A Tiger among Us(a)|人中之虎

A Tiger among Us

by Rebecca A. Fratzke

An epic battle between East and West over the education of children is brewing.

In 2011, Amy Chua put out a book that got people talking. It was bold, odd, and oftentimes misunderstood. Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, is her memoir about the challenges of being a parent and trying to keep to the strict upbringing she knew as a child. Controversy over the book arose because many readers did not get the impression that Chua was trying to be humorous about her parenting methods. There was also miscommunication about the purpose of the book. Many received it as a guide for other parents on how to use strict methods to discipline and motivate their children. However, Chua has always claimed the aim of her book was solely to share her experiences, successes, and failures as a parent in a culturally diverse world.

In Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua compares Western and Chinese beliefs and methods of parenting. In general, Chua says Chinese parents, or those with traditionally strict upbringings, believe a child's academic success is directly linked to parenting skills. She also says it is common for such parents to make threats and take drastic measures to make their children do exactly what they say. This can include refusing to feed children until they play their piano lessons perfectly or taking away all toys if they get test questions wrong. In contrast, Chua states that Western parents worry more about their children's self-esteem, which drives their parenting methods. As a result, parenting methods have become less strict and children are not held to the high standards they were in the past.

人中之虎

针对儿童教育，东方与西方之间正在酝酿一场史诗般的战役。

2011年，蔡美儿出版了一本让人议论纷纷的书。这本书大胆、新奇、却常被误解。蔡的著作《虎妈的战歌》内容是关于她为人父母面临挑战的回忆录，此外也和她试图保持儿时所认知的严厉管教有关。针对此书出现了许多争议，原因在于许多读者从书中得到的印象并不是蔡美儿想以幽默诙谐的方式谈论她的养育方式。关于此书的目的也被误解。许多读者认为它是一本指南，以指导其他家长如何使用严格的方法来约束并激励自己的孩子。然而，蔡美儿始终声称这本着作的目的纯粹是要分享她以身为多元文化世界中的母亲所拥有的经验及成败。

在《虎妈的战歌》一书中，蔡美儿比较了西式和中式的育儿教养信念及方法。一般来说，蔡美儿指出，中国的家长或那些传统上教养严格的家长认为，孩子的学业成绩优异和为人父母教养技巧有直接的关联。她并指出，为了使孩子完全照家长所言行事，使用威胁和极端的手段是很常见的。这些手段包括不让孩子吃饭，直到他们可以在钢琴课中完全弹对，或是假如孩子答错考题，就夺走孩子所有的玩具。相较之下，蔡美儿表示西方家长更担心的是他们儿女的自尊，孩子的自尊才是推动他们育儿教养方式的力量。结果，养育方式变得较不严厉，且孩子们无法维持以往的高标准。