tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299260399530805012.post8110882691463253863..comments2023-05-28T04:22:47.348-07:00Comments on Molly the Explorer: Battle Hymm of the Mother Tiger?Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18363163821500740866noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299260399530805012.post-84909786034711767812011-02-06T19:21:21.864-08:002011-02-06T19:21:21.864-08:00By the way, I'm not sure if you saw this, but ...By the way, I'm not sure if you saw this, but Amy Chua went on the Colbert Report a while ago: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/372152/january-25-2011/intro---1-25-11Aaron L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15067593077688241997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8299260399530805012.post-20547170881296130292011-01-23T17:38:11.835-08:002011-01-23T17:38:11.835-08:00I strongly disagree with her, but I'm going to...I strongly disagree with her, but I'm going to give her some credibility. I think there are similar elements of filial piety in, this seems to be, Confucian thought and, the canon of the West, the Bible ("Honor they mother and father."). And, looking into the article, I found that the daughter wrote a letter to the New York Post vindicating her mother of being abusive, high expectations and strict, but not abusive. Like in the West, the goal is to get an A, to get a gold medal, and to do well in competitions against others.<br /><br />That being said, I disagree with her view that problems in Western education are a result of a soft culture. It seems to take a macro-problem and place blame entirely on micro-actors. More likely culprits of lower standards of education in America are unemployment, poverty, lowering funding for education, and creating an economic system that dis-incentivizes people from socially productive careers. To me, this would better explain the decay of the American education system - more so than a cultural difference between the West and China.<br /><br />However, I also agree with you that her system is hyperbolic and based on an ideal. Its irritating to see someone abusing a stereotype, especially for profit and especially if it may harm others by giving parents a false impression of how to raise their children. Chua's probably not as bad a mother as she is portrayed, but her system is clearly full of holes, like, what if the parent isn't competent? and just because a parent believes their child owes them everything, doesn't mean the child is going to pay them respect, especially when the respect isn't reciprocal? Her argument, to me, seems hyperbolic, good for selling books, but bad for advice, especially for Western youth who already grow up with little power over themselves.Aaron L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15067593077688241997noreply@blogger.com