It is true that every mothers and fathers strive to give their children
the finest development of knowledge so that it supports them blossom in
their career. Two writers who have opposing views based on the parenting
techniques of children are Amy Chua, in her article ‘Why Chinese
Mothers Are Superior’? and David Brooks, in his article ‘Amy Chua is a
Wimp.’ Both of them have similarities and differences in bias in their
article; there are differences in their tone and the way which they
utilize evidences, but both of them depend heavily on evidence to prove
their points.
After reading both of Amy Chua and David Brooks’
article, it is not too difficult to conclude that both of them are in
contrast in tone. In the other word, they have difference biased
attitude toward the topic. Clearly, Brooks’ article comes up with
objective tone. His details, which reason in order to compare two
parenting practices, are mostly neutral and facts. There is no doubt
that social skill are vital for kids’ success. In his article, ‘Amy Chua
is a Wimp,’ David Brooks give the result of research which conducted by
researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie
Mellon that group working are much more efficient at solving problems
than individuals, ‘groups have a high collective intelligence when
members of a group are good at reading each other’s emotions’ (Brooks
58). As the result of the research, he points out that although Amy
Chua’s daughters get straight As and have won a series of musical
competitions, they still need to learn to adapt with real world by
social skills. In his article ‘Amy Chua is a Wimp,’ Brooks declares that
‘this skill set is not taught formally, but it is imparted through
arduous experiences. These are exactly the kinds of difficult
experiences Chua shelters her children from by making them rush home to
hit the homework table’ (Brooks 59). In contrast, Chua’s article was
written with a subjective tone. She uses words that describe her
judgments on Western parenting practice. Yet, her tone is biased. It is
easy to notice that her tone is self-righteous. Amy Chua compares
between Western parents and Chinese mothers that, ‘all the same, even
when Western parents think they’re being strict, they usually don’t come
close to being Chinese mothers’ (Chua 53). Moreover, in her article,
she adds ‘don’t get me wrong: It’s not that Chinese parents don’t care
about their children. Just the opposite. They would give up anything for
their children. It’s just an entirely different parenting model” (Chua
56). In brief, there is clearly differences in bias in Amy Chua and
David Brooks’ article.
Not only they are contrast in the attitude
toward the topic, but also the way that they use evidences to persuade
their point is dissimilar. Amy Chua utilizes evidence to verify that
Western parenting practice is wrong and not as effective as Chinese
parenting practice. In her article, Chua comments, ‘Chinese parents can
do things that would seem unimaginable-even legally actionable-to
Westerners, ‘Hey fatty-lose some weight.’ By contrast, Western parents
have to tiptoe around the issue’ (Chua 54). She also gives her
observation as evidence to convince Westerners treat their kid wrongly.
She adds her observation in her article ‘Why Chinese Mothers are
Superior,’ ‘I also once heard a Western father toast his adult daughter
by calling her ‘beautiful and incredibly competent.’ She later told me
that made her feel like garbage’ (Chua 54). Brooks, in opposite, does
not fight against to prove Chinese parenting techniques are completely
wrong. However, he just want to give evidence so that Chua and Chinese,
in common, understand Western parenting practices are good in some ways.
In Brooks’ article, he clears, ‘So I’m not against the way Chua pushes
her daughters’ (Brooks 59). Furthermore, David Brooks writes in his
article ‘I wish she recognized that in some important ways the school
cafeteria is more intellectually demanding than the library’ (Brooks
59).
Although Brooks and Chua have difference in tone and the way
they use evidence to support their point, both of them rely heavily on
evidence to argue the same topic. Parents’ job is to prepare kids for
the real world. Amy Chua lists many proofs as evidences to prove her
parenting practice is better than Western parenting practices. In her
article, she once informs the result of one study of 50 Western American
mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers; the result shows that ‘almost
70% of the Western mothers said either that ‘stressing academic success
is not good for children’ or that ‘parents need to foster the idea that
learning is fun.’ By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt
the same way’ (Chua 53). Additionally, Chua acknowledges that Western
parenting practice is weak when she asserts ‘Chinese parents can order
their kids to get straight As. Western parents can only ask their kids
to try their best’ (Chua 54). Similarly, David Brooks also uses heavily
evidence to convince reader that Amy Chua’s parenting techniques is not
good for her children in many ways. He points out that Chua’s children
may be good at mathematics and music, but they could not grow up
happily. He argues, ‘Her kid can’t possibly be happy or truly creative.
They’ll grow up skilled and compliant, but without the audacity to be
great’ (Brooks 58). He also reasons Chua’s parenting practice is not
only bad for her kid, but also hers destroy them, ‘She’s destroying
their love for music. There’s a reason Asian-American women between the
ages of 15 and 24 have such high suicide rates’ (Brooks 58).
Undoubtedly, Both Brooks and Chua utilize many proof to prove their
point of view on parenting practice between Western and Chinese.
In
conclusion, Both Amy Chua and David Brooks’ bias in their article ‘Why
Chinese Mothers are superior’ and ‘Amy Chua is a Wimp’ contrast to each
other, also they are comparable. Ms. Chua attempts to poison the well
with her negative tones and comments regarding to Western parenting.
However, Mr. Brooks, in contrast, uses neutral evidences and facts to point out what is wrong in Chua’s parenting techniques. In addition, both two writers are clearly using evidence massively to explain their vision. Both Western and Chinese parents have to know which healthy foods and activities will make their kid strong, and which discipline technique will help them mature in to responsible, talented, and successful adults.
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