Reflections On Privilege And Difference

In The Merits of Meritocracy, by David Brooks, Brooks discusses the lives of middle-class children growing up in America. He opens up with an anecdote about his daughter, to lead into one of his main points: middle-class children have busy and protected childhood, filled with many opportunities supervised by adults (193). For instance, his daughter has four different helmets for biking, pogo sticking, skateboarding, and playing baseball (193). She is a prime example of how the middle-class is presented with opportunities and busy lives; because of this, Brooks claims the general middle-class parent fears their child is too spoiled by abundance, and will never have to commit to one thing (194). Another large fear Brooks states they have, is

There are many factors that can influence a child and young person’s development, particularly in relation to their background. The formative years can be termed as crucial in regards to development and any major setback can create many problems for the future.

Privilege and Oppression are fueled through systems and the participation of society. Systems are “dominated, identified and centered” (90) around privileged groups, which make them superior to the non-privileged. To be privileged is to go through life “with the relative ease of being unmarked” (33), which is not the reality for the oppressed women who reside at Safe Haven. Safe Haven is full of “marked” individuals who are oppressed through systems and society. Specifically, the women I work with are individuals who have not been able to thrive in society due to the oppressed culture in which they live in. These women are shunned away from society, because it is the “privileged groups that are taken as the comparison that represents the

The book Unequal Childhoods describes observations made by Annette Lareau to shed light on the significance of social class and how it affects student’s learning. Lareau presents her observations by highlighting the two dominant ways of parenting that ultimately affect how successful students become as they transition into adulthood. These styles of parenting consist of Concerted Cultivation where parents put through kids through structured activities, and Accomplishment of Natural Growth where unrestrictive freedom and directives are exercised (20-22).

In the beginning of the year I entered this class with a very sheltered and ignorant view of current and past events. Through time and sociological evolution I have begun to see things in a different light. The development of my ability, to look at something or some kind of situation, lets me use the sociological terms in such a manner to relate them to micro and macro problems in society. This started with the assigned readings of the class; the aim was to decipher the messages the authors were presenting. The goal was then to dig deeper and use my experiences to help myself understand the concepts throughout the course. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited." Plutarch (46-120 CE--common era) I was no longer

Lubrano explains how middle-class children understand the importance of receiving higher education, while working-class children fail to see the purpose of preparing for a higher level in the short term. According to Lubrano, “Middle-class kids are groomed for another life” (534). Author Patrick Finn states, “Working-class kids see no such connection, understand no future life for which digesting Shakespeare might be of value” (534). In answering this question, Lubrano must look at the various circumstances that account for the poor performances among working-class individuals, the supportive relationships middle-class students have with their parents and teachers, and how children of working-class parents struggle when preparing for later life. In the address, Alfred Lubrano must address the difference in treatment between working-class and middle-class children attending

She also talks about how middle class parenting differs from the other social class. The middle class parents mostly dominate the lives of their children while the working class parents cannot concentrate that much on their kids. She also brought a name for this phenomena called “Concerted Cultivation”.

Lareau, in Unequal Childhoods, focuses on socioeconomic status and how that affects outcomes in the education system and the workplace. While examining middle-class, working-class and poor families, Lareau witnessed differing logics of parenting, which could greatly determine a child’s future success. Working-class and poor families allow their children an accomplishment of natural growth, whereas middle-class parents prepare their children through concerted cultivation. The latter provides children with a sense of entitlement, as parents encourage them to negotiate and challenge those in authority. Parents almost overwhelm their children with organized activities, as we witnessed in the life of Garrett Tallinger. Due to his parents and their economic and cultural capital, Garrett was not only able to learn in an educational setting, but through differing activities, equipping him with several skills to be successful in the world. Lareau suggests these extra skills allow children to “think of themselves as special and as entitled to receive certain kinds of services from adults” (39). Adults in the school system are in favor of these skills through concerted cultivation, and Bourdieu seems to suggest that schools can often misrecognize these skills as natural talent/abilities when it’s merely cultivated through capital. This then leads to inequalities in the education system and academic attainments.

Contrastingly, middle class parents, who have a college degree and a career, feel an obligation to mold their children into well-rounded adults. Therefore, middle class families have extremely hectic schedules with the parents’ occupations, children’s education, numerous

Development of a child have been a thing that most of the parents have been neglecting without noticing that it is very important in the development of a child’s character and social

Educational Researcher by Gloria Ladson-Billings looked into the ratio between education and achievement and what the gap was between them and how to fix it. According to an interview with strict economist Professor Emeritus Robert Haveman of the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Economics he makes it clear by stating that “ In order to reduce the debt or gap in one being achievement you must then close the gap of the other being education” Ladson-Billings also goes on to recognize the parallel between not only your economic status when it comes to education but how well your parents did before you among many other things including your health along with your overall well being playing a factor into your education ( Ladson-Billings, Oct 2006, P 5). Additionally the first teachers of a student are their parents whom in the home are responsible for teaching their children the basic fundamentals they must adhere to within society in order to navigate throughout life.Thus giving them many opportunities to experience cultural and life development (Wilburn, Smith & Hill-Carter, 2013, P 242). This research ties into chapter three of our book where education is discussed and one such topic that Michael’s remarks upon would be annual family incomes and how depending on what is made shows what the students of the

A Social Worker’s reflection on Power, Privilege and Oppression, this is the title of Michael Spence’s article, but what really does that mean? Spence talks about his personal experiences in life that dealt with all three of these aspects, power, privilege and oppression. In this paper this writer will also talk about power, privilege and oppression in regard to Spence’s outlook on the topic. What is power? How does it relate to Social Workers and social situations? Is privilege really something that can be given to you just based on race and where you grew up, or how you were raised? Lastly Oppression, what causes one type of social group to be oppressed?

All families want their children to be happy, healthy, and grow. Social classes make a difference in how parents go about meeting this goal. In Annette Lareau book, Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, she promotes middle class parents as concerted cultivation. Middle class parents encourage their children’s talents, opinions, and skills. For example, engaging their children in organized activities and closely monitoring children’s experiences in school. According to Lareau, middle class children gain an emerging sense of entitlement through this pattern of converted cultivation. This causes a focus on children’s individual development. There are signs that the middle class children gain advantages from the experience of concerted cultivation. However, the working class and poor children do not gain this advantage.

The book, Privilege, Power, and Difference brought awareness to where I stand as a Latina female in the United States. Growing up, I did not like to focus on the differences I experienced or saw others experience. These differences made me feel angry, scared, nervous, confused, and hopeless. Instead of focusing on the unfairness I was a part of I decided to look at it as a challenge, I would prove to myself that I could do whatever I set my mind to. I took every opportunity handed to me and tried to make the best of it, to make myself proud and my family proud. At least that is what I thought at the time, but now that I have had time to reflect on my desire to succeed I know that part of that desire comes from proving to the dominant culture that minorities can succeed.

The aim of this essay is to address the problem of inequality and oppression through three separate texts, The Second Sex, The Death of the Profane and Killing Rage. The Second Sex focuses on the woman and her role compared to man. The Death of the Profane and Killing Rage are both texts that describe experiences about the constant racism felt by blacks. To thoroughly examine these texts and how they are related to oppression and inequality it is important to first define what each mean. Oppression and inequality each have different definitions but they go hand in hand. Oppression is the state of being subject to prolonged unjust treatment. While inequality is defined as lacking equality, equality is the state of being equal especially in status,