Why I love my strict Chinese mom
Jan 22, 2011 English 1st Paragraph
Writer Amy Chua shocked the world with her provocative essay, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” when it appeared in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.
The article, excerpted from her new book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” described “how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids.” It led with a manifesto: “Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do: attend a sleepover; have a playdate; be in a school play; complain about not being in a school play; watch TV or play computer games; choose their own extracurricular activities; get any grade less than an A; not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama; play any instrument other than the piano or violin; not play the piano or violin.”
While Chua says she has received death threats for her comments (one critic called her the “worst mother ever”), the question remains: What do her own children think? Now Chua’s eldest daughter, Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, 18, tells her side of the story exclusively to The Post…
- A strict mother (or father) is a mother that does not give a lot of freedom to her children.
- a provocative essay: a short piece of writing which contains ideas that some people may find shocking and may make them react angrily
- excerpted from her new book: it is (a short part) taken out of her new book
- A hymn is a song, usually a religious one. A battle hymn is a war song.
- Mothers or fathers raise or grow up their children.
- stereotypically successful kids: children who are the typical example of a successful child. [The adverb stereotypically usually has a rather negative meaning, but not here.]
- A sleepover is a kind of of party a group of young people stay for the night at the house of a friend.
- A play date is when a child has a friend or friends who come to his/her home regularly to play together.
- complain: to say that you are not happy about or satisfied with something
- Extracurricular activities are activities such as music etc which are not part of the usual school subjects.
- tells her side of the story exclusively to: … only to …
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