Conversations with an Asian Parent

Conversation 1:

Asian kid: "Look I got an A on my test!"

Asian parent: "Did you get a 100%?"

Asian kid: "No...a 97%."

Asian parent: "What did you get wrong?"

Asian kid: "A couple questions on--"

Asian parent: "I thought you said you studied."

Asian kid: "I did!"

Asian parent: "If you studied, you would have gotten a 100%. You didn't. You didn't study hard enough."

Asian kid: "I did study hard..."

Asian parent: "How many other people got A's?"

Asian kid: "I don't know..."

Asian parent: "So maybe everyone got a 100% and you got a 97%?"

Asian kid: "I don't know..."

Asian parent: " 'I don't know'? 'I don't know' is why you got 97%, not 100%. Study more next time."
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Conversation 2:

Asian kid: "Hey I learned Rachmanonov's Piano Concerto No. 3!"

Asian parent: "How old are you? 12 now? Jenny Lee learned that when she was 10."

Asian kid: "It's really hard..."

Asian kid: "Well, if you were smarter or worked harder, you would have learned it before Jenny Lee. You must either be dumber or lazier. Study more next time."

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Conversation 3:

Asian kid: "Hey I got into Harvard!"

Asian parent: "And?"

Asian kid: "And...I got in! I'm so excited!"

Asian parent: "No scholarship?"

Asian kid: "No..."

Asian parent: "Hm, you didn't study enough."

Asian kid: "But...it's...Harvard."

Asian parent: "If you studied harder, you would have gotten scholarship."

Asian kid: "I was valedictorian of my class--"

Asian parent: "Study more next time."
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Some stereotypes have a ring of truth to them.