Sometimes the elite behaves so stupidly that one wonders how they got to be the "elite" in the first place.
Regards, Ivan
Sometimes the elite behaves so stupidly that one wonders how they got to be the "elite" in the first place.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
What is "idiots who have more money than sense" in Mandarin?
Smart New York kids CHU on Mandarin.
The best a mother or father can teach their children is to not have them raised by a nanny to begin with. That transcends all languages.
The Chinese of influence, whom Westerners will be dealing with, will already know English (and speak it better than we can speak Mandarin). However, learning to speak Chinese isn't a bad thing either.
For a toddler that's not even two?!
If the historical experience with Latin in Medieval Europe is any guide, English should continue to dominate for centuries, regardless of the fortunes of the Anglosphere countries.
And then there's India, where there will soon be more people than in China, and where English is the "language of wider communication."
English is a lot easier to master for Europeans, and for speakers of Spanish--yet another reason to doubt that Chinese will be all that influential anytime soon.
Finally, the same sort of false predictions were made for Japanese 20 years ago--which sound laughable now. I predict this article will be viewed the same way in 2025.
YUPPIES
I think the term for these sorts of parents is Bobos (See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684853787/102-7602633-5439322), which is the latest label for those who follow in the footsteps of the yuppies. One of the primary concerns of bobos is to educate their kids to be as rich and successful as possible. They are devastated if their progeny don't get into Harvard or Yale, starting out with an elite Manhattan pre-kindergarten. Like this family, they probably only have one kid, or maybe two.
It's not a bad thing to want your kid to do well in life, but their view is extremely materialistic. Do well = be rich and successful.
After he was saddened by the death of his closest friend, Saint Augustine concluded that it was not wise to love those things that fade away as if they were eternal. Only God abides forever.
I guess the writer missed the article about the smartest babies are brought up learning sign language as their second language.
I think this is a case of "my baby is smarter than your baby because..."
Gee, I wonder if that might have something to do with it rather than the chinese economy. Did the author check to see what the chldren of Polish or Ukranian Americans spoke? How about Arab Americans? The French Canadians?
Our kids are being taught speak 4 languages and I think it is wonderful.
This could be a problem because girl babies are not valued in China, and many were killed at birth so their parents could try for a boy under China's one child per family rule.
If they're so keen on things Chinese, couldn't they just move to Chinatown? Their kids could find plenty of Chinese-speaking people there. Could grow up real bilingual that way.
From a country of more than 1 billion? No way these uneducated masses will conquer the world
"She had to speak the kind of Mandarin heard in government circles in Beijing."
There is only one flavor of Mandarin chinese. Also, they blew it scheduling a trip to Shanghai to learn about the culture. First, Shanghai is probably the most cosmopolitan city in China, and while it will be the economic hub of China, it hardly represents the culture. Second, the Shanghainese dialect is the standard language in Shanghai, not Mandarin, so while some Shanghainese will be able to understand the little darling, not all will (my mother-in-law only speaks Shanghainese, and my FIL is only marginally conversant in Mandarin). That being said, my chinese wife and I will be teaching our daughter (5 mos.) Mandarin and Shanghainese in addition to English Texas-style (no Spanish, though).
Why is this a bad thing? There's nothing wrong with teaching children other languages when they're young, it's the best time to do it. I don't know why I just don't agree with anything that Freepers have been posting lately. By the way, there's nothing new about rich people having nannies. Class envy, that's all.
"Jim Rogers and Paige Parker are the parents of Hilton Augusta, a 22-month-old blonde, blue-eyed girl"....
Says about all I have to wonder about re these two.
They're more concerned about what kind of world the
kid will wander around in 20 years from now...but don't give a damn about what her classmates will say about her being born out of wedlock!. Little Doll's going to to have to think twice before losing her cool when someone calls
her an SOB!
HA HA. These parents are wasting their money hiring nannies to teach them Mandarin Chinese.
I worked in a Chinese restaurant and learned Chinese for FREE.
Of course, I only know words for ordering and cooking food (and washing dishes), and it's not Mandarin Chinese since the family is from the Canton province, but you get what you pay for.
:^)