Participating in contests is becoming a popular way for Chinese parents to prepare their kids to compete in a rapidly growing society. English contests, speech contests, math contests – no matter what kind of contest it is – in the New York Chinese community, it will always attract hundreds of participants, some even coming from as far as Florida or Illinois.
Their children's education is always the top priority in most Chinese families. Parents try everything to help their kids succeed. "There are two reasons why parents send their kids to the contests: one is to build up their skills; and the other is to evaluate the kids' level among their peers," said Bohsiang Chen, the president of ACS Academy, which has organized many contests. And the good thing is that even though the parents know their kids will not be the top winners, they still view the contests as great opportunities to help their children gain experience.
Martine Guerrier, the chief family engagement officer at the NYC Department of Education, believes that community contests not only help kids in academics, but also help them to know each other and build a presence in the community. "The contests will give them great encouragement," said Ms. Guerrier.
"As a principal, I cannot say how much these community-based contests will help students get into college; however, as a parent, I'm very sure it is very useful to the kids," said Jie Zhang, the principal of Queens High School for the Sciences at York College.
Ms. Zhang recalled that her son Danny Zhu, who is now a Harvard student, attended a math contest organized by the World Journal over 10 years ago. Danny won first place in the contest, and his score was far ahead of the student who won second place. "Before the contest, we just thought he was a smart boy, but we didn't know he was so smart. The contest really opened the door for my son. After that, we started to bring him to different contests, and he always placed first," said Ms. Zhang.
But Ms. Zhang also thought these contests were good for the students who did not win. "American education always encourages children, which makes children feel very confident in themselves. But eventually, they will face failure at some stage because not everyone can go to Harvard or Yale. And the failure in these community contests will give them a taste, but won't hurt them on record," said Ms. Zhang, adding that she always encourages her students to participate in the contests.
These contests are more helpful and meaningful for new immigrant parents, who lack access to mainstream contests and whose kids cannot speak fluent English. "My daughter just came here and barely speaks any English, so I sent her to participate in the Chinese speech contest to build up her confidence in speaking in public, and she did a good job. I'm so proud of her," said Jessica Chow, whose daughter moved to New York City from Shanghai.
And kids feel that they learned a lot from the contests. "I used to feel that I was not as good as the kids my age because I could speak English. Since I won the award in the Chinese speech contest, I feel more confident in myself," said Fiona Chow, Jessica's daughter.
Sometimes, the parents even get surprising benefits from the contests. A mother from Missouri called the organizers of the Mother's Day greeting card design contest to thank them for holding the event. "When my daughter designed the greeting card, she thought of all the good things I have done for her, and felt so grateful to me. This contest really made my daughter and I become much closer," said the mother.
Seeing the need, many groups and companies are organizing contests to provide opportunities for the Chinese kids, including community organizations, tutoring organizations and media companies. The World Journal, the most influential Chinese newspaper in North America, is also one of the biggest sponsors for these kinds of events and organizes nearly 10 contests each year, targeting both children and teenagers. These contests include spelling bees, designing greeting cards for Mother's Day and Christmas, poster design, painting, and English, math, and talent competitions. Each contest attracts at least 100 participants. Some, like the contests to design greeting cards can draw up to 1,000 participants.
Both the Chinese Radio Network and Chinese American Parents Association hold speech contests every year, which have become a tradition in the community. The Chinese Radio Network contest has been around for 14 years. This year's contest attracted over 100 participants between the ages of 5 and 18. "Although the original idea for the event was to encourage Chinese kids to speak in public, who are too shy to do it – a trait that stems from Chinese culture – I have to say that this event has improved my company's reputation in the community," said Josephine Chain, the president of Chinese Radio Network.
The contests are so popular that they even attract non-Chinese parents to enroll their children. Lynn Berat, the mother of nine daughters, sent six of them to attend the Chinese speech contest on Mother's Day. Mark, a Hispanic boy, has been the winner of the speech contest organized by Chinese Radio Network for three consecutive years. Inspired by the contest, his Chinese is now even better than many Chinese kids born in America.
While many organizations like to hold these contests, there are also lots of sponsors willing to provide generous support to them, including community leaders, small businesses, and big companies like New York Life Insurance Company and MetLife. Thanks to their generosity, these contests are mostly free or only charge $5 or $10 to enter and usually offer great prizes – generally $150 for the first place winner, $100 for second place, and $50 for third place. All contest participants get gifts to encourage them to come back, also making the contests an all-around happy community event.
"There are so many smart kids in our community with different talents. The contests provide them opportunities to discover these talents, and encourage them and their parents to work harder and achieve more," said Peter Koo, the owner of Starside Pharmacies, who has been supporting the contests for over 10 years. "You cannot push a kid good at painting to learn piano, and a kid loving music to play football. How can we find out what kind of talent the kids have? Through the contests," said Peter. Although the contests provide very little benefit to his business, Peter said, "I would like to see the kids from the Chinese community become somebody after they grow up."
This article is produced through NYCMA's Fellowship on Public Education.
