Post #3 Am I a Tiger Mother?

I read Amy Chua's article about the alleged superiority of Chinese mothers versus Western moms. And yes, her book is next in line in my Nook to read (as soon as I finish The Memory Palace). My twelve-year-old daughter Valentina, the reason I ask myself if I'm a Tiger Mom, finished reading it two days ago.
I was raised by two Mexican peasants, with whom my younger sister and I worked the California fields and orchards, work we started doing at six and seven years of age. Both of them were truly loving and caring. But, my Papi, especially, was strict and demanding--"Chinese style" as defined by Chua, maybe less, when it came to education. He demanded A's and B's, though he would tell me he didn't "understand" B's, given that all my material needs such as food, shelter, clothing and health were taken care of. When said like that, I tell Valentina, I don't understand B's either.
I do expect academic excellence, and I expect her to expect it of herself, reason why I allowed her to read Chua's book. I tell myself that as she sees that other moms out there in the big real world can be tougher and meaner than me, maybe she will appreciate me and my parenting style a bit more.
Another thing. I want her to have fun, just not in class. I tell her going to school is her "going to work" like her mami and papi. Though both her parents love their jobs and are blessed for having them, getting up before seven to take a shower and showing up to work is not always fun, but you just never question if you should play hooky and skip going to work. In my mind such is the same for kids in school. A lot of brain work goes on during each class period (or should), and I don't believe it should be fun; challenging and engrossing, yes, but maybe fun is too extreme. I tell her to have fun during lunch or when she meets with her friends. Socializing is a vital aspect of life and that can only happen with your peers. So I do allow Valentina the sleepovers and the theater class (her passion).
Now does Valentina excell? She gets the A's and the B's, though she knows perfectly well she is expected to make the A Honor Roll. She lives a life of privilege and has the sufficient intelligence to minimally achieve this. She's a kind-hearted kid, she's healthy and most of the time she seems happy (though we're beginning to see the pre-adolescent emotional ups and downs). She's beginning to show that sass that I hope will serve her well in her adult life, bur for now makes my role as a mother, tougher. But piano and Kumon Math will continue to stay as a fixture in our lives. Maybe I'll go all Chinese on her and demand (oh the joy) a 30-minute practice at the piano. That would make me one happy Chinese/Mexican/Western mom.