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This is a common elementary school assignment that some people have come to dislike. The concern with family tree assignments has been that some teachers may only present a traditional way of creating them, without considering that some children may not feel comfortable or able to complete that assignment and may feel set apart for that reason. A good teacher will present - in a positive and matter-of-fact way without singling out any child - that there are ways to create a family tree to reflect step-parent/sibling relationships, members of the birth family (if a child in an OA wishes) or may just have one parent (if a child has a parent who is unknown or uninvolved). This is an issue that comes up because MANY children are now being raised in nontraditional families for one reason or another and some teachers are better/more sensitive in the way they deal with that than others. Mother's Day/Father's Day, and parent/child events (Such as Father/Daughter dances, etc.) are other things that can be handled either poorly or well and can make children feel singled out or hurt if a teacher chooses to ignore the particulars of a child's family make-up.
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