Top of the Class:
How Asian Parents Raise High Achievers and How You Can Too

Dr. Soo Kim Abboud and Jane Kim

Penguin 2005

Reviewer: Gillian Eriksson, University Central Florida, USA

The most important thing parents can give to their children is love-but 

a desire and love for learning and education comes in as a close second...

This delightfully clear and straightforward text, that offers guidance 

for parents on raising high achievers, belies the profound message it 

has about larger ethnic assumptions and multicultural issues.

Written by two Korean immigrants whose parents came from very poor 

circumstances in Korea and worked their way up in America, it is 

autobiographical in nature. The book explains 10 “SECRETS”, which form 

the chapters, and as each secret is revealed, so the reader is exposed 

to the many challenges this family experienced while acculturating to 

American society, mastering English, managing the complex schooling and 

educational systems, developing high and realistic expectations, and 

raising girls in a contemporary world. In addition, we are exposed to a 

picture of how their parents were able to work their way up through the 

socio-economic status levels, purely through hard work, a belief in 

meritocracy, and managing the social network and support systems that 

they developed to offer their two daughters the best possible chance of 

success. All of these challenges are viewed in the context of 

maintaining and celebrating their Korean heritage, clearly embodied 

within the “SECRETS”.

Secrets 1-10 include: Love of learning, family pride, delay of 

gratification, student’s role, respecting authority, parental roles, 

developing individual talents, short and long term goals, valuing 

academic success, rewarding success and coping with failure. They 

discuss 17 practices, which stress the importance of achievement as a 

motivator in future success.

While many dominant culture Americans stress self-esteem and encourage 

their children to participate in an extensive round of enrichment and 

athletic activities in addition to regular school work, these authors 

stress specific focus on academic goals as a priority, social and 

emotional as secondary. Of interest is the Asian notion of collective 

responsibility; both successes and failures are seen as a reflection on 

the whole family, and the whole family finds ways to address any issues. 

This is seen as both a blessing and as having pitfalls by these authors. 

The concept of respecting and collaborating with teachers will be 

welcomed by any teacher who has experienced lack of cooperation or 

defensiveness from families.

It is well-known that Asian-American students, who make up only 4% of 

the population, are overrepresented in gifted programs in the United 

States, disproportionate to any other ethnic minority. In addition, as 

the authors point out, they form high percentages of student bodies in 

top universities: 24% at Stanford, 18% at Harvard, and 25% at Columbia 

and 25% at Cornell. More Asian Americans over the age of 25 have 

bachelor's degrees and advanced degrees than any other race or ethnic 

group. They are also overrepresented in academic awards, Olympiads, and 

academic competitions, particularly in the Mathematics and Science 

disciplines. This text debunks any notion that this is due to nature or 

innate abilities. It takes a very practical notion that success can be 

achieved through persistent hard work, clarification of goals, 

understanding the system of academic progress and mastering the skills 

and resources needed to achieve success.

Against all odds with other ethnic groups who appear trapped by poverty, 

these two women have achieved great success. Soo Kim Abboud, M.D. is a 

Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head 

and Neck Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed  

undergraduate and medical degrees from Johns Hopkins University. Jane Y. 

Kim, J.D. is an Immigration Specialist at the Children’s Hospital of 

Philadelphia. She completed a Bachelor’s degree from the University of 

North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a law degree from Temple University. 

This text certainly questions the assumptions of a fixed intelligence 

and shows how carefully managed education, clear goals, networking and 

support, and continued hard work and self-discipline are at the heart of 

achieving success.

While the text has obvious appeal for any parent trying to raise a 

gifted child, any teacher or educator will find the strategies for 

learning directly applicable to establishing an effective classroom and 

collaborating with parents. In addition the inside knowledge and 

understanding of this ethnic group will allow teachers to establish a 

classroom that is culturally responsive and skills that are 

interculturally competent.

Website: http://www.topoftheclassonline.com

GEI Vol 24 No 1