Summary Of Annette Lareau's Unequal Childhood

Within Kohn’s essay he responds to the accusations of selfishness and ungratefulness given to the younger generations today. He finds it ridiculous at this point how stereotypical the beliefs of older generations are about younger generations and their more liberal thinking, it's always the same accusations again and again. Kids are always ungrateful and they never learn to appreciate what life they have been given, is too overheard within this topic, “ they have become our society’s conventional wisdom about children...it will almost be from this direction”. Kohn also says, that too many always claim that discipline from the parents is too common, “If the subject is discipline (and limits imposed by parents), the writer will insist that kids today get too little”. He states that these claims are all misconceptions and both the child and the parent should not be at fault because these myths are just not true, there is no evidence to show, “what impact, if any, this practice has on the kids”. Statistical evidence also shows how these assertions are wrong by showing how all articles that condemn young people are merely recycling the same information and, “only 27 percent of educators in the sample report having seen “many” examples of overinvolved parenting”, this is a very low number from a sample of families within school districts. Kohn demonstrates that even educators who see the children year-round don’t see the “common” overbearing parent raising their children to be narcissistic and egotistical adults.

This is because their families don’t have the time or money to buy things for them or to take them to places to work on the tasks they need to work on. This ties into the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In this book, Gladwell looks at success in a very different way, including “the ten thousand hour rule.” He explains that the rule says you need ten thousand hours of practice at something to be an expert at that specific task, and that when you become and expert you’re more likely to be successful. This relates back to children in poverty because these children don’t get their ten thousand hours of practice at a certain task. They don’t get the ten thousand hours in because their families do not provide them the opportunity to get the ten thousand hours in. This also relates to Gladwell’s book Outliers because he talks about how people have to have opportunities to get in the practice you need to be successful. This can relate to Gladwell’s book in one more way: the structure of people’s families. He states that families in poverty are less likely to be involved with their child, in sports or in academics, because they do not get the chance to be. This is just one of the many ways 3poverty affects the success of

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).

All children are not raised the same exact way. There are many different parenting styles, ranging from authoritative to neglectful parenting. Along with those many different styles also come many different opinions on which ones are better or worse for children. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is a book that essentially looks into many factors that contribute to people's successes. In chapter four, Gladwell writes about how different parenting philosophies impact how successful the children will be when they are older. Gladwell claims that there are essentially only two main parenting philosophies, “concerted cultivation” and “accomplishment of natural growth” (Gladwell 104). Gladwell goes on to also claim that between those two parenting philosophies, children raised from concerted

She also talks about how middle class parenting differs from the other social class. The middle class parents mostly dominate the lives of their children while the working class parents cannot concentrate that much on their kids. She also brought a name for this phenomena called “Concerted Cultivation”.

The income’s level affect children scializacion due to they feel not welcome if they do not dress like everyone in the group or if they do not participate in activities like fieldtrips, parties, etc. Low income families do not make enough money to cover all these expensive school sctivities. Then,

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.

Regardless of social class most parents wish for their children to be happy, healthy, and successful; however, parents disagree on the best way to raise their children to be all of those things, which is when social class determines the parents’ child rearing method. Whether a child comes from a working class or middle class family affects the child’s development and socialization; and consequently the child’s future.

Reuven and Danny, like Abby and I, experience contrasting parenting styles through religion, education, and daily rituals, yet we all grow up into competent, full functioning young adults. Therefore, no “perfect” parent exists. The old African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child” rings true in Potok’s The Chosen and in real life. Children learn from

Parents have a significant amount of influence on how their children will act, behave and do certain things in today's world which base off of their skills. Not all parents will acquire impressive parenting skills and be able to raise their children properly in society. In a memoir called The Glass Castle, by author Jeannette Walls shares her life story and how it may be perceived as normal. In Jeannette’s life, she along with her siblings are raised by a father and a mother who raises their family in a way that society would view as unusual or problematic. Parents are the adults who have certain ways and skills on how their children are raised in which could be considered a problem, society, on the other hand, has certain views but isn’t necessarily the problem.

Poor and working-class parents were found to hold to an “accomplishment of natural growth” parental philosophy. Natural growth promotes a clear separation between children and adults, employs the use of directives, places little emphasis on the importance of verbal communication and eye contact, allows children greater independence, and promotes deference and submissiveness to adults. Inspiring and positive qualities can be found in children raised in homes exercising this perspective, qualities such

These two styles of parenting are both ineffective in fostering the talent and passions of their children at early ages. One unable to maintain a stable, healthy relationship during early childhood years and the other being too overbearing over the child's decisions in life caused the children to both undergo an avoidable difficult childhood. The result of each mother’s parenting is the opposite of what the mother’s had hoped their parental

In a child’s upbringing, the concept of social class and race plays a pivotal role in a child’s growth and development. In the ethnographic study, “ Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life”, the author, Annette Lareau argue that the influences of children with distinct socioeconomic backgrounds can determine how a child will be raised. The author primarily focuses on two distinctive practices of child-rearing: concerted cultivation and the accomplishments of natural growth. Lareau explains that both of these distinctive patterns of childrearing have their own benefits and drawbacks, but emphasizes on how concerted cultivation and parent involvement allows children to gain a deeper understanding of the world and the ability to fluently interact with social institutions. Also, the practice of concerted cultivation allows children to develop skills that are shown to be beneficial for the future. In contrast, the practice of natural growth limits the child’s language and communication skills, in which they are not adequately prepared for the challenges of adulthood. In my opinion, I believe that the way a child is raised has a significant impact on a child’s future.

Reading this book shows how social class status of a child’s parents matters. One of the big issues was how it matter in school success. Chapter 1 talks about the difference between Concerted Cultivation and the Accomplishment of Natural Growth. Concerted Cultivation is a middle class child rearing technique they use on a child to improve their child talents. The middle class parents use this technique to schedule activities for their child. Parents also practice language with their child. Middle class parents let their child find agreement with them. Lareau states that middle class parents also takes more consideration with authorities that are associated with their children. For example, when a parent is not comfortable with the teacher’s way of teaching, middle class parents would directly speak with that

All families want their children to be happy, healthy, and grow. Social classes make a difference in how parents go about meeting this goal. In Annette Lareau book, Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, she promotes middle class parents as concerted cultivation. Middle class parents encourage their children’s talents, opinions, and skills. For example, engaging their children in organized activities and closely monitoring children’s experiences in school. According to Lareau, middle class children gain an emerging sense of entitlement through this pattern of converted cultivation. This causes a focus on children’s individual development. There are signs that the middle class children gain advantages from the experience of concerted cultivation. However, the working class and poor children do not gain this advantage.