On page 16 of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua discusses the time she won second prize in a history contest and invited her family to the ceremony at which the awards were given. She writes, "Someone else had won the Kiwanis prize for best all-around student. Afterward, my father said to me: 'Never, never disgrace me like that again'" (pages 16-17). Her father was of Chinese descent and was born in the Philippines, and he won admission to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1960. He later became a professor at Purdue and at University of California at Berkeley, and while he was hard on this children, Chua writes that "I found strength and confidence in my peculiar family" (page 17). She says that while her father would often work until late at night and not register her presence in a room, he also enjoyed introducing her to the delights of America, including sloppy joes, Dairy Queen, sledding, skiing, and camping.
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