ePub Ghost Dances and Identity: Prophetic Religion and American Indian Ethnogenesis in the Nineteenth Century by Gregory Ellis Smoak in History

Description

Class does make a difference in the lives and futures of American children. Drawing on in-depth observations of black and white middle-class; working-class; and poor families; Unequal Childhoods explores this fact; offering a picture of childhood today. Here are the frenetic families managing their children's hectic schedules of "leisure" activities; and here are families with plenty of time but little economic security. Lareau shows how middle-class parents; whether black or white; engage in a process of "concerted cultivation" designed to draw out children's talents and skills; while working-class and poor families rely on "the accomplishment of natural growth;" in which a child's development unfolds spontaneously—as long as basic comfort; food; and shelter are provided. Each of these approaches to childrearing brings its own benefits and its own drawbacks. In identifying and analyzing differences between the two; Lareau demonstrates the power; and limits; of social class in shaping the lives of America's children.The first edition of Unequal Childhoods was an instant classic; portraying in riveting detail the unexpected ways in which social class influences parenting in white and African American families. A decade later; Annette Lareau has revisited the same families and interviewed the original subjects to examine the impact of social class in the transition to adulthood.