Top Ten Text 8

Chua, Amy. “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.” www.wsj.com. January, 8 2011. July 25, 2011. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” is an article by Amy Chua on how she raises her daughters in the style of Chinese parents and why she believes it is the best way to raise children. Her parenting style is very much a tough love scenario and very controlling. A few of her rules: her daughters cannot sleep over at a friend’s house or be in drama classes, they must be top of their class, play the piano or violin, and succeed in everything they do. Much of Chua’s educational requirements are based on memorization, which she claims American parents and schools are moving away from. In one instance she tears up a mother’s day card drawn by her daughter and calls it “garbage,” believing her daughter is capable of much more. In the end, her daughters are grateful for their mother’s tough love, but it is a struggle to get them to succeed.

This was a fun article I used for my non-fiction unit. My students did not come from homes like this where the parents were as strict as Ms. Chua and they blew their tops reading about the things she made her daughters do. Some could find good points in it (she cares about her daughters and her daughters had good grades), but many hated the strictness. It also allowed us to talk about the state of American education, the economy, parenting, and China’s growing presence in the world. I think this will be an even more exciting article to teach couple with an anticipation guide and some good small group discussion by the students.