IN HIS history of Asian-Americans, Strangers from a Different Shore, Ronald Takaki describes the view that people of the majority culture often take of immigrants. He writes, "What is stressed in the host society is not the individuality of the newcomers but their alien origin, the qualities they share with one another as strangers."
To the myopic person, Asian-Americans are different from other Americans--members of a distinct, foreign group rather than individuals on equal standing with others.
Ironically, even as Butterfield perpetuates this stereotypical view of Asian-Americans, he recognizes the falsehood of the model minority myth. The author acknowledges that not all Asian-Americans are academically stellar, pointing to the hardships suffered by many Hmong and Cambodian refugees.
Yet, when he argues that Confucianism is the source of Asian-Americans' success, he commits the same folly: oversimplification.
Perhaps the Confucian work ethic is the source of motivation for some Asian-Americans. But to describe this as the sole reason for the entire group's relative academic success is a shallow analysis of a complex interplay of forces.
An underlying assumption of the Confucian work-ethic theory is that all Asians are culturally better equipped to learn. This shallow view of the group's academic ability places undue expectations on the many less-educated, lower-income members. For them, the myth of Asian superiority only exacerbates the problems of being a member of this minority group.
The elevation of Asian-Americans hurts not just disadvantaged Asian-Americans, but disadvantaged members of other minority groups. The "cultural superiority" analysis hints that the economic and educational difficulties of other minority groups lie in their selves and not in their stars.
In this view, welfare and social services are unnecessary to bring social equality to minorities--just give them a strong dose of filial piety, morality and hard work, and they can fight their way to the top. It's as if poverty, language barriers, cultural differences and discrimination have nothing to do with the social stratification of the U.S.
Rather than faulty, sensational, impressionistic accounts of the successes of individual Asian-American students, we need a deeper, more sensitive analysis of Asian-American educational attainment in general. There are many studies of education of Hispanics and Blacks, but few comparably comprehensive studies for Asian-Americans. Only careful study can dispel stereotypes and help us learn what we need to do to strengthen our entire educational system.