Nat.Geo - Child Rearing
National Geographic Taboo: Child Rearing
1. The location is in Beijing, China. 2. The subculture is based on a sport—Gymnastic sport culture at Shi Cha Hai School. 3. In this particular subculture, the people live rather interestingly. From age 3 ½, some special students are selected for special training to be in a prestigious sports school by the name of Shi Cha Hai School. Parents are often hesitant to let their children go due to China’s “one child policy”; however, some parents let their kids go in hopes that they will someday become a world champion. Parents are also therefore not the ones who raise their children. The children are instead taken care of by the state at the Shi Cha Hai boarding school. At the cost of losing time with their parents, living a traditional childhood, and better education, these children instead have boot camp styled workouts each day. Meals are eaten from a cafeteria instead of having their parents’ homemade cooking. These children go through pain, tears, fatigue, and risk of physical injury. However, over time the children grow to take their training seriously and have fun because it would be a wasted effort on their part if they gave up after so much work.
There is also still a risk of whether or not the children will make it after 7 years of continuous training. Very few really go on to be at the top and fewer are willing to take that risk. Many families believe now that it is good to train the body, but it is better to get good grades. Most people do it now just for the idea that it will be for the country rather than themselves. 4. The children are being encultured within this cultural realm by means of training and harsh workouts. In terms of temporal orientation, children are encultured at a young age (~6 years old) into their supposed future course path in gymnastics/athletics. They are trained young and taught young. As they grow up, they learn to love and become one with their given athletic path not
1. The location is in Beijing, China. 2. The subculture is based on a sport—Gymnastic sport culture at Shi Cha Hai School. 3. In this particular subculture, the people live rather interestingly. From age 3 ½, some special students are selected for special training to be in a prestigious sports school by the name of Shi Cha Hai School. Parents are often hesitant to let their children go due to China’s “one child policy”; however, some parents let their kids go in hopes that they will someday become a world champion. Parents are also therefore not the ones who raise their children. The children are instead taken care of by the state at the Shi Cha Hai boarding school. At the cost of losing time with their parents, living a traditional childhood, and better education, these children instead have boot camp styled workouts each day. Meals are eaten from a cafeteria instead of having their parents’ homemade cooking. These children go through pain, tears, fatigue, and risk of physical injury. However, over time the children grow to take their training seriously and have fun because it would be a wasted effort on their part if they gave up after so much work.
There is also still a risk of whether or not the children will make it after 7 years of continuous training. Very few really go on to be at the top and fewer are willing to take that risk. Many families believe now that it is good to train the body, but it is better to get good grades. Most people do it now just for the idea that it will be for the country rather than themselves. 4. The children are being encultured within this cultural realm by means of training and harsh workouts. In terms of temporal orientation, children are encultured at a young age (~6 years old) into their supposed future course path in gymnastics/athletics. They are trained young and taught young. As they grow up, they learn to love and become one with their given athletic path not