WSJ piece "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior" and a rebuttal

[apis_cerana]

Cause ontd_political wouldn't let me post this

The original article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids.

Comments

[checkerblob]

THIS to all of this. My parents are white, and they're just...weird, like they're both very liberal (well, not by ontd_p standards, but by middle-aged-parents-that-I- know- of standards), and nonreligious (my Mom's just kind of "meh" about it, my Dad actively loathes religion. He once said to me, when I was about six "Kate, you can be whatever you want when you grow up. I want you follow your dreams and I don't doubt that you can accomplish anything. But... *puts hand on my shoulder* please don't become a nun) and uber-strict about grades, which judging by what my friends say about their households, is an odd combo?

But yeah, the "nothing is fun until you're good at it" is Dad's parenting in a nutshell. My brother picked up guitar a while ago, and he's pretty good (although my big sister bias is probably showing) and my dad is ridiculous about it. He's a big classic rock fan, it's so odd hearing this... so utterly Dad-ish guy being all "young man, you WILL practice Stairway to Heaven and you will like it!" And he's not *~hip and cool~* about liking rock; it's what he grew up with. He hates rap and hip hop, and he assumes that classic rock is considered nerdy nowadays, or something. Aaaand I'm just telling my life story now, sorry. But yeah, he's not Chinese and he's very strict about grades, and a lot of "Asian parents" stereotypes are things I can relate to.

But it's the second bit here that really bugs me. Why do so many people talk about children like they aren't just miniature versions of the same species? Like they aren't even people at all? Why is it okay to dismiss all children as lazy, undisciplined and too stupid to do what's good for them? Lots of people in general are that way; it's not limited to kids.
YES, thank you! I wish more adults were capable of seeing us this way. I mean, I'm 16, so I don't get the "oh, you're just a naive little kid who knows nothing" treatment, but I get the "oh, you're just a clueless teenager who thinks she knows everything" treatment, which is also pretty bad in a different way.