Unequal Childhoods - Ch. 8 & 9

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Unequal Childhoods

Unequal Childhoods- wealth or culture?

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I read chapters 8 and 9. Much of these chapters focused on the middle class and the cultivation of children (concerted cultivation). One thing I took from it was that middle class parents are more likely to have informal access to valuable information and advice from professionals and experts than are working class and poor parents. In other words, these families have connections with many other friends who are professionals such as educators, doctors, lawyers, and others.

• Most middle class families are committed to involving children in a constant schedule with organized sports
• Middle class parents were more likely to request particular teachers for their children
• Mrs. Marshall (middle class mom) always seems to intervene and move in quickly when a problem arises or a demand is not met - middle class parents seem to interact for student problems. She seems to expect that organizations will accommodate to the needs of her child. She also exposes her child in how to deal with people in positions of power within organizations.
• Middle class children may learn to question adults and address them as relative equals (acquired from parents).
• Chapter 8 - middle class parents may complain or try to intervene in the classroom. They feel they have the right and responsibility to take action. The author mentioned these middle class families are engaged in a pattern of concerted cultivation with a close monitoring of their child's institutional experiences.

Chapter 9

• Middle class families may worry that if their children do not enroll in organized activities, they will have no one to play with after school or during summer breaks.
• "Being embedded in a social network of middle-class mothers shapes Ms. Handlon's sense of her rights and her responsibilities with regard to [her child's] education. She and the other mothers seem comfortable passing judgment on all aspects of their children's schooling, critiquing everything from teacher's pedagogical style to the content of their classroom bulletin boards" p. 187

In regards to education - 3 important reasons why the activation of cultural capital may fail. p. 196-197 (last paragraph)

1. Educators are not aware of the middle class mothers' strenuous efforts to comply with school policies.
2. Educators frequently adopt a relatively rigid definition of what constitutes helpful behavior; parents' actions that fall outside those bounds are ignored or discredited.
3. Even with similar levels of class resources, some parents may be able to activate the resources more effectively than others.

After reading this section, I quickly thought of a few families that I had in my class this year. I have a couple mothers that seem to do exactly what these chapters discussed. Their child's schedule is consistently busy and they seem to question many things we do at school. After reading this chapter, I would agree with many of the things I see with middle class families as that was discussed in the book.
I need to dig into a few other areas in the book to get a better understanding. I feel it comes down to cultivation of children in middle class groups versus that of natural growth in working and poor families. I am curious to what others will say about their chapters.