3News.co.nz | SUN, 15 MAY 2011 7:30P.M.
What makes Asian kids so astonishingly brainy? Is it because their parents push them so hard? And if so, should we do the same?
Look at the top stream in school or university, the students receiving the top academic awards, and you can’t help but notice – the faces are likely to be Asian. What makes the Chinese, Taiwanese and Koreans so successful, or to put it another way, what makes Pakeha, Maori and Polynesians much less successful?
The answer you’ll often hear is hard work.
A work ethic instilled by the parents. And more often than not, by the mums…. Tiger Mums.
Paula Penfold talks to the pupils known by their classmates as ‘brainiacs’ to find out why they are top of the class.