Tiger Mum

[Let's talk about the weather! ...And bestial mums.]

Since tuesday the Midwest is covered under a blanket of snow and the blizzard is moving on towards the northeast. Apparently, these regions will be suffering the cold for a long time to come … but the physical cold it will inspire has nothing on the emotional coldness the so called Tiger mum –one Amy Chuan- is trying to carry into the pedagogical world with her new “book” ‘The hymn of the Tiger Mother'.
She is a blizzard of the worst sort, attempting to take the pedagogical field back to the Middle Ages. At first I wondered whether the topic was even worth being treated in this blog … since it’s so laughable. Then I read the word ‘bestseller’ in connection to this masterpiece of educational guidebooks and I'm simply too shocked at the fact that people actually buy her stuff (2 ways) so that I could not -not- write about it. I imagine that the founders of the progressive education movement would turn in their graves if they ever got wind of these “new findings” which belong to a dictatorial regime rather than to a supposedly enlightened democratic society (not surprising when one considers Tiger mum’s Chinese roots).
I’m not sorry to say that Tiger Mum would get the shock of her life if she ever saw my school certificates. I never really enjoyed chemistry lessons and unfortunately my chemistry grades testified to this antipathy for everything that had to do with swirling test tubes only to hold a piece of indicator paper into it. My parents graciously accepted my dislike of Bunsen burners, and took pleasure in the good grades I achieved in my other subjects. And I didn’t even have to threaten them with cheap old people’s homes. This way I lived happily ever after while some of my classmates were suffering from parental pressure and hours of private tuition. One might think that their neglect of my academic failings would already have spoiled me for good. But there is still worse to come (if you can believe it!!!): my parents didn’t spank me or lock me away when I insisted on avoiding any kind of musical lessons during childhood. I played tennis instead, and Amy Chuan would have doomed me and my parents for our lack of ambition. … Strange to say, I still got accepted at University… My childhood taught me an important lesson (one that Tiger Mum probably missed). A child’s love for its parents and its surroundings can only flourish if it is treated accordingly (what an insight, isn’t it??!!), and social interaction is essential for developing its own identity. Then there is of course this tedious business with the basic sense of trust (not insignificant for children). I wonder whether Tiger mum’s children have lost theirs yet.

Well , well, well … if you ever take a course for teacher training at a German University, you will be told from the beginning on that praise is more effective than punishment and that intrinsic motivation beats extrinsic motivation hands down. But what is even more important (and according to Tiger mum’s notions dangerous and reprehensible), is that we learn to treat young pupils as independent human beings with their own opinions and emotions. Can you imagine how the humiliation (denial of toilet or food as Tiger Mum suggests) would effect children?

On another note, it is a strange process to witness the reaction on american media towards the book. Some appalled but some also strangely fascinated. Especially recently, Americans have become more aware of the 'chinese threat' to outrun them soon enough in the future on the economic level and superior position in the world.
For this book to be published, there could hardly be a more crucial 'sputnik moment' - since it goes along so perfectly well with the politics and economical competition. Already, Americans acknowledge the threat China poses and also many begin to see global economy in a more critical light.

So, all you professors and researchers burn your books or entrust them to your shredders, because Tiger mum decrees it thus!! Dust off your canes and pull on your masks of emotional indifference. Thank God the era of democratic education and cooperative learning is over!! Hasn’t it brought enough heartbreak to the economy and to parent’s self-esteem?!?! Don’t we all yearn for ambitious, super intelligent children that behave like machines instead of independent human beings?? 
Honestly, I don’t. Children are still exactly that: children. Young human beings who need to have a life beside school. They need the experience of climbing trees and scraping their knees because that’s what life is all about. It’s not about getting the best job and the highest salary; not about competing with everyone else. Tiger Mum still hasn’t learned that and probably never will.
Watching videos like this one, you can see how people might react less appalled and get fooled. But it doesn't take much to look behind the smile. Click here