[Xmca-l] Re: Some facts about cultural "triple packages"

[Katherine Wester Neal]

Thanks for sending, Greg. I also found it hard to keep watching. I have read Amy Chua's "tiger mom" book, and this TED talk seems to be a way to validate and extend the parenting ideas that she lays out in the book (which I find to be harsh and a bit mean-spirited). I have many issues with their claims, but I'll just mention two.

First, I don't think their generalizations/facts are very useful. They perpetuate the idea, for example, that stereotypes are acceptable, especially if they're "true," which is probably where the comment that they're racist came from. It is also unhelpful to tell white, middle class parents one more time that "other" kids are going to outperform their kids and their kids are falling behind. This sort of scarcity rhetoric hurts kids and parents, in part because it sets up an us/them dichotomy.

Second, as Greg said, there's no theory. I am suspect of facts, such as these, without theory because they don't account for how the facts were produced. 

Katie

Katie Wester-Neal
Doctoral Candidate
University of Georgia





On Sep 15, 2014, at 11:41 PM, "Greg Thompson" <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com> wrote:

Been enjoying the party, and apropos of David's call for some facts (which
I'm in full support of - despite being a theory-wonk), I thought I'd offer
this Ted talk that was sent to me by an LCHC colleague:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHUMcxaqm9U

Lots of facts in there, and not a little theory.

They've got big claims about the facts of their program in inner-city
schools and about inequality too (you have to listen to the end to hear
about that).

What do you think?

Anything to it?

Anyone have any facts to counter their facts?

-greg

​p.s., I'm still listening to it right now. Not sure I'm going to be able
to stomach the entire talk... getting a little queasy. Feeling like someone
is selling me something that is going to cost me a ton and I'm not going to
like. Ugh..​.


-- 
Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
882 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson