Chapter 10 Homework From This Interview Learn The Children Are

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

Chapter 10

The Roar of the Tiger Mom

CHAPTER S

UMMARY

The readings in this chapter address a purported difference between Chinese and American styles of parenting.

Amy Chua’s op-ed piece from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother asserts that because she uses threats, criticism,

and punishment to make her daughters excel and withholds many of the typical activities of childhood, her

children will be more successful than children parented in the lax “Western” style. The remaining pieces

respond to Chua’s column.

TEACHING S

UGGESTIONS

This chapter is bound to provoke some lively discussion. First, ask students to talk about their own

upbringing—their parents’ attitude towards education and how firmly their parents enforced rules about

homework, reading, television, free time, Facebook, Twitter, and other digital activities. What were their

parents’ priorities for the way the children used their time? And do your students agree with those parenting

decisions, or could they improve on them? Encourage students of various nationalities and cultures to talk

If any of your students are parents, ask them to share their philosophies of parenting and discipline, and to

define what constitutes success for their children. To what extent have the student-parents in your class hewn

to, or deviated from, what they learned from their own parents?

Adapted from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (p. 269)

Amy Chua

UMMARY

Chua offers an explanation for the number of Chinese children who are academic overachievers: Chinese

mothers are stricter. Chua forbids her daughters from participating in sleepovers, play dates, school plays, and

sports teams. She drills them for hours in homework or music practice, tears up their work when it doesn’t meet

TEACHING S

UGGESTIONS

Ask students where they draw the line between a fair punishment (for example, for a child who refuses to do

homework) and abuse. Are there ever times when a child should be punished harshly “for his or her own

good”? Have your students ever chafed against a punishment, only to find that it benefited them in the end?

Have your students who are parents ever regretted punishing a child too harshly, or not punishing a child at all?

Amy Chua Is a Wimp (p. 274)

David Brooks

UMMARY

Brooks asserts, perhaps half-humorously, that Chua is not pushing her children too hard. Rather, she is

sheltering them—from the potentially painful and bruising experiences of social interaction and teamwork.

TEACHING S

UGGESTIONS

Ask students what important lessons they learned in childhood—and whether they learned them in the

classroom or outside. With students, work up a list of some of the things a child must learn in order to become

a successful adult, and the environments in which he or she would learn these things (examples: classroom,

sports field, place of worship, grandparents’ house, parents’ workplace, woods or other natural setting). What

does a child lose by not being in some of these environments, or by emphasizing one environment over the

others?

Whatever Happened to the Original Tiger Mum’s Children (p. 276)

Tanith Carey

UMMARY

When Chua’s books was released, critics were quick to pounce, and many feared for the psychological health

of her two daughters. It seemed only natural to assume that, raised with such harsh constraints, the children

would be damaged in some way. As it turns out, the critics were. From this interview we learn the children are

bright (no surprise), charming, seemingly well adjusted, and—significantly—largely appreciative of their

upbringing.

TEACHING S

UGGESTIONS

Ask students if the interview surprised them in any ways? Had they been sympathetic to the views of critics like

Hanna Rosin and David Brooks? Surprised or not, would they want to be raised as Chau raiser her daughters—if,

that is, they could turn out as accomplished as Chau’s daughters?

Tiger Mother Stirs Reflections on Parenthood (p.279)

Tina Griego

SUMMARY

Griego is interested not in judging Amy Chua as a parent; she’s interested in how Chau navigates “the

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

Both in preparation for reading Griego’s essay and in response to it, ask students to reflect on the social,

Tiger Mom vs. Tiger Mailroom (p. 280)

PATRICK GOLDSTEIN

UMMARY

Amy Chua believes that her harsh parenting techniques are essential if her daughters are to get into a top

TEACHING S

UGGESTIONS

Ask students who have seen the 2010 film The Social Network to discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s path to success.

America’s Top Parent (p. 283)

Elizabeth Kolbert

UMMARY

Kolbert makes the case that although Chua deliberately sought to outrage readers with her anecdotes about

excessive punishments, Chua’s op-ed piece garnered the attention it did because of Americans’ insecurity

TEACHING S

UGGESTIONS

Ask students whether they believe today’s American students have the skills to compete with other nations in

the global marketplace. What are Americans’ strengths and weaknesses as workers? Do other groups have

particular strengths? What strengths do your students believe they need to enter the job market?

Your Perfectionist Parenting Style May Be Detrimental to Your Child (p.287)

Ariana Eunjung Cha

UMMARY

Cha summarizes empirical research on Tiger parenting styles and reports that children of parents who were excessively

TEACHING S

UGGESTIONS

This empirically based article differs markedly from the other selections in the chapter, based as it is on

experimental data. Other selections in the chapter are opinion pieces, and while these opinions are more or less