By suggesting that the Chinese methods of parenting are better -- or that at least Chinese mothers produce more skillful and successful children -- Chua is touching upon the popular American concern. Just consider that there are a billion like Chua back in China! Chua again appeals to similar rhetoric when she tries to defend her argument. Trying to convince her readers that rote repetition is a good method of learning, she says that it is actually a "fun" learning technique. Here again Chua knows her readers. It is known that the idea of a practice involving "fun" is very important and popular in America. But here, Chua explains that the Chinese method of forcing children to learn more and rigorously through rote repetition may seem harsh and dull for Western parents, but when it is done properly, it is not only a road to success but also a fun practice! But even in appealing to the rhetoric of ethos, Chua makes weak arguments. For example, when she talks about a response by Western and Chinese parents when their children get a B, she rhetorically adds "which would never happen." Unless intended just to make a point by resorting to a deliberate hyperbole, her claim is totally false. The argument is neither logically nor rhetorically sustainable. Likewise, in a recent interview, Chua said: "To be perfectly honest, I know that a lot of Asian parents are secretly shocked and horrified by many aspects of Western parenting," including "how much time Westerners allow their kids to waste -- hours on Facebook and computer games -- and in some ways, how poorly they prepare them for the future" (Dejesus, 2011). But these parents, and Chua in particular, would also be shocked and horrified to learn that today China "is one of the world's biggest markets for online games, with tens of millions of players, many of whom hunker down for hours in front of PCs in public Internet cafes," and that three years ago one Chinese died of exhaustion after playing a computer game for three days straight ("Chinese Man Drops After 3-Day Gaming...
She does not address the ethical dimensions of treating a child in such a harsh manner. She discusses her disputes with her husband, even her own doubts, but at the very end, when she realized that her methods worked in forcing her child to play and succeed, she and her husband were happy. Here, she probably even forgot to consider the sensibilities of her American readers when she says that she "used every weapon and tactic I could think of." Using the rhetoric of "war" in discussing one's parenting methods is surely not the best way of appealing to the sensibilities of Americans, and, I believe, most parents in the world. But again at the end she makes up for that by reminding that Chinese parents' strictness is not a reflection of their evil nature or that they don't care about their children. On the contrary, Chinese parents are ready to do anything to make sure that their children succeed. After a war talk, Chua offers peace and mutual understanding when she says that all Western and Chinese "decent parents want to do what's best for their children."
However, there may be cases when a mild form of corporal punishment such as spanking on buttocks in a reasoned and caring manner, under certain conditions, may have beneficial effects. It is also my opinion -- and for this I am heavily indebted to Cleverley and Phillips -- that no rival model should be rejected outright. All our paradigmatic assumptions must be critically analyzed before we come to a
It is argued that while land tenure data can be instrumental in addressing land-related conflicts, much of the practical value is lost because of inconsistency of information and because information is not readily accessible, or cannot be combined to allow for greater depth of analysis. In practice, this means that policy-makers cannot make immediate use of the information that is available because additional time and expense are required either
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