The Asian-American community is often criticized for creating a culture that produces mindless robots, a slew of cookie-cutter, hard-working, piano-playing, rote memorizers with little to no creativity. And if Asian-Americans are “bad,” the Chinese are often considered the worst because of their heavy emphasis on passing the college entrance exam, or gaokao, over actually learning material. However, though certain aspects of such criticisms may have some merit, my experiences thus far at the Dandelion School strongly refute the notion of young Chinese students with no creativity and no ability to think on their own. For example, I’ve seen students create paper swords, maces, and even full-sized sniper rifles, all with great detail and depth. I’ve seen students put on variety shows in which they jump rope barefoot on rocks or drink cups of vinegar just for the entertainment of their classmates. And while these certainly demonstrate the students’ resourcefulness, creativity, and ability to have fun, I believe the strongest indicator that the Dandelion School is not in the business of simply producing the best test-takers is the way that people here treat one another. Most notably, I was very interested to hear my class’ homeroom teacher speak about how he visits each students’ house. No matter which student I brought up, he was able to tell a story and discuss the student’s background, parents, siblings, and living conditions off the top of his head. Many of his students live far, far away in the countryside, and yet he made the multiple-hour-long treks anyway. To me, the fact that he was so willing and dedicated to understanding each student’s situation demonstrated his sincere concern for each and every one of his students. It is because he truly loves his students as people rather than projects or products that I know the stereotype of Chinese robots is not true. The students and teachers here are all very human, and I wish those who believe otherwise can have a chance to see what I see every day.
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