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Lulu's The Little White Donkey

Decent Essays

Lulu, 7, was sitting at the piano keyboard attempting to play the piece “The Little White Donkey.” She had been trying for hours, unable to master playing the two different tempos in her left and right hands. Convinced her daughter was purposefully playing incorrectly, Chua, Lulu’s mother, threatened her with getting rid of her favorite toys, no lunch, no dinner, and no birthday parties or christmas presents for four years. Calling her daughter a lazy pathetic coward, Chua kept her Lulu at the piano through the late hours of the night with no food or bathroom break. Granted, by the late AM Lulu could play the piece correctly, but that episode raised many questions about the merits of what became known as Chinese parenting.
This story, along

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