the truth about tiger moms

It was the "Little White Donkey" incident that pushed many readers over the edge. That's the name of the piano tune that Amy Chua, Yale law professor and self-described "tiger mother," forced her 7-year-old daughter Lulu to practice for hours on end — "right through dinner into the night," with no breaks for water or even the bathroom, until at last Lulu learned to play the piece.

For other readers, it was Chua calling her older daughter Sophia "garbage" after the girl behaved disrespectfully — the same thing Chua had been called as a child by her strict Chinese father.

And, oh, yes, for some readers it was the card that young Lulu made for her mother's birthday. "I don't want this," Chua announced, adding that she expected to receive a drawing that Lulu had "put some thought and effort into." Throwing the card back at her daughter, she told her, "I deserve better than this. So I reject this."

Even before Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua's proudly politically incorrect account of raising her children "the Chinese way," arrived in bookstores Jan. 11, her parenting methods were the incredulous, indignant talk of every playground, supermarket and coffee shop. A prepublication excerpt in the Wall Street Journal (titled "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior") started the ferocious buzz; the online version has been read more than 1 million times and attracted more than 7,000 comments so far. When Chua appeared Jan. 11 on the Today show, the usually sunny host Meredith Vieira could hardly contain her contempt as she read aloud a sample of viewer comments: "She's a monster"; "The way she raised her kids is outrageous"; "Where is the love, the acceptance?"

Chua, a petite 48-year-old who carries off a short-skirted wardrobe that could easily be worn by her daughters (now 15 and 18), gave as good as she got. "To be perfectly honest, I know that a lot of Asian parents are secretly shocked and horrified by many aspects of Western parenting," including "how much time Westerners allow their kids to waste — hours on Facebook and computer games — and in some ways, how poorly they prepare them for the future," she told Vieira with a toss of her long hair. "It's a tough world out there."

Chua's reports from the trenches of authoritarian parenthood are indeed disconcerting, even shocking, in their candid admission of maternal ruthlessness. Her book is a Mommie Dearest for the age of the memoir, when we tell tales on ourselves instead of our relatives. But there's something else behind the intense reaction to Tiger Mother, which has shot to the top of best-seller lists even as it's been denounced on the airwaves and the Internet. Though Chua was born and raised in the U.S., her invocation of what she describes as traditional "Chinese parenting" has hit hard at a national sore spot: our fears about losing ground to China and other rising powers and about adequately preparing our children to survive in the global economy. Her stories of never accepting a grade lower than an A, of insisting on hours of math and spelling drills and piano and violin practice each day (weekends and vacations included), of not allowing playdates or sleepovers or television or computer games or even school plays, for goodness' sake, have left many readers outraged but also defensive. The tiger mother's cubs are being raised to rule the world, the book clearly implies, while the offspring of "weak-willed," "indulgent" Westerners are growing up ill equipped to compete in a fierce global marketplace.

One of those permissive American parents is Chua's husband, Jed Rubenfeld (also a professor at Yale Law School). He makes the occasional cameo appearance in Tiger Mother, cast as the tenderhearted foil to Chua's merciless taskmaster. When Rubenfeld protested Chua's harangues over "The Little White Donkey," for instance, Chua informed him that his older daughter Sophia could play the piece when she was Lulu's age. Sophia and Lulu are different people, Rubenfeld remonstrated reasonably. "Oh, no, not this," Chua shot back, adopting a mocking tone: "Everyone is special in their special own way. Even losers are special in their own special way."

With a stroke of her razor-sharp pen, Chua has set a whole nation of parents to wondering: Are we the losers she's talking about?

-englishtang.com

Do You Suffer From Facebook depression?

A new study suggests that social media sites have created a new phenomenon known as "Facebook depression". The American Academy of Pediatrics recently warned parents about the possible dangers of networking websites on their children’s mental health. Report co-author Gwenn O’Keefe described the way social interaction is changing: "For some teens and tweens, social media is the primary way they interact socially, rather than at the mall or a friend's house," she said. Ms O'Keeffe added: "A large part of this generation's social and emotional development is occurring while on the Internet and on cellphones. Parents need to understand these technologies so they can relate to their children's online world, and comfortably parent in that world."

The report says it is essential for parents to be aware of how social media sites can affect children and that the Internet is not always a healthy environment for kids. The writers also urged parents to be on the lookout for cyberbullying, sexting and online predators. They recommended parents take an active role and discuss things like bullying, privacy and feeling down because of what’s happening on Facebook. A recent poll stated that 22 per cent of teenagers log on to a social media site more than 10 times a day and more than half at least once a day. There are conflicting reports as to whether Facebook helps youngsters, by allowing them to express themselves, or isolates them from society.


-breakingnewenglish.com

Chinese Writer to Have Shakespeare’s Face

A well-known Chinese writer is planning to go under the knife to become a William Shakespeare look-alike. The Shanghai Daily newspaper reports that best-selling author Zhang Yiyi will undergo ten operations in the next ten months. After the surgeries he will be the spitting image of Britain’s most famous writer. Mr Zhang said he wants to “let the people across the world mourn” one of the world's greatest ever playwrights and literary figures. The cost of the plastic surgery will be around $150,000 – the same as the royalties he earned for his last book. Zhang justified the surgery and cost, saying: "Life is a process of striving to become a better person. I think the surgeries are worth the money."

Zhang Yiyi’s upcoming surgeries have become a talking point in China. He is already a controversial figure after he compared himself to China’s great philosopher Confucius. Many Chinese believe he is simply an attention seeker while others believe he has the right to spend his money the way he wants. He is set to become the most famous cosmetic surgery patient since Michael Jackson. Zheng Churong, the head of the team of surgeons who will perform the operations, told reporters that the surgeries would not be so difficult. He said Zhang’s face is the right shape, with a “sharp nose” and “deep eyes”. The big question on everyone’s lips is whether Zhang’s new look will prompt him to write as well as Shakespeare.



-breakingnewsenglish.com