I enjoyed listening to the mothers speak about their experiences growing up with Chinese mothers and of being mothers. There is so much tradition and superstition surrounding the Chinese culture and we were able to hear how these traditions and beliefs affected each woman during their childhood and today with their own children.
After the guest speakers I looked up my Chinese zodiac animal and I am an Ox. Apparently I am dependable, hard worker and determined. I don't take shortcuts and I am tolerant of others. I agree with this information as it pertains to me, but I am sure this is true of many individuals who were not born in the year of the Ox. It feels like a self fulfilling profecy because now that I know the information I feel like I must abide by it, thus making it true.
The guest speakers described childhoods that were full of pressure and strict rules, but also high test scores and grades. I wonder if this is what some of our students need? Feeling constant pressure to succeed and always studying does not sound healthy or appealing, but that type of life style might help our students perform better on tests. The problem is the disconnect between support outside of school. Many of the parents of our students do not have the ability to be a tiger mom for one reason or another. Higher education is not seen as a high priority compared to the Chinese culture, and this is translated to our students.
The American and Chinese ways of child rearing both have their pros and cons. American parents typically allow for more individualality within their children, more freedom to express their passions. The Chinese culture emphasizes the importance of education and becoming a doctor or lawyer; there is less room for negogiating. While we want our children to grow up knowing how to express themselves and feel comfortable as individuals, we also need to put more pressure on succeeding at school. We need to mix the tiger parents and American parents.
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