My thanks go out to the person who is letting me use this essay as an example. It talks about issues that overlap significantly with Voices 2 entry. I think both of these are great essays.
What both essays do is present a point of view and support it with detail. They are clear, concise, and demonstrate some choices the student has made with respect to personal identity. And yet they are quite different too. It is not as though all Asians (or all anyone who is a part of any group, racial or religious or athletic etc.) should approach the topic the same way. It is almost never about topic. It is about voice and detail.
This essay is in response to the following question: what world did you come from?
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In the "tiger parent" world, "right" and "wrong" dominate parent-child conversations. The Asian concept of eternal, unwavering respect for elders makes the parents' word law; the child must obey. Parents foist their morals onto the child; the child must believe.
My world has all the makings of a "tiger parent" world: first-generation immigrant parents, rice and noodles for dinner, Mandarin Chinese and English as official family languages. On a deeper level, however, my parents eschew the "tiger parent" stereotype: they enjoy Beethoven as much as they do Beyonce; they see equal value in biology and in art history; they encourage me to go out with my friends on Friday nights. My parents have successfully assimilated American and Chinese cultures; growing up in this bicultural environment has shaped my inquisitive mind and broad interests.
In my world, nothing is black and white. "Why" dominates my interaction with my parents. Whenever my opinion differs from my father's, he asks for my reasoning. Whenever my mother presents a confusing idea, I ask her for an explanation. The openness that my parents champion has stimulated my intellectual vitality. I've adopted my parents' inquisitiveness in my own search for knowledge and truth. The world I come from has shaped me into a person who asks questions, who never ceases to explore, who examines both sides of a situation before passing judgment.
This openness has also allowed me to find my passions without any parental pressure. Contrary to the Asian parent stereotype, my mother has never demanded that I become an engineer, nor has my father ever told me that not becoming a doctor would ruin me. Being able to consider my future without any parental pressure has allowed me to decide, for myself, that I want to become an educator.
While my parents played the most significant role in my development, my teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools also had an integral role in my maturation. These "parents away from home" reinforced my parents' influences and introduced me to new ideas-on both academic and social levels. These teachers showed me that I don't need to be rich or famous to have an impact on the world. I want to inspire future generations; becoming a teacher will allow me to do just that.
My parents and my teachers have shaped the world in which I've grown and matured. They shaped my world's environment of acceptance, my world's emphasis on understanding, my world's focus on critical thinking. My world has shaped me into an open-minded, intellectually rich person. I want to become an educator so I can pass on what I've learned to coming generations. Having my parents' wholehearted support means the world to me."
What both essays do is present a point of view and support it with detail. They are clear, concise, and demonstrate some choices the student has made with respect to personal identity. And yet they are quite different too. It is not as though all Asians (or all anyone who is a part of any group, racial or religious or athletic etc.) should approach the topic the same way. It is almost never about topic. It is about voice and detail.
This essay is in response to the following question: what world did you come from?
******************************************************************************
In the "tiger parent" world, "right" and "wrong" dominate parent-child conversations. The Asian concept of eternal, unwavering respect for elders makes the parents' word law; the child must obey. Parents foist their morals onto the child; the child must believe.
My world has all the makings of a "tiger parent" world: first-generation immigrant parents, rice and noodles for dinner, Mandarin Chinese and English as official family languages. On a deeper level, however, my parents eschew the "tiger parent" stereotype: they enjoy Beethoven as much as they do Beyonce; they see equal value in biology and in art history; they encourage me to go out with my friends on Friday nights. My parents have successfully assimilated American and Chinese cultures; growing up in this bicultural environment has shaped my inquisitive mind and broad interests.
In my world, nothing is black and white. "Why" dominates my interaction with my parents. Whenever my opinion differs from my father's, he asks for my reasoning. Whenever my mother presents a confusing idea, I ask her for an explanation. The openness that my parents champion has stimulated my intellectual vitality. I've adopted my parents' inquisitiveness in my own search for knowledge and truth. The world I come from has shaped me into a person who asks questions, who never ceases to explore, who examines both sides of a situation before passing judgment.
This openness has also allowed me to find my passions without any parental pressure. Contrary to the Asian parent stereotype, my mother has never demanded that I become an engineer, nor has my father ever told me that not becoming a doctor would ruin me. Being able to consider my future without any parental pressure has allowed me to decide, for myself, that I want to become an educator.
While my parents played the most significant role in my development, my teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools also had an integral role in my maturation. These "parents away from home" reinforced my parents' influences and introduced me to new ideas-on both academic and social levels. These teachers showed me that I don't need to be rich or famous to have an impact on the world. I want to inspire future generations; becoming a teacher will allow me to do just that.
My parents and my teachers have shaped the world in which I've grown and matured. They shaped my world's environment of acceptance, my world's emphasis on understanding, my world's focus on critical thinking. My world has shaped me into an open-minded, intellectually rich person. I want to become an educator so I can pass on what I've learned to coming generations. Having my parents' wholehearted support means the world to me."
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