Is extreme parenting effective, or is it ineffective and bordering on abusive?

Amy Chua's memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which is about raising her two daughters, provoked a huge number of reader responses, both positive and negative. Amy Chua is a professor at Yale Law school in New Haven, Connecticut. 

Chua's daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were subjected to very strict discipline as young children. As Chua writes in the book: "Here are some things my daughters... 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 to be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama....

Chua describes forcing Louisa, then seven years old, to stay up all night, without bathroom breaks or a drink, until she could play a difficult part of piano piece she had been learning.  

Is extreme parenting effective? Is such strict parenting as Chua describes effective? 

What is successful parenting? Is it raising an academically successful child? Is it raising a happy child? 

I believe that the mandate to come out on top every time is unrealistic and condemns most children to failure. Such children also tend to lack initiative having always had their decisions made for them by their authoritarian parents. These children never develop the creativity that comes from exploration. 

A more relaxed parenting style is better for building children's self-confidence because the children see that their parents' love does not depend on their academic success. 

The debate over parenting styles is unlikely to disappear!! 

Andersen, Charlotte Hilton. "The Question No One Is Asking in the Tiger Mom Debate." Huffington Post, January 16, 2011, www.huffingtonpost.com.

Belkin, Lisa. "On Chinese Mothers and American Kids." New York Times, January 11, 2011, www.nytimes.com.

Belsky, Jay. "Parent to Child: I Am NOT Your Friend (Nor Should I Be)." Psychology Today, September 12, 2008, www.psychologytoday.com.

Chua, Amy. "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior." Wall Street Journal, January 8, 2011, online.wsj.com.

What is a book talk, and how can it be useful in helping students select literature for themselves?

During a book talk, students discuss with classmates books they have read, heard or discovered. The teacher can have a book talk in her/his classroom every month.

For example, teachers can pair up students for a free choice book and give the students a deadline to finish the book. Then, in class, the students can discuss the book and they will need to name five important things they liked about the book (intriguing setting, changes in setting, intense conflicts, exciting plot events, interesting twist, changes in character, characters they love or hate, how the protagonist and antagonist interact, mood changes, or an ongoing theme). The students will be given a “chat form” to fill in while they are discussing with their partner. 

  

Then, it will be useful for the teacher and the students to follow a rubric. Ann Tanona has created an interesting rubric with her class. I have found very interesting because rubrics are important for providing feedback. Ivey said that “the more specific feedback is, the better” (99). 

Figure 2 BOOK TALK RUBRIC
Criteria	Quality
Did I get my audience's attention?	Creative beginning	Boring beginning	No beginning
Did I tell what kind of book?	Tells exactly what type of book it is	Not sure, not clear	Didn't mention it
Did I tell something about the main character?	Included facts about character	Slid over character	Did not tell anything about main character
Did I mention the setting?	Tells when and where story takes place	Not sure, not clear	Didn't mention setting
Did I tell one interesting part?	Made it sound interesting - I want to buy it!	Told part and skipped on to something else	Forgot to do it
Did I tell who might like this book?	Did tell	kipped over it	Forgot to tell
How did I look?	Hair combed, neat, clean clothes, smiled, looked up, happy	Lazy look	Just-got-out-of-bed look, head down
How did I sound?	Clear, strong, cheerful voice	No expression in voice	Difficult to understand- 6-inch voice or screeching