EDUC 6358 week 7 blog assignment

I chose to explore China since this is the place I was born and grew up. I stayed in China until I was 15 years old and moved to Canada with my family. I have had lots of experience which might have influence on my emotional development. 

When I was young, I experienced the Tiananmen Protests of 1989. I didn’t have a lot of memories about it but I do remember there were lots of people on the street, as well as policemen. Sirens were everywhere and I felt scared and was kept at home all day long. It was the time that I felt so unsecured because I couldn’t see any of my friends from school, and my parents were stressed about the situation too. I could feel the stress and anxiety from them. My parents knew I was scared so whenever they were at home, one of them was always with me for sure, reading books, watching TV and/or playing games with me. It wasn’t very long before the chaos finished and because of the comfort my parents gave me, it didn't leave a horrible scar in my memory, but it did affect my thoughts and emotions as I am quite scared whenever I hear chaos happening around the area.

In China, there are still lots of families living in poverty. Due to increased income inequality, lots of families still live on less than $2/day. Children from these families drop out from school because their parents can’t afford the tuition. In most cases, these families have more than one child, thus making their living conditions even harder. This lack of education impacts children’s development in all areas. Parents without education don’t seem to understand the importance of children's emotional development and early childhood education. They let their children wandering on the street and put them into elementary school when they are 7 years old (According to the Compulsory Education Law of China, children receive free education until they complete middle school). They also don't have the knowledge to support their children's emotions. All they care is whether their children have good academic performance.Nowadays people start to realize the importance of early education and try their best to put their children in childcare centers. Parents understand that this early education could have impacts on shaping their children’s personalities as well as their future.