Mother Nurture: The Implications of Labels in Action

          My immigration form has a check next to the Asian ethnicity. For the very first time we are classified by race. We are Asian. This carries meaning. It means is that my family should not cause any problems. And we don’t; we pay our bills on time, we recycle, and we do not break the law. My white neighbors greeted us into the neighborhood; they knew that we would cause no problems; we would mow our lawns, and be respectful to the property. Again, they were correct. We were good neighbors who made sure to pesticide our lawn so that weed pollen would not disperse into other people’s yards. I had always wondered if social prejudices were framed around the people, or if this categorization was determining our actions. My family certainly matched well with the Asian criteria. Numerous other Asian families around me fit the traits of the racial category as well. What I noticed was that a homogenization occurring among Asians; prejudices were not only assigned by the non-Asian people, but were reinforced from within. In this circle, everyone served as a watchdog to maintain the “norm.”    

          I immigrated from South Korea to the city of Montreal, Canada at the age of ten. I am labeled as the ten-year old eldest daughter of an Asian family. This carried meaning. I was unaware of its definition when I first moved to Canada. But starting the first few days of school, my peers turned to me for homework help despite my inadequate English. “Hey, you’re Asian; you should know this stuff, right?” Although I was unsure of the relevance of my race in this context, I noticed that my Korean peers were also excelling in these areas as well. Therefore I never questioned this reference and accepted it to be a part of my new identity. I was never horrible at mathematics, but as more and more people turned for me for help, I saw myself trying harder to be better in this subject. I spent more time sharpening my scientific and numerical reasoning skills. Soon, I was receiving the highest grades in the subject areas fitting for an Asian. I was abiding, and perhaps even striving to follow its set of 'rules'. Don’t get me wrong, I have always liked these subject areas; and my genes tell me that my neurons should be smart, as both my parents have Master’s degrees. But this makes me question whether if I would have excelled in these subject areas to eventually major in a science-related field in college if I had never been assigned to my label.

          Why was I good in math and science? Because I was Asian; that was my reasonable diagnosis. I suppose this was a good thing, since it helped me to try harder in school. However when I think of the dangers of diagnosis, I think back to my elementary school friend Emily. Emily had her quirks, and was sometimes slow to understand when studying new topics. Perhaps she needed some more homework help, but other than that, she was a hardworking student like any other of my peers. After winter break, I learned that Emily was no longer returning to our class. Over break, she was diagnosed with a learning disability and was placed in “special” education. I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to see her in class anymore, but we agreed to do homework together. After all, people in the same grade all used the same textbook. Strangely, Emily did not. And what was more puzzling, was that she was no longer the hardworking friend she once was. When she got stuck on a problem, she gave up. When I offered her to help, she would simply tell me: “My special tutor will take care of it, don’t worry.” Slowly but surely, she lost interest in school as our friendship drifted apart. Although I did not understand it then, this is the perfect example of a person homogenizing to fit their prescribed category in society. She had a learning disability; it was not only acceptable but expected that her cognitive skills where lacking. Perhaps her genes had laid the foundations for her to develop a learning disability, but knowing her, I also know that her official medical diagnosis did not ameliorate, but accelerated the worsening of her condition.    

          I believe that genes lay the foundations for the basics of our traits. Among this selection, certain genes are selected for full development. However I do not think that this is a completely free choice for an individual to make. As I reflect back on my experiences, I am now even more convinced of the inseparability of nature and nurture. If mother Nature provided me with a gene palette of red, blue, or green, I believe that my environment will inspire me to make a choice between red, blue, or green. However, I am uneasy about the fact that in our times, our surroundings, mother Nurture, no longer guides our hands to reach for a color, but rather grabs our hands and forces us to pick up a color regardless of our true desires.