<p>I haven’t read Amy Chua’s book but I’ve heard several interviews in which she seems to be backpedaling. She and her daughter say that much of what she wrote about math drilling and playdate restriction is hyperbole. According to Chua much of it was meant to be tongue in cheeks. On the snippet of an interview I heard this morning on NPR she spoke of her children at times being deeply unhappy and revealed that she has now let her younger choose to play tennis and quit the violin. She just threw a sleepover party for the same child. </p>
<p>So my question is… how is Amy Chua’s parenting really different from that of the traditional strict American parent?</p>
Are you sure the cheating is related to their being Asian at all? Could it be that these students made their individual wrong choices when their being Asian did not necessarily contribute to it? Could students from other ethenic background make the same mistake or other mistakes of plagrisms or cheating in nature?</p>
<p>Which reminds me, an international student (from Asia I believe) commented in another thread that all the flight attendants on Continental are “fatter”, which was not nice and seemed to be suggesting all American women are fat as in many Asian countries flight attendants are supposed to very “presentable”. </p>
<p>We just don’t think in that fashion and we don’t talk like that.</p>
<p>@DAndrew, you made a very good point, which I made but later decided to delete.</p>
<p>When I went to graduate school, I worked as a teaching assistant where I saw lot of kids trying to cut corners or “cheat” as you will in their homework and tests … none of them asian though in case @zuzu cares to know.</p>
<p>Linking ethnics with ethics is just not such a good idea, especially when the evidence you have put up was so thin and ridiculous.</p>
<p>Periwinkle-different school, different story.
Imo, cheating on the SATs is either an act of extreme hubris or desperation. In light of this discussion, I chose desperation.
Clearly, a jump to conclusions on my part, and I apologize.
zp</p>