While you are reading it and are reading the intense and highly defensive criticisms of Chua, I would recommend that you keep in mind these words from former Yale student, Elizabeth Wurtzel. (Wurtzel took courses with both Chua and her husband and seems to have known her children.) From Wurtzel's Twitter: "Also, Amy Chua, aka insane Chinese mother, and husband Jed Rubenfeld, were among my favorite professors at law school Their kids seem fine."
TO: Dr. Schneiderman, et al.
ReplyDeleteRE: Like Many Other Things....
....about Life: It's Complicated.
I'll point out that there's a LOT MORE nature in children than most modernists would care to accept. So parents raising their own children are probably more likely to have children that are 'just fine'....if the parents are 'good' parents in the first place....than people raising other peoples' children, e.g., foster care.
I say this based on the experiences with my own two daughters. We three seem to share a LOT of common 'tastes', no that they are adults. This is despite the fact that we've been separated by 'family court' from their early years until recently. Those tastes include music, cinema, beverages and foods. This where I had little to no ability to guide them.
I'm not overly surprised that Professor Chua's kids are 'just fine'. Kids on the street where I live appear to be 'just fine' too. But it's a 'nice' neighborhood of late 1800-early 1900 homes—many of which are historic—with 100+ year-old trees lining the streets.
Sure, nurture has a LOT to do with it. But looking at it from a holistic approach, it's more of a balance than I suspect most psychologists would care to admit.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[You knew you were a good parent if your grand-children turn out okay.]