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.

The U.S. Constitution doesn't mention God or any specific religion.

The U.S. Constitution doesn't mention God or any specific religion. But if it did, it would place the United States in the company of nations like these:

AFGHANISTAN "…no law shall run counter to the principles of the sacred religion of Islam…"

ALBANIA "…with faith in God and/or other universal values…"

BAHRAIN "…the Qur'an has been remiss in nothing."

BHUTAN "Blessed with…the protection of our guardian deities…"

INDONESIA "…the sovereign Republic of Indonesia which is based on the belief in the One and Only God…"

IRELAND "In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred.… Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial…"

NEPAL "Nepal is a multiethnic, multilingual, democratic, independent, indivisible, sovereign, Hindu and Constitutional Monarchical Kingdom."

NORTH KOREA "Comrade Kim II Sung was a genius ideological theoretician and a genius art leader, an ever victorious, iron-willed brilliant commander, a great revolutionary and politician, and a great human being. Comrade Kim II Sung's great idea and achievements in leadership are the eternal treasures of the nation…"

PAKISTAN "Whereas sovereignty over the entire Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust…"

RWANDA "Trusting in God Almighty…"

SAUDI ARABIA "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its religion; God's Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, God's prayers and peace be upon him, are its constitution…"

Mother Jones, Dec2005, Vol. 30 Issue 7, p13-13, 1/3p

Peace Be Upon You...Save Us in Bahrain

America is Bahrain's most powerful ally. As with Egypt, the U.S. has sold advanced military equipment to the kingdom, including aircraft, attack helicopters, and battle tanks. Last year, the U.S. provided around $20 million in military aid to Bahrain. 

Bahrain is also the homeport for the U.S. Fifth Fleet. From there, U.S. warships and contingents can keep an eye on everything!

Secretary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have called their counterparts in Bahrain. President Obama called Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.

"People have certain universal rights including the right to peaceful assembly," the White House said in a statement Friday. "The United States urges the governments of Bahrain, Libya and Yemen to show restraint in responding to peaceful protests, and to respect the rights of their people."

It sounds perfect!  

Intervention has always been a very contentious concept in International Law.

America has a great interest in the region. The American oil companies moved into the region in 1920 but they succeeded in making formidable penetration after the Second World War. They obtained a quarter share of the Iraq Petroleum Company, the entire concessions of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, one half of the concessions of Kuwait and 40 percent share of Iranian oil after the Second World War.

While the Obama administration has made immediate demands on the royal family to stop the violence and preserve remaining channels for reform, there is more to be done!

The U.S. must urge that King Hamad launch an investigation into the conduct of the security forces and stop the recruitment of non-Bahrainis and take immediate steps to re-empower the Bahraini parliament .

King Hamad must stop the distrust sown between Sunnis and Shiites! This false problem has obscured the underlying problem in Bahrain! 

The true problem is the rule of the few over the wishes of the many!! 

Revolutions shows that there is a link between peace and justice., and unless this link is understood  by these dictators, unrest and violence will continue until justice FOR ALL is realized!

Are Schools Better Off When Many Students Question Authority?

Questioning about a fact or a particular subject is basic human nature. Asking questions makes students extrovert as they do not hesitate in talking to anyone. 

When students ask questions, they clear their doubts about ideas, and provide an indirect help in the upliftment of schools. 

Asking questions is not only the human nature, but it is a human right! It was because of Einstein, who challenged the postulates of Newton's theory, that today scientists have been able to beget the string theory. Also, Galileo could ascertain the fact that the earth was round, because he challenged the orthodox beliefs existing at that time.

Countries like India and America were able to achieve independence, when people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King questioned the high officials and authorites. Despite the ill treatment by the authorities they maintained their calm and composure, and never resorted to misdemeanor.

Indeed, questioning the authority helps in the overall upliftment of schools and societies. 

Questioning and resoning does reflect the acumen of students. That is why I have organized a Socratic Dialogue in the Middle School. Every Tuesday, we have a Socratic Dialogue in our classroom and teenagers understood that it is worth our while to talk about important subjects and about how we ought to live!

A Socratic Dialogue encourages students to reflect and think independently and critically. The Students self-confidence in their own thinking is enhanced and the search for truth in answer to a particular problem is undertaken in common.

The questions are drawn from ethics, politics, epistemology, mathematics, psychology, ....and are of a general nature. The endeavour of the students is to reach consensus as a means to deepen their investigation of the topic.

Libya and the U.S. and OIL

Once upon a time the U.S. had legitimized Colonel Muammer al-Qadaffi's regime, which was guilty of political repression and had a long history of human rights violations, and today U.S. is backing force in Libya. 

But why is U.S. backing force in Libya but not in Bahrain??? It will be the topic of another post...

Once referred to as the "mad dog" of the Middle East by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Qadaffi has sought reconciliation with the U.S. and the West by abandoning weapons programs, denouncing terrorism, and providing reparations payments for the families of victims killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.  

Bush administration took the wrong step in normalizing diplomatic relations with Libya because there was no evidence of genuine progress in Libya toward a more democratic government!

Today, the U.S. and the West are all mad again at the revolutionary, idealistic at best, tyrannical, and delusional at worst, and the longest serving head of state in the Arab world: Qadaffi!

Since Libyan crisis began, oil prices have risen about 20$ a barrel and gas prices are up about 50 cents a gallon. 

Therefore, helping Libyans to get rid of their dictator is indeed now much more important than taking the time to help Ivorians to get rid of Gbagbo! The U.S. and the rest of the world are addicted to oil!

The left in the U.S. and France were chanting no blood for oil! This popular slogan says it all! The Libyan crisis occurred between the winter home heating oil and spring driving seasons.

Libya has Africa's largest crude oil reserves. Qadaffi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities in order to send his message to the U.S and the West: It's either me or chaos!

Nigeria What an ELECTION!

It is election, not WAR! Bombs, paramilitary, police, security agents on the prowl!!!

The Independent Electoral Commission, INEC has postponed the National Assembly elections across the country  till Monday, April 4th, 2011.

Before the postponement was announced, the elections  had started, Saturday morning with hitches caused by poor logistics, as materials arrived in many polling stations late and could not even get to other areas in the country.

 Voters were lining up in Kano on Saturday.

The resheduled election is for 109 seats in the Senate and 360 seats for the House of Representatives.

 A total of 73.5 million people across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, were registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to vote in the 120,000 polling booths designated for the purpose.

Presidential comes up on April 9, and the Governorship/State Assembly is scheduled for April 16.

The elections are the most expensive in Nigeria's history with INEC requesting N87.7 billion.

Popular protests in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso borders on Mali in the west and north, on Niger in the northeast, on Benin in the southeast, and on Togo and Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire in the south. Ouagadougou is the capital and the largest city.  

Burkina Faso, the tiny West African nation, has a vibrant youth who has been protesting against the regime.

A student, Justin Zongo who was placed on custody, has been killed. Justin Zongo's mistreatment led to his death. The police said that the student had menigintis which is not true! This lie has amplified the protests to the entire country. 

Since the end of the so-called revolutionary period after the coup d'état on 15 October 1987, which took the life of Thomas Sankara, there have been several face-offs with the regime of Blaise Compaore.

Lila Chouli gives a behind-the-scenes view on protests. She wrote, "The regime quickly returned to its authoritarian and military reflexes when demonstrations spread throughout the country and a turning point came on 11 March, the day the student union ANEB had called for a mass demonstration."

Then, she added, "The capital was completely sealed off by the army, the police and the gendarmes, who put down the protests. It was only that evening that Blaise Compaore deigned to address the nation for the first time since the unrest began. But he only talked about the material damage caused to public and private property."

Burkina Faso is a parliamentary republic governed under the constitution of 1991, as amended. The executive branch is headed by a president, who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term and is eligible for a second term.  

The prime minister, who is the head of government, is appointed by the president. The unicameral legislature consists of a 111-member National Assembly, whose members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into 45 provinces.

Is Nigeria ready for Fair and Clean Elections?

Amnesty International has urged the Nigerian authorities to act to stem a rising tide of political, ethnic and religious violence.

Nigerian authorities have decided to postpone Saturday's parliamentary elections to Monday. There are not able to organize themselves even though they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in public money trying to hold this election which is already running at least three or four months late.

"The federal government has directed that all land borders be closed from 12pm (1100 GMT) on Friday, 1 April, 2011 to 6am (0500 GMT) on Sunday, 3 April, 2011," Emmanuel Ihenacho, the minister of interior, said in a statement.

Goodluck Jonathan, from the country's south, is expected to win the presidential poll. His main challenger, Muhammadu Buhari,running on the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) platform, has major support in the country's mostly from the North. 

I hope that Nigeria can break with a history of vote fraud and violence. Nigerians have a strong desire for change. They have been outbursts of violence, including bomb blasts and attacks on political rallies.

No voting equipment, no election officials, and no security. How do we expect people to go and vote!! Nigeria must organize elections for 150 million people across its 36 states.

Africa's most populous nation is facing its most unpredictable polls!

Petition in defence of Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has criticized publicly Israel's policy towards Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank. 

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has publicly criticised Israeli policy towards Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank. He has also criticised Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians. These criticisms are well-known.

During the Second World War, Nazi Germany killed socialists, Roma people, resistance fighters, and six million Jews were transferred to ghettos and concentration camps before being murdered. This crime against humanity must never be forgotten. Its legacy and lessons must be guarded by all of humanity. 

But to call the Archbishop Desmond Tutu an anti-Semite, that is not acceptable!! to call him an anti-Semite because he has attacked the policies of the Israeli government is OUTRAGEOUS! 

Desmond Tutu embodies the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the rights contained in which pertain equally to Palestinians and Israelis. Desmond Tutu has dedicated his life for a more caring and just society in which Palestinian rights must be respected and valued and Israeli rights must be respected and valued. 

Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu calls for an END to Israeli Occupation. People in America are scared "to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful, very powerful," Tutu said, and because they fear that to criticize Israel is "to immediately be dubbed anti-Semitic."  


Reverend Canon Richard Toll said, "All religions, men and women from all over the world are waking up and giving one message: END THE OCCUPATION"

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/defend-tutu/ "Tutu's life has been lived in the spirit of "never again" - the ultimate lesson of the Holocaust"

Economic Freedom

I believe that individual freedom in economic decision making is a necessary rampart against the tyranny of the state of economic power of priviliged elites.

If women are not financially independent, they cannot feel secure. Even in the sweetest of marriages, a woman needs that economic freedom and power. 

Teachers in developing countries have most of the time annually renewable contracts. In order to ensure a clean, healthy physical environment in school buildings, teachers need to have a contract that make them feel secure. 

Teachers do not get the respect, the freedom, the compensation, or the rewards that many of them deserve. The way that teacher salaries are set in is nonsensical. Effectiveness in the classroom does not lead to higher salaries. A dynamic teacher and a weak teacher have the same salary! A teacher's experience must push him/her higher up the scale. Each September, teachers on the main pay scale must move to the next point on the scale.

A proper teacher contract should take into consideration health insurance, life insurance, working days, vacation and sick days, a step program, and cost of living increase. Unused sick days must be exchange for a bonus.

 

A teacher contract must also stress professional growth and it must cover the time frame of one school year.

Since we do not have a tax-free salary, then the school must pay the teacher for one school year. 

Teachers play an important role in shaping the minds of our youth, by engaging, inspiring and challenging them. People who choose to teach as a career do it because they love to teach. 


Therefore, teachers deserve your support and your gratitude.

"read the word and the world"

Pablo Freire (1972) invited literacy learners to "read the word and the world". With that invitation, he introduced them to critical literacy as a means to fundamentally approach text from a uniquely positioned stance.

According to Freire (as cited in Cervetti, Pardales, & Damico, 2001),

Critical literacy understands that literacy practices must always have social justice, freedom, and equity as central concerns. Further, textual meaning is understood in the context of social history and power relations, and not solely as the product or intention of the author.

Sus principales obras y aportes han sido tres:

• La educación como práctica de la libertad. En esta obra, como nos deja ver su nombre, resume lo que veníamos exponiendo; el empleo de la educación para desarrollar la libertad de las personas.
• Pedagogía del oprimido. Aquí realiza un estudio y análisis de las causas que oprimen a un hombre y cómo hacer para dar vuelta dicha situación.
• Extensión o comunicación. Profunda critica a las tradicionales formas y campañas de alfabetización, las cuales Freire considera que adolecen de graves y grandes faltas.

Bejamin Franklin on Pros and Cons

“My way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a line into two Columns, writing over the one PRO, and over the other CON”

Benjamin Franklin (1772)