The End
24 Mar 2011 1 Comment
in Tiger Mother
Finished! This was a quick read, huh? And, I’m a little sad that it’s over. I definitely care about the family. I’ll be very interested in finding out where Sophia goes to college? Harvard? Luckily, in these internet days, I probably WILL be able to find that out.
I don’t think Amy Chua is crazy at all. All this talk about her being a “monster?” I don’t buy it. I think she was a good mom. Yes, she pushed her kids hard. But, I think that, in today’s world, you kind of have to push your kids hard if you want them to be successful. Otherwise, there are too many temptations out there that just lead to massive amounts of wasted time. (I’m a bit guilty of the facebook trap myself, and I only have 54 friends! Sometimes I find myself looking at pictures of people from high school, then all of the sudden I think, “What am I doing? Why am I wasting all this time?) And I’m not even a KID! I think it’s a tough, tough world to raise our kids in. I actually loved Amy’s speech at the end about the Founding Fathers not attending sleepovers! I’m totally into that scene. I know I’m obsessed with the past, but I like raising my kids the old-fashioned way. And, I love love love Lulu’s comment about the violin, where she talks about how it makes her feel that she’s going back in time. Shoot, if that’s the case, I wish I could play the violin!
I kind of wish I had been pushed harder myself. I honestly feel (and this is a huge topic of mine), that I’m just coming into my own now . . . now that I’m in my 30s. I have a lot of new ideas and new ambitions that I’ve never had before. Is this normal? I don’t even know. I want to hear more from my lady friends . . . .
24 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
Whew! I’ve been avoiding this blog, afraid that Jenna had a slew of posts and comments up. Good! You don’t! I’ve been busy with children, AWC, chores, and Jane Eyre. I haven’t read Tiger Mother in over a week. I’m going to read it tonight, though. Maybe even finish it. But, I will say a few words on part 2 first. If nothing else, Amy Chua knows how to create suspense. Like, I kept putting off giving Teddy and Phoebe a bath because I wanted to find out if Lulu got into the pre-College program!
I also loved Sophia’s essay on playing the Romeo and Juliet song. That is excellent writing, eh? I don’t know enough about music to really judge the type of songs they play. But, I know enough about writing to know that Sophia’s essay is very good. So, Amy’s ambitions that her daughters be #1 in their classes seem to paying off there, at least. And, again, I don’t know anything about private schools, but I’m sure Sophia’s writing teachers have usually been quite good. I do admire Amy’s idea that, since she can’t force her children to be poor immigrants, she can at least force them to work hard on their music. So many kids (myself included, unfortunately) never worked that hard in high school. I always found it difficult to write about my experiences. Part of it was immaturity, but part was that I didn’t have a story about something I had overcome: my parents were happily married, we weren’t poor, there wasn’t anything really “different” about me, and I had never really worked that hard on anything. Now, age 33, I’m much more mature and able to see the bigger picture. Motherhood has helped, for sure. It’s something hard that I’m working on.
As an aside: this evening I was sitting outside my classroom at AWC while my students evaluated me. During that time, I saw several student athletes walk by, talking loudly. I saw only two students go into the “Student Success Center.” They were both Asian.
Finally, there’s a new book on my radar: My Korean Deli by Ben (ah, yes, Ben) Ryder Howe. I think this might be somewhat related to Tiger Mother. I definitely want to read it.
In-Class Reading
10 Mar 2011 1 Comment
in Tiger Mother
We read this Time Magazine article about Tiger Mother in my class last night.
We read it aloud together, and I was afraid it was going to be a struggle–it’s probably a much longer article than most of my English 96 students are used to reading, and the vocabulary is pretty sophisticated. But, we went over some vocabulary before we started, and, turns out, my students were really into it! They were all following along well, and a few even had questions or comments as we were reading! For homework, they are going to type up a response to the article, and I’m interested in hearing what they have to say. I think that Tiger Mother is irresistible because everyone has an opinion. Many of us are parents, but we’ve all been raised by somebody, and we all have opinions on how we were raised. I even recommended Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (the book) to my students. It is easy to read, and it’s not very long, which are important qualities for English 96 readers.
The Dark Lord
08 Mar 2011 2 Comments
I think I would like Amy Chua as a friend. At first, I’d probably be intimidated by her. Yale Law professor and all that. But, I love that she stands by her convictions. And I bet she’s really funny in a very blunt way. I actually laughed out loud yesterday when she said, “Unlike Western parents, reminding my child of Lord Voldemort didn’t bother me.”
Whoa, Nelly!
06 Mar 2011 2 Comments
in Tiger Mother
I started reading Tiger Mother as soon as I woke up this morning, and I got to page 49. At this point, what interests me the most is the whole world of people like Amy and Jed, Sophia and Louisa. The whole world of New Haven, Manhattan, and Yale law professors. I’m vaguely acquainted with this type of world. Abby (sister) worked at Duke, and Errol (brother-in-law) is a grad student at Princeton. Abby used to work at the Duke Career Center, and she would talk about some of the students she helped and how they are “extremely smart” and “extremely motivated.”
Well, I like to think that I’m pretty smart. But, there’s no way, I could cut it in that world. I like my free time WAY too much. Amy Chua, what the heck, how could you raise your daughters, while writing these articles, and getting jobs as a law professor? I almost don’t see how that is possible. Yes, she says she has a nanny, which would obviously help a lot. But, it’s hard enough for me to force my way through my AWC work while raising my kids and keeping the house afloat. I always wish for more free time so that I could read more. I could not pull off what Amy Chua did. I’m sure she didn’t get to do anything fun for herself. She was always working for her daughters or her job.
Part of me is glad I’m not her. I really enjoy my life how it is. But another part of me thinks, “Hmm, Kate, maybe you’re not as smart as you think you are.”
Early Riser Cubs
03 Mar 2011 1 Comment
Would a Tiger Mother let her kids watch a DVD first thing in the morning while she stays in bed? I doubt it. But this mother cannot face her children at 6:00am. It’s too early for their demands.
Ready Set
02 Mar 2011 3 Comments
in Tiger Mother
Well, it has been a long time since I blogged. I had to reset my password and everything to get on here. But, it feels good to be back in the saddle. I think today would be a great day to begin TIGER MOTHER. It is Jenna’s birthday, after all. And, it is Read Across America Day. And, I just yelled at my kids to get them to behave (now they’re asleep, whew!) I’m feeling a pretty tigerish right now. What kind of schedule do you want to do, Jenna? I have a feeling I could read it all pretty quickly. But if you want to go slower, that’s fine, too. I am reading my witch/vampire romance book right now, so I have plenty to keep me busy. Let me know.
And scene.
17 Oct 2009 4 Comments
in Delicious Reading, I'm Done!, Speak Memory, Uncategorized, Yes
Don’t hate me, women, but I finished the book. I’m not like Jenna, who is busy packing or Eliana, who reads more than one book at a time. I had to finish this before I started another. I’m sorry I’m sorry!
I have to say, though, THANK YOU! If it hadn’t been for our “book club” I don’t think I would have taken on Speak, Memory. And I’m so glad I did. I agree with Jenna’s recent post about his memories and how they are “vivid, coherent, and meaningful.” So true! I just wrote a short goodreads review of Speak, Memory, and I used the word “vivid,” too (and that was before I read this blog).
I love his family pride, too! I’m glad the book (my copy, at least) contains so many photos because I feel genuinely connected to these people. After reading the chapter about little Nabokov and his father, I especially love the picture of the two of them together, with Vladimir in a little sailor suit. I think his father is *sexy* I mean, look how he loves his son–and he also got assassinated for political reasons . . . now, THAT is a man!
What I will take away from Speak, Memory and what I will think of often are: his winter scenes, his pride in and love for his family, and his descriptions of Polenka, their head coachman’s daughter. It is too bad that Nabokov is so well-known for Lolita (which is very good, too!). Most people only know what Lolita is “about” and are probably afraid to read it, much less anything else by Nabokov.
When are we going to have a face-to-face chat about this book? Chili’s anyone?
Where Kate Ruminates on Choices
13 Oct 2009 2 Comments
As you know, my brother-in-law, Errol, is a Princeton grad student. I just saw some pictures (taken by a classmate, on Facebook of course) of some of their doings on campus. Don’t you wish we could all be hip, intellectual Princeton grad students. Seriously! I sometimes really wish I could devote more time to “studying” literature and learning . . . . Ah, well. Instead I’ve been cleaning and doing laundry all morning and reading books to my kids in between chores. Maybe THEY will grow up to be hip intellectual grad students! 
PS Teddy got his hair cut yesterday. I think it makes him look more Russian!
Where Kate Pines Away for the Past . . . As Usual
12 Oct 2009 4 Comments
in Delicious Reading, Speak Memory
Funny, I don’t really look forward to picking up this book. I never think, “Ooooh! Time to go read Speak, Memory!” But, once I start, I can’t put it down . . . and sometimes I think this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I love love love his descriptions of snow and winter. I love thinking of cold Russians in their snowy sleighs and fur muffs. There’s a scene in a Willa Cather novel (I think My Antonia), where a Russian immigrant tells the story of a wedding party traveling through the snow in sleighs. Does anyone know what I’m talking about? It’s a rather dramatic scene, and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone if you plan to read that book . . . . Anyway, I love Russian snow scenes.
I just finished his chapter on butterflies. I confess, I’m not that interested in butterflies. But I actually laughed out loud a couple of times, like when he says something about the older the man, the stranger he looks with a butterfly net. So, Nabokov is both a genius writer (seriously!) and funny.
Oh, and here’s the part where I pine for the past . . . . A couple of years ago I read Lolita, which I loved. Like Speak, Memory, it is very beautifully written. I read somewhere that Nabokov wrote Lolita to show the contrast between America (The New World) and Russian/Europe (The Old World). That’s probably true. The part of Speak, Memory when he traces his family tree all the way back to the 14th Century: wow! Sometimes I wish I lived in Europe where they have so much history. I love the new library of course, and I love Chili’s and a shiny new Target. But, I often wish for a older environment, more steeped in history. Like the Old World.
