A few years ago, Amy Chua's book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" remained for weeks in the New York Times Best Sellers list. However, nowadays, tiger parenting may be perceived by many people as too strict and demanding method, especially in Western countries. This does not apply in China, for a reason of culture. Over there, the most popular political figure is still Confucius, also a famed philosopher and teacher.
The Chinese have generally strong social skills due to Confucian virtues such as Knowledge (Zhi), integrity and faithfulness (Xin), and social manners and behavior (Li). Confucianism is practiced by a billion of Chinese, who follow these beliefs to raise their children. For example, in Chinese, the term xiào - filial piety - means total obedience and loyalty to a parent, not just during childhood but for life. Parents are supposed to protect their children all the time. In turn, children are supposed to obey their parents without any discussion and with absolute loyalty.
Students' behavior in Western schools is just the opposite of how their peers behave in Chinese schools. It may be due to the higher number of pupils in Chinese classrooms than in an average American classroom, but in Chinese education asking questions is not encouraged. Group projects are not common and individual competition is the norm. Moreover, students have daily homework, closely monitored by parents, even during the summer break. On their side, many Western parents think that children should enjoy their younger years and discover on their own what they are born to do, what they want for themselves, their passion in life.
Whatever opinion people may have on tiger parenting, they cannot deny the fact that the method does work. Amy Chua's big win after writing her book was that her daughter Sophia graduated in philosophy from Harvard in 2015. Amy Chua herself was brought up the same way and she is today a lawyer, a professor and a famous author. In any case - for better or worse - she is the successful mother of all tiger parents.
Picture: Siberian Tigers (Wikipedia, w/Effects)
