Irvine demographic & impact on kids

[paydawg]

"I think the point is that being prepared for academic rigor/university life does not necessarily translate into being prepared for success in real life."

I completely agree with nyc to oc's post. I think it is important to welcome new fresh ideas and IrvineRes88 is someone here giving a different prospective from the "herd" mentality of this forum. The discussion becomes healthy when we are respectful and welcoming of other people's ideas and thoughts. Otherwise this forum gets to be seriously boring with posters who can only see the tree and not the forest. Wasn't there a thread by another OP last week of "Why are the conversations on TalkIrvine so boring?"

I don't disagree with what IrvineRes88 has to say here. Please let the man speak.

Honestly.. my inspiration and goal for my children is not for them to get straight A's and get into an Ivy. I want them to be emotionally intelligent, help them to have good interpersonal and leadership skills, help them discover their gifts and passion in life, teach them how to be financially independent and think like an entrepeneur, and most importantly love them unconditionally.

I think Irvine is good for parents that want to live in an environment that feels comfortable, Asian markets, restaurants, congregate with people from the same culture background, it is actually disadvantageous for kids, the rules of college admission has changed drastically in the last few years, I guess colleges don't want their campus to look like Irvine?!  Asians packaged (high SAT, GPA, community service, internship, etc) high achievers are considered "boring applicants" so if your sole purpose in Irvine is to get into a top college, it actually works against you.

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've read on TI.  My opinion is that living in Irvine DOES have an advantage.  Your child is in an environment that is focused on education -- which, more than anything, prepares them for the rigors of university life.  "boring applicants" is subjective to each admissions office.  What are other cities/districts doing that would set your child apart from the "boring" Irvine schools?  I'm interested in hearing an answer to that.

I think the point is that being prepared for academic rigor/university life does not necessarily translate into being prepared for success in real life.  The mentality needed to grind to get that last 2 points on your test to make the 100% score is not the mentality that is going to make you a better leader, manager or even co-worker.

I too want my child to be passionate and financially independent (who doesn't?). I don't disagree that emotional intelligence/maturity is critical.  I think it's more important than actual academics in a child's earlier years.  But that's the responsibility of the parent's to handle, not the child's school. 

But to insinuate that high achievers are "boring" or work against you in college admissions sounds crazy.  Yes, universities are striving for diversity and will not admit a 100% Asian class, but would you rather be an Asian applicant from a top school district or an Asian from a mid-tier school district?....and would you rather have been tested in high school or breezed thru high school? 

Don't sell your kids short.  They can be straight A students, be high achievers, AND be emotionally intelligent, have passion for a vocation, have a healthy social life, be a leader....and be Asian, coming from a high school where Asians aren't the minority.  Dream big. 

 

[bones]

Want the Irvine lifestyle without the Asian filled schools? Easy.  Send you kids to private school where the diversity is more to your liking.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

I don't disagree with what IrvineRes88 has to say here. Please let the man speak.

Is someone not letting him/her speak? 

Honestly.. my inspiration and goal for my children is not for them to get straight A's and get into an Ivy. I want them to be emotionally intelligent, help them to have good interpersonal and leadership skills, help them discover their gifts and passion in life, teach them how to be financially independent and think like an entrepeneur, and most importantly love them unconditionally.

Those two things are not mutually exclusive.  As a parent, you have also have an obligation to push your kid to do better and reach goals that they didn't think was possible. 

Most kids like to do the easy things and ignore the hard ones...as a parent you have to push them beyond doing the easy thing and push themselves.  Like making them eat vegetables or go to bed at the proper time. 

You talked before about "real world"...real world is competitive.  Having your children understand that and live that a little is a good thing.  If your child is just content with doing the average, s/he will use that as a goal for the rest of their lives.

 

[momopi]

My kids elementary  (outside) of Irvine had a balanced diverse feel with only 25% Asian population. Now that we have moved to Irvine, I am increasingly uncomfortable with what seems to be 80% Asian student population. This environment is not diverse nor healthy for kids. I know some friends moved to Saddleback school district because they don't want their kids to study all the time. I moved to Irvine due to the convenience of Asian markets & restaurantso but I am beginning to really question the herd mentality of academic success with Asians. My kids used to have basically all white friends from school, now all their friends are Asian, it is making me uncomfortable, I would much prefer them to have both but it is not something that Irving can offer to them. I'very heard many good things about the Saddleback school district,  is Baker Ranch a  more diverse environment for kids?

If and when I have kids, my plan is to either take or send the kid to study abroad for at least a year in Taiwan, China, Japan, and/or France -- preferably not in the capital cities.  Diversity in education is not about your skin color, it's about getting a total immersion education in a foreign, non-English speaking country.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

@momopi:

Fess up... you just want them to go abroad so that you can visit and eat well.

@bones:

It's funny, at the Montessori my kids used to go to, an Asian (South/West/East?) dad told me he was taking his kids out because there were too many Asians there. So even private school may not be a good haven... although does anyone know what the demographic makeup at Crean Lutheran is?

 

[Irvinecommuter]

@momopi:

Fess up... you just want them to go abroad so that you can visit and eat well.

@bones:

It's funny, at the Montessori my kids used to go to, an Asian (South/West/East?) dad told me he was taking his kids out because there were too many Asians there. So even private school may not be a good haven... although does anyone know what the demographic makeup at Crean Lutheran is?

Just from a unscientific review of the afternoon crowds..I would say a lot of Asians.  Private schools recruit overseas with promises of I-20 visas.

 

[bones]

@momopi:

Fess up... you just want them to go abroad so that you can visit and eat well.

@bones:

It's funny, at the Montessori my kids used to go to, an Asian (South/West/East?) dad told me he was taking his kids out because there were too many Asians there. So even private school may not be a good haven... although does anyone know what the demographic makeup at Crean Lutheran is?

Just from a unscientific review of the afternoon crowds..I would say a lot of Asians.  Private schools recruit overseas with promises of I-20 visas.

85% white 12% Asian from a quick Google search. Not sure how recent it is but I doubt it's more than 30% Asian. What are the utopian percentages we are looking for again?

 

[OC troll]

Does anyone know what the world demographics look like? I'm guessing Asians % is pretty high? If so, does that mean Irvine is a good rep for real "world" make up? Just a thought.

 

[zubs]

The white race is the default race here, so having too many Caucasians in class is not a thing.  It is normal.  Having a class with 70% Asians when the whole of the USA only has like 7% Asians is not normal, hence the feeling of too many Asians.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

The white race is the default race here, so having too many Caucasians in class is not a thing.  It is normal.  Having a class with 70% Asians when the whole of the USA only has like 7% Asians is not normal, hence the feeling of too many Asians.

You are going to have to define "here"...it's certainly not true in California.

 

[irvinehusky]

Just curious as to why more Asians aren't in private schools if some of them are perceived to provide a higher level education...and a possible advantage when applying for colleges?  I would think the Kumon and SAT tutoring, violin lesson parent crowd would pay for the better education, as money doesn't seem to be a problem to a lot of them?  Does the religious part turn off these parents?  Or, is the IUSD pull too strong?

 

[panda]

14.4% of California's population is Asian.

According to 2014 US Census Bureau estimates, California's population was 73.2% White, 6.5% Black or African American, 14.4% Asian, 1.7% American Indian, 0.5% Pacific Islander and 3.7% from two or more races. By ethnicity, 38.6% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 61.4% Non-Hispanic (of any race).[11]

So the questions is having a class with 70% Asians when the state California only has 14% Asians is normal?

The white race is the default race here, so having too many Caucasians in class is not a thing.  It is normal.  Having a class with 70% Asians when the whole of the USA only has like 7% Asians is not normal, hence the feeling of too many Asians.

You are going to have to define "here"...it's certainly not true in California.

 

[paydawg]

The white race is the default race here, so having too many Caucasians in class is not a thing.  It is normal.  Having a class with 70% Asians when the whole of the USA only has like 7% Asians is not normal, hence the feeling of too many Asians.

You are going to have to define "here"...it's certainly not true in California.

Orange County has 19.6% Asians, per Census data - which is probably an underinflated number by a small amount.

 

[bones]

Just curious as to why more Asians aren't in private schools if some of them are perceived to provide a higher level education...and a possible advantage when applying for colleges?  I would think the Kumon and SAT tutoring, violin lesson parent crowd would pay for the better education, as money doesn't seem to be a problem to a lot of them?  Does the religious part turn off these parents?  Or, is the IUSD pull too strong?

1) Money isn't always a non-issue.  Plus when you're overpaying for the stucco box and mello roos, you almost feel obligated to send your kid to public school funded by the stucco box and MR.
2) There's no real consensus of "great" private schools in and around Irvine.  This is especially true at the elementary level.  At the high school level, there are more choices, but some of them require a decent commute which may or may not be possible if you have working parents.

 

[WTTCHMN]

Does anyone know what the world demographics look like? I'm guessing Asians % is pretty high? If so, does that mean Irvine is a good rep for real "world" make up? Just a thought.

page 1 of this thread:http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,14233.msg285993.html#msg285993

 

[paydawg]

Does anyone know what the world demographics look like? I'm guessing Asians % is pretty high? If so, does that mean Irvine is a good rep for real "world" make up? Just a thought.

"real world" make up is irrelevant probably.  if you have a child in IUSD, you're more than likely competing against other potential college grads who will be employed in white collar jobs in the US.  What's the demographic make-up of THAT subset population?  I bet that Asian % is higher than the 7%. 

 

[Irvinecommuter]

14.4% of California's population is Asian.

According to 2014 US Census Bureau estimates, California's population was 73.2% White, 6.5% Black or African American, 14.4% Asian, 1.7% American Indian, 0.5% Pacific Islander and 3.7% from two or more races. By ethnicity, 38.6% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 61.4% Non-Hispanic (of any race).[11]

So the questions is having a class with 70% Asians when the state California only has 14% Asians is normal?

The white race is the default race here, so having too many Caucasians in class is not a thing.  It is normal.  Having a class with 70% Asians when the whole of the USA only has like 7% Asians is not normal, hence the feeling of too many Asians.

You are going to have to define "here"...it's certainly not true in California.

Yeah...it is not 73.2% white because 38.2% of the entire population is Hispanic.  White alone non-Hispanic is 38.5%.  Hispanics are also projected to overtake "whites" as the predominate race in California.

The question then is when don't we have 38.2% of the class being Hispanic and 6.5% of the class being African-American?

 

[panda]

If you can see the Asian demographic make up of Woodbury in 2008, it is pretty much identical to Johns Creek Elementary in 2014. We are a blue ribbon school and JCE is ranked number 9 in the state. I can tell you that i can predict with 99.9% accuracy what the Asian % make up in JCE will look like in 6 years by looking at the stats on Woodbury Elementary in 2014.

Bones, I would say that the Utopian Asian ratio % you asked about before is between 1988 - 2003 in Woodbury Elementary School and in Johns Creek Elementary the Utopian Asian ratio % is when the school first opened between 2008 and 2009.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Just curious as to why more Asians aren't in private schools if some of them are perceived to provide a higher level education...and a possible advantage when applying for colleges?  I would think the Kumon and SAT tutoring, violin lesson parent crowd would pay for the better education, as money doesn't seem to be a problem to a lot of them?  Does the religious part turn off these parents?  Or, is the IUSD pull too strong?

1) Money isn't always a non-issue.  Plus when you're overpaying for the stucco box and mello roos, you almost feel obligated to send your kid to public school funded by the stucco box and MR.
2) There's no real consensus of "great" private schools in and around Irvine.  This is especially true at the elementary level.  At the high school level, there are more choices, but some of them require a decent commute which may or may not be possible if you have working parents.

Most Asians don't believe in private schools...they have a lot of faith in the public school system.  Public schools are far superior to private schools in most Asian countries.  If you went to private school, it is seen as somewhere that you had to buy your way into rather than earned. 

The best high schools and universities in Asia are almost always public.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

If you can see the Asian demographic make up of Woodbury in 2008, it is pretty much identical to Johns Creek Elementary in 2014. We are a blue ribbon school and JCE is ranked number 9 in the state. I can tell you that i can predict with 99.9% accuracy what the Asian % make up in JCE will look like in 6 years by looking at the stats on Woodbury Elementary in 2014.

1)  I am pretty confused because Woodbury didn't open until 2007.

2)  I don't understand how you are not upset that John's Creek doesn't have 30.5% African Americans like the general demographics of Georgia

3)  You moved away from Irvine because it was getting too Asian but John's Creek is not too Asian?

4)  I am pretty sure you have the wrong Woodbury because there were only 600+ students at Woodbury with 288 Asians
http://api.cde.ca.gov/Acnt2014/apiavgSch.aspx?allcds=30736506085344