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Chapter4. Analysis of Character Concern
To compare with last chapter, this chapter examines the influence of family and social impact on Taiwanese parents’ concern over their children’s study plan. From the category of upbringing and good personality cultivation, we are conscious of parents’ decision is deeply affected by how their kids’ be molded. There is no second time for kids’ growth and all parents wish their children to have good character. As a result, studying locally and interacting with local people in China, or even influenced gradually by social environment is not supportive for cultivating children’s good moral personality. Parents have to seek some solutions to overcome the non-controllable circumstances. For instance, to center on family education or to select suitable schools are ways to nurture kids with correct values under the lower social quality surroundings. The ways parents choose to control are to anticipate their kids to have good moral values. That is, in the children’s growth track, parents wish to leave them with good character influence. Here this paper views character education from two perspectives. One is inner-personal, that is ethics, morality and humanities cultivated manner; the other is intra-personal, that is culture standing and average standard. Ethics, morality and humanities cultivated manner is deep inside with perception. Culture standing is manifested in surface in everyday manners. Both are central aspects of character education. How the parents’ intention of safeguarding their kids’ good character cultivation to decide up their children’s study plan will be the key point of this chapter.
Therefore, the interviewees are parents whose children have studied in China for more than one year. Moreover the Taiwanese businesspeople have comments on this issue or educators are interviewed to comprehend our understanding. The difference of character cultivation influences Taiwanese parents’ consideration over their kids’ study plan. Here under the perspectives of family and social impact, this chapter will analyze the findings with a brief summary.
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4.1 Family influence
Many Taiwanese businesspeople in China leave their children in Taiwan because of the concern of the imperfect morality in China. Therefore mother and children stay in Taiwan and father works in China alone. Take Mr. Chu for instance, he has set up a lighter factory in Wenzhou and his wife runs a gift company in Taiwan:
We have considered sending our children to study in Wenzhou but Wenzhou is just a second-class city. We also think about letting them study in Taiwanese Businessmen’s School in Shanghai but they still need to get accommodation in school, only come home in the weekends, that’s no big difference to stay kids in Taiwan. Moreover the father is really against the essential education in China, he thinks that Taiwan has better intellectual refinement. We emphasize greatly on kids’ character and morality education. (interview2010012501)
We can realize from the above example, many children are left in Taiwan to continue their education because of the concern of lower culture level in China. And the one-child policy makes many Chinese parents spoil their child that many Taiwanese parents worry that this situation could ruin their kids’ correct moral values:
I have visited relatives in China for many times. Because of the one-child policy, every child has bad habits, like they don’t give precedence out of courtesy and they rush to pick up veggies without permission. The behavior makes me to ponder not to let my kids study in local schools for fear of learning those bad habits. I told my husband that cultivating our children with refinement is the priority to other knowledge, kids can still learn knowledge when they grow up but character and morality have to be learnt when they are little. (interview2010012801)
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Mr. Kao set up an electrical machinery factory in 1997. The whole family moved to Shenzhen altogether in 2002. Because Mrs. Kao concerned of their kids’ character cultivation, they pick up the Taiwanese Businessmen’s Dongguang School in the hope of letting their children contact with Taiwanese students.
Taiwanese Businessmen’s Dongguang School is an accommodation school.
It takes two hours drive from our house in Shenzhen to school. My children accommodate in school and have contact with Taiwanese children that their cultural levels are similar. I am sure my kids will have better moral influence. (interview2010012801)
And Taiwanese Businessmen’s Dongguang School is praised itself with good development on character education, more details will be left to discuss more in the next school education section:
We undertake the education by life education and character education.
These two types of education are the main themes in our school.
(interview2009080302)
A great amount of parents in order to ensure their children’s character cultivation, they let their kids study in Taiwanese Businessmen’s School or international schools.
There are parts of parents let their children study in local schools, therefore, undoubtedly family education means a lot. Many Taiwanese parents in China indicate that
they need to make more efforts to tell their kids correct moral values in the hope of the children learning the good personality, not being influenced by the surroundings:
We have to pay attention to our kids’ character cultivation through family education. I reason things out for my children and spend more time and care more about my kids. (interview2009072804)
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The public spirit in China is low and as parent we have to set a good example with our own conduct. I tell my kids to know what to do and what not to do to posses basic public spirits. (interview2009073001)
In China, the cultural level is not as good as in Taiwan. We don’t just criticize the local environment but try to teach our kids what’s correct and give them good concepts. (interview2009073101)
Labors are poor or spilt on the road, we tell our kids to be considerate. It is because these labors have no opportunity to accept education so that construct their habits that way. I let my kids understand how important education is. (interview2009073101)
The advantage of Taiwan is the living quality. Few years ago there were phlegm everywhere on the roads and we had to jump to avoid walking on.
My sons was angry at this the badness of Chinese local people sometimes but I told them that they have to get used to the surroundings, not to ask the surroundings to adapt you. (interview2009073102)
The condition that parents can take care of kids nearby strengthens the function of family education and upbringing children. Moreover, the family reunion creates the condensation feeling that the stable feeling could help children’s good personality cultivation. The positive and warm family aroma provides a strong shield to safeguard for kids’ good personality fostering:
In China it is nuclear family style. This provides me more space to give consideration to two things--- to praise and to blame. Previously in Taiwan, my mother-in-law soothes my kids but I have to scold them. In China the relationship among my sons and me has improved and the tension released.
I can have chances to let my husband know how to express our love to kids.
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Though my husband is still busy at work, we as a whole family can stay together that we can sense a stable feeling. (interview2009072804)
At that time we chose to accompany with our children with family warmth.
Our family seems as a life community that our children become more sensible. (interview2009073102)
Exactly as said, the family stable feeling makes parents to sense their children to become better and better. The condensation as a whole family makes the kids more sensible. When I interviewed Mrs. Liu, her daughter accompanied with her, from time to time, they showed the intimate relationship in the process of conversation:
I had to work in Taiwan and my kids were raised by their grandparents.
Now in Shanghai I do not need to work so I can concentrate my attention to my kids. (interview2009072801)
I am a full time mother in Shanghai. The whole family members get together. I don’t particularly discipline my children. They personally can obey the regulations and be well mannered mainly because we accompany beside kids. (interview2009072801)
The stable feeling as a family and parents’ setting good example with their own conduct play important roles in upbringing children. Many Taiwanese parents in China realize the immature of cultural quality in local society. As a whole, under the
non-controllable circumstances, Taiwanese parents emphasize more on family education.
They set good example with their own conduct to lead their kids to correct direction, to ensure their children’s good character molding.
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4.2 Social Impact
Taiwanese businessmen parents concern the influence of family and also society to ponder over their kids’ study plan. It is obvious the Taiwanese children’s character, morality cultivation is effected by local social culture and surroundings. Therefore, this section will observe the social networks in China to pull or push parents to bring their children with to study in China.
Many parents do not recognize humanity quality in China though this unapproved condition doesn’t reject the possibility to let their kid study locally. But more or less the condition influences parents’ concern over their children’s study plan. In order to lessen the weakness of moral and personality degradation, the parents make more efforts to nurture their kids with correct values. The following interviewees all express there negative standpoint of local humanity quality:
The local motorcyclists don’t make their way for passerby. In Taiwan, it is always the pedestrians first. (interview2009072601)
Local people throw trash or spit randomly out of the window when taking public buses. I heard of someone was spit by others’ phlegm on road. And I saw kids taking a number one and adults taking a number two along the roadside. (interview2009072801)
In China, the government wants to carry out the norm of walking left and standing right but it’s very difficult to carry it out here.
(interview2009072906)
I saw local people wear night-robes to go to department stores and I couldn’t accept this and was astonished then. However for local people, they feel that their night-robes are their best clothes so they wear them to department stores. (inteview2009072906)
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I don’t identify the local culture in China. When I came to Shanghai, I saw people sit on row to take a shower along the roadside. They spit at will and have no public spirit. (interview2009072804)
Take spitting for instance, the government has given orders that people are not allowed to spit. But after the period of the Olympic game, people do the same as before. Sometimes I feel strange that how can they have so much phlegm to spit. Hence I have to look down on the road to be careful from stepping on. (interview2009072804)
Parents’ impression on social environment will absolutely affect their children’s reaction toward the surroundings, further more, to influence the tug-of-war of satisfaction between Taiwan and China. Under the strikes of correct values and character cultivation, children will especially miss the humanity environment in Taiwan:
Every time my son goes back to Taiwan, he doesn’t want to come back to China because of the attraction of culture and thoughts in Taiwan. The public spirit is quite good in Taiwan. (interview2009072902)
My kid said that it was comfortable to walk on the street in Taiwan when he went back to Taiwan last summer vacation. The mean quality in Taiwan is so nice. In China, the more bustling spots are, the more labor workers are. (interview2009072804)
Mrs. Chen finds her son is fond of the humanity surroundings in Taiwan so she makes it as an incentive to encourage her son to pass entrance exam to Taiwan University, then he can go back to Taiwan. When the environmental quality is not that satisfying in China, many Taiwanese parents realize only when they personally can accept the local life, their kids can be able to accept as well. As far as some parents concerned, they teach their children to be tolerant the surroundings and to approve of the gradual local progress.
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needs time to promote. Such concepts can direct be passed on the children through family upbringing procedure:
I find that Shanghai has progressed fast. Like World Expo and the Olympics events, the local government keeps on popularizing quality development and keeps on advertising. It is unalterable principle for us not to throw trash randomly but they need to be educated continuously.
However if we retrospect Taiwan ten years ago, Taiwan is just the same as today’s China. (interview2009072903)
It needs time to enhance the living quality in China. Once the time is spanned, the improvement is possible. Mother Wu shows understanding for the condition:
From the perspective of living standard, China-Taiwan-Japan is similar to a ladder, with higher quality than the preceding one. Actually it is like a tuft of salt tosses into a bottle of water (Taiwan) or a vat of water (China), the thickness definitely varies. China doesn’t reach the level yet but if the time is lengthened, it will gain advancement. (interview2009073101)
Taima even uses what they see and hear as the best authentic materials to
build up children’s character and values. More important of all, authentic materials are to mold the children’s values but have unexpected outcomes.
In 2003 in Shanghai, half foreign labors and half local labors slept on road because they had no air conditioners then. When my son and I saw the condition, I told him to have gratitude of what he had got.
(interview2009073102)
Labors are poor and spit at will, as the situation, I educate my children to be considerate that they have the habits because of the environment. I also teach my kids the importance of education. (interview2009073101)
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When we looked for a house then, we went to the cluster of labor area. I brought my kid to the area to let him see the labors’ children to study by the street lights. I taught my son to cherish what he had and knew that people can rise from poverty to affluence. (interview2009073101)
Though some parents hold positive attitudes toward future quality of China so they are will to bring their children to study locally. But there are still parents concerning the imperceptible influence on children’s moral values. Mr. and Mrs. Chu decide up to let their kids stay in Taiwan, a more releasing education system they trust.
The economic development is too fast to create upstarts that those people have bad sanitation habits and worse morality. We worry about our children being influenced so we let our kids continue education in Taiwan’s trustful education system. (interview2010012501)
Overall, almost every parent doubts the social environment in China to nurture their kids with good morality. In order to lessen the negative effect, they extraordinarily strengthen the family function to meet the expectation of children’s possessing good character and moral values.
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5. School Selection
The school children attend, that is composed of curriculum, teachers’ quality,
peer group and school culture, is selected by parents. The choice reflects parents’ concern over their children’s study plan. Therefore we can peek what these parents care for
their kids’ character or competitiveness from the perspective of picking up schools. This section will observe the sequence of ideas from school education to analyze the factors of school selection---stay in Taiwan or move to China. Generally, Taiwanese parents prefer staying their kids in Taiwan since they trust in Taiwanese education system. But what if they have to bring their kids with to China, they will assess each schools with the tendency to put their kids in average-quality Taiwanese Businessmen’s School, international schools or private schools. This decision is to ensure their children’s character and moral standard meet the parents’ identification. Besides, the multiple school choices in China are niches for parents, like Taiwanese Businessmen’s School, International School or local schools, their kids all have chance to enter. Compared with Taiwanese fixed pattern to enter studying-area school or private schools, in Taiwan they seem to have restricted choices.
5.1 Leave Children in Taiwan
Many Taiwanese Businesspeople leave their kids in Taiwan. On one hand, they are more familiar and trustful with Taiwanese education system. On the other hand they consider the nurture of children’s moral values and character. Since some Taiwanese parents think that there is a big moral values gap between Taiwan and China, they would not take the risk to let their kids study in China. Mr. Chu has set up a lighter factory and sold into local market but when it comes to children’s education, he doesn’t want to bring his kids with to China. The main concern lays on spirit manners and character education:
I have stayed in China for a long time but I am against Chinese fundamental education. I think that in Taiwan, spirit manners and quality is better. We parent care a lot about kids’ character and moral personality