Sociology of Education

Question One

After Annette Lareau published her findings in Unequal Childhoods, Class, Race, and Family Life, some of the families endorsed the results because of their reflective nature on the true outcomes of events in their lives. In this case, the Brindles, Marchillis, McAllister’s, were satisfied with the approach undertaken by Lareau in projecting their lifestyles and supporting them with scientific arguments amidst other lines of reasoning. However, the Taylors, Tallingers, Williams, and Yannelis families were troubled by the book because of its approach that made them look bad through the portrayal of their adverse aspects and characteristics. The Tallinger family felt that Lareau failed to capture the intricate details that showed how they enjoyed various events and activities, which kept them busy during the period of research. Likewise, the Williams family maintained that subjective details had been lost in the interpretation of the recorded observations.

While these the Tallinger and Williams families belonged to the middle class, the Driver family, who are part of the working class, felt that Lareau had made them look like racist because of their perspectives towards life. For instance, the author describes Wendy’s friends as “all-white,” indicating that her family values might have discouraged her from having relationships with children from other population groups. Likewise, the Taylor family believed the author had judged them instead of interpreting certain activities that defined their existence and interactions with other people. Lareau indicates that Tyrec’s parents are scared of their future because of their inability to create an enabling environment that supports the changing needs of their children. Lastly, the Yanelli family believed the author’s comments and arguments looked down on them because of their inability to provide effectively for the family.

Question Two

The natural growth approach provides the working class with significant levels of control over the approaches taken by their children to experience and enjoy leisure. Unlike children in other social classes, the working class utilize the natural growth approach to expose their children to an environment where they can access different opportunities for playing with their peers. However, children from poor backgrounds experience different situations and hindrances that interfere with their ability to enjoy leisure like their peers from stable families. Besides, the focus of the middle-class families to limit their children’s understanding of fun is an important aspect that demonstrates the use of the natural growth approach in aligning children with various opportunities they can use to accomplish their desired objectives. The challenges of the natural growth approach manifests when the working class children fail to acquire the relevant knowledge and skills attained by their middle class children. Working class parents provide freedom to their children while the middle class align their schedules with the children’s playing programs, creating an outcome that varies as one interacts with the children from the different population groups.

The concerted cultivation approach equips children with an opportunity to discover their potential and realize various skills that complement their potential in the community. However, children from both backgrounds encounter various challenges that interfere with their social skills, especially when they are exposed to unstructured scenarios where parents lack the much-needed control over their lives. Likewise, parents lack the much-needed timeline and guidance to dictate the approaches that their children can use in their adult stage.