Secondary Education in Immigrant Families... Don't mean to Offend!!!

I definitely believe what the states is true. Immigrant families are indeed more focused on education, especially those from Asian countries. Failure is definitely not an option or at least, does not feel like it to the child. Asian countries, namely China, have always been notorious for "being smart". The idea of "Your Asian! You must be a genius!" has always been a part of my school life. The fact that 70% of Chinese immigrants complete university while a mere 28% of students with Canadian born parents was a big shock to me. I've always known immigrant families have been more focused on education and experienced it myself but the statistics were... almost terrifying. My parents are immigrants and I am one child of four in the first generation of Canadian born babies in our family. My mother and father were born in a small village on the south side of China. The story goes as such, my father came to Canada first then brought my mother over. After that, with tons of effort and a whole lot of penny pinching, they brought almost all of my family here. They did not receive more than a high school education, so I myself can not agree with the theory that immigrant parents push their children harder because they have higher educations themselves. My theory is this, because our parents brought us to Canada to give us more chances, better chances and more freedom. I doubt I would be the person I am today if I were living in China as they did. They want us to take advantage of those opportunities and because they have worked so hard to make a better life for us, we do not want to disappoint. We in turn, want to take advantage of these opportunities. We want to succeed. We want to make them proud, take care of them so they will not have to work another day in their lives. Buy nice things for them and show them our gratitude. Now, please, don't get me wrong. This is not, at all, suggesting that Canadian born students do not feel this way about their parents. But when your parents have moved to another country, and even though they may not feel 100% comfortable in this new environment and they may have suffered because of it yet they still worry about you and your future, it drives you. You finally realize that they do indeed care about you more then you once thought. Even when they nag at you, criticize you or yell at you, they care about you more then you know. At least, this is what makes me want to succeed. So I agree obligation to one's parents is one of the main reasons. Immigrant families are often more supportive in things academic based. My parents have been to every single one of my music concerts since grade 6 and encourage me when I'm doing well in classes... and when I'm not. I do agree with the article in its stating that students in immigrant families often excel more than those who are not.