Friday, December 13, 2013

Lareau

I wanted to do the reflection type entry for this article because when the article mention middle class families and how the set up and interactions take place, all I saw was my house and myself....minus about twelve years haha. Growing up, I was always in middle class. My dad worked for the parks and rec dept of the city and my mom was a substitute teacher and then later, hired as a teacher's assistant. When my parents got divorced when I was eight years old,though, things became a lot more complicated. I was only a little kid but even I saw the changes... There were less of the "extra things" that we were used to in our lunch boxes, labels went from name brand to store brand and there was just an overall sense of "less than usual". Growing up like this may have many different effects on people. It may cause them to be more froogle and it may also make them strive for and want better than a middle class neighborhood. This article's mentioning about how tight money is in middle class families in the part where Kate and Mrs. Brindle are arguing about her birthday money hits home for me. When I was younger we were never allowed to just take our money and go to the store. Our parents put the checks in their accounts so that we would have to ASK FOR OUR OWN MONEY. The funny thing is, I used to have the same scenario play out at home as did in the article. The first couple of times it is whatever, mom is just holding my money. But then that time comes that I start to think well hey wait- that's my money... Then I ask my mom if it is my money then why cant I have it? She responds with something along the lines of you cannot be trusted to just have the money because you are a child. You will spend it on some nonsense and not buy anything useful. This would be followed by the argument about it being my money to waste so why does she get to decide what I do with it. And for the finale... BECAUSE I AM YOUR MOTHER. The article talks about many middle class children do not often challenge their parents. There is more of an understanding that you are the child and your mom is your parent and she knows best- end of story. While this is what happened in my middle class home, I do not want to assume it is the same for others in the class. This article just made me think about childhood not in the sense of the kids I am teaching but moreso the childhood I lived and how it shaped who I am.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for reflecting on your own childhood -- how families handle money and multiple checks coming into the house (or not) is such an under-talked about topic but so very important to understanding the diverse range of messages about children, trust, and value that parents impart to their children.

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