What better way to kick off my blog than by sharing my thoughts on a discussion about competitive parenting by a Harvard economist held at a somewhat-snotty/secretive academic meetings? I know a bit about all of these subjects-- in one way or another.
Yesterday the WSJ ran an interesting piece on a Davos discussion panel featuring Larry Summers (he of economic brilliance and the infamous Harvard presidency) and Amy Chua (she of the Tiger Mother phenomenon and Yale Law). Turns out that while Summers considers himself a "hard-ass" parent, he isn't sure being a Tiger Father is the pathway to a $50-billion Goldman valuation-- though it is likely the way to an Ivy League education. Chua seemed to agree, saying she is currently far more lenient with her daughters, as she flitted from event to event and interview to interview at the elite gathering, presumably a world away from her family in New Haven.
Just imagine a conversation between Chua's and Summers' daughters... Wonder who will get a crimson-colored thick admissions envelope and who will get a blue-hued one in a few years?
(For some of my own thoughts on the merits of "Chinese mothering," check out my recent op-ed in USA Today.)