¶ … Stacey Lee confronts the issue of the perceived stereotype of the white American culture that portrays Asian-Americans as the "model minority." For many years, this stereotype has always existed and portrayed Asian-Americans as smart and hard-working people. However, this stereotype may not be consistent among members of this "model minority" group. In a study conducted at the Academic High School, Lee established that indeed, not all Asian-Americans conform and to the perception of being a "smart and hard-working" Asian. In the second part of the book, it was identified during the course of the author's study that there exists within the Asian-American group several sub-groups of different characteristics, which...

These sub-groups are identified as: Asian-identified, Asian-American-identified, Korean-identified, and Asian New Wavers. Asian-identified students are strict adherents of their traditional Asian norms, and have a personality that fits well with the "model minority" stereotype. Asian-American-identified students are those who are "bicultural," who question the "model minority" stereotype because, they reason, not all Asian-Americans excel in their studies.
Korean-identified students, meanwhile, do not identify themselves with their fellow Asians, and consider themselves as "superior" academically and socially. Lastly,…