Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
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Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
Here's a rather appalling article to chew on.
I don't exactly suscribe to what "Western/Eastern" models, but this attempt to make "Chinese method" sound superior is just downright snobbish. Heck. Its not even "Chinese" or what. Its just plain micro-micromanaging, nothing more.
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hmm....well let me see....first .....there are maids to take care of kids....than there are tuition after tuition. Of course lah........
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And there are lunatics who agree with this lunatic.
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lol... sounds like my mum.
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Maybe a follow up article should read: Chinese Mothers are Mother in Law made in Hell.
anything extreme is bad. This came from a kid whose mom refined her skills on 1st two kids and being the last, I got the worse of the lot - Tradition, Suffering and Zero individual rights. And now I got bullied
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tell her to write about the articles after her kids turn 18 or 21 where ever she is located......
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She better watch out, kids will be choosing her nursing home....
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what are the chances the kids will crack and we end up with another shooting or something
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Chinese mothers are going to be the pioneers in robotics, because the child is raised like a robot instead of a kid.
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Its something that also happens in sg...so nothing new i guess
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Speaking of her kids, one of them wrote to the NY Post. She seems to be well-adjusted.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
what are the chances the kids will crack and we end up with another shooting or something
it won't crack but it will be failure to launch.......they can't grow up.....many folks having grown up kids unable to pick themselves up in the society.
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like my mother, but love money more than me
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moms are human too and they also can get their priority wrong
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Not so long ago, we were talking about how our children were not enjoying themselves and lacking spontaneity. However, I think today's kids have forgotten the meaning of effort and dedication. They give up too easily because it's all about being "free" and "happy" and adults are afraid to push them beyond the comfort zone.
Ironically, their freedom is compromised by all kinds of restrictions on their playtime due to health & safety and political correctness.
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well, I must say she's pretty well maintained for her age ..... I thought there were three daughters ..... till I realized that's mdm amy chua herself and her dotters in some of the pics .....
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Originally posted by SBS2601D:
Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
Here's a rather appalling article to chew on.
I don't exactly suscribe to what "Western/Eastern" models, but this attempt to make "Chinese method" sound superior is just downright snobbish. Heck. Its not even "Chinese" or what. Its just plain micro-micromanaging, nothing more.
that's why the ''lazier'' Westerners are always the ones to invent new technologies, etc...................
the Chinese can only make cheaper copies or outright imitations................
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Ultimately, pull factors always trump push factors...
My grades improved once I saw why I should be good and study. And once I saw something I liked studying, it gave me more motivation to learn more.
In contrast, under pressure from my parents, I took higher chinese, flunked it, only to find out I had probably wasted a lot of time on useless memorisation (there's no way you can si bei chinese anyway), when the normal route was so much easier and less stressful.
I wasn't interested in biology, not in the least bit. Yet I was under constant pressure to take it up, which I was extremely unhappy about. Thankfully, my lousy grades ensured that I couldn't have taken biology in sec sch even if I had really wanted.
I took economics in JC, and was informed that it was 'probably a wrong choice' and like a repeat of last time, again pressured to try for biology again. Finally, I figured I had enough of this nonsense after being humiliated by some teacher to whom I appealed to.
The last time I had such a run-in, was my application to uni to do economics. Again, I was question and badgered on why I shouldnt be doing "accounting" "chem engineering" etc etc when my grades could have allowed me to do all these. Why was I going to a 'dumping ground'?
I stood my ground this time and I can say, at least for now, I immensely like what I'm doing.
For those who believe they should be there to guide kids with titanium hand, I think they should be in the kids' shoes and understand what it feels like having to do things they don't like. And in all likelihood, those who claim to be under such domineering parents, and actually liked it, are those who just happened to have their interests aligned. That's all.
Why cause undue stress on the kids? Its unhealthy.
And no. I don't buy the "self-esteem" theory. And I would smack my kids when required. But if they express their intentions, we should listen and not try to manhandle them towards things they may not even like.
PS: Biology = elite. I dont know how the fark this kinda warped thinking can come about, probably thanks to the education system I guess. In the same vein, what's so fantastic about the piano and violin? Is stuff like jazz, rythem and blues something inferior?
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On Children
Kahlil GibranYour children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable. -
It's not just Singapore, my friend. Anywhere in the world you go, there's a hierachy of subjects in the education system (a legacy of industrialisation) where mathematics and the sciences are at the top, and dance and theatre are at the bottom.
I don't want to stereotype your parents but they probably feel that those subjects lead to the highest-paying job opportunities - because the search for that financial security is ingrained in them.
As long as you and I aim to do our best in our chosen fields, that's fine. However, to excel in anything, one needs to make the commitment and go beyond the comfort zone. Such moments aren't so enjoyable.
Sometimes in life, we don't get to choose what we like, so we have to learn to like what we get. And if we get to choose, well, we'd better be prepared to bear the consequences (lower starting pay and all that).
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Originally posted by SBS2601D:
Ultimately, pull factors always trump push factors...
My grades improved once I saw why I should be good and study. And once I saw something I liked studying, it gave me more motivation to learn more.
In contrast, under pressure from my parents, I took higher chinese, flunked it, only to find out I had probably wasted a lot of time on useless memorisation (there's no way you can si bei chinese anyway), when the normal route was so much easier and less stressful.
I wasn't interested in biology, not in the least bit. Yet I was under constant pressure to take it up, which I was extremely unhappy about. Thankfully, my lousy grades ensured that I couldn't have taken biology in sec sch even if I had really wanted.
I took economics in JC, and was informed that it was 'probably a wrong choice' and like a repeat of last time, again pressured to try for biology again. Finally, I figured I had enough of this nonsense after being humiliated by some teacher to whom I appealed to.
The last time I had such a run-in, was my application to uni to do economics. Again, I was question and badgered on why I shouldnt be doing "accounting" "chem engineering" etc etc when my grades could have allowed me to do all these. Why was I going to a 'dumping ground'?
I stood my ground this time and I can say, at least for now, I immensely like what I'm doing.
For those who believe they should be there to guide kids with titanium hand, I think they should be in the kids' shoes and understand what it feels like having to do things they don't like. And in all likelihood, those who claim to be under such domineering parents, and actually liked it, are those who just happened to have their interests aligned. That's all.
Why cause undue stress on the kids? Its unhealthy.
And no. I don't buy the "self-esteem" theory. And I would smack my kids when required. But if they express their intentions, we should listen and not try to manhandle them towards things they may not even like.
PS: Biology = elite. I dont know how the fark this kinda warped thinking can come about, probably thanks to the education system I guess. In the same vein, what's so fantastic about the piano and violin? Is stuff like jazz, rythem and blues something inferior?
Its tough to have parents/relatives interfere so much.... had that before and struggled too. Although I wished my parents had some money that I could have attended some music lessons or art lessons or that my life's education is just hell bent on science and engineering to make sure that I can make "lots" of money. Although I appreciated the strict discipline but sometimes I think of "what if" and "what I might hvae been" and "what opportunities lost"
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of course, here's the disclaimer: That I don't have kids, and words can be cheap.
Chua might also wanna chew on the fact that her kids might be "successful" because of their arguably more advantageous start-point. (mom and pop being distinguished folks and all)
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Apparently the model described in the excerpt you posted is what she used to be, according to this Q&A.
And I'll let you guys make comparisons with what Sir Ken Robinson claims is wrong with our (i.e. worldwide) education system. Pay attention to the anecdote about Gillian Lynne.