China, Youth: the Princess Problem.

Deciding what to write about for this subject (youth/school) was something of a challenge. While in Shanghai with Prof. Ma, I had a great opportunity to experience China's university students first hand. I was invited to speak to two classes at the East China University of Political Science and Law. We discussed the tension between liberty and security and I saw how they do things large and small. Our public colleges could have it so good.

The longer I stayed in China, however, the more I became convinced that there was another, more interesting subject for this post: the social impact of the one child policy. What I call China’s Princess Problem.

Until now, when I thought about the one child policy, I always thought about it in its resource allocation dimension. China is a big country physically. One of the largest on the planet. The other big countries, US and Russia, are and have long been world powers. The other two big countries, China and Canada, both had population problems limiting the potential their geographic size created. Canada's population is too small and China's too large.

China resolved to do something about it. Over time they would reduce the size of their population by restricting family size. A couple could only have one child without penalty. The math works great. Over three generations 4 grandparents become 2 parents then 1 child. By the time that child becomes the grandparents you have potentially reduced your population by 3/4. Resources do not need to be spread so thinly. Less becomes more.  It is, of course, the kind of policy that can only be accomplished by an authoritarian state - but that's China. They can do it and they are doing it.

What was interesting to me are some of what I presume are the unintended (but in retrospect predictable) consequences of this policy. I know it's startling, but almost every child in China is an only child! They grow up with the undivided time, attention and affection of not just 2 parents but 4 grandparents.

Are they a little spoiled? How could they not be? Particularly given the rapid expansion of the Chinese standard of living. People are beginning to have some disposable income and their only (grand) child is often the repository of choice. It's not just the trinkets, though we saw kids soaking those up enough. It is also the hopes, dreams and expectations. The kids are under great pressure to succeed, to marry and to produce that only grandchild.

Sometimes it seems it all goes wrong. The newspapers had lots of articles complaining of spoiled youth – materialistic, self-centered, ungrateful. Stories of the young becoming estranged from their elders and their culture.  In a society where you are expected to care for elders this is a big deal - but it is also a tall order for one (grand)child spoiled or not.  Six elders expecting attention. The math is tough.

Turkey: Youth, education.

In many respects, education was the raison d'être of Atatürk’s revolution. Establishing Turkey’s independence and securing Turkish territorial integrity were clearly vital impulses motivating the Turkish nationalists after World War I, but accomplishing those goals did not require a revolution. The revolution was not just political, motivated by Atatürk’s desire to be in charge. No, Atatürk wanted to be in charge in order to accomplish a revolution - a cultural Revolution. Atatürk believed the long-term success of Turkey depended on a cultural transformation from Eastern (Ottoman) tradition to Western “civilized” modernity. Turkey’s competition was Europe and they were outperforming them. Atatürk believed Turkey’s old ways were holding the country back and he was determined to shed them.

Bilkent's Gate

Education was the means for social transformation and had the notable side benefit of creating a constituency supportive of the policies going forward. As a result education and Turkey’s youth had a special place in the heart of Turkey’s unquestioned leader. They figure prominently in his rhetoric and mythology. Given the extraordinary devotion of Turks to Atatürk, even to this day, his commitment to education remains a core value of Turkish society. Turks take education seriously and have created a system that compares favorably with its European neighbors.

K-12 education is compulsory and admission to the university is competitive. There is a single nationwide, three-hour exam which creates a hierarchy among students and allocates the most desired placements based on performance. On the surface this is an egalitarian merit-based system. The reality is that like in the United States, exam prep is vital and exam prep courses cost money. Do the wealthy have an advantage? Of course they do, but in Turkey that advantage ends at the university's gates.

Once you get in, the Turkish university student has a pretty sweet deal. Their education will cost them virtually nothing. Tuition is non-existent, housing and board are provided. At Bilkent University (Turkey’s #1 and that's not just according to Murat, a proud alumnus, Wikipedia agrees) students had at their disposal anything they could need. The campus is immense (5000 acres, Harvard in comparison is 210 acres) and is more like a city unto itself with stores, a hospital, its own mosque (and religious space for minorities) and associated business enterprises. It is the realization of Atatürk’s vision for his country. It turns out graduates who in global competition take a backseat to no one.

Cuba, Youth.

Life is tough in Cuba. Nobody has it easy.  But if anybody gets a bit of preference, it seems to be the kids. Rationing is one example. In Cuba, most of the family’s foodstuffs are acquired through the ration book system as un-rationed food is generally available only for CUC’s and hence is very expensive. How much milk does a person get? None. It's just for the kids (U7).


There are a lot of other little luxuries (sadly milk is a luxury) that are extended just to the kids. In my travels around Havana I came upon lots of opportunities for recreation intended for the younger children.  Pony rides, amusement park, playgrounds – not elaborate but available for pesos.  In the Cuban Art Museum, downstairs in the foyer they set up chairs, a stage and a sound system for a children’s show targeted at preschool and elementary school children. The show was pretty good. The performer was clearly a professional, her props were stage quality. It was the kind of thing you would expect to see on a local TV show, given for kids and their parents without cost.

Several times during the week I saw small groups of school age kids, in their uniforms, walking in groups clearly out on field trips. Some of these activities were doubtless part of the Pioneer program (based on the day and time I saw them - Saturday p.m. It wasn't likely a school outing)  Nearly all Cuban youth participate in the Pioneers, a trademark part of life in a Leninist country. Who better to raise your kids than the party?

A uniform at every grade

Though in their programs for youth the party's motives may be clear, it does not change the fact that youth and education are a priority. Compared to the United States, as a percentage of GDP, Cuba spends roughly 5 times what we spend.  In real terms, that may be less than we spend but it speaks to the value Cubans place on educating their youth.  

And they get results.  As I said before, Cuba’s medical program has become one of Cuba's few export products. It is a product of the education system.  Illiteracy, once a fact of life for many Cubans is now almost unheard of. There is great potential in Cuba's youth. It is ironic that the regime feeds that potential only to stifle it later, after they graduate. (see Cuba Commerce – coming soon)

Germany: School

Our Neighborhood's School

On the Berufsschule curriculum

You hear stories about parents in Manhattan that stress over whether their kids will get into the right preschool. Apparently, if they screw that up, the kid is toast. You can kiss the Ivy League and future success goodbye. It's a good story, I don't know whether it is true.

There is some truth in the fact that preparation at one level of an educational system opens doors to the next. The obverse is also true. The absence of preparation closes doors. Students on one track tend to end up where that track leads. On a different track? You are probably headed to a different destination.

Tracking is not a big part of the American public education system. If you are in the public system you are in the same boat as the overwhelming majority of fellow students. There are many tracks that branch off the public high school system.

That is not true in Germany. Germany students may all start off in the same boat at the primary level of education, but after that they separate into groups and start heading in different directions. The top students head off to the Gymnasium on their way to the university. For those students, the path is pretty sweet. German universities are almost free and at the end of the road, you have an elite education that sets you apart from the other 90% of your student cohort . Your prospects are good.

What they teach, where

And what about the other 90%? It may seem pretty cold to slam the university door closed on students just barely in their teens. And that is pretty much what happens. It is possible to get to the university without going to Gymnasium, but it is not at all common. So what becomes of them? Well, some of them receive a basic education and then technical apprenticeships and working-class jobs. Others will go to Berufsschule and professional training - again leading to a career.

With low unemployment, generous benefits, vacation allowances that make US norms seem pitiful and decent wages (wage disparity is half - top to bottom - what it is in the US) the economic consequences of the educational tracking are nowhere near as great as those confronting Manhattan toddlers. All tracks can lead to a decent life.

Russia; Youth

A school playground - the sidewalk...

One of the things that has struck me since arriving at Belgium is that there are kids here. You wander around town, you bump into them everywhere. It's not that unusual - until I started to reflect on Russia. Sometimes you don't notice what's missing until it appears. Now that I see kids everywhere, it strikes me how few we saw on the streets in Russia.

It wasn't that we never saw children. We did.  In the parks, at the play equipment and at schools. The places that belong to kids, they were there. But it is remarkable now, on reflection, how absent they were from the parts of Moscow we visited. It made me wonder, are there no kids in Russia?  So I checked.  Not really, as it turns out.  Of the 200 countries for which statistics were reported, Russia's birth rate was 174!  Lower than the People's Republic of China with their famous "One Child" policy.  In fact, there just aren't that many kids in Russia.

A park - Old School

The statistic makes sense in the context of the anecdotal information we encountered talking to Russians during our stay. Having kids in Russia is not easy. They are expensive, it seems and many Russians worry about having the resources to care for them as they should. Will the apartment be big enough?  After they leave public school will there be the money to pay for a trade school or university?

Moscow Park - New School

Parents everywhere deal with these questions, but for Russians they are somewhat new. Under communism there were other worries, how to pay for the kids wasn't one of them. Then there was the collapse and the uncertainty.  Kids represent a commitment of decades. None of us can see into the future.  You have to guess. My sense is that for most Russians the guess has been that it does not look good enough to risk having kids.  When will we have a hint that Russia has turned the corner? Maybe watching the birth rate statistics will give you an indicator.