Global Careers for Two:
How We Made It Work with
Six Children, 32 Countries and
2 PhDs
March 19 2010
3:00 P.M.
257 HRCB
Who Are We?
 Frederick Crook
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Senior Economist, US Department of
Agriculture
40 years of expertise on rural China
Traveled in all of China’s 31 provinces
Author of 10 books and 190 articles on China
President of the China Group – China
Consulting firm
PhD, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy
(Tufts & Harvard)
Who Are We?
 Elizabeth Crook
 Senior Analytic Service, US Government – 18
years
 Professor at Lingnan University and Dana Hall
School, Wellesley, MA.
 PhD, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy
(Tufts & Harvard)
 Treasurer of the China Rural Education
Foundation
Our Experience Was Individualistic
We are not offering our experience as a model
for other couples.
We simply are relating what we did.
Each couple has to work out their own path.
Twelve Reference Points
 Blend Family Patterns
 Form Joint Goals
 Give Mutual Professional Support
 Anticipate Life’s Events
 Respond to “Exogenous Variables”
 Share Responsibility for Child Rearing
 Involve the Children in Professional Activities
 “A Time and a Season…” – When to Work
and When to Stay Home
 Cultivate Methods to Resolve Conflicts
 Develop a “Thick Skin”
 Have an Eternal Perspective
 Endure to the End
Blend Family Patterns
Crook Family
Frederick and Elizabeth
Fletcher Family
Farm
family in
Fallon
Nevada
Father
educated
at Utah
State Uni.
and
Cornell
Mother
educated
at BYU
Suburban family in Short Hills, New Jersey. Father educated at BYU and
Columbia University, General Counsel at Western Electric. Mother graduated
from USC.
Form Joint Goals
These were ours, decided early in our marriage:
 Christ-centered Family Life – Raising Children Most Important
Goal
 Personal Growth for Each Family Member
 Professional Development for Each Spouse
Give Mutual Professional Support
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Alternate teaching at Dana Hall School, Wellesley, Mass
Frederick - “House spouse” in summer 1967
Frederick’s gift of typing paper, Christmas 1969
Elizabeth editing Frederick’s papers (life-long!)
Frederick at US Con Gen, Elizabeth at
Lingnan University (Hong Kong, 1974-76)
Joint authorship of professional journal articles
Frederick encourages Elizabeth to learn Chinese in Hong
Kong and Taiwan
Frederick pushes computer skills Apple 2E, 1980
Elizabeth takes Frederick on trips to Vietnam, Mongolia,
Colombia, Abu Dhabi, Serbia, and Tanzania, 2004-2010
Work, school, child care, part time work
Elizabeth receives her
Master’s Degree at the
Fletcher School of Law
and Diplomacy
Joint authorship in a refereed
scholarly journal, 1976.
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Elizabeth
pitched in
to help with
the funding
of poor
rural
students in
Gan Quan
County,
Shaanxi
Province.
Frederick Supports Elizabeth’s Travels
between 2004-2010
Two Week Seminars for Foreign Government
Officials
Mongolia
Colombia
Serbia Georgia Afghanistan
AlbaniaAzerbaijan
Japan
Morocco
Lebanon UAE
Libya
Senegal
Oman
Vietnam
Kenya
Congo
Sri Lanka
Maldives
Namibia
Mauritius
Anticipate Life’s Events
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We developed a time line for each child
Start early morning seminary
Drivers education, learning to drive
Graduation from High School
University
Missions for children
Job changes
Marriages
Work after retirement from US Federal Government Service
Public service
Church work
Yellow—baptismal year; Green—enter YM and YW; Red—university:
Blue—possible times for missionary service; Purple—Mission in Taiwan
“The Best Laid Plans”…..: Flexibility
in Responding to Exogenous Variables
 1965—Frederick, you may lose your eyesight
 1975—Frederick has bad job situation in Hong Kong
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Search for truth, not power
1976—”Do you know why I am calling you?”
“Yes, President Romney, you want me to go
to Taiwan.”
1980—Sixth child passes away, return from Taiwan
1981 Adopted an infant boy from Taiwan - Peter
1987 College expenses loom: Part-time work for
Elizabeth begins
1995 - 2003 Elizabeth—full time work
Our family agreed to adopt Pete from an orphanage in Taichung, Taiwan, 1981
Share Responsibility for ChildRearing
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Caring for sick children. Dan meningitis
Discipline—consistent between parents
Cooking schedule—one child one dinner
Cleaning—7th grade, own laundry
Home work—shared the blessings
School and extra curricular activities
Boy Scout activities, music lesson,
sports
Dad and Pete are
camping with the Scouts.
Pete achieved Eagle
rank. Now 30 and
married, he counts it as
one of his major
accomplishments.
Involved the Children in Professional
Activities
 Summer internships at our places of work
 The China Group and China Shop
 The China Rural Education Foundation
 Family home evenings
 Allowances, driving cars, cooking and
cleaning
 Family residence in Hong Kong and Taiwan;
Family travel in China and Europe
Cultivate Methods to Resolve
Conflicts
 1) Spouse and family evaluation sessions:
Name 2 things we did well and 2 things
that could be improved
 2) From leadership training sessions (US
Government training and BSA
Woodbadge training) we learned how to
give and receive constructive suggestions
Mutual Support
Develop A Thick Skin
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Friends
Family
Professors
May try to offer their advice on how you should live your life.
How you should pursue a profession, develop your agenda for
personal growth, and how you should raise your family.
 You should be respectful and listen, weigh the advice and
together chart your course.
Have an Eternal Perspective
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On self development
Promote development of children
Provide stewardship over resources—environment
Live the law consecration
Work for peace
Endure to the End
Stimulating and Service-Oriented
“Golden Years”