Response To Amy Chua's Essay Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

In her essay “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” Amy Chua informs the readers of the Chinese way of raising a “stereotypically successful child.” The Chinese childrearing method forbids many activities, including having “playdates” and excelling in drama. Chua’s method is not only extreme but also counterproductive. Firstly, when Chua condescendingly refers to the time a child spends bonding with other children as “playdates,” she is ignoring the vital skill learned through these bonds, these personal connections, which can be advantageous in the professional world. For example, imagine that Mary Johnson and Haley Kim are two employees at the same company vying for the same promotion. Haley Kim, being raised the “Chinese” way will put all her effort into her office work and end up staying overtime. Mary Johnson, who was raised the “Western” way, not only puts extra effort into her office work, but she also goes out of her way to form a personal connection …show more content…
I personally benefited from the improvisation exercises we did in my drama class. I learned a lot from observing others’ failures. It was common for my classmates to try to “strategize” the scene, thinking it was something they could control, ignoring the fact that they were not the only persons on the stage. When their scene mates would go off the script only they were reading, I could see it in their faces that they lost their character and no longer knew what to do or say, ruining the scene. When it was my turn to go on stage, I would stay on my toes and adapt to the characters who surrounded me, creating a scene worth watching. The future is unpredictable, and if we spend too much effort planning our days down to the minute, when something unexpected happens we will be slow to react. If we know that curve balls are always inevitable, we can react in an