Much of my time is spent reading, watching films, speaking with friends and writing both creatively and journalistically. There are two versions of the “smart Asian” stereotype: the first describes someone who obsessively studies every minute of every day, while the second describes someone who is naturally a genius and has no need to study. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m afraid of falling short of people’s assumptions but I should not have this fear, because people should not be making these assumptions in the first place. “That’s how I feel sometimes, like I’m disappointing everyone.”įor some reason my academic intelligence is one of my biggest insecurities. “Sometimes if Asians don’t live up to the ‘Asian standard’, they feel bad about themselves,” Coppell High School junior and AP student Aishwarya Kannan said. According to her, I “seemed like the kind of person who would have amazing grades … even more than most Indians.” Her words and the tone she said them stuck with me, punching me with a feeling of disappointment, as if I was not living up to my potential or people’s expectations. We have all made “smart Asian” jokes before, including myself, but joking aside, the stereotype can do more harm than good and needs to end.ĭuring my history class in freshman year, after my classmate found out my grades were imperfect, she was surprised. Throughout my life, solely due to my ethnicity, people have often assumed I am extremely academically intelligent. I am Indian, and I struggle so much in calculus that I study for hours outside class just to understand basic concepts, because I cannot keep pace with the teacher’s lectures.

I am Indian, and I did not score well on the SAT my first try. I am Indian, and I am not enrolled in six AP classes. The Sidekick Copy Editor Pramika Kadari discusses why these stereotypes must end. Many Asian students at Coppell High School and around the nation face academic stereotypes based on their ethnicity.

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