I read Tom's article, and I found it pretty thought provoking. I have to agree with Trineesh, being on the outside looking in really is a comfortable place to be. There's a lot to be said for an ethnicity that puts an onus on working hard and scholastic achievement, and frankly, if the day comes that Asian Americans are pulling for their children to become professional athletes, I for one will be fairly disappointed that they could not have done better.

As far as I can tell, the ideal is somewhere in the middle, to somehow balance academics with outside interests, whether they be music, sports, etc. The traditional Asian family probably puts too much onus on school, but by the same token, the typical American family probably puts too little onus on school and too much onus on everything else. As much as I think the former group is restraining, I'll be damned if I put my kids into the latter.