Tiger Teaching, Music Education and American Competitiveness

"America is today the strongest, most influential and most productive nation in the world"

-Dwight D. Eisenhower  

In post World War II America, President Eisenhower imposed this sense of nationalism that would deem our country a leader of nations.  This title has been increasingly threatened in recent years, with a crippling job market and education system.  Why are we so competitive?  The answer lies with Eisenhower’s declaration and the determination to uphold our title as the “greatest country in the world.”

Click here for insight into why America is struggling. (There is some graphic language).

During the initial power surge of the 1950’s, America made great strides in music education.  I can’t say I’m surprised, due to the dedication required to learn how to play an instrument.  The National Association of Music Education (NAfME) and the American String Teacher’s Association (ASTA) were formed to revamp the music education system during this time of nationalism and are still live organizations today, along with many others.

So what does all of this have to do with “Tiger Teaching?” Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother examines the clashing parenting styles of Eastern and Western cultures, many of which relate to the expectations parents have for their children.  This gives parenting a competitive edge, especially for Chua...

“As I watched American parents slathering praise on their kids for the lowest of tasks-drawing a squiggle or waving a stick-I came to see that Chinese parents have two things over their Western counterparts: (1) high dreams for their children, (2) higher regard for their children in the sense of knowing how much they can take” (Chua, 8).

Chua wanted her daughters to gain a meaningful education by choosing hobbies that required a great amount of dedication to succeed; the piano and violin.  According to Chua, these instruments were “highly difficult with the potential for depth and virtuosity” (Chua, 9).  There are few professional musicians who could argue with this declaration; however, they might argue with the competitive attitudes Lulu and Sophia were exposed to during their early experiences with music.  To explore music education and the effects of different teaching styles, I pulled the following article from Music Educator’s Journal.  I chose to focus on Behavioralism and Cognitivism because these two theories have driven education in concert and in opposition to each other, much like theories on successful parenting. A third approach, called Humanism, is more recent. While I see many traces of the former two theories in Chua’s parenting and education ideals, there are also humanistic qualities to Sophia and Lulu’s experiences with music.

Behavioralism Cognitivism

Humanism

For reactions to Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Amy Chua, visit the following sites:

Amy Chua and Asian Parents

"Didn't Expect this Level of Intensity"

"Tiger Mom" Amy Chua responds to uproar

Balanced Parenting: Lessons from The Tiger Mother

After reading Amy Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, I reacted the way many other American parents did. I became defensive and paranoid of my own parenting style, as if she were suggesting that my own personal parenting choices were inferior to that of eastern parenting styles and thus my children were in danger of not achieving great success. I felt like some kind of lackadaisical pushover who wasn't doing nearly enough for my two very capable girls. I even contemplated sending them to piano lessons, but I knew they would just laugh at me and that made me feel even worse.

That was my first reaction. Upon further reflection of the book, I have come to believe that both sides of the debate have benefits and downfalls. This is why the lesson of the Tiger Mother is that of balance. If we are to read this text and gain any wisdom from it, it should be that everything is about balance, and if we lean too heavily in any direction, as I would humbly suggest Chua did with the raising of her two girls, the end result could be less than desirable.

Chua begins her book with a list of her strict parenting rules. While her rhetoric was good at stimulating my curiosity, I question the benefits to such a rigid and unbalanced regimen for young children. Research in the field of education has determined that kids benefit greatly from playtime, and being allowed to socialize as play freely reduces anxiety and stress. A study done by Krystyan Kryko suggests three areas of development that benefit most from play:

Social Development

In the social domain free play allows for the development of cooperation, sharing, and language acquisition. When children create and participate in games of their own choosing they learn how to resolve conflicts and develop respect for rules and the opinions of others. It is through play that children begin to gain a sense of self and an appreciation for their abilities.

Emotional Development

Unstructured play provides children with an outlet for reducing anxiety. Children learn to manage stress and gain self control. They also have an opportunity to express themselves to others by rehearsing behaviors and practicing skills that assist in monitoring their own emotions.

Cognitive Development

Unstructured play allows for the development of cognitive understandings through hands on experiences, exploration, and the use of manipulative materials. The context of play provides the most appropriate scaffolding for children as they develop their skills. After children practice their skills in play situations they use their newly aquires skills in different contexts.

 

My concern here is that Chua does not allow for the necessary stress-reducers that a child (or adult, for that matter) needs. It should be of no surprise then, that eastern cultures have some of the highest female suicide rates in the world, with China leading the way.

This graph shows the alarming rates of suicide among males and females across the globe. It is interesting to note that the highest rates of suicide occur within the cultures that practice the Tiger Mother methods of parenting.

This is not to say that Chua's daughters would fall into such a category, but a look at their social media pages could suggests that there may be some causes for concern. A quote from Sophie's Twitter account suggests her anxiety:
 

"To an outsider, I just seem like a list of accomplishments. To me, all there is how often I fail."

 
and in a similar post from her sister Lulu, she states that:
 
"My spirit animal is anxiety."
 
One should wonder if the high levels of depression and anxiety in eastern children are linked to the strong demands placed on them as young children. Would such a child be just as successful if not pushed beyond a reasonable limit? If a child's life was balanced with a healthy amount of work and play, would she/he success regardless? Studies have found that genetics play an increasingly important role in determining who a child will grow up to be. Bryan Caplan discusses the effects of genes in child development in an article in Psychology Today:

Adoption and twin researchers in medicine, psychology, economics, and sociology have spent the last four decades studying almost every trait that parents seek to foster. By comparing adoptees to their adopted families, and identical to fraternal twins, these scientists have finally managed to separately measure the effects of nature and nurture. The effect of genes on health, intelligence, happinesss, success, character, and values is glaringly obvious. The effect of parenting on these traits, in contrast, ranges from small to zero. Amy Chua's daughters didn't need a Tiger Mother to succeed; being the children of two best-selling Yale professors was enough.

I am not suggesting that the western style of parenting is superior in any way to that of others. I believe we could learn a lot from each other, and that parenting should not be a competition among nations. Success is measured in different terms by each individual, and the journey to success should be pleasant, not painful. Balance.
 
 
 
 

On Being Greek, Jewish, and American

The student who wrote this wished to remain anonymous.

Section 1:  Identifying Myself

Starting off with the basics, I am a 19 year old female college student. As a typical college student, I have been involved with many clubs and organizations on campus including Sigma Kappa Sorority, club soccer, Orchesis Dance Company, and Student Association. On the weekends, I like to do what many college students do when the stress of the week is over and the freedom of the weekend comes over us, celebrate with some festive activities! I have a major in International Relations with a concentration in Peace and Conflict, and a double minor in Spanish and Political Science. I used to have a second major in exercise science, but by the words "used to" it's pretty clear how that worked out. I'm a sophomore, a Sigma Kappa 'til I die, a dance enthusiast, a gym rat and sports fanatic, a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a friend, quite possibly an unknown enemy, a Dean's List student, and most importantly the only one like me in the world.

I know I'm a sophomore in college with majors and minors declared, but as you can see with the exercise science major speed bump in the road, I still have no idea what I want to do in this world. With so much pressure from academic advisors and my parents to find what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, I can't help feeling that at the ripe old age of 19, it's okay not to have every answer. I do know, however, that I was put onto Earth for a reason and it is my goal to spend the rest of my life figuring out just what exactly that is. However, I do have some pretty interesting goals in my life. With the obvious first, change the world for the better in any way I can. With my International Relations major, I am hoping to go into diplomacy. Foreign affairs and international relations has always vastly interested me so I think it's pretty cool that I get to study it!

I am Greek. Yes, I am a member of the Greek system; however, I actually am really Greek. My grandparents were born in Chios, Greece, and I am a second generation American. Some people don't even know what their heritage is, let alone celebrate it, but being Greek is actually a pretty big part of my life. I have been to Greece, and my whole family is a pretty typical loud, big, lots-of-food, Greek family. We all speak some of the language and cherish the traditions we have.

I am a Jew. I went to a private Jewish school from nursery all the way to 11th grade, when I transferred to the public high school for various reasons.  I have been to Israel multiple times, and see it as a home. My mother's sister lives there with her husband and four children and multiple grandchildren. The majority of my friends from my private school studied in Israel for 1-2 years post high school, pre-college, as my sister did. I have an immense faith in my Judaism and it is without a doubt one of the most crucial aspects of my identity. I have been a victim of anti-Semitism, disregarding the common "Jew jokes" that seem to always find a way into most of my conversations with others. Being a Jew, in the eyes of some I somehow am personally responsible for the entire Middle East conflict that has begun way before I was even born, an incredibly cheap person, and shockingly have a normal sized nose. Despite all of the digs and minority stabs, I am a proud Jew.

I am an American. Born in the formerly known Harris Hospital, now named Catskill Regional Medical Center, I am a citizen of the United States. I hail from a small farm town in the Catskill Mountains, Bethel, NY, home of the 1969 Woodstock music festival. I'm an incredibly proud American knowing that just from being born on this soil, I have the rights set forth by the founding fathers of this democratic country. I have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and of course the only two things promised in life: death and taxes.

Section 2:  A Significant Experience--9/11
   
On September 11th, 2001, there was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Two planes were hijacked and flown directly into the Twin Towers. Many Americans simply hear the term "9/11" and know exactly to what it refers. To everyone, though, it brings them back to a different place. To some it may bring back the memory of a lost loved one taken away from them by the attack, or it may bring them back to being a little kid at the time and not knowing exactly what had happened or what it meant.

For me, it takes me back to being in the third grade and being called out by the principal, walking to the principal's office and seeing my older brother already there sitting next to two other boys who were brothers. I was confused as to why I was called into the office with this group and realized it was because both of our fathers worked in NYC, either on the same block as or in the World Trade Center. Thankfully, mine was the one who works on the same block. We were told our mothers were on their way to pick us up and that there was an attack in the area where our fathers were. Being in third grade, and the youngest of the students in the office, I had no idea what was going on. When my mom picked up my brother and I, she explained that she had not been able to reach our father yet. Not knowing what had happened to him for hours, finally he was able to contact my mother to tell her that he was okay. He was outside the doors of the World Trade Centers and physically watched the first plane crash into one of the towers. Hours later he was able to take a train into a town outside of NYC where we met him and brought him home safely.
   
This experience was extremely eye-opening to me. What triggered this experience into my connecting it to American identity was when we went to get my father, seeing all of the citizens, victims, firemen and others meeting here at this train station, the only way in and out to the site of the attack. The police officers and firemen who were going into the city risking their own lives to try to save someone else’s. I think that made it very clear that in this nation we are strong and when a national emergency like this happens, the citizens of this country really unite and come together to survive and make it through. We can even turn the site of this national attack into a monument, a place where people can come to grieve, realize, or even just understand what happened there and what it meant. People now make Ground Zero a must-see stop if they visit NYC, and I think it's great that we acknowledged it and can turn it into a place of memory, yes of something tragic, but still never forgotten.

Section 3: My Beliefs/Values/Principles & How We Should Define and Understand American Identities--Who Are We and Who Should We Be?
   
I am an American and believe in many of the values that were set forth by the founding fathers who developed and made this country into the great nation it is. The values that all men are created equal, all men have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Not being discriminated or judged upon the color of your skin, the origin of your parents or grandparents, or your faith. Coming together as one people, one nation. And coming together as one being important as to how preserving individual freedom requires collective action. Our pledge to a declaration written when this country had just become a nation, and our preservation and interpretation of this declaration from the day it was written to today. The preservation of human dignity and justice. All of these things are the beliefs, the values, and the principles that were instilled in me and taught to me as an American, and are the same beliefs, values, and principles I hold dear to me as a human being as well.
   
Unfortunately, all of these things are not necessarily always the case. There are hate crimes in this world and discrimination from people that believe that because you are different from them, you are below them. There is injustice and hardships for many decent people who may not deserve all of the obstacles life has given them. But as Americans, what we should have is an equal opportunity to each and everyone one of us. That for each American, all of the beliefs, values, and principles we are governed by and taught and are our rights to have, should pertain to all of us.  Although this country has overcome many unjust things such as the days of African American slaves and the organizations of hate such as the Ku Klux Klan, there is still much adversity we face. In a perfect world, we would have all love and no hate, and equal opportunity for all, but unfortunately that would be a perfect world, and one that we do not by any means live in.

In class, we watched the video of Blanco reciting the inauguration poem “One Today,” and I believe that the text of this video is what our founding fathers of this country wanted and envisioned when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. We are recited a poem at every presidential inauguration as a reminder of what this nation stands for, as a reminder of what this country believes, and as a reminder of what this nation is capable of.  A nation where there is complete and true freedom of religion and speech. A nation where somebody whose home life and upbringing can be significantly different from another’s, yet they still have the exact same opportunities. Where someone who grew up poor and in a violent neighborhood can turn his/her life around and get an education and succeed. This nation is great and has potential to become even greater, and I am very proud to say I am a citizen of it.

This class has opened my eyes to so many American Identities that I have never taken the time to think about or analyze before. There are so many aspects to identity and so many big and little things that shape someone into exactly who they are. Reading and analyzing books about different aspects and engaging in debates and discussions showed me that they pertain to all. Even just our class is an example, we all came to class the first day not knowing everyone and were shy to speak up and make our point but as the months went by, we all got much more comfortable with each other and were able to respectfully debate and even joke around with each other. I think that bringing young adults together like that with completely different backgrounds and opinions and throwing them into a complete discussion-based class is incredible. We all learned so much about each other, and I have learned so much more about American Identities than I had ever known and my eyes were opened to a much better understanding and appreciation of it.