Posted on 04/02/2005 3:29:18 PM PST by MadIvan
AMBITIOUS New Yorkers are rearing a generation of “little emperors” fluent in Mandarin so they will be equipped for a global economy that may come to be dominated by China.
Chinese nannies who can bring up bilingual babies are sought after in Manhattan, and nursery schools are adding the language to their curriculums.
Jim Rogers and Paige Parker are the parents of Hilton Augusta, a 22-month-old blonde, blue-eyed girl. She already understands as much Mandarin as English after her parents hired a Chinese nanny. Their apartment is decorated with words for objects such as table and chair in English and Chinese script.
“China is going to be the next great country in the world,” said Rogers, a writer and banker. “We thought we should start to prepare her at birth for what will be the most important language in her lifetime.”
Finding the right nanny took weeks. She had to speak the kind of Mandarin heard in government circles in Beijing. Clifford Greenhouse runs the Pavillion nanny agency in New York. “There’s been a tremendous surge in demand. We get dozens of requests a year. It is extremely hard to find the right, well-educated, cultured Mandarin speaker,” he said.
Many of the requests come from families of mixed Chinese and American parentage or from parents who have adopted girls from China.
But a good third are from parents who hope to give their children a leg-up in the globalised world. Rogers and Parker plan to enrol Hilton Augusta in St Hilda’s and St Hugh’s, a private nursery and elementary school in Manhattan, which is adding Mandarin to its curriculum in September.
Virginia Connor, the headmistress, said the classes would begin with toddlers. “We’ve been asking ourselves what will children need, not just five or 10 years ahead, but a long way into the future.”
Hilton Augusta will be more prepared than most. Her parents have booked a holiday in Shanghai this summer to reinforce what she has learnt and to familiarise herself with the culture.
Rogers said: “I’m pleased and proud that one day my daughter will be talking about us with her friends and we won’t know what she is saying.”
Parker admits to misgivings about being excluded from what will be an important part of Hilton Augusta’s life. “I do worry about it a little but the benefits outweigh any uncomfortableness I feel.”
How old are you? 105? Some women keep their maiden names even when they marry. I did.
Excuse me. Before you two get ramped up into calling everybody names, this is not about class envy at all, other than wondering what portion of his money was ill-gotten. This is about an elitist leftist power player sending these signals about the Chinese, as well as some of us laughing out loud that they feel the need to take a 22-month-old child to Shanghai so that she can "soak up the culture."
I don't see where I called anyone a name.
Gosh, my kids are deprived! I don't even have the furniture and fixtures labelled in English! And my toddler can't give orders to wait staff in any language. I guess they'll just have to be drones in the New World Order.
How dare you. The shoe does not fit. You don't think #60 isn't needlessly pot-stirring? Sheesh man, what happened to you?
Much to the dismay of the French, Mandarin is the second language of Canada already. A fluency in Mandarin will get you a very good job on Bay Street.
Being a typical American who jeers and sneers that anybody who matters will speak English probably won't get you very far in the new world to come.
Much to the dismay of some freepers on this thread you are reminding them of how provincial their thinking has become.
Just keep feeding their bank accounts rather than their minds.
What's your definition of "stirring the pot?" It sounds like just disagreeing these days is enough.
I never thought I'd see the day something like this was posted on FreeRepublic.
Insinuating that everyone here is only concerned with Jim Rogers having wealth (while 'we' don't) is unnecessary. It's not the discussion. I don't understand why you would want to do that.
My thinking has always been provincial, and that doesn't bother me a bit. However, I don't think there's anything prodigious in a child who's being raised by Chinese servants addressing Chinese servants in Chinese.
I don't understand why you would imply that this man's money was "ill-gotten."
With that kind of thought process and set of values you will never have to worry about your kids becoming rich.
It's just a joke - a quote from one of my fave comedies of the 1990s, 'Rushmore.'
ROFLMAO!!! TOUCHE!
It's a joke: a quote from the film 'Rushmore,' that's all. ;-)
I thought it was pretty funny.
POOR PEOPLE TO THE RIGHT, RICH PEOPLE TO THE LEFT.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.