What’s the only creature capable of taking the spotlight away from the infamous “Tiger Mom”? That would be the tiger cub -- her oldest daughter, Sophia.
Amy Chua, a Yale Law School professor, became a household name in 2011 when she wrote a book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” about raising children the “Chinese way.”
The book sparked a global debate about the right way to push -- or not push -- kids to succeed, with many parents criticizing her draconian parenting approach and others arguing that the harsh measures were rooted in wanting only the best for her children. And caught in the crossfire were the subjects of her book: her two daughters.
Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, 22, who graduated from Harvard College in May, was a high school senior when the book came out. Many head into college hoping for reinvention, but Chua-Rubenfeld had no such luck. She was branded as the offspring of the world’s shrewdest mother well before stepping onto campus. Rather than eschewing it, she embraced it. Piggybacking on her mom’s notoriety, Chua-Rubenfeld authored a blog called “New Tiger in Town” throughout college and just launched a college prep service, Tiger Cub Tutoring LLC, last month.
Chua-Rubenfeld told Yahoo Finance that she faced a lot of negativity and was even the subject of a classmate’s monologue performance during orientation. But she was most struck by the number of emails, tweets, Facebook messages, and blog comments from middle school and high school students asking her for advice.
Some reached out because they wanted to share their stories of strict rules at home with her. Others wanted tips on how to get into an Ivy League school. She decided to capitalize on others’ interest by starting a reasonably priced, virtual tutoring service. All sessions are conducted over Skype and cost $60. Chua-Rubenfeld and her co-founder and cousin, Amalia Halikias (Yale class of 2015), assembled a team of 23 tutors, all of whom are former or current undergraduate students at Harvard and Yale.
Chua-Rubenfeld and Halikias are looking to tap into the $107 billion online learning space, but they’re not just after profit, they say. Some of the money Tiger Cub Tutoring makes will be used to fund free tutoring for meritorious students from low-income families (there’s an application process for the pro bono program).
In true tigress fashion, Chua-Rubenfeld launched the service a few weeks before enrolling at Yale Law School. When asked how she plans to juggle both gigs, she said, “When you’re doing something that excites you, you can always find more hours in a day. I’m a firm believer in short bursts of high-intensity work.”