Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

You look at the music sheet, wondering if the notes on it have minds of their own and could easily escape the page. But you know that is impossible. The time signature, the key signature, the dynamics, the proper placement of notes and rests in lines and spaces are there – all waiting to be transposed in a keyboard. You stare at the sheet again, skim through it, and force your fingers to flick one key at a time. You have to do it because you are aware that at your back, your mentor, who also serves as a stringent guardia sibil, is looking down at you with high hopes. She wants you do it perfectly.

Despite the nervousness, which is obvious by the sweat trickling down your brows, you press the keyboard. You press them soft and well in accordance with what the piece instructs, shifting your dynamics from pianissimo to crescendo. Then you press the wrong key and the whole arrangement is destroyed like an orchestra being sabotaged by a saxophone. You look up to your mentor who now is growling at your mistakes. 

“I’m sorry Mom,” you said regretfully. “I’ll take it at the top once again.” 

Your mother now staring at you and bursting like an empress as she bangs the piano, “Better should boy,” said she. “Better should, otherwise, you can't get off that piano forever.”

***

Let’s face it: the world out there is getting competitive and hostile making it more difficult for a standard man to stand out. Amy Chua may have her reasons why she adheres to the kind of rearing that requires extreme stringency. Some studies have backed her claims though in one way viewed less humane by critics. Will I adhere or not? Nah, I leave that to my wife to handle someday. One thing for sure though, I wont let my children settle for anything less, and they shall be reared great. But as to what approach? Nah, it’s too early to tell.