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Alex Chediak

Helping young adults thrive at college and beyond

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Education in Asia and the West

May 11, 2011 by Alex Chediak

Amy Chua, author of the best-selling, controversial book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, has an article in today’s USA Today on the importance of blending the best elements of Asian and western educational methods. An excerpt:

The average American child spends 66% more time watching television than attending school. We have alarming rates of teenage substance abuse and the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the developed world. In the recent Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests, American high school students ranked 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math — with Asian nations taking top marks. This is a problem across the board. Even America’s top math students rank poorly compared with top performers elsewhere.

On the other hand, America’s universities are the envy of the world, a magnet for the best and brightest from every continent. We need to think candidly about what America does well and what it doesn’t. Some friends and I recently had a mini-epiphany about this. We were lamenting how the new media bombardment — iPods, Facebook, texting — makes it even harder for our kids to concentrate on their homework. But one friend wondered how can you teach a teenager to concentrate? And it occurred to us: You can’t. Self-discipline and focus are skills that have to be instilled when children are young — and that’s one thing the Asian nations excel at. The great virtue of America’s system is that our kids learn to be leaders, to question authority, to think creatively. But there’s one critical skill where our kids lag behind: learning how to learn.

Chua’s point is that “if in their early years we teach our children a strong work ethic, perseverance and the value of delayed gratification, they will be much better positioned to be self-motivated and self-reliant when they become young adults.” The article also notes that in China Chua’s book is being branded and marketed as a testimony to the importance of giving kids more freedom.

Full Disclosure: I don’t intend this as unqualified praise of Chua.  I’ve not read her book, just the WSJ article that caused a stir. The article offers some instructive lessons; for example, self-confidence is best if tethered to actual accomplishment, or else it morphs into self-deception and empty conceit–a principle I also unpack in Thriving at College.  But in terms of methodology and relative value, Chua seems to go too far.  Dr. Mohler offers a helpful corrective to what he perceives as Chua’s overly professional bent:  “the Christian worldview honors achievement and the stewardship of gifts, but not at the expense of faithfulness to Christ. Achievement, as the world sees it, may at times be a stumbling block to Christian faithfulness.”

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Filed Under: Thriving at College, Culture

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With One Voice

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Praise for With One Voice

This relatively short book packs a powerful bang for the buck, providing much biblical and practical advice for young men and women seeking to glorify God in relationships.

Alex and Brett Harris
Best-selling authors of Do Hard Things

Alex and Marni Chediak offer sound biblical advice and a clear Christian framework for working through the maze of confusions surrounding modern marriage.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Publishers have been cranking out books with all sorts of directions to help Christians navigate the treacherous waters between the buoys of singleness and marriage, and I know of none that is more clear, concise and helpful than With One Voice.

J. Ligon Duncan, III Ph.D.
Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church

With One Voice is clearly written and God-centered. Our eighteen year-old daughter just read it and restrained herself from underlining nearly the whole thing!

Dr. Bruce A. Ware
Professor of Christian Theology
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

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