True stories
On Children
by Wu Xiaole
Adapted by the Taiwan Public Television Service (PTS) into one of 2018's most critically acclaimed TV shows about school life, On Children was picked up for distribution by Netflix, became Japan's top-watched Netflix show for a period in 2018, and went on to win 5 Golden Bell Awards in 2019. A young tutor shows how social pressure warps not just the way we educate our children, but how we love them. What is the fundamental purpose of education? Is love truly unconditional? As a home tutor for seven years, author Wu Xiaole was allowed inside the homes of many different families, witnessing peculiar and even shocking scenes behind closed doors. A caring mother, upon seeing her son’s test scores, slaps him across the face with full force. A boy who can’t bear the thought of upsetting his parents attempts to hide his sexual orientation, deceiving others and hurting himself in the process. Some parents strictly control the lives of their children as though they are holding a remote control; other parents use money as a tool to appease and manipulate their children. Wu thought of herself as merely a tutor with one simple goal — to teach her students. She never imagined that tutoring would directly expose her to deep conflicts between students and their families. In this collection of true stories, Wu faithfully recounts these painful moments. This book is not a dogmatic tirade about how children should be educated, but rather offers provocative testimonies about her real experiences. These stories were written in the hope of helping us reflect on what matters most — and to think long and hard about what it means to bring a child into this world.
