'Tiger Mom' Amy Chua Argues Jews, Mormons Are More Successful in New Book
Yale Law professor and self-proclaimed "Tiger Mom" Amy Chua is releasing a new book – The Triple Package, in which she argues that certain cultural groups, such as Jews and Mormons, produce more successful people than others, and gives her reasons why.
"That certain groups do much better in America than others – as measured by income, occupational status, test scores and so on – is difficult to talk about," she writes along with her husband, co-author Jed Rubenfeld, according to The New York Post. "In large part, this is because the topic feels so racially charged."
The eight groups who are said to produce more successful people than others include: Jewish, Indian, Chinese, Iranian, Lebanese-Americans, Nigerians, Cuban exiles and Mormons.
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Chua and Rubenfeld list three reasons for why these groups do better: superiority complex, insecurity, and impulse control – which they define as the ability to resist temptation, especially the temptation to give up in the face of hardship or quit instead of persevering at a difficult task.
Chua first stirred debate in 2011 with her memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, where she argued that strict Chinese parenting was superior and produced very successful children. In the book she explained that she would not accept grades less than an A from her two daughters, allowed no sleepovers or school plays, and made them practice piano for hours with no breaks, among other things.
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote in an April 2011 article that "the problem is not the seriousness with which Amy Chua takes her mothering task, but with her goals."
"The Christian worldview honors achievement and the stewardship of gifts, but not at the expense of faithfulness to Christ," he stated. "Achievement, as the world sees it, may at times be a stumbling block to Christian faithfulness."
The "Tiger Mom's" latest book has received some criticism on Twitter:
"If you thought her parenting advice was reprehensible, get a load of Tiger Mom's new theory about racial superiority," Salon.com tweeted on Monday.
Michael Clemens, senior fellow & research manager at The Center for Global Development, tweeted, "Amy Chua, contra Paul Collier, thinks Nigerian culture makes 'superior' immigrants. http://bit.ly/1cuqU97 Both views pseudoscience trash." He later added, "There is zero scientific evidence that Nigerian culture is 'inferior' to American culture, or 'superior'."
"Tiger Mom Amy Chua horrifyingly perpetuates model minority myths," said Roopika Risam, assistant professor of English at Salem State University, on Saturday.
The new book releases Feb. 4.
