all average. Of course, this is too bad for those who do not live up to the expectations. At the same time, it is a positive stereotype, which is the best kind I guess. Wouldn't you rather have everyone expect too much out of you than too little?
I wouldn't want this motivation to be based off of people's standard on Asians, I would rather find the motivation and prove to them that I am worth a lot more than what they think through my own efforts and not the standards society, or in this case, school places on me.
As a hispanic not that many people expect me to be a good writer. I definatly understand how you feel about being stereotyped. Most people think that I am strugling with English or dont think that I know that many vocabulary words so they start talking to mw differently. Many people underestimate me and I love it. I love to see their faces when they show them my straight A's
My friends are also like you, many of them awe the people who look down upon them because of their race and then generalize about them due to the "high" abundance of non-hard working Hispanics at my school. I would really like to be there when you show them your A's :).
Being stereotyped is a very bad pressure, nothing can be gained from it, and as the previous poster said, it does stem from the truth, and it is up to us to break the chain of this stereotype and show them that race or backgrounds means nothing, it is the hard work, perseverance and the will to go forward that counts.