R: Be the Tiger Parent

It would be false to say that the vast majority of students who attend Yale are not driven by a deep-rooted ambition to succeed in life. Indeed, all of us, in one form or another, work, study, and debate on this campus because we believe it will lead to a high level of success—whether it be political, monetary, spiritual, or all three. However, while we may have the drive to accomplish such goals, others certainly do not: they go through life without the focus that is necessary for achieving greatness. Parents, therefore, must make a choice between allowing their child to stroll down his own path or pushing their child to strive for success, even at the expense of his own immediate happiness. Today’s debate will attempt to answer this question by exploring the benefits and detriments of being a tiger parent. Students will not be able to tackle this topic alone; parents will assuredly be called in for back-up.

The affirmative believes that a parent’s foremost duty is to ensure the long-term well-being of his child, and in the long-term, those who are driven to success will be the most likely to achieve it. Every child is a blank canvas upon which any kind of painting may be created—in other words, parents can shape their children a lot more than they realize. Claiming that your child is not smart enough, strong enough, or talented enough to pursue greatness signals a failure to instill virtue in him, and is an admission of poor parenting. Every parent should want their child to go to a school like Yale so that the opportunity for success may become realized more effectively. In short, parents should follow the lead of a Chairman and be the commander of a child’s life from sunrise to sunset.

The negative views children not as blank canvases, but as complete works of art, pre-made by God to possess a certain character and set of skills. Certainly, parents should prioritize the moral cultivation and socialization of their children. But to claim that, with enough pressure, coal may become diamond, is not only untrue, but also damaging for a child’s development. Constant scrutiny builds resentment, which manifests itself in complexes later in life; if parents are to truly prioritize their child’s well-being, health and happiness should always win over money and power. While a child should be provided with as much means to achieve success as he wants, he ultimately has the final say in how those means are put to use: a good parent is an advisor, not a dictator. In short, parents should follow the lead of a Guardian by providing cultivation through presence alone.

What is the proper role of a parent in a child’s life? Can love be crushed by high expectations? And do the children of tiger parents grow up to be wild animals or house cats?