Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

14 Jan 2011 17:36 #1 by Mayhem
Oh this is so gooooood. Straight through to the heart of the problem that has brought us to where we are today in this country.

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
Can a regimen of no playdates, no TV, no computer games and hours of music practice create happy kids? And what happens when they fight back?

By AMY CHUA

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:



• attend a sleepover

• have a playdate

• be in a school play

• complain about not being in a school play

• watch TV or play computer games

• choose their own extracurricular activities

• get any grade less than an A

• not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama

• play any instrument other than the piano or violin

• not play the piano or violin.

I'm using the term "Chinese mother" loosely. I know some Korean, Indian, Jamaican, Irish and Ghanaian parents who qualify too. Conversely, I know some mothers of Chinese heritage, almost always born in the West, who are not Chinese mothers, by choice or otherwise. I'm also using the term "Western parents" loosely. Western parents come in all varieties.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 98754.html

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14 Jan 2011 17:36 #2 by Mayhem
I can already the moaning and groaning from the usual suspects.

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14 Jan 2011 17:47 #3 by major bean
The list is absolutely wonderful. Parents must raise their children, which means that you must have a well conceived plan and stick to it for a couple of decades.
Teaching started at birth. We did not have TV for 15 years. We introduced computers as learning tools at high school age. Extracurricular activities were figure skating and hiking. Our children studied the violin. No classroom subject was progressed until it was understood and learned. We set the example for reading and integrity of inquiry.

Regards,
Major Bean

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14 Jan 2011 21:23 #4 by Rockdoc
It certainly is a different philosophy from that of America and even Europe. During my youth, technological distractions did not exist in our home either. TV was for news only. Our home life was similar but yet significantly different. Our school education was not stressed at all. We were given tremendous amounts of responsibility and expected to deliver. Work came first and extracurricular activity was not granted... no sports etc. My brother did paly the French horn and mother supported him doing so. I very much like the article. It clearly defines an attitude, one that leads to success.

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14 Jan 2011 22:04 #5 by Mayhem

Rockdoc Franz wrote: . I very much like the article. It clearly defines an attitude, one that leads to success.


What a novel concept hey Doc?

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14 Jan 2011 22:05 #6 by daisypusher
I heard an interview with the author about this book on NPR and she indicated that the excerpts in the media did not reflect the book and that the list in the first post is more tongue and cheek.

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14 Jan 2011 22:09 #7 by archer
I knew I screwed up when I let my daughter choose the saxaphone instead of violin or piano, She is wicked good on it though. I never had to ban TV....my kids weren't all that interested in it, still aren't. They prefer reading, music, art, and outdoor activities. We, as parents, teach by example.....if a parent sits in front of the TV all day, I suspect the kids will too......We read together and separately.....I tried not to censure what they wanted to read.......and they had pretty eclectic tastes in literature, still do. If the kids want to participate in sports, that was OK, as long as it was AFTER school work and chores....swimming was my daughter's sport.....which led to a job as lifeguard, which led to her becoming a firefighter and paramedic, and now a respiratory therapist. Parental guidance should be tempered by the talents and direction a child wants to pursue. We cannot make mini-me's, but we can help them be all that they are capable of.

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14 Jan 2011 22:39 #8 by Mayhem

daisypusher wrote: I heard an interview with the author about this book on NPR and she indicated that the excerpts in the media did not reflect the book and that the list in the first post is more tongue and cheek.


Lesson one in marketing. When you're selling something tell those listening whatever it is they need to hear to buy you product. She can soft pedal all she wants for the 50 people listening on their crystal set to NPR but she can't reverse her words in print. The reality is the Asian approach to raising kids as well as the value placed on education in their cultures has resulted in their countries and people prospering, while this country is slipping into oblivion as its citizenry wallows in the cesspool of of ignorance, being buoyed for the short term by the fanatical belief they are the greatest thing going because that's what their liberal parents, teachers, professors and friends convinced them of.

By the way, it is 'tongue-in-cheek'.

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14 Jan 2011 22:48 #9 by archer

Baileyboy wrote:

daisypusher wrote: I heard an interview with the author about this book on NPR and she indicated that the excerpts in the media did not reflect the book and that the list in the first post is more tongue and cheek.


Lesson one in marketing. When you're selling something tell those listening whatever it is they need to hear to buy you product. She can soft pedal all she wants for the 50 people listening on their crystal set to NPR but she can't reverse her words in print. The reality is the Asian approach to raising kids as well as the value placed on education in their cultures has resulted in their countries and people prospering, while this country is slipping into oblivion as its citizenry wallows in the cesspool of of ignorance, being buoyed for the short term by the fanatical belief they are the greatest thing going because that's what their liberal parents, teachers, professors and friends convinced them of.


You just couldn't resist laying all the blame on liberals. Seems conservatives are incapable of taking responsibility for anything, it's all the big boogy man liberals fault. Man up and take responsibility for your own kids and how they are raised and educated. Like I posted to RT in another thread, who knew we were so powerful.


.....edited to add....I haven't heard major bean complain that he couldn't raise his kids the way he wanted because liberals ruined it for him. We are all, as parents, responsible for ourselves and our children........if you want them to be educated a certain way......then get them that education, don't complain that they can't succeed because liberals screwed them up.

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14 Jan 2011 23:08 #10 by Mayhem

archer wrote:

Baileyboy wrote: [We are all, as parents, responsible for ourselves and our children........if you want them to be educated a certain way......then get them that education, don't complain that they can't succeed because liberals screwed them up.


Are you really that stupid or do you just play a fool on the board. For your sake I hope and pray it is the latter. Denying a fact doesn't make it so.

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