<p>@Periwinkle: I would counter that many kids, left to their own devices, would not pursue any passion with anything approaching focus/serious dedication.</p>
<p>I had edited out a sentence in my Bill Gates’ post that I think some kids have a very strong internal drive and other kids need to be driven…while Chua’s example is certainly extreme, I agree with one of her husband’s statements in the NPR interview. He said something like “Many pursuits, like musical instruments and sports, aren’t really that fun until you have some level of expertise…and how does one build that expertise other than putting in practice? And, given the choice, most kids don’t want to practice. So it’s up to the parents to make them.”</p>