For English teachers abroad, the “family tree” lesson plan almost teaches itself. First, you draw a generic tree on the blackboard. Next, there is the question and answer section to define how many family titles a particular person might have in a family tree. And then the grand finale—having the students draw their own family tree. If a teacher does it right, he can stretch the lesson out over two class periods—and spend hardly any time prepping.
I did the family tree lesson last week in my kindergarten class and it was over before it began thanks to China’s one-child policy. Because the policy has been in place since 1978, China is into the second generation of only-children. Turns out that contemporary Chinese family trees look pretty much like a stick with a couple of leaves at the top.
Most of my students have no uncles, aunts or cousins and an average of 7 people in a their three-generation family tree. I did my best to explain what uncles, aunts and cousins are but if you don’t have any, a five year old has a hard time with the concept.
Also due to the one-child policy is a high degree of franticness demonstrated by parents. They are obsessed with doing everything right for their only-children, which means they do everything for them. This anxiety is heightened due to the fact that EVERYONE they talk to about parenting also has just one child and is doing exactly the same thing.
Not only are the parents frantic about raising the one perfect child, the grandparents are also heavily invested in that one grandchild becoming a good student, a good person and good provider. He/she is their meal ticket when they get old, and of course Mom and Dad’s meal ticket as well.
The only non-anxious member of the family unit appears to be the kids themselves. With four grandparents and two parents around to do everything for them, they barely need to lift a finger. Perhaps it is best to keep them in the dark as long as possible before exposing them to the bright harshness of being the single root.
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Yikes, and we thought the West did wealth transfer from young to old! Never thought about it being so much worse in China.
China is changing so fast and is so big that it is terribly difficult for the government to know the final ramifications of national policies and it is pretty tough to change policies mid-stream once the ball gets rolling. They have skipped generation(s) of social learning which leaves gaps in the understanding of societal process.