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My friend sent me this article and criticized the narcissistic overtones, which I agree with for the following reasons.

One major issue in this article is that the focus seems to define success as being monetary and materialistic, which is quite typical of Chinese (and some other Asian) values. ironically, it's completely anti-Buddhist though.

however, one of the problems about this so-called methodology is the horrible amounts of pressure placed upon their kids. that's why there's a huge amount of suicides in Asian culture. also, kids lack both critical thinking and creative thinking abilities. so in the end, they became perfections as cogs, but nothing more than a tool to support an infrastructure...whether that infrastructure works or not.

i do think education is important, but i think at some point it's up to the individual to recognize it, rather than being forced. some people are meant for "loser" roles (i.e. the cash register guy) if you ascribe to the notion of Social Darwinism, then some people HAVE to lose in this world.

the other thing that this idiot believes is that the person who gets the "B" grade isn't the best. however, maybe that person isn't the best at conforming to the needs to reach an "A" grade. if the system is totally fucked up, then the "A" grade is absolutely meaningless. it's like teaching that Hitler was correct or that the Communism form of government in China is the only way to go.

then you get the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world who are smarter than the "A" students but don't give a damn about structure and do it in their own manner. Sure, he was a great student and attended Harvard. But the Chinese mother would've forced him to go into Pre-Med or Law. Why do we need another asshole, greedy lawyer in this world?

The Chinese Mother's mentality is akin to sterilizing the environment. Anyone knows that over-sterilization is bad because people require some form of exposure to viruses in order to build up the immune system. The immune system has to learn and adjust to the environment to fight back. The Chinese Mother would probably proliferate more viruses in her idealization.  You can see this inflexible mindset fail in Japan where the country is taught that absolute conforming is correct, individuality doesn't matter and that a pre-planned life is the only way to live. At this point in time, Japan's set ways has created a vague notion of stability.  However, long term prospects for the country appear dim as figures exhibit declining birth rate, higher divorces and the displacement of their economy into the #3 spot.

That isn't to say that the Chinese mother or thinking is incorrect or unnecessary. It's part of this world and works. However, to say that it is superior assumes that the value system it compares against is perfect. And as humans with flaws, we know that this assumption is perpetually incorrect.