Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough

Families who want their children to succeed often send them to private learning centers and encourage them to participate in spelling bees and math competitions. Why? That question is at the heart of Dhingra’s (Managing Multicultural Lives) thought-provoking book. The author explores what “hyper education” means for a child’s path through school and future professional opportunities. Though he examines Indian American families, he outlines the reasons why parents of all ethnic backgrounds—particularly those from the middle and upper class—fill their children’s after-school time with educational rather than recreational activities. Dhingra posits several explanations. Some parents are concerned that public schools focus too much on teaching students just enough to pass standardized tests. Other parents feel that extra learning will lead to a successful career and marriage, and some want their children’s time to be occupied by enriching pursuits instead of by drugs, premarital sex, and other behaviors they believe are immoral.