Should schools do away with the family tree project?

Question

Every year the kindergarten class does a family tree project. They have been doing this as long as I’ve been teaching there And I  even remember doing one when I was a child. This is usually what the worksheet looks like.

Now as you can see there are spaces for grandparents, mother, father, and siblings. 
The child draws a picture of that family member. It is pretty obvious when a family members space is blank. I have heard kids ask other kids why didn’t you draw mom or why didn’t you draw your dad. This is how life goes sometimes and you can’t shield children from everything. But should these family tree projects be done away in schools. This gives the image that all families look the same but the truth is some kids only have grandparents, some only one parent, while others have 2 dads or 2 moms. What’s your opinion on these kinds of projects? Is it stressful or uncomfortable for the children who’s family tree does not look like this or a learning experience that everyone’s family is different?

Answer

Or... parents could take the time to teach their child problem solving by altering the assignment to fit their family. If you have 2 moms, cross out dad and write mom. The world has enough issues without us creating more over simple things.

Answer

No...  Sheltering children isn’t always what’s in their best interest.  Their families are all different and teaching them that it is okay for their family to look different is a good thing. I did one as a kid, and never thought anything of missing people. Should we stop celebrating Mother’s Day, Father’s Day etc because some kids don’t have active parents?  No, of course not.

Answer

Knowing your family and the structure of your family is still important. I’m an advocate of the family tree, especially when teachers explain that families can look different! 
My sister did one at 12 and that was how we learned our father’s father was actually his stepfather - no one knew that, we thought they were biologically related. It was a shocking discovery and easily could have been blamed on the project, but our experience doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be done. My dad died when I was 4, so I was the kid that had to always explain why I didn’t have a dad. It was never a bad thing, and most times the other kids would say “Oh. Okay.” And that was it!
Yes it is important to recognize that families can look very different. But getting rid of projects like this doesn’t make the playing field even - it just hides those differences even more.

Answer

No, families can just edit it so it fits their family. Not all families are the same.

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Yeah, I mean I think it's okay to do a project about your family, but this structure is so archaic it's laughable. And I say that as someone who's kid could easily fill out most of those names. 
It makes it seem like there is only one way to define a family, which is just wrong. I would complain if my kid had to fill out something like this.

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I never had to do a family tree. I'm glad though because my mom was an orphan and my biological father left before I was born, so there wouldnt be much to fill in or modify. Young kids are more likely to be more literal about things and not all parents have the time or desire to help their kid figure out a creative way to reinterpret the assignment. I dont think I was missing out on anything in my development by not siing a family tree. I dont see why kids should be forced to do it.

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Being a single mother, I was always worried when the topic of the father would have came up in the schools. When my daughter was in HeadStart I volunteered a lot in her classroom and I remember one day the kids were meant to say the name of their father, or something like that, and I was so nervous when it came around time to my daughter. Teachers aren’t stupid though and knew that instead of her father what is ur mothers name. I do see ur concern, especially with being at such a young age and in kindergarten. Some kids may end up feeling left out, bc they don’t have a mother or father. They’re also not old enough, in my opinion, to really understand.

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I found out I had a sister because of a tree project😂 we showed up to our freshman high school English class with the same picture of our dad on our boards, got in a fight about it then was confirmed later that we do have the same dad 😂 it was super weird

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I hated family trees as a kid. My family is kinda messy and it brings unwanted attention and it’s embarrassing and stupid and not everyone is comfortable talking about their family situations. Sheltering kids isn’t the answer, but forcing them to talk about personal and private matters in front of judgemental peers isn’t always healthy either. I disagree with these.

Answer

I would rather use a more blank template but also the family structure is a good teaching point too 🤷‍♀️ when I taught preschool our take home stuff was more open ended. Family pictures could be of anyone that’s their family (some were raised by grandparents etc) And if they have  two families and want to include step parents etc? Bring in two picture. I tried to be open to that kind of stuff. I think as they’re older it’d be easier to problem solve and show off their own unique family