Culturebox: Hear the Tiger Mother Roar

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books Hear the Tiger Mother Roar Amy Chua's new book will make her readers gasp--with horror and with envy. By Ann Hulbert Posted Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011, at 12:43 PM ET Almost exactly a century ago, two Harvard professors--Dr. Boris Sidis, in psychology, and Dr. Leo Wiener, in the Slavic literature department--riled America by showcasing their two prodigy sons and the methods that had produced them, both Harvard-ready math marvels. While 11-year-old William James (Billy) Sidis stunned the university's Mathematical Club with a lecture on the fourth dimension and 15-year-old Norbert Wiener plunged into graduate studies, Dr. Sidis insisted that anyone could nurture such youthful prowess. The only obstacle, he argued, was the American embrace of mediocrity. "Poor old college owls, academic barn-yard-fowls and worn-out sickly school-bats," he scolded in his 1911 book Philistine and Genius, "you are panic-stricken by the power of sunlight, you are in agonizing, in mortal terror of critical, reflective thought, you dread and suppress the genius of the young." Now it's Yale's turn. In a book with a title very much in the pugnacious Sidis spirit, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua, a professor at the university's law school, sets out to provoke with her account of raising two precociously talented daughters. Chua, now making the TV rounds, is well aware her methods will make her readers gasp--with horror but also with unexpected envy. To continue reading, click here. Ann Hulbert is the author of Raising America: Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Shafer: Loughner's Shaven Head and Zombie Grin Make His Photo an Avatar of Evil Before Rushing To Judge Loughner's Parents, Remember Susan Klebold Liberals Who Love Sheriff Dupnik Should Learn About His Stances on Immigration and Guns	Advertisement
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