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A review by anhtran221
Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life by Annette Lareau
4.0
3.5 stars. A great book in the way that it finally explains to me why I've always feel out of place/uncomfortable by anything suburban, though it is a study so the writing is pretty clinical.
A study on the impact of social class on poverty. Generally the middle class tends to use the concerted cultivation method where the child is usually over-scheduled in various after school activities (sports, piano, choir, etc) and parents solicit their opinions/encourage negotiation. This method provide them with skills in teamwork and performance and also sense of entitlement, which are skills valued in America's institutions but familial connections tend to be more tense and they may end up being pretty rude. The working class and poor use the natural growth method where children have long periods of unstructured play, close connection with extended family, and directives from parents are usually non-negotiable. This method gives children more control of their time and develops a sense of restraint in the children. However, many will not know how to navigate institutional settings like schools, hospitals, workplaces, etc. The conclusion at the end of the book is that class has more of an impact on poverty than race, though black children still experience racism at any class. She lists several ways the state can intervene to reduce inequality, like universal health-care, state daycare, higher minimum wage, etc. None of which is likely to happen anytime soon.
Quote: "Still, any analysis of the rise of concerted cultivation must also, I believe, grapple with the changing position of the United States in the world economy, and the accompanying decline in highly paid manufacturing jobs and increase in less desirable service sector jobs. This restructuring makes it very likely that when today's children are adults, their standards of living will be lower than that of their parents. It means that there will be few "good jobs" and more "bad jobs," and that the competition for them will be intense."
That quote above basically predicted millennials. Linking this to another book called "Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation", it makes a lot of sense why they can't even. A lot of millennials are probably middle class children who grew up in concerted cultivation, where parents invest a lot of time and money cultivating children into middle-class adults. There's now have a generation of people with middle-class skills and used to a certain standard of living, and there's not enough "good jobs" to sustain that.
A study on the impact of social class on poverty. Generally the middle class tends to use the concerted cultivation method where the child is usually over-scheduled in various after school activities (sports, piano, choir, etc) and parents solicit their opinions/encourage negotiation. This method provide them with skills in teamwork and performance and also sense of entitlement, which are skills valued in America's institutions but familial connections tend to be more tense and they may end up being pretty rude. The working class and poor use the natural growth method where children have long periods of unstructured play, close connection with extended family, and directives from parents are usually non-negotiable. This method gives children more control of their time and develops a sense of restraint in the children. However, many will not know how to navigate institutional settings like schools, hospitals, workplaces, etc. The conclusion at the end of the book is that class has more of an impact on poverty than race, though black children still experience racism at any class. She lists several ways the state can intervene to reduce inequality, like universal health-care, state daycare, higher minimum wage, etc. None of which is likely to happen anytime soon.
Quote: "Still, any analysis of the rise of concerted cultivation must also, I believe, grapple with the changing position of the United States in the world economy, and the accompanying decline in highly paid manufacturing jobs and increase in less desirable service sector jobs. This restructuring makes it very likely that when today's children are adults, their standards of living will be lower than that of their parents. It means that there will be few "good jobs" and more "bad jobs," and that the competition for them will be intense."
That quote above basically predicted millennials. Linking this to another book called "Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation", it makes a lot of sense why they can't even. A lot of millennials are probably middle class children who grew up in concerted cultivation, where parents invest a lot of time and money cultivating children into middle-class adults. There's now have a generation of people with middle-class skills and used to a certain standard of living, and there's not enough "good jobs" to sustain that.