Photo by xinem
By Dorcas Cheng-Tozun
My experience growing up in a Chinese immigrant family in California is almost embarrassingly stereotypical. I was taught to respect my elders and work hard in school. I learned piano and attended Chinese school. In academics, I was held to the usual Chinese standards: only As and A-pluses were allowed; anything short of 100 percent on tests was failure; and all mistakes were earth-shattering events. My mom was very much what we’ve come to call a tiger mom, and my dad was her supportive (though mostly silent) partner in constantly pushing my older sister and me to do better. (more…)
