Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother

Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
As a child “piano prodigy,” I was often asked “Do you like piano? You must love it a lot.” I looked hesitantly to my mom, who wore a stern look as if to say “You had better say yes.” I shrugged and nodded halfheartedly every time, despite knowing that I hated playing piano; I was sent on the weekends to my piano school where I practiced for 6-8 straight hours. I often felt that I was stripped of a childhood, practicing piano when my friends would be out at a pool party or something of that nature, and fought with my parents constantly about not being able to go outside. I never understood their parenting, and suffered a tough childhood.
My story, however, is not uncommon for an Asian growing up. In an excerpt called “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” Chinese mother Amy Chua details the logic behind “Chinese” parenting. She, like my parents, forced her two daughters to practice piano and violin for hours a day, as well as   drilling academic studies because “nothing is fun until you're good at it” (Chua). Although Amy Chua's forceful, strict, and controlling parenting style seems logical at times because it produces “successful” children, she underestimates the negative impact that her “tough love” creates, including those of low self-worth, confidence issues, and lifelong emotional scars, and that these underlying problems with the human psyche can make any amount of success meaningless. However, what most people don't see is that these different types of parenting are the results of different cultures - the Chinese culture of competitiveness and filial piety vs. American culture of freedom and individuality, and that in the end both parenting methods are justified.
Chua begins by explaining that “Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids” because they are controlled – they aren't allowed to have sleepovers, play dates, be in a school play, choose their own extracurricular activities, and not play the piano or...