The Glass is Half Empty

Is the glass half full or half empty?

As simple as that question is, I believe the answer to that question boils down the fundamental differences between Chinese parenting and Western parenting, more specifically Chinese values and Western values.

If you ask me that question, I would have said the glass is half empty. Am I a pessimist? Maybe. But that’s what I have been taught growing up in Taipei, Taiwan. In Asia, everything is deducted. When a child is born, he or she is a perfect 100. From then on, every mistake that he or she makes, in their parents’ minds, they become less perfect. They purposely make you feel badly about yourself as they see this as child rearing, so you will be motivated to work harder. By constantly telling that you have made a mistake and that you can be better, they think that you will achieve greatness. Whether or not this technique works, it’s not the point of discussion, but rather the negative scolding technique that was employed. Children from a very young age are taught that way, to see things negatively and think in a deductive way. And that, is the epitome of “Tiger Mom” parenting.

If you ask a child that went through an American educational system, he or she will probably say that the glass is half full. It is not hard to imagine why because when they were young, they were taught values of self – development, exploration, and expression. In their parents’ mind, when a child is born, they are a zero with no specific expectations. However, as he or she grow older and accomplishes different things in different fields, he or she receives more points gets closer and closer to that perfect 100. And along the way, the parents will shower he or her with lots of love and encouragements. I like to call this the inductive way of parenting.

Now you may think, “That’s crazy, although it sounds logical but is there any proof?” So I want to say, yes, these are just my personal thoughts and biases, but I do have a strange phenomenon that I’d like to bring up in evidence for my case. Think back to all the teachers or professors you have, and think about how they grade their papers. Most Asian teacher or professors will mark the questions that you answered incorrectly and then at the bottom of the test, put a negative how ever points you missed on that page; and at the end of the test, they will calculate how much you have missed.

Now think about your other teachers and professors. They will mark the question that you answered correctly and at the bottom of the page, count how many points you received. At the end of the test, rather than counting how many you’ve missed, they will calculate how many questions you have answered correctly. That to me, boils down to deductive thinking and inductive thinking that stemmed from their childhood.

Don’t trust? That’s fine, but take a challenge. The next time you get your tests back, let me know if I am correct!