In China, Jocks Don’t Rule School; But the Smart Kids, They’re Cool. And Chinese & Asian Americans?

Source: New York Times: A basketball tournament in Columbus Park drew spectators, but many recent Chinese immigrants discourage their children from playing sports.

If I grew up in China, I would have been cool. But I was born-and-raised in the United States, and being smart and studying hard is considered uncool (and has even been termed to be acting Asian). With the Olympics being in Beijing, there have been a plethora of articles and news stories on China. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the week an interesting story on “In China, Jocks Don’t Rule School; But the Smart Kids, They’re Cool,” which compares and contrasts how sports and athletics are valued both in China and in the U.S.:

“Like most Chinese high schools, No. 19 has no sports teams and no gymnasium…China’s elite young athletes may be winning a lot of medals at the Olympics. But in China, organized sports still aren’t really something for regular kids. Less than 3% of Chinese secondary-school students attend schools with sports teams. Children with exceptional athletic prowess or physical attributes are pulled out of ordinary schools early on and sent to the special academies that train the country’s sporting elite. That poses a big challenge for sporting-goods companies such as Nike Inc. and Adidas AG. Both are looking to China and its 1.3 billion people to drive sales growth and both have set out to transform Chinese youth sports… That is the opposite of the situation in many suburban U.S. communities, where children start playing organized sports such as soccer and tee ball at an early age. Many U.S. high schools face criticism for devoting too much attention and resources to sports programs and shortchanging academics or other extracurricular activities such as music and art.”

It is almost a right of passage in America for a boy or girl to play soccer, little league baseball or softball, let alone compete in team sports in high school. To be honest, I have to agree with the criticism that sports and athletics are over-emphasized in the U.S., much more so than academics I think in some regions (Texas and “Friday Night Lights” comes to mind or “Hoop Dreams“). I mean, take a look at college sports today – especially football and basketball – they are *industries*. (Being somewhat of a hypocrite – being an alum, I am a big Blue Devils basketball fan.)

Funny, as I was thinking of posting this blog entry, I came across The New York Times’ sorta-version of this story, “Among Chinese-Americans, a Split on Sports,” which captured some of my very thoughts:

“One view, particularly common among first-generation, working-class Chinese-Americans, maintains that sports are an unnecessary impediment to academic and professional achievement, according to interviews with Chinese-American athletes, students, educators and community leaders in New York. An opposite view, typically held by more educated parents or those who have become more assimilated into American culture because they have been in the United States at least one generation, promotes sports as an integral part of a child’s maturation… While some members of other ethnic groups have embraced sports as a way out of poverty, Asian-Americans, for the most part, have not, said Peter Kwong, a professor of Asian-American studies and urban affairs and planning at Hunter College. “Using physical strength to make a living is not respected; it’s a Confucian ideal,” he said. “You’re wasting your mind. Using your hands is just not a career.”

I understand the economic and cultural divide in attitudes between first generation and second generation Chinese-Americans. But I think, even amongst Taiwanese-American and Asian American kids overall, I don’t think that sports (or exercise in general) are generally promoted by their parents. (Maybe this is a cultural thing – just as it is in China).

That certainly was the case for me. My parents never encouraged me to participate in any organized sports or to exercise. I thought sports were for dumb jocks and took too much time away from studying and other extracurricular activities (hey, I was a geek – president of the chess team, involved in Key Club, and model United Nations). I must admit, I did play one season flag football, but mostly I recall because my other (white) friends made me. (Well, I say white friends – but there were like only 3 other Asian Americans in my graduating class of 273).

We all probably know of some high school athlete where we grew up who got into and went to a college who probably wasn’t as academically qualified, but go in because he or she was a star athlete. In some sense, I think Asian Americans have been at a disadvantage in college admissions for not being as active and excelling in athletics.

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (latest 2002 data), Asian Americans are less than 1% of all students participating in college sports (compared to 9 percent of all black students, 3.4 percent of whites and 1.9 percent of Hispanics.) I don’t think this shocks anyone. I wonder if Asian Americans who compete athletically in high school are considered affirmative action candidates when applying to college?

While growing up, I have to say I was a bit naive to think that organized sports was useless. I do wish while growing up I had the habits of exercising daily , and as I have grown older, I do think there is a lot to be learned on the playing field – like teamwork, competition, leadership, training, etc.

The chances of a Chinese being an Olympic level or professional athlete are slim. Same in the United States. If you’re a poor kid in China (and out of the 1.3 billion Chinese, most *are* poor), the best chances for a better future is an education, not trying to be an Olympic of professional athlete. But I’m all for regular exercise and certainly a better balance in both China and the United States, on studying and exercising. Maybe being smart or studying hard in the U.S. will be cool one day… but I wouldn’t hold my breath!

My last possible Olympic ambitions rest on a semi-serious thought based on a fellow Taiwanese-American friend’s thought of trying to represent Taiwan (“Chinese Taipei”) in a Winter Olympics for curling (yes, you read that right – curling). First, my friend and I need to learn how to get Taiwanese dual citizenship and second, try to get Taiwan to have an officially supported curling club /team… and finally, train…

On a related note, this evening on NBC Evening News, Tom Brokaw does a report on competition between China and the U.S. – specifically in education focusing on math and science, and compare what Chinese and American students study (guess which group studies more math and science and studies longer…)