Publishers Weekly, starred review:... a richly rewarding examination of Chinese and American culture and parenting. ...In a disarmingly open style, incorporating priceless and frequently emotional anecdotes about raising his son, as well as reflections upon his own academic and familial journey in China... Adapting the title from Amy Chua... which he calls grotesque, he proposes a synergy between Chinese & American approaches that blends rigor and creativity. His recommendations are demanding (e.g., create your own homework...), but the rewards promise to transcend the classroom.
"The Hybrid Tiger...may sound like yet another flogging for hapless Western parents, but it's not.... Huang...proposes a kinder, gentler blending of East and West in what he calls the Hybrid Tiger. Because apparently the Chinese have their own educational woes.... China has yet to produce a single Nobel Prize winner in the sciences or a Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.... From this stunning throw-down, Huang continues his intriguing contrarian analysis, offering a perplexed yet loving native son's humanizing perspective on Chinese culture."
-The New York Times Sunday Book Review, February 2, 2014
"I did really enjoy the Quanyu Huang book. He is such a humanist and so delightful and so full of surprises, I really enjoyed that." -Reviewer
Sandra Tsing Loh on
the Inside the New York Times Book Review podcast, January 31, 2014
"Proposes a kinder, gentler blending of East and West…. China has yet to produce a single Nobel Prize winner in the sciences or a Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.... From this stunning throw-down, Huang continues his intriguing contrarian analysis, offering a perplexed yet loving native son’s humanizing perspective on Chinese culture."
—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “
The Hybrid Tiger explains many of the differences between Chinese and American education. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. We can learn from one another.”
—DIANE RAVITCH, author of
Reign of Error“A compelling and provocative must-read for anyone interested in knowing more about the cultural intersection of Asian and American educational approaches. . . . Huang’s ambitious, accessible, and important work strongly argues that we have much to learn from each other—a lesson that transcends education.”
—Michael G. Hirschfeld, rector, St. Paul’s School, Concord, NH
“East meets West in Huang’s provocative and revealing analysis of the potential rewards of classroom cultural convergence. The author grabs the tiger by the tail to point out the opportunities available in combining inherently Asian tenets governing success with American creativity and independence. A must-read for anyone concerned with the future of education in the United States.”
—Jean Hitchcock, executive director, Signature School, a nationally-ranked International Baccalaureate charter high school, Evanston, IN
“Huang’s thoughtful praise and critically constructive observations of two widely regarded and often-replicated educational systems readily translate into practical applications for improving today’s schools. What a pleasure it is to see the personal and familial value assigned to education heralded as critical to a student's success at the primary and secondary level.”
—Thomas M. Kelly, PhD, headmaster, Horace Mann School, New York, NY
"There are few topics as widely discussed in America as education. The Hybrid Tiger takes aims at the heart of America's educational debate by asking (and answering!) the question, Why are Asian-American students so successful? Using a narrative style that mixes research with anecdote, Dr. Huang attempts to educate American parents on the beliefs and attitudes Chinese parents transmit to their children about education. Huang provides insight and direction for a nation hungry to see its students succeed. It should be read by parents and educators alike." --Linda Eno, EdD, principal, Biotechnology High School, Freehold Township, NJ "A thought-provoking must-read for any parent or educator interested in the future of American education and the ongoing debate around rigor, standardization of curriculum and assessment, and what it means to truly be educated."
--Stephen P. Covert, PhD, principal, Pine View School, Osprey, FL
"An instructive examination of the differences between Asian, Asian-American, and American approaches to education. . . . Students, parents, and educators who adopt the constructs of [Huang's synergistic approach] will reap the benefit of both cultures' approach to education."
--Randy Trani, EdD, superintendent, Corbett High School, Corbett, OR
"Huang lays out before us a very interesting phenomenon as he analyzes the Chinese family's approach to education and the very American approach. . . . Dr. Huang forces us to view the successes of both cultures in the hope of finding the ideal view of education."
--Mark E. Ertel, principal, Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School of the Medical Arts, Jacksonville, FL
"Provides substantial insight into many of the factors that empower Asian and Asian-American students to succeed at much higher levels than their American peers. . . . As Huang explores the spectrum of differences between American and Chinese culture . . . one significant conclusion emerges: both cultures have much to offer, but the real power is in a healthy blend of both so that students and families can achieve balance in pursuit of achievement and joy."
--Tim Gott, EdD, president, National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology; director, Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, Bowling Green, KY
"Huang's work illustrates the paramount strengths and glaring weaknesses of our pedagogy and gives common sense strategies for how to improve and reform. Anyone interested in a real comparative analysis of Chinese and American educational systems will appreciate the new lens that Huang brings into focus."
--Bob Holden, chairman of the Midwest US-China Association, former governor of Missouri
"An extraordinary book. . . . I would recommend [it] as an educational tool to understand the differences between the cultures of Asian and American education. More importantly, I believe it will confirm important habits and traits that help lay out critical components to successful parenting with regards to education."
-- Dr. Susan Lang, superintendent, Wyoming City Schools, Wyoming, OH
The Hybrid Tiger...an appropriate title for Dr. Huang's "voice," for he is both Chinese and American in this personal and yet pertinent presentation of education, parenting and child development in China and America. The six chapters are woven together with personal vignettes, keen observations of the elements of education, parenting and child development, and brief dialogues in which Huang addresses questions posed by American parents. This variety is engaging and invites the reader to reflection on a personal and a cultural level. Huang's use of first person is legitimate and effective: he is not pedantic; instead he is open, pragmatic and humanistic and engenders the reader's immediate connection with the book.
--Judith Peterson, principal of Academic Magnet High School, North Charleston, SC