"Education"

At first glance, my uncle and my father are normal citizens who look just like any other people in America. But, both of them are dropouts from school. Nowadays, people may assume dropouts in a negative way. But, not all of them suit the stereotypes that dropouts face. My uncle and my father are living examples of how some dropouts really are in the past, by crossing the boundaries of language, borderlines, and the expectations of both the Chinese and American societies. The interviews digs deeply into how and why education is important. 
Combo Interviews Edited Version #4
Reflection:
As soon as the project was assigned, I know what my topic is going to be able. It is the most hottest topic that my family would love to discuss every time they meet each other-----education. This topic pops out of my mind like a light bulb when Ms. Pahomov announced this benchmark to the class. You see, in my family, I can sort of gain more attention within my family when I get decent grades. In my family, it is more like a academic competition. At first, I thought that it is just a normal expectation that was put on me by my grandfather. But, it is more than that.

After I interviewed my father and my uncle, I discovered the various hardships that my father need to go though after he had quit his school too early and the consequences he needed to face when he came to America. Like my father who didn’t know a single English word, my uncle came to America when he was in his 20s. I didn’t know that my father’s expectations is based on the fact, that he didn’t want me to experience the same hardship and the various difficulties he had experienced in this life. He is just like any other parent, who want his child to be better than him. (The same reasons behind the strict conduct on grades also applies to my cousins.)

I realized that I am now pressed under a even higher pressure because I will be the first person in my family to go to college. Every single one of my family’s expectations and hopes are placed on me. So, I feel really uncomfortable after I heard about it, and I am even more scare to get an Asian F on my report card. Since, it would certainly disappoint my whole family and knocked down their expectations of me.   

Comments (3)

Chris Tran (Student 2015)
Chris Tran

This is a great podcast,but some of the words at the end that you use might offend most people who dropped out and become successful for example my mom dropped out of high school and she turns out fine, but the word delinquent is a strong word to describe the people who have dropped out of high school.