argumentative essay

GE1401 University English
Argumentative essay

Tiger parenting style should be discouraged
Lam Nga Yan, Cyndi
SID: 53559755

According to the Oxford Dictionary, tiger mother is a strict or demanding mother who pushes her children to high levels of achievement, using methods regarded as typical of childrearing in China and other parts of East Asia. We should be familiar with this term under years of living in a Chinese traditional family. There is also a more common term called the Soccer mom, which refers to a mother who spends a lot of time and also money taking her children to various kinds of activities such as music classes, sports, etc. Actually, the most famous tiger mom is originated from Amy Chua in the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011). It is a book listed on the bestseller booklist for weeks; its online version has been read more than 1 million times and it has attracted more than seven thousands comments so far.

As mothers often play a more important role on teaching children while fathers spend more time working outside to earn money for family, it does not mean that fathers are not involved. In this passage, I am going to argue for the tiger parenting method in Hong Kong nowadays. Let me show you some extreme cases for blindly implanting the parenting strategy. In China, there is a 'Tiger Dad' who trains his 3-year-old son with heat and cold. For example, he provided nothing for his son to wear on a snowing day no matter how loud was his son crying and begging. He asked his son to fly a helicopter when he was only three. He even shared some of the video-tapes of his ‘tiger training procedures’ on social networking sites. Some of these actions are considered cruel by the public as even a normal adult cannot bear this kind of severe suffering. So how can a child do so?

Tiger parenting method has raised so much criticism and caused controversy. Some say that it deprives the right of children to enjoy their innocent childhood. As normal kids could enjoy their wonderful weekend on family activities and games, nonetheless, meanwhile some kids may spend their time with music or tutorial classes. They have to do everything in advance so that they can have a higher chance for achievement in the future. For children who have to fight for their future living and sacrifice their childhood, they might feel regretful later for losing their precious memory. Moreover, if children are always kept under stress, the huge psychological pressure may lead to mental illnesses. Children may suffer from depression and other emotional problem such as anxiety disorder. Research also finds that they would experience low self-esteem; have poor relationship people including their parents, teachers and friends. The worst situation may come to violence and behavioral problem. If the problem continues, the quantity of hidden mental illness patients in society will increase more obviously. Then, the trend of the above mental illnesses will become more youthful in society, hence this causes social health problem.

By taking the Happy Planet Index of Hong Kong as reference, Hong Kong has a score of 37.5, which is ranked 102 out of the other 151 analyzed regions. The calculation includes mainly three aspects, experienced well-being, life expectancy and ecological footprint and Hong Kong people have a very high life expectancy score. The analysis shows that parents may have over-expectation on their children and they want their children to take the advantage when they are small so that they need not to worry about their living as well as to enjoy quality assured living standard. On the growing process, children somehow cannot fulfill all the requirements of their parents; they may blame themselves for not satisfying their parents and eventually lead to sorrow, sadness and disappointment among the family.

As a Chinese saying goes ‘Teach students in accordance with their aptitude’, everyone has different abilities. I believe that the practice of choosing the hobbies for children is inappropriate. As children have been trained since they were young, they do not have time to understand themselves and know what they really want. Their parents just choose the musical instrument or kind of sports for their own sake or flavor. As a result, the children would only be forced to keep practicing and they may realize that they do not like the kind of hobby after they grow up.

In conclusion, tiger parenting style is not suitable for Hong Kong children. Amy Chua, the initiator of the tiger mom also said on her website that ‘I genuinely believe that there are many ways of being a good parent.’ She also shares the point of view that her style does not imply on everywhere. Actually, every parent will definitely want to provide the best thing for their children; nevertheless, they do not know the correct path. Being a parent is not a piece of cake as they also have to learn how to teach and breed us. They may think of some extreme childrearing ways which may lead to negative counter effects that they do not intend to cause. Therefore, my last recommendation is to discard the old-minded tiger parenting style but start to understand your children. You may find yourselves learning from them!

List of sources:

1)     Amy chua’s website
http://amychua.com/photos/

2)     Definition of tiger mother
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/tiger-mother

3)     Article 1: Tiger Moms: Is Tough Parenting Really the Answer?
By Annie Murphy Paul

4)     Article 2: Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

By AMY CHUA , Erin Patrice O'Brien

5)     News: want china times, tiger dad
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120903000005&cid=1103
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnNJBz1t_gk

6)     Hong Kong Happy planet index

http://www.happyplanetindex.org/countries/hong-kong/

infographic- finalized

info-graphic

info-graphic (draft)

analytical essay

What should I major in?

  There are so many choices that we have to make every day, for example the school we are going to study in, the society we are going to join, the model of the personal computer we are going to purchase, etc. Some of the choices are minor which do not matter at all, however, some may have influences to the rest of our lives. In this passage, I am going to analyze the subject that I should major in in the coming year and the reason why I select it from the six options of major including Applied Biology, Applied Chemistry, Applied Physics, Computing Mathematics, Environmental Science and Management and Surveying.

  First of all, I should take my ability towards the subjects into consideration. As I only studied Chemistry and Physics as my elective subject in my senior secondary school, I did not establish fundamental knowledge of Biology. Also, I am also not going to study biology in semester B in year 1, therefore, I can eliminate Applied Biology from my consideration. Talking about ability, I should not miss my DSE result. I got a level 5 in Mathematics (compulsory part), a level 4 in Mathematics (module 2), a level 4 in Physics and a level 3 in Chemistry. Although I studied Chemistry, my result is not good. I think I should understand my strength and weakness and avoid choosing Applied Chemistry using the same reason with choosing Applied Biology.  
  Apart from my academic results, my interest is an essential factor of my selection too. Actually, I am not interested in environmental issue and working in construction sites at all so I am not going to select Environmental Science and Management and Surveying. I am particularly keen on Mathematics because Mathematics teachers show me the beauty of Mathematics that included the eternity of those rules and laws. As a result, I seize every chance to take part in the related activities or competitions such as participating in the Rummikub competition.

Moreover, my motivation for choosing Computing Mathematics is also due to the career prospect. The department of Mathematics in City University has gained a high reputation, it is even ranked as 32^nd in worldwide. The graduates could admit to various kinds of industry, therefore the foreground of this subject is bright. Also, I have been dreaming of being a teacher since I was young. I have been taught by many compassionate teachers who gave me inspiration of my dream of teaching; my passion grows with my rooted determination of being a Mathematics teacher. By entering the Mathematics department, I believe that I can find a good job in the education institutions after I graduate.

In addition, my personality is suitable for studying mathematics. I am a careful person and I like doing things step by step so that I can handle the mathematical calculations in a detailed and precise way. I know that proving skill is very important in studying Mathematics and I am exactly the one who likes doing the proves. I enjoy myself every time when I am alone with mathematical problems and puzzles and I never feel bored. I am a person who wants to improve and upgrade myself in any way that I can, if I could select Computing Mathematics, I would keep doing exercise to consolidate my problem solving skill and to explore the unknown world.
  Last but not least, although the subject ‘Computing Mathematics’ includes both computer and Mathematics parts and computing is really a brand new topic for me, I will try my best to overcome the obstacle with my passion and endurance. I hope that I can enter the major I desired in the coming year. 

descriptive essay

The Garden Café                              

  The Garden Café is a nice dining place which located at the ground floor of the academic Exchange Building in the City University of Hong Kong. It opens from 8am to 9pm every Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5pm every Saturday. It closes on Sunday and public holidays.

The Café is composed by the outdoor part and the indoor part. Once you arrive there, you will not miss the big, ocean green-blue tent hanged above the outdoor seats with the white words ‘Garden Café’ written on it clearly. The tidy white long desks and black chairs underneath are soldiers on the march, they are provided for those who want to enjoy their meals with fresh air and warm sunshine. You can also hear people chatting joyously with non-stopped laughter. 

When you open the glass door and enter the indoor part of the Café, you can feel that the cool air blowing from the air-conditioner strokes pass your skin. The mood also changes a lot with the softly playing romantic music. The interior design is quite elegant, the furniture inside is more comfortable than the outside. Dim yellow light shines on soft leather chairs gently. You can also smell of the delicious food from the half-open-styled kitchen. People having their meals here are much more quite, they are either muttering or just simply reading. There are also a few couples dating and whispering.

    There are lots of choices listed on the menu on the wall including freshly-made sandwiches, salad, baked potatoes, snacks and drinks. You should also try the classic and highly recommended dish, the fish and chips. The deep-fried juicy fish steak is coated with cracking golden yellow breadcrumbs; it tastes also good when it is dipped with salad sauce. Although there is mainly western food, you can also find some daily hot meal and Japanese set meal. The menu just suits most of the people.

Moreover, the staff there is very friendly and their hands are as fast as motor cars. They work so quick that your food will be put on your tray immediately within a couple of minutes. However, you should be careful on handling the trays as they have nearly no friction with the table. They will easily slide to wherever they want if you do not keep an eye on them. After you take your meal, you go to pick the utensils yourself as the Café is mainly self-serviced. The silvery utensils and seasoning are sorted orderly onto the cupboard so that you can take whatever you need conveniently. Then, you can go to the cashier and pay for your meal. Lastly, you can find a seat and enjoy your meal or just a cup of coffee in the leisure atmosphere.

Just a friendly reminder, if you go there in busy hours, you will see the queue waiting for ordering food as long as a snake. So you better choose a correct time to go there.