Analysis Of Annette Lareau's Unequal Childhoods

That was illegal, so from time to time she would get in trouble with the government authorities and, as a result, I would go live with my grandparents. Things changed when I turned 14, 15 years old. My mother finally accepted partial help from my grandparents. She officially opened her business with my grandparents’ investments. From that time on we became a solid representation of the middle class. Thus, answering the question about how the information in this book relates to me and my life, I can certainly state that I have crossed the bridges from Upper Class to Poverty and from Poverty to Middle Class, where, I believe, I presently belong.

Primary education, Supplemental tutoring, summer camps, secondary education, family activities, higher education, first full-time job, subsequent employment, present employment with the age of the person, present residence, second residences"(pp.336-340). He lets you look into the life of different people, some from upper-class families and some from lower class families. The reader can see for themselves that the way they are brought up, whether it is from and upper-class family or lower-class family, it affects them. It

The book Unequal Childhoods describes observations made by Annette Lareau to shed light on the significance of social class and how it affects student’s learning. Lareau presents her observations by highlighting the two dominant ways of parenting that ultimately affect how successful students become as they transition into adulthood. These styles of parenting consist of Concerted Cultivation where parents put through kids through structured activities, and Accomplishment of Natural Growth where unrestrictive freedom and directives are exercised (20-22).

Writer Gregory Mantsios in his article “Class in America”, talks about these things, and how wide the gap is between the rich and the poor and also discusses how the rich continue to get richer, while the poor continue to get poorer. Mantsios gives his readers the profiles and backgrounds of three hard-working Americans, two of them are white males, whose family background as well as education played a role in their success, while the other person is a black woman who is just above the poverty line despite her work as a nurse’s aide. Through these profiles, Mantsios article shows exactly how sex, race and shows how your parental and educational background of a person can play a role in the things that you achieve. Mantsios also talks about one’s performance in school and the level of school completed can suggest whether or not class that person may belong in.

To start off, both of my parents are white Americans. My father’s great grandparents came to america from czechoslovakia in the late 1800’s and same for my mothers German great grandparents. Born and raised in primarily white small towns, my parents are your stereotypical middle class white americans. About 10 years into their relationship when my mom first got pregnant with my oldest brother Dalton (23), they bought a 3 story house that was right outside of a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of Anoka, Mn. The nearest gas station was about a 8 minute drive, and the nearest restaurant was 10. They had 3 boys together, and took in my oldest cousin Chey when she was 10 because my aunt had passed.

In most if not all cases, the class you are born into will determine how you will be raised, and who you will grow up to become. Whether you can speak up for yourself, if you are humble with what you have or you have a more hectic schedule or not, it all plays into what class you are from. No two childhoods are equal and Annette Lareau in her book, Unequal Childhoods explains why this is the case. I will be examining chapters four, five, and seven. These chapters examine poor and working children and teenagers and how their childhoods differ and relate to each other based on the class they were born in whether that be lower class to the poor. What can be learned from examining these three kids, Harold McAllister, Katie Brindle, and Tyrec Taylor is the advantages and disadvantages of having a childhood in the class of the poor or working class.

Exploring the nuances of race and social position beginning in childhood and culminating in adulthood Lareau explores different approaches exercised by parents in raising children. Separating families into three categories, including: middle-class, working-class, and poor, the author began her study. Attempting to answer the question, “What is the outcome of these different philosophies and approaches to child rearing?” Lareau discovers that the answer was found in the “transmission of differential advantages” (Lareau 2011:5). Accordingly, these advantages equip children with tools to navigate through life progressively or prohibitively respective to the individual instruction obtained in childhood. In unearthing these discoveries, the author employed the use of ethnography through naturalistic observation utilizing field notes and taped recordings of interviews with family members.

Mama’s harsh upbringing frames her perspective on the world. During Mama’s childhood, she faces a harsh world chock full of microaggressions and racial prejudice alike. Despite all of the factors working negatively in Mama’s favor, she successfully clambered out of her original pit of societal oppression, and instead took residence in a society a tier above that of her upbringing. The cornerstone of Mama’s dream is the concept of a home with a garden, wherein family can grow up and prosper: “Well, I always wanted me a garden like I used to see sometimes at the back of the houses down home. This plant is close as I ever got to having one” (Hansberry, 53). Although this dream might seem meager through a contemporary looking-glass, black people were systematically denied homes prior to and including the mid-nineteenth century, therefore Mama’s dream demonstrates her direct wish to live a life

In the ethnographic study, Lareau’s main argument is that different social classes can greatly impact the way a child will be raised. Lareau and her assistants conducted an ethnographic research of twelve families from a

The family I grew up in has been by far the largest influence on how I think, and they have taught me many great things and have been amazing parents, however in this essay I will focus on how my views have differed from theirs, and how I have learned to think differently. My mother is a small town in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, and my father is from San Antonio, Texas. I have two sisters, one who is eight years old than myself, the other is two and a half years younger. I was born part of the middle class, white, and I 'm a male. Born in Dallas, Texas I 've spent the vast majority of my life in Frisco, Texas. The entirety of my childhood was spent growing up in a Southern Baptist Christian home. From a young age I was taught in church, which I attended for preschool, that an “acceptable” family is a mother and a father with children. This traditional family model was the setting in which I was raised, so I didn 't realize for a long time that

In relation to self-identity, as I was reading Kelley’s discussion of the working class whites, I couldn’t help but to think of my own family during this time. My great grandparents on my mother’s

There are certain people who think we create our own destiny in life. They believe that we are born as equals, and we shape and mold our future based upon our choices. Then, there are others who believe our destiny is predetermined before we are even born. They think that greatness or failure is beyond our grasp, that the life of a human is like a roadmap, and every destination is marked for our arrival. As much as I’d like to believe that everyone starts life with a clean slate, his or her chances of success as equal as everyone else’s, I don’t think there is true equality at birth. Children are born into impoverished families, who require their kids to stay home and work rather than get an education. There are kids who are born into families of abuse, neglect, and harsh words. In society, we do not begin life as equals. “Beyond the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo discusses inequality throughout the entire story. Weather it is Fatima the one leg, women, or the poor trash collectors of the slums, Katherine provides rich insight into a society that is riddled with corruption, where nothing is equivalent at all. By showing how people are born unequal, Katherine reveals the true theme of the book; inequality throughout society.

For the week of October 16th, the reading that I reacted to most was Soul of a Citizen by Loeb. The page that I found data that made me the most upset was page 162. The part that is most appalling to me is when Loeb talks about the importance of higher education and coming from families with money. Those in the top 25% of the wealth in the US have a 76% chance of finishing college by the time they are 24 years old. Those in the bottom 25% have it much harder.

Race and class can play powerful roles in people’s family experiences. Race is defined as a socially constructed category of individuals who share common inborn biological traits (Newman 2009). Class is defined as groups of people who share a similar position in society based on their wealth and income (Newman 2009). Social class and race shape family lives in many ways, which in return reproduces class and race inequalities. In Annette Lareau’s study of families, she uses real stories of real families to show important social patterns.

My mother Lisa Glover was born to Cora Lee Coney and Jerry Glover in Miami, Florida. Cora Lee Coney died shortly after giving birth to Lisa and so Lisa was adopted by her aunt Rose Harris. My father Eldon Johnston was born in Topeka, Kansas to Eloise Suddarth and Eldon Johnston. My mother made a decision to not marry, but she had 8 children as follows Ephraim, Emilia, Ebony, Exavian, Elexis, Emanuel, Eurcella, and Ekenya. I am an only child to my father. Lisa was an irresponsible adult and Rose Harris took initiative to raise the children. My father Eldon Johnston moved to South African to run his aircraft parts company with his business partner. Rose Harris was very much a motherly and we since we never met our grandmother, Rose Harris has always been considered our grandmother. Rose Harris was the matriarch of the family and was very conservative and religious. My grandmother was able to raise all of her grandchildren on a very limited income. My grandmother Rose Harris died of heart related conditions when I was 14 years old. After her death, all of my siblings were separated and my sister Ekenya and I went to live with family in Georgia. The was move to Georgia life changing as we went from living in a relatively low socio-economical setting to an upper middle class setting. We were taken in by our maternal cousin Joanne and her husband Wilbert Powell. Wilbert was a sergeant major in Army and Joanne was a master cosmetologist.