So in the last three weeks, I have had to deal with my very first real deadline in the book: the next book deadline. The deadline is April 30th, so I have two days to write, edit, and turn in the final copy before I go to my first full-time teaching job. I will be teaching at an Asian Studies institute in Texas for the summer.
A recent study by the Asian Studies Association found that the average student taught at an institute or college that has a large Asian population (over 10 percent of its student body) in the country has a 6 percent higher chance of dropping out than any other group.
It’s a bit of a paradox that the most promising schools for Asian students tend to be the ones that don’t seem to have any Asian students. I know that’s not very surprising to you, but the fact is that when you’re looking at school district data, it’s hard to go past the Asian/Asian-American.
the other paradox is that Asian students are more likely to drop out because they are less likely to be able to pay back loans. Asian students are more likely to be in debt than their White counterparts, but they are also less likely to repay their loans, so they are more likely to drop out. Also, Asian students are more likely to be admitted to institutions of higher learning, but are significantly less likely to earn a degree.
When I was in high school I was always the second-highest scorer on the school’s basketball team, and I was the class president, the first-chair speaker for the debate club, the president of the school newspaper, the first-chair speaker for the drama club, and the first-chair speaker for the orchestra. I was also the only Asian student in my class of 6th-8th graders.
Asian kids tend to be the first to leave school. When I was in high school, the only Asian kid in my class was a girl. I was about to start college in a few months and I needed to get my degree. In my junior year, a friend of mine was offered a job at a company in her graduating class, so she wanted to go to college immediately. I told her that I couldn’t go to college with her because I was the girl in the class.
So I have to say that I’m glad to hear this. I’ve always hated the idea of being the only Asian student in a class. I felt like this would be the last time my parents would say that to me. At first, I kept hoping that I would join a class with a couple other Asians, but I just couldn’t do that to anyone, let alone my friend. So now I’ve decided to be the first Asian to go to college. I hope it happens.
Well, you can’t go to college with a bunch of Asian kids. You have to find your own path.
A good example of this is the class I’m going to be teaching. I always hated to have to teach as a class, especially a class that I didn’t go to. I’ve never had a class where I spent most of the time in class. I usually only go to the class if I really need a class.
You might think I cant go to class to teach, but that’s not true. I have the confidence that I can teach, although I guess I could have just as easily been the one to create the course material if I wanted. I can teach a class because I can put on a good face and do it well. As long as I can do it, I will. I do have a few concerns though.