DoubleChecks wrote:
sure, but if you only focus on the glass ceiling, you forget about the overall discrimination. why do asians choose math/science/engineering fields? there's less discrimination there -- that and language mastery isnt as fundamentally important as it is in other fields. ive always been a proponent of the relative functionalist theory: asian americans strive to do well in education because other non-academic routes have been closed off to them. even a lot of manual labor occupations were shut off in the early 1960s due to labor union discrimination. all that was left required advanced degrees (im exaggerating a bit). asian americans dont have a hard time getting a job, it's getting the promotions to managerial positions that difficult. studies looking at census data show that asian americans, while having a higher family median income AND a higher individual median income (nowadays), do not actually earn as much as their white counterparts when factors such as hours worked, educational attainment, etc. are taken into account. less bang for your buck in a sense.
on the note of the whole model minority stereotype helping asians work harder in school...iunno, thats debatable. im more concerned w/ the fact that it masks the NEED for asians that DO need things like affirmative action. a lot of pacific islanders and hmong, etc. are no where NEAR a level where they do not need some 'urm boost.' even chinese americans have a strong divide between those who are very well educated...and those who do not even have high school degrees. it's a very polarized set up. it's a complex and tricky business that no one seems to pay much attention to, and a lot of that has to do w/ the fact that no one thinks there is a problem. damn, that model minority stereotype sure is trixy! lol
+238974 to many things that were said. lol this thread is amusing.
but i wanted to add, as an asian american, i've never heard of this relative functionalist theory. (sorry i am lacking in asian am history). i can see how it applies to asians that have been in america for generations, but i thought most of the asians here now were from more recent immigrations?
i kind of doubt most of the asians self-selecting into engineering and medicine these days are doing so because they feel like society pushes them there. usually it's from some family influence (why that happens someone can add), and there's a fairly large trend of asian american students these days breaking free, not from the stereotype, but from the hopes of their families, to pursue non-science things. that's how it was for me, anyway. i left an engineering/med background for law (and will not be doing patent law). i think that as these more recent generations of asians age, it will be interesting to see how the face of corporate america changes (or does not change), but i think not enough asians have been here long enough for us to cry discrimination.
and, totally agree that there are some asians deserving of URM boost. i've always felt socioeconomic status is a good qualifier for that type of boost. that's what diversity statements are for! and some schools give you an entire line where you can say why you feel like a part of an underrepresented group, which is nice and considerate.
AND um, you don't need to be highly proficient in english to succeed on the lsat. yes there's reading and comprehension, but succeeding on the test is so much about understanding the underlying logical reasoning (and games? hello?). i have an ESL friend studying for it that seems to be hurdling any language barrier.