The end of chicken babies

A couple of days ago, a leaked memo suggested that the Chinese government will enact sweeping restrictions on the K-12 education industry, including banning after school tutoring and online English tutoring and possibly even converting all tutoring companies into non-profit organizations.

The Chinese government’s crackdown is thought to be focused on reducing the cost of raising a child (and thus help increase China’s declining birth rate), but there is also discussion that it might spell the end of “chicken babies” (鸡娃) and “tiger moms” (虎妈), thus easing competition in K-12 education and promoting the fairer allocation of educational resources.

While I don’t think the new policies will be as effective as the government might have hoped, I think the growing public distaste for the rat race in children’s education signals a change in Chinese parents’ mindsets that will eventually propel the societal shift that the government desires.

Personally, as a new father, I often think about how I could assist my daughter’s education, and what key principles I should follow when interacting with her. I have no interest whatsoever in facilitating the cram school treadmill, so I think my mindset is quite different from a typical Chinese parent’s. I’ll share my thoughts in the remainder of this blog post, in hopes that they might be useful for other new parents who are looking for an alternate perspective.

Encourage curiosity

In my opinion, curiosity is the single best predictor of success in life. I don’t think I’ve ever met a very curious person who is not successful at the thing they want to be successful at. Curiosity fuels continuous learning, which is critical because in nearly any worthwhile endeavor these days, our rate of improvement is more important than our starting capabilities.

Children are all naturally curious, so our job as parents to not screw up by stifling it somehow. (I suspect this is easier said than done, but I am committed to trying.)

Encourage problem-solving

The things around us were invented (and initially built) by people no smarter than us. What separates them from the majority of people is their commitment to solving hard problems.

I'd go as far as to say that every unit of value created is the result of a problem being solved, and every instance of mankind's advancement is the result of a new problem being solved.

Children should spend more time solving problems and less time memorizing things that they could find within three seconds by searching online. (Actually, I think this statement applies to everyone, not only to children.)

Encourage positivity

I'm a positive person by nature, so the image above resonates with me. Perhaps this philosophy won't apply to everyone, but I believe that optimism and having a mentality of abundance leads to better results and more happiness overall.

Build an English learning environment

Language prevalence is one of the ultimate lagging indicators. For example, Spanish is still the second most spoken language in the world five centuries after the Spanish Empire had any relevance as a global power. Therefore, even if China were to overtake the United States as the leading global power, English will remain the lingua franca in global business and culture for at least the next century.

I think that prior to the invention of a universal translator, English literacy will continue to be the single most important skill we can learn.

An English environment doesn't have to be a bilingual school or international school classroom. It can be built in any home that prioritizes access to English media. For example, my sister began learning English by watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoons and reruns of Full House. During the summer of my first year after immigrating to North America, I learned to read from the dozens of picture books that I borrowed from the public library each week.

These days, QQ Music can stream almost any English song, and a ¥15/month subscription to iQiyi or Tencent Video gives us access to numerous English TV shows and movies, including most of Disney's library. When combined with other more structured courses (described below), these resources make it possible for almost anyone to immerse themselves in an English environment with just a screen and an Internet connection.

Build an online learning environment

The advent of the Internet has made it possible to learn almost anything online. As long as you know what you want to learn, there's almost certainly an online course or at least some videos about it. You just need to know where to look, and have the right tools/skills to access these resources.

For example, Khan Academy publishes online videos that teach K-12 math and numerous other subjects. Similarly, Coursera and other MOOCs offer online courses for free at the university level. Libgen has virtually all books available for download, for free.

All require a screen and an Internet connection. Most are taught in English. Some can only be accessed through a VPN. As parents, this is where we can help.

Focus on skills of the future

In Canada, we have a saying (often attributed to Wayne Gretzky): "Skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been."

It's worthwhile to think about what industries (and therefore what skills) will be more important in the future. If I had to make some predictions:

• Knowing how to code will be a fundamental requirement
• It will soon be a good time to be passionate about space exploration
• User-created content will continue to grow relative to other entertainment channels

Therefore, if I had a choice, I'd much rather encourage my daughter to practice solving problems logically, learn about outer space, and create things. To me, these seem significantly more interesting than going somewhere after school to do the equivalent of memorizing multiplication tables.