Hechinger Report | ‘Tiger Mother’ meets reality: Asian-American students struggle, too

Hechinger Report | ‘Tiger Mother’ meets reality: Asian-American students struggle, too

‘Tiger Mother’ meets reality: Asian-American students struggle, too

by Jennifer Oldham

PASADENA. Calif.—Angela Lo grew up in a strict household, under constant pressure to get grades good enough for admission to a top university. But in stark contrast to stereotypes of Asian student success perpetuated in Amy Chua’s new bestseller Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Lo put off going to college and instead got a job.

Amy Chua (Photo by Larry D. Moore, used under a Creative Commons ShareAlike License.)

“I felt that by me not succeeding, I kind of let my parents down,” said Lo, who at 30 still lives with her Chinese-American parents and works as a dish-washer. “As a kid, I felt like garbage or worthless.” She said she recently