Sunday, July 03, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
WSJ: "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" and My Thoughts
Just read an interesting article in the WSJ, titled "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior." Find it here.
It's an interesting article, and worth a read. Just wanted to share some (initial) thoughts.
One point that needs to be emphasized is the role and psyche of immigrants. If you think about the average immigrant to America, in general I would contend that he/she is an above average risk taker, ambitious, adventurous and eager to make a better life by stepping out of their comfort zone. (Before anyone goes crazy, I'm talking specifically of legal immigrants, but this may apply to all immigrants.)
In fact, most middle-aged immigrants who have the opportunity to move to the US (either through work or the Green Card lottery, etc) often leave behind great and comfortable livelihoods, careers, friends and families in order to give their children a better opportunity. Most immigrants move from developing nations where opportunities aren't easily available to even the best, brightest, and hardest workers. So, moving to the US is naturally a better choice. There is also a preconceived notion that the US is categorically a better place to live, no questions asked (though this attitude is changing somewhat).
So, immigrant parents often sacrifice a lot and have this mentality that they moved here (US) to improve the lives of their children. Thus, they do everything they can to push their children to their limits and beyond, especially academically, the topic of the WSJ's article. Anecdotally, I also think a lot of such immigrants are very highly skilled in their home countries and many pursue graduate-level education here to order to re enter the American workforce. So, academics are obviously at the top of their priorities. It's the safe route and the algorithm reads: go to the best college you can, the best grad school, and you'll make the best living you can.
As for sports and extra-curricular activities, e.g. theater, it's again the mentality of probabilities and lack of knowledge of how the industries here work. In developing countries, sports don't usually pay much (though that's changing). Theater/acting does not make much of a living. And while they can all make a great living if pros (NFL, Hollywood, etc), the odds of success are very low and the risks are very high. Along similar lines, I would also bet that children of these "Chinese mothers" often study science/math/engineering in college and a very small proportion major in the liberal arts i.e. History, English, etc, because the odds of employment are higher ex-post. Whether or not these effects carry on to the future generations, specifically, the second generation (F2 and beyond, for you geneticists), would be interesting to know.
It's an interesting article, and worth a read. Just wanted to share some (initial) thoughts.
One point that needs to be emphasized is the role and psyche of immigrants. If you think about the average immigrant to America, in general I would contend that he/she is an above average risk taker, ambitious, adventurous and eager to make a better life by stepping out of their comfort zone. (Before anyone goes crazy, I'm talking specifically of legal immigrants, but this may apply to all immigrants.)
In fact, most middle-aged immigrants who have the opportunity to move to the US (either through work or the Green Card lottery, etc) often leave behind great and comfortable livelihoods, careers, friends and families in order to give their children a better opportunity. Most immigrants move from developing nations where opportunities aren't easily available to even the best, brightest, and hardest workers. So, moving to the US is naturally a better choice. There is also a preconceived notion that the US is categorically a better place to live, no questions asked (though this attitude is changing somewhat).
So, immigrant parents often sacrifice a lot and have this mentality that they moved here (US) to improve the lives of their children. Thus, they do everything they can to push their children to their limits and beyond, especially academically, the topic of the WSJ's article. Anecdotally, I also think a lot of such immigrants are very highly skilled in their home countries and many pursue graduate-level education here to order to re enter the American workforce. So, academics are obviously at the top of their priorities. It's the safe route and the algorithm reads: go to the best college you can, the best grad school, and you'll make the best living you can.
As for sports and extra-curricular activities, e.g. theater, it's again the mentality of probabilities and lack of knowledge of how the industries here work. In developing countries, sports don't usually pay much (though that's changing). Theater/acting does not make much of a living. And while they can all make a great living if pros (NFL, Hollywood, etc), the odds of success are very low and the risks are very high. Along similar lines, I would also bet that children of these "Chinese mothers" often study science/math/engineering in college and a very small proportion major in the liberal arts i.e. History, English, etc, because the odds of employment are higher ex-post. Whether or not these effects carry on to the future generations, specifically, the second generation (F2 and beyond, for you geneticists), would be interesting to know.
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