Thursday, September 23, 2010

Values, Middle-Class Aspirations, & the Harlem Zone

Paul Tough writes about Geoffrey Canada's philosophy of empowering Harlem parents who live in poverty by equipping them with "that middle-class set of aspirations," especially parenting skills and particular values. Empowering those Harlem parents in this way would better prepare their children for the challenges of the world.

Canada envisions taking a different approach rather than the usual approach of separating people from their troubled environment. He instead "wants to leave Harlem's poor children exactly where they are, so that they change the neighborhood and the neighborhood changes them." Tough reports that Canada regularly refers to this process of a positive "contamination."

In your view, what are the benefits and/or shortcomings of instilling parents from struggling environments with the presumable middle-class and upper-class values necessary to adequately prepare children to achieve in our society? And how do you feel about those benefits or shortcomings?

36 comments:

SNeeley said...

I think there would be many benifits of installing the parents in Harlem with middle and upperclass beliefs. Such as Making them feel the need to work harder to provide more for their children and making them want to work harder for promotions. However the down side to thoes would be they might have to work longer hours and they might not have a job where movivng up is really an option. I feel as though the parents who put their childern in the programs in this book are already working to better their childrens'lives and even the ones who don't get in want better for their childern and work really hard to achieve better lives for their children and themselves.

Tina Messenger said...

I believe that when the parents are instilled with new values they see a new way of living vs. what they have always known. This will allow them to adequately prepar their children for success because new values will be passed down to the children.

Amy Crabtree said...

I think that letting the partents in Harlem have a set of beliefs and values to go off of would benefit them in many ways. I agree with Sneeley that it would definetly make them work harder. I believe it would give them ideas on how to make their childrens life better in a way that they did not get when they were kids. Helping install work ethic and connecting their family as a whole would be only some of the benefits.
However, I think it would also lead to over working like Tina said. It could even lead to anger or resentment because now they are being reminded that they arnt as well of as others, and some people dont want to be reminded of that.

Kevin Oliva said...

I believe that if the parents are instilled with middle/high-class values, they would see how much hard work and dedication it takes be in the middle class. The parents would be inspired to change their ways and they would pass their knowledge that they learned to their children.

robyn Rhone said...

I strongly believe instilling parents from struggling environments with the presumable middle-class and upper-class values necessary to adequately prepare children to achieve in our society would be a great idea with many positive outcomes. I believe if the children seen their parents working hard trying to make a better life for themselves then one day in the future the children would do the same thing. Not only would that motivate the children to reach for greater things in their lives the parents could then better their situation and possibly no longer be considred lower class.

Jaimie Belen said...

I believe that by providing help for the parents of Harlem children would be beneficial for Harlem. I think that it would change the neighborhood because these parents will learn how to nurture their children with love and respect, which correlates with future success of the children. I'm not saying that everyone in Harlem does not know how to be a good parent, but there are a lot who do not have the education necessary in order for their children (and themselves) to prosper.

I feel as though the children will have greater opportunities for their future. I appreciate and respect those parents who are trying to change the way their children are going to be raised. Most of them obviously do not like how their parents raised them or how they raised their previous children. And they are trying to change this by going to this school. I heard this quote that goes, "The future of our children is also the future of our world."

Mitchell Martineau said...

Installing middle-class values in those parents in poverty would be a great idea. The hardest part though, is we're speaking of breaking a recurring chain of events. The current parents were probably raised in the exact same fashion. With such meager environment , the family values they've learned would have to change, again not easy. It would be the equivalent to going up to a parent and saying, "you're not doing it right" Something they won't be keen on hearing. So i believe the hardest step would be the parents; getting they motivated, and active in their child's life. It's a great idea, because it attacks the source of the problem, but I can wonder how long and hard would it be...

Ashley Jeffers said...

The benefits of instilling parents from the struggling environments with the middle/upper-cluss values needed to efficiently prepare the children to achieve in society is the feeling of working to help make a better life for their children. Isn't that mostly what a parent wants, to make sure that their child's life is set up to achieve his or her full potential? That is benefit enough, knowing that as a parent you are doing all that you can to make sure that your child has his opportunities. A shortcoming, if there are any, would maybe be the fact that it would be quite a bit more work tacked on to the workload that those parents already have on their plates. But like I said, again, working hard to make sure your child succeeds should be enough to overcompensate the amount of effort you are putting forth. I don't have children, but I imagine I'd feel that way if I did have a kid.

Denita Campbell said...

I believe if that mentality is instilled within those parents, it will give them some type of pride about their neighborhoods.And I always said that it's not the ghettos that are bad, but the people's mentality.I agree with Canada's idea because as a society we've tried to move them outside of the ghettos or projects where they had nice living arrangements, but still the same mentality.Once you live in a community that you take pride attitudes begin to change I believe education, respect, and unity becomes more important. But, they have want that possibility for themselves and be given the opportunity to reach that goal. This breaks the brain washing chain that has been going on for way too long.

Tia Baptist said...

The benefits of struggling parents instilling these values are the best thing for a child. The parents are giving the child a better future by instilling different values than the usual. This comes down to the Nature Vs Nuture discussion. A child doesnt learn from what there genetically made of but from what is instilled in them. I didnt lived in the upper class negiborhood but my parents instilled those similar vaules into to me. This moviated me to want to go to college and make more of myself. Its not where you came from, its about where your going.

Adriana Romo said...

990I agree. If the parents in Harlem were instilled with middle and upperclass beliefs, than they would be way better off. It is true, the children are only reflections of their parents. If a child sees that his/her parents are working really hard to improve their lives and want the best for the family, then, when this child grows up and has a family of his/her own, then he/she will be a hardworker and successful citizen.

I think if these parents do actually keep working hard and being the best parents possible, then there is a generation being taught very well that will inherit those skills. According to this "theory", there is optimism for the future.

Steven Robinson-Holman said...

I beleive the benefits are that when you instill those values with the parents the children will inherently gain those values as well. If the families ever want to progress to a different social class they will need those values. The shortcoming that I see is the community that they live in will not have those same values. So it will be hard for them to cope in that society.

Anonymous said...

Christian Bias said, Yes instilling the parents with this theory has many benifits because you change your outlook on life. These kids need to know the facts, and who they are competing with and that should be motivating enough to be the best! As mentioned before family values do hold a concern, but when you look at the statistics sometimes giving your child what you didn't have and what they need to have, means giving up the things that you want your child to have.

Rohan Genge said...

I think instilling different values or changing the mind set of parents in troubled areas is a good idea. The parents of the children in Geoffrey Canada's school grew up with many of the same setbacks their children face today. A child's education is dependent on an adequate environment both in school and the home.
Although acquiring middle class values, beliefs and goals can benefit the children and parents in many ways instilling a different mind set can be difficult to do when they are surrounded by the problems of an area like Harlem. Even if parents are encouraged to better their situation by finding good jobs or receiving more education these opportunities may simply not exist in areas like Harlem.

Sydney Nulsen said...

I don't think being lower, middle or upper class has anything to do with one's mentality. There are upper class people with poor work ethics and lower class people with great work ethics who succeed. Instilling "middle and upper class values" is not the correct way to name this. Instilling values like hard work, honesty, appreciation of the little things is more appropriate as these span socioeconomical bounds and is more characteristic of "successful" people as opposed characteristic of just middle or upper class people.

Anonymous said...

I think it's a good idea to help parents in Harlem, but of course there are some parents who might be somewhat embarrassed of there situation or even scared of the change. It would be more of a complete change more for the parents than children because a lot of the parents have been taught to live certain way which is the same ways they teach their children. On the other hand these programs can only help in a positive way. overall it will help the families that want to get help and separate the others.
Dino Anagbogu

mercedes pineda said...

I think there is a problem in categorizing values by upper, middle, and lower class. Those values need to be universal despite where one stands class wise. I think there are many benefits to instilling those values to the parents living in Harlem.
I believe those values give the parents and the children a challenge, a goal, and hope. The families living in Harlem can have "upper, middle class" values while living in Harlem. Those values can benefit the families career wise. If they have some of the same values as their bosses they have more of a chance of getting hired.
But the values also can improve family life. If these familes instill these values in their homes, kids will live a much more stable life. Then, therefore with a stable home life, they can achieve so much more in school. I really do not see any disadvantages to instilling these values. Granted, it will be harder for these parents to start new habits. But who ever said that life is going to be easy. Living a hard life is not a disadvantage. I believe it is a blessing because it makes you rely on Jesus.

Kamrey Mcnutt said...

I believe instilling parents from struggling environments with the presumable middle-class and upper-class values will be very beneficial. Struggling parents will be exposed and informed on how to make a decent living in today's society. I believe one of the major reasons many children struggle is because they live in the shadow of their parents who also struggled. The parents are not able to teach what they themselves have not accomplished. In other words, they cant teach their children any better because they don't know any better. Instilling struggling parents with different values will make them more knowledgeable and enhance their parenting skills. As a result, children will be raised to do better and be more productive in society.

Ian Caveny said...

Casting a vision is necessary and important. Whereas perhaps casting the vision of "being middle and upper class" might not be the exact vision one would be seeking for the people of Harlem (reason: not everyone in the middle and upper class are either successful or even enjoying life -- many lower class people have better lives than those "richer" than them, because they appreciate the things they do have more), casting vision is still vitally important.

What Mr. Canada grasps here is important -- setting a level of expectation. More than wanting to be "middle or upper class", the people need to not see themselves as poor, not see themselves as struggling, &c. The mindset that needs to be encouraged is "You can be successful," which, for some of the people of Harlem is "You can be just as successful as a middle/upper class person" -- but for many, it is likely the simple "YOU CAN" that really matters.

Kimber B said...

I agree with Mitchell; it is going to be tough getting through the barriers. Putting lower income into middle/upper class may cause the people with more income to be hostile, non-friendly, and possibly rude because of the class difference. However, if the barrier between race/class can be broken; the parent that struggles can learn from everyone around them. The environment will be more beneficial to the children as they grow up around positivity. The parents would be able to learn new values and goals. If the majority of people involved in the transition can go in with an open mind, both sides can be benefited.

Tamika Glover said...

One positive benefit of this process would be the parents gaining knowledge. Education in any form and at any stage in life is always beneficial. For parents in poverty though, getting educated in parenting skills and particular values could possibly be one of the best things to happen to them. Every parent always wants better for their children, but sometimes they just don’t know how to make that happen. Especially in this situation, poverty, creating a change for the better of the children will cause a dramatic change in the society at that, moment as well as the future.

Glennda Lyles said...

I believe that it would be very beneficial to instill parents from struggling environments with values of the middle-class. Teaching them values such as the importance of education, strong work ethic, and the importance of family involvement would be very useful. Values such as these will help parents not only be productive individuals in society but it would also aide them in becoming strong positive role models for their children. I believe strongly that if you want to make a change or improvement in society you must first start with yourself and lead by example. If parents make a strong effort adopt these values and live by them, they are not only teaching their children to become successful but they are showing them. Parents have the greatest influence on their children so their choice to live by positive values can only produce a generation of successful children in the long run.

Robin Caffey said...

The only shortcoming I can see with this idea is that it will take longer to instill the parents with these values because, like they say "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". So starting the process with the parents will take longer than removing the children from the neighborhood.

But improving the values of the parents in the neighborhood, "positive contamination", is a more permenant solution for helping these children excel and succeed in spite of their unfortunate situation.

Charnelle M said...

I think that instilling those values would provide the parents with a better sense of how to achieve the success that they want for themselves and their children. Shortcomings of this idea would be for people to be so used to their way of life and not be ready for a change in the way they think.

Amanda Monla said...

I think that if the parents in Harlem were instilled with middle class and upperclass beliefs, it would make them work harder. I also think they would realize the dedication and hard work that it takes to be in the middle and upperclass of today's society. It would be good for their children too because the kids would see how hard their parents work to put them through school and give them the education that they deserve.

Laura McCulley said...

The benefits of instilling these values in parents would be very beneficial for children. It can be said that those with the middle class values get ahead because they think and act differently than others. They are not afraid to speak up in certain situations. These children will not only see where hard work can take you but also how things may be done differently to get on top. THe downside to this would be that parents might not be around as much because they are trying to provide their children with the resources needed to succeed.

Christen Maul said...

I think that if the parents were instilled with "middle-class values" it could only help the situation. Hard work is one of the key aspects in reaching the goals you set for yourself. We learn how to behave and approach life from our parents example, whether it be a good or bad example, but if those parents can show their children what hard work and dedication can do, their children will be likely to follow. Both the parents and children could benefit from this because they will both reap the rewards.

Tricia Johnson said...

I think it would be a great idea if Harlem parents were to be instilled with middle/upper class values; their mentality would have to change first and foremost and they can't be fearful of stepping out and doing what needs to be done to get ahead. These values would also be passed on to their children, because I think for the most part all parents want to see their children succeed and do better than they did. The only downside I see is the environment sucking them back into that same mentality, because they still have to deal with those who haven't reached that level of thinking yet.

Phillip Leatherman said...

Dr. Ramsby, I am so glad you said ““presumable” middle-class and upper-class values”. It’s just my opinion, but I feel pride plays a big part in everyone’s value system. When people have very little, I find that they have pride in abundance. I don’t know how many times I have heard the phrase, “She (or he) ain’t no better than me.” It usually said by someone feeling slighted or looked down upon by another person which may appear to have more than the person feeling slighted. Pride can get in the way of our asking for help or accepting it because we did not like the way it was presented. I have yet to meet a man or woman that did not want better for themselves or their families, but some of us are willing to struggle rather than feel like they “owe” someone.

It appears that Mr. Canada recognized that hurdle early on and instructed his staff to include and lift up the parents at “Baby College” rather than speak down to them. He created an environment that they were familiar with, hip-hop music, laughter and professionals that looked and talked like them, facilitators that were showing genuine concern.

Poor people know that they have problems, problems which seem to have no solutions. Just because someone comes along with a possible solution delivery/presentation is the key to acceptance. I’ve also heard another comment many times. “You act like you trying to fix me, I ain’t broke” followed by, “you ain’t no better than me.”

Mr. Canada has found a way to connect with the people he is trying help. He is showing them, that no matter what one’s station in life, we all need and receive help from somewhere. (That a major point in another book I read recently, hum) Once they are willing to accept help, they can receive tools that can affect change on their families for generations to come.

Tiffany Johnson said...

Opportunitites of instilling the parents in Harlem with middle and upperclass beliefs would enable families to really understand "what it takes to not just make it, but to how to keep it". There are so many communities that have organizations come in and give 1 or 2 seminars on how to manage, but how many of those groups actually take the time to educate and place people in positions that will enable them to grow and provide "better" situations for their families. Showing reality situations opposed to "hand outs" will allow these parents to see the hard work and will power it takes to live successful lives.

Katie D. said...

I think it important to instill middle and upperclass beliefs in the parents. I don't really see how it could harm anything.

Aurelia Daniels said...

I think that shortcomings of instilling struggling parents with vaules are the fact that those children that are growing up in the more in the urban/rough areas are going to experience different things than those in the middle and upper class would experience.

I think that some of the advantages would be that they take aways some of those disadvantages that show up later in that child's life. Like when they said that parents should negotiate with their children so that later on in life it's something that they are use to doing and that is no longer at that disadvantage against competing middle and upper class peers.

Jasmine Coleman said...

I think one of the major short comings would be the lack of ability for all parents to adopt middle and upper class aspirations. Sometimes you can offer people help in hopes of changing them and it does not work. It is a very good idea and quite idealistic, I just wonder how many parents actually changed and tried to helped change their community. I think its a great idea, I just wonder how well it would actually work and in more than one setting, not just in Harlem.

D. A. Pongo said...

Instilling those values are especially important to bring about change and a positive future for those kids. The difference between prosperity (however you'd like to define it) and despair can be a state of mind. Of they would be starting with quite a few setbacks but with the right values, great things can happen.

The only thing I disagree with is the idea of not encouraging people to leave the neighborhood. I think successful people can leave poverty-stricken neighborhoods for better opportunities and THEN return to inspire positive change. The idea of positive contamination sounds good in theory. However, in practice, tragedies can occur where good people are caught in cross-fire or actually become adversely influenced by the very environment they intended to uplift.

Lawandria said...

I don't believe that preparing children for success is about instilling "upper and middle class values". I believe that it's about instilling morals and values which lead the parents to being set on inspiring their children to achieve greatness and push that failure is not an option. The problem with parents in struggling environments is that many of them create a mental ceiling on their success. By this I mean that they fall into a belief that where they currently are is the best they could do so that is all they expect from their children. Once that mindset is removed, motivation and drive will grow exponentially which will produce successful lives for both the parents and the children.

justin church said...

There are always many optimistic outcomes of installing lower class citizens with upclass beliefs. One in particular would include allowing lower class parents to have hope for a better future for their children. Hard work and percervierence would have an amazing effect on these types of families and their entire outlook on life in general. If one works hard enough and diligently enough good things will eventually happen for them