Unequal Childhoods : Class, Race, And Family Life

In the article “The Color of Family Ties: Races, Class, Gender, and Extend Family involvement” by Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian, there is a theory that they believe in reality, people misunderstand the wrong concept of family involvement. In this case, we need to realize this conflict is still happening in the societies. Base on the authors’ data, Black and Latinos/Latinas families show that they likely to have less education than the whites families therefore black and Latinos/Latinas will focus on reply the helps from the members of the families rather than being independent (49). Toward more, Gerstel and Sarkisian also discuss

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.

Annette Lareau, author of Unequal Childhoods Class, Race, and Family Life, revealed her research findings in this enlightening text featuring twelve socially, economically, and culturally diverse families having a child nine to ten years of age respectively in their nuclear family unit. These families were garnered from the author’s coinciding study comprised of eighty-eight children. Lareau, along with her research assistants, visited each family approximately twenty times. Visits included time spent within the home, as well as family events, school functions, doctor’s visits, structured activities, shopping trips, and church services. Wide-ranging contexts allowed researchers a unique opportunity to observe and record a multiplicity of interactions within each family unit.

financial issues, segregation, subtractive schooling, and the overall school climate may negatively impact their overall performance. Jay MacLeod brings to light these issues in his book, Ain’t No Makin’ It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood. The book, which reports the author’s findings on fifteen boys living in public housing and their overall educational and life success over several years. The book centered around the achievement ideology, which is the belief that success can only be obtained through hard work and education (MacLeod, 2009). Under this belief, factors such as race and socioeconomic status do not impact one’s success

In the novel, The Street by Ann Petry the main character Lutie Johnson, a black woman is a single mother raising her son Bub in 1944 Harlem. Lutie, separated from her husband Jim faces many challenges including poverty, sexism, and racism. Children, like her son Bub, living in poverty in the 1940’s cared for themselves while single mothers like Lutie were working; the same is still true today. Lutie was trying to earn a living in order to get Bub and herself out of Harlem, and into a neighborhood where Bub would have a better living conditions including school. Bub was afraid to be alone in their apartment so he spent a great deal of time on the street around external influences that were not the ideal. The street educated Bub instead of the school system. In Harlem, in 1944, poor, black children advanced though the school system whether they were able to read and write or not, the same is true for impoverished children today. In Bub’s neighborhood, his schoolteacher was a white woman who was prejudice against Bub and his classmates based on their skin color and their economic situation. Children like Bub, living in impoverished communities, do not have access to good education and miss the opportunity that education brings due to racism and poverty.

Social inequality stems from many facets of life and mindsets reproduced continuously in America. The main backbone of systematic inequality is formed off of race, gender and class, which all contain crucial aspects that further oppress those subjected to inequality in various aspects of life. The resources-schools, occupations, invested parents- around one fuels the opportunity in their lives, a concept highlighted by Malcom Gladwell, in his book, Outliers. Situations one are brought up in or uncontrollable genetic aspects can very easily restrain their opportunities. Racial discrimination, gender roles and inferiority and the lack of fluidity in the low and working class push inequality, which simultaneously influencing the rich and privileged.

In modern Western society, education success and attainment is the clearest indicator of competence and success. This belief assumes a kind of homogeneity despite the empirical evidence of considerable racial and cultural diversity in North America. As a result, the egregious casualties of the American educational and social system remain disproportionately and overwhelmingly African American. Furthermore, the many casualties among African American youth in North America confirm the failure of the social sciences and the educational system in their attempt to address the needs of the African American child. The following study epitomizes the enduring racial and cultural generalizations of those individuals whose entire history as a “science” has been the repeated distribution of unfavorable characteristics to the African race.

As part of her research method for the book, Julie Bettie spent about a year observing and interviewing with more than 60 Mexican American girls and white girls from middle-class families asking them about various subjects like school, family, friendships, college, popular culture, and their plans for their futures. She named the school “Waretown High School” in order to respect the students and people at the school. Her research revealed that class differences are part of our everyday lives however it is uncommon to talk about it openly. She talks about how class differences are one of the key sources to middle-class practices of

Unequal Childhoods is a book based on the study of a variety of families ranging in class, race and family life. The author Annette Lareau objective was to analyze and understand how and if social life impacts the children pertaining to these different classes. Lareau also examines the affect social class has on those interviewed by following up years later in their transitions to adulthood. Regardless of ones race social economic status plays a role in how a child develops and learns the skills they will eventually grow up to use.

In the article “Class in America,” Gregory Mantsios identifies the social classes in America as well as the growing gaps between them. He explains how people who are born in already wealthy families are well educated and take advantage of opportunities. He claims that people in the lower class are not given a chance to succeed and it is even more difficult for the minorities. Mantsios’ article relates well to Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.” Anyon attempts to find evidence of the differences of schoolwork in lower class schools. Relating well along with these two articles is “Still Separate, Still Unequal” by Kozol. He discusses how minority and lower class schools are practically ignored therefore, setting them up for failure. Mantsios’, Anyon’s, and Kozol’s articles correlate seamlessly in discussing the issues of the effect that social class has on education.

Prior to reading Unequal Childhoods I was aware that there were advantages and disadvantages among children from different social classes however your book painted a more realistic picture of the matter. As I read Harold McAllister’s story I found myself able to relate when I was around his age. Coming from a single parent working class home my mother also strongly believed in providing good care for me and my siblings and it was accomplished under the natural growth model. My mom like Harold’s mom provided love, food, clothing and shelter. We were involved in organized activities and our extended family was always a phone call away. Family was and still is very important among us. We didn’t always get the things that we wanted however our basic needs were always met. As adults now with our own families each of us fall in different social classes. I can honestly say that it is because of the decisions and choices we have made as

Pelina and Nicole were less hesitant to blame their college struggle on race directly. While they both understood that race creates barrier in the society they did not attribute that to their hardships faced in college. They listed other outside sources such as income, network, motivation, and one’s brain capacity. But both emphasize that class, not race, is the main contributor to student’s performance in college. Although it may not be direct, there is no doubt a relationship between class and race that we cannot ignore. In his article, Race, Socioeconomic Status and Health: Complexities, Ongoing Challenges and Research Opportunities, David Williams explain that while looking at the data from 1998 -2006 “Both blacks and Hispanics have levels of overall poverty that are two to three times higher than those of whites. Asians have poverty levels that are generally comparable to those of the white population” (pg. 6) . He goes further in explaining these disparities and mentions that “Among persons with income in the bottom 20% of all US households, for every dollar of

My children have no extra books, no magazines, no extra pencils, or crayons or paper and most important of all, they do not have health.” (pg.3) It is almost impossible to get help from a health clinic because the children are too young and weak to travel. She is trapped in a world where nothing but a “black future” (pg.2) awaits her family. Moore and Ferrara from, “The Equality of Poverty”, lead to a conclusion that tells the reader that different social classes allow our society to prosper. It is believed that “…putting social limits on the success people are allowed to achieve with their own talents and abilities makes everyone worse off…”

Some of the personal experiences that have especially touched their hearts was when they were able to have their own family. It brought them so much joy to have a daughter and then me when I came along because I am the only grandchild. I was their anniversary gift and they could not have been happier. The three things that I noticed have changed as they progressed on with their lives was for papa, his drinking and smoking habits being non-existent no, being sober for 40 years, his gambling tendencies have come to an end and his bale to cook. For Nanny, she is life active because in her younger years would go out to the clubs and dance the night away, eats sweets now like there was no tomorrow, and increased reading habits since she did not when she was younger simply because she did not like too.

Social class is a defining characteristic of all people. It is a multidimensional descriptor with factors that hold relative to the economic, social, political, and cultural resources of society. The resources used to gain advantages in society are called cultural capital. In this manner then, does social class affect how children are raised? Does social class also affect children’s interactions with authority figures? In Annette Lareau’s study “Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families,” collected data showed that social class does in fact affect the approaches by which parents raise their children and guide them in their interactions with institutions and authorities. She found that middle class parents aim to explore their children’s talents by involving them in organized activities. Middle class parents also are more likely to encourage discussion and invoke reasoning when determining punishments, causing their children to adopt a sense of entitlement early on. Working class parents provide an environment for children to grow, but rely on the children to create their own activities. Lareau also found that race matters much less than social class in terms of childrearing approaches. In this paper, the results of a similar study to Lareau’s confirm her results and build upon the conclusions put forth in her original piece.