The Warrior Mother

This post begins with the recognition Amy Chua's book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" has just come out in Canada and hasn't been widely read. Margaret Wente wrote an interesting piece on it:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/margaret-wente/how-to-raise-a-no-1-child/article1871060/

But, whether really Ms Wente endorsed a lot of its philosophy is up for grabs.

However, Margaret Wente does list a lot of the activities Ms Chua's daughters are not allowed to participate in: sleepovers, drama or school theatre, extra-curricular activities, watch television, have computers. Ms Chua is also quite rude to her children.

Well, my three daughters are independently educated (I like the phrase better than "homeschooling") and they are not allowed to participate in sleepovers, watch television, or have computers. They do a lot of team and solo sports; they play piano and guitar; they volunteer with Canada's Nature Conservancy and at the local library. So, in some ways, they are being raised in a manner very similar to Ms Chua's daughters and, in other ways, they are really quite different. Unlike Ms Chua, I am not rude to my children; her behaviour, if described accurately by Ms Wente, is ignorant and I refuse to believe symbolic of the Chinese culture. Respect is not taught that way and I know of no family in any culture where it would be acceptable.

However, the essay got me thinking. A few posts ago, I commented on Don Tapscott's endorsement of more school oriented technology. I wonder about the absence of commentary on computer technology in the article on Ms Chua's book. Among the top scorers on the PISAs (UNESCO's method of rating international educational standards) were Finland, China, and Singapore. These countries advocate well-educated children and not, particularly in China's example, particularly computer literate ones. Ms Chua's daughters are also well-educated; according to Ms Wente, they are well-educated by Chinese standards. She then goes on to discuss Ms Chua's method of parenting. What Ms Wente does not discuss is the absence of technology and its effect on the Chua girls. It is so easy to criticize the parenting method and, yet, completely overlook the obvious. Mr. Tapscott argues computers are the educational tools of the future but the most successful schools are not heavily endowed with them.

This is not to say I am a Luddite or completely against computer literacy; but I do wonder if one of the reasons Western educational standards are falling is because the computer has distracted so many students from the obvious, most basic word or number on the paper. Neil Postman wrote, years ago in a pre-facebook, google universe, that society was amusing itself to death. I would suggest it is not amusement, more distraction; one thing Ms Chua's children and mine do have in common is an ability to concentrate. As I regard all the flashing media in the society around me, I cannot but wonder if, maybe, some of the soul searching on Western Education should focus on actual pen and paper education rather than technological toys. You know as I write that, I think of all the corallories technology involves; for example, school budgets increase because of computer purchases rather than books. Yet, books have proven validation; I don't know about computers. It is just difficult to accept the criticism of one particular style of education without seriously regarding the most heavily endorsed attribute of one's own.

Reaction to the Private Tuition Fee Increase in England

Just another article on the fees increase of university tuition in England:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/07/universities-intake-simon-hughes

Two very quick comments:

1) the idea of improving the quality of education in public schools is always a good idea...though in Canada, improving quality education in elementary schools usually means more money and technology not an investment in teachers. Please look at the PISA schools, Finland, China and Singapore, and recognize that a quality education in no way means more technology or computer games. This is not saying computers are bad, they just have to be relevant to the educating of children and not the other way around; they are a tool to use. Though I do think the way they are in schools, people forget that piece of information.

2) there is a great comment by bishop29 (after the article) which highlights the fact a LOT of private schools in England are given charitable status; seems an oxymoron doesn't it? It does illustrate the point that when one is unquestionably well-off, there are tax breaks and when one is on a lesser income and attends a local school, usually, one has to pay more for what should be standard (ie notebooks, pencils, music lessons).

An Expensive Education

Just an example of university education becoming the privilege of the wealthy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/world/europe/03iht-educLede03.html?hpw

Prof. Nussbaum, among others, is proven correct.