Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother author Amy Chua was on Forum this morning. The show archive is now up, and the message board is hopping.
I would try to curate a decent post made up of web content related to the controversy over this book, but I don’t have the next three days to spare. If you’re unfamiliar with the hubbub, here’s an excerpt from an essay Chua wrote in the Wall Street Journal, which started the frenzy a couple of weeks ago.
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.
…What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences. This often requires fortitude on the part of the parents because the child will resist; things are always hardest at the beginning, which is where Western parents tend to give up. But if done properly, the Chinese strategy produces a virtuous circle. Tenacious practice, practice, practice is crucial for excellence; rote repetition is underrated in America. Once a child starts to excel at something—whether it’s math, piano, pitching or ballet—he or she gets praise, admiration and satisfaction. This builds confidence and makes the once not-fun activity fun. This in turn makes it easier for the parent to get the child to work even more. Full essay
Response has ranged from the horrified to the vilifying to the intellectually provocative to the humorous to the everything else.
The flap went somewhat local last weekend when Berkeley author Ayelet Waldman wrote a response in the Journal. Waldman, who is the wife of novelist Michael Chabon, suffered through her own round of parental opprobrium when she wrote in a 2005 New York Times column, “I love my husband more than I love my children.” (Update 4:07 p.m.: Just found out Chua grew up in Berkeley and went to El Cerrito High School.)