Top of the Class

BROOMALL, Pa. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- A new book debunks the stereotype that Asians are born smart. It does, however, suggest Americans can look to Asian cultures for tips on raising successful kids.

Sisters Jane Kim and Soo Kim Abboud, M.D., coauthored the book "Top of the Class." Soo is a doctor and Jane is a lawyer: Impressive careers, yet they say they weren't born exceptionally gifted. What they do admit is that they were raised to succeed.

Asian Americans make up 4 percent of the U.S. population, but they make up between 20 percent and 25 percent of the Ivy League student body population.

To help understand the differences in raising children in the East vs. the West, the sisters compared the way they were brought up by their Korean parents, to the way their friends with American-born parents were raised.

Soo says, "I think it's a lot more structured. I think Asian parents tend to want to instill discipline and an ability to delay gratification more than the typical American childhood."

The average American student spends seven hours a day in the classroom, but a student in China spends 10 hours a day in school. Forty percent of Chinese students are studying engineering, while only 5 percent of American kids take interest in the field. The difference, these sisters say, is their parents' involvement in education.

"We would actually have additional assignments sometimes. She would give us extra kind of creative assignments about what we had done that day," Jane says.

You can instill a love for learning in your child by being their best role model. Be enthusiastic toward learning and education. Surround your children with people who love learning and are in diverse fields and incorporate learning into all your children's activities so they don't associate learning with just school. Make it fun and they'll continue to love learning for life!

Another important tip: Be sure to practice what you preach. Learning is a life-long process, so show your children you still love to learn on a daily basis no matter how old you are.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Soo Kim Abboud and Jane Kim
info@topoftheclassonline.com