Off the Bookshelf: The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is one of the most widely-reviewed and controversial books of the year, and some of its anecdotes--Chua calling her daughter "garbage", making her three-year-old stand in the cold until she agreed to practice the piano, and not allowing her daughters to attend playdates and sleepovers, or watch TV and play video games--have been widely cited in newspapers, magazines, and on talk shows.  Chua's stated aim is to explain the style of "Chinese Parenting", which she sets in contrast to "Western Parenting".  In the book, she explains the controversial nature of these terms, as well as their limitations.

With my interest piqued, I downloaded the "sample" of the book on my Kindle, and I soon found myself engrossed by an extraordinarily vivid tale of alpha parenting.  Indeed, I finished the book in just over a day, mainly because Chua's writing style is as hard-charging as her parenting style, and when I put the book down, I needed to catch my breath.  While it might be easy to dismiss Chua's parenting style as "over the top" (and yes, I think she's not just over the top, but WAY over the top), I think her book provides some extraordinary insights about parenting.  In The Atlantic Magazine, reviewer Caitlin Flanagan captures the essence of Chua's arguments and philosophy: 

Kids are inherently strong, not weak; self-esteem derives from accomplishing difficult and worthwhile pursuits; adults are better than children at judging what does and does not constitute a valuable or enriching experience; the better you get at something, the more you will enjoy doing it; and a great deal of what is on offer to American teenagers these days is not only coarsening but downright dangerous.

While I am certainly not advocating some of the extreme parenting measures employed by Chua, her book speaks to the power of high standards and the value of pursuing excellence in a worthwhile activity.  A few years ago, I did an exercise with a group of faculty members, asking them to describe the "best" teacher they ever had, and what quality it was about the teacher that made them so great.  In a room of fifteen teachers, every single person shared essentially the same response: the best teacher they ever had was the most demanding teacher they ever had; someone who pushed them beyond their own perceived limits.

The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a deeply engaging book; it's worth reading.

March Community Letter

Dear Gunston Community:

To read the March Community Letter, please click on this link: community letter
Regards,

John

Off the Bookshelf: The View from Lazy Point

The View from Lazy Point is one of the best books about nature and the environment that I have ever read.  The Barnes and Noble review captures the book well:

Beginning in his kayak in his home waters of eastern Long Island, Carl Safina's The View from Lazy Point takes us through the four seasons to the four points of the compass, from the high Arctic south to Antarctica, across the warm belly of the tropics from the Caribbean to the west Pacific, then home again. We meet Eskimos whose way of life is melting away, explore a secret global seed vault hidden above the Arctic Circle, investigate dilemmas facing foraging bears and breeding penguins, and sail to formerly devastated reefs that are resurrecting as fish graze the corals algae-free.
 
"Each time science tightens a coil in the slack of our understanding," Safina writes, "it elaborates its fundamental discovery: connection." He shows how problems of the environment drive very real matters of human justice, well-being, and our prospects for peace. In Safina's hands, nature's continuous renewal points toward our future. His lively stories grant new insights into how our world is changing, and what our response ought to be.

In addition to his brilliant ability to show the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and the environment, Safina's true gift is his ability to show how seemingly benign changes in the environment at Lazy Point (in a climate similar to the Eastern Shore) actually represents significant larger scale changes occurring on our planet today.

Advancing Gunston's Public Purpose

I recently had the opportunity to attend the National Association of Independent Schools conference in Washington, DC, where the theme was "Advancing our Public Purpose."  The aim was to think about the ways that independent schools can work together with public schools, local municipalities, foundations, states, counties, and our our case, regions, to promote the public good. 

At Gunston, we see ourselves as an important institution in the development of our larger Eastern Shore community, and we are striving to expand our partnerships within the community.  For instance, we partnered with several schools to sponsor a showing of "The Race to Nowhere" several weeks ago, where almost 300 people came to see the film and participate in the discussion.  In addition, our GIVE club (Gunston Initiates Volunteer Efforts) has been involved in dozens of local service projects over the course of its existence.  Currently, among other efforts, we are working with a group of students from Kenard Elementary in Centreville on an oyster restoration project where the aim is to rehabilitate the decimated population of a creature essential to the health of our watershed.

I also had the opportunity to see presentations by a series of gifted speakers and presenters.  Here are some links to some of the speakers' presentations in other contexts:

• Sheena Igyenar: The Art of Choosing--this is a compelling engaging and funny presentation at a TED Conference about the role of choice in our lives.  Dr. Igyenar is a professor at Columbia Business School.
• Geoffrey Canada: Mr. Canada is the founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, and one of the most gifted educators of our time.  Here is the link: 60 Minutes, Geoffrey Canada
• Dan Heath: Mr. Heath is one of the world's leading thinkers on communication.  Here is a short clip about how to make an effective presentation.  He is the author of two best-selling books, Made to Stick and Switch.
• Salman Khan: If you want to glimpse the future of the role of technology in education, it's worth watching this video on the Khan Academy.  Sal Khan's website can be found at http://www.khanacademy.org/.  It is the largest open courseware site in the world.
• Anya Kamentz: She is a journalist who is following innovations in open learning platforms.  Here is her Ted Conference presentation.

Summer Opportunities

This year Gunston is starting a summer camp, as well as a summer academic Honors Academy.  Beyond our program, however, summer opportunities abound for our students, and I wanted to share some resources for finding a great program:

http://www.usummer.com/

http://www.enrichmentalley.com/programs/alphabetical

www.teenlife.com/2011SummerGuide.

http://www.andover.edu/StudentLife/SummerOpportunities/Documents/Alphabetical%20Summer%20Ops.pdf

Powers of Ten: A Video

Several years ago I taught the Theory of Knowledge course in the International Baccalaureate program.  For one of the lessons, we watched the video "Powers of Ten" to trigger a discussion about mathematics, perspective, and the universe.  As a way to understand the relative size of our universe, it is unmatched.  Here it is: Powers of Ten.

As the website notes: "In 1998, 'Powers of Ten' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'."

Headmaster's Holiday

A ski lesson for some of our international students

My first Headmaster’s Holiday was great fun, and although the 10-hour bus ride up to Seven Springs (normally 4 ½) made the first leg of the trip arduous, it was certainly a ride to remember.   Throughout the trip, there were many wonderful moments: the first-night pizza party (though the pizza was lukewarm due to our lengthy bus ride up), the feeling of warmth and camaraderie in our common room where we kept the TV locked on the Weather Channel as Snowmageddon ripped through the Eastern Seaboard, and of course, hours and hours of skiing in almost perfect conditions.  On Thursday night, Mr. Southworth and I even braved the bracing water of the swimming pool and Andy Doucet’s sharp elbows to participate in a high-energy contest of pool basketball.  I’m still shaking the water out of my ears!

Bea on skis!

Personally, I had the opportunity to see my daughter take her first-ever ski lesson (though she kept falling on purpose in order to eat snow), and a group of Gunston Seniors allowed me to chase them down the slopes on Friday morning.   In the final few hours of the final day of the trip, the students piled their bags and their bodies into the Wintergreen Room where they rested exhausted muscles, listened to iPods, and prepared for the journey home. 

The school year is always long, and it’s always hard work.  The Headmaster’s Holiday allows us to step away for a few days to enjoy each other’s company and to recharge our batteries for the final few months of the academic year.

Relaxing after a long bus ride up!