Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!zodiac!joyce!gds
From: gds@spam.istc.sri.com (Greg Skinner)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Are Americans Intellectually Inferior?
Message-ID: <16148@joyce.istc.sri.com>
Date: 1 Feb 89 22:04:38 GMT
References: <15993@joyce.istc.sri.com> <6991@killer.DALLAS.TX.US>
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Reply-To: gds@spam.istc.sri.com (Greg Skinner)
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Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park CA
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In article <6991@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green) writes:
>I'd call Mr. Skinner "sociologically naieve".

Well, you are entitled to your opinion.

>Like it or not, most of us identify ourselves by what we do. e.g. if
>you ask a typical engineer, "What are you?", he'd reply "An
>engineer". The only way that most of us have of telling how "good" a
>person is, is to observe WHAT they do... do they exhibit caring
>behavior? [...]

There is nothing wrong with this attitude.  However, this is not the
attitude I responded to in the posting, that rewarded failure with
"loss of face" and criticism.

>They [Asian-American parents] lay out expectations. If those
>expectations are not met, child knows, parents know, both know they
>know (since those expectations have been reiterated regularly for
>years), criticism or recriminations would be unnecessary and
>shameful.

I suppose it depends on the expectations.  Should I ever become a
parent, I will expect my kids to do the best they can.  This does not
mean I will expect them to get straight A's or be accepted to
prestigious schools.  This means I will expect them to apply
themselves to whatever tasks they undertake to the fullest of their
abilities.  I will not expect them to be lazy or unconscientious.  If
they succeed, I will be happy for them.  If they do not, I will still
be happy as long as I and they both know they tried their best.

--gregbo