Sunday, January 23, 2011

More Thoughts on the Amy Chua School of Parenting

Read one Chinese-American's take on the Amy Chua kerfuffle (my own takes are here and here).  Here's a notable bit of it too:
While I think some of what says makes some sense, I just can't go along to the extremes that she does.  Having high expectations, and trying to instill discipline and good work habits (homework first, then TV/play) strikes me as generally desirable.  No playdates, no roles in school plays, no choice in extracurriculars . . . .  I'd rather let my kids experiment a bit to see what they like, and then encourage them to work hard at what they choose.  True, this means my kids are not likely to become Olympic athletes/musical prodigies, but I'm not sure I'd want to be parenting on that assumption anyway. 
EDIT: I should add one potentially pernicious thing about Chua's article (and forthcoming book) is the idea that there's any one monolithic "Chinese"/Asian approach to parenting.  No doubt there are some basic elements that maybe common, like the emphasis on education.  But it would be a shame if non-Asians were to come away from this article thinking that this is the *only* way to raise kids in a Chinese way.

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