Debate: Chinese mothers
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While Chua and a lot of Chinese parents parade their children's achievements, we should also recall stories of ancient Chinese mothers who instilled a broader range of values in their children.
For example, the mother of Mencius, a great ancient Chinese scholar thought to have lived 372 - 289 BC, moved their home three times to make sure that her son grew up in a neighborhood that respected scholarly teachings. She cut pieces of cloth she'd just woven to show Mencius that his lack of perseverance in his studies would only result in failures like the torn pieces of cloth.
The mother of Kou Zhun (961-1023) taught Kou to read and write while supporting the family by weaving. She left a painting with the family servant before she died. When Kou became prime minister and planned to throw a lavish party to celebrate his birthday, the servant opened the painting, in which Kou's mother preached frugality and prudence.
We must reflect on whether our conventional education methods, from rote learning and shaming, to the over-emphasis on individual performance, have affected Chinese children's overall development.
Education should not only be about academic success and future careers; it should also be nurturing innovation, responsibility, teamwork, perseverance and independence. But these are not discussed in either Chua's book or in many of the commentaries.
In fact, many educators now fear that our children's upbringing is distorted. Leading educator Sun Yunxiao cited a test in which two plates of chocolates along with a bell were placed before 100 Chinese and 100 Australian 5-year olds. The children were told that they could get the plate with fewer chocolates if they immediately rang the bell, but they could get the plate with more chocolates if they chose to wait 15 minutes.
At the end of the test, 80 percent of the Chinese children had grabbed the smaller number of chocolates, while 66 percent of the Australian children waited for 15 minutes for the larger share. According to Sun, the Chinese children not only failed to demonstrate self-discipline and patience, they also lacked responsibility and perseverance.
Chinese scholars have also cited the fact that although Chinese students have won numerous international contests in mathematics, they have not yet scored high in international contests for sciences and engineering. None of the scientific and technological breakthroughs in the 20th century was Chinese.
There is no single education method that applies to children of all races and all countries. So it is time to stop arguing about whose mothers are superior, and explore a variety of methods from both the East and West that foster responsible and innovative citizenship.
The author is assistant editor-in-chief of China Daily.
