The Story of Christopher Davis - Case Study Example

Child rearing as the theme Christopher Davis Problem ment The story of Christopher Davis who was born and brought up in the United s illustrates some of the most pertinent issues of child rearing in the modern context of America. It has been maintained time and again by significant scholars concerned with child rearing in the modern world that there are essential issues confronting middle-class and poor members of the society who are forced to dedicate much time to their profession and livelihood. Child rearing in the contemporary America, which is called the land of inequality, has serious threats because the parents' social class impacts the children's life experience. The qualitative case study of Christopher Davis and his life experience bring out some of the most essential issues of child rearing in the modern world where the social class of the parents determines the nurturing of the child. According to Annette Lareau, the central factors of family life cohere to form a cultural logic of child rearing which stresses the intensive nurturing of children in the contemporary social situation. "In this historical moment, middle-class parents tend to adopt a cultural logic of child rearing that stresses the concerted cultivation of children. Working-class and poor parents, by contrast, tend to undertake the accomplishment of natural growth. In the accomplishment of natural growth, children experience long stretches of leisure time, child-initiated play, clear boundaries between adults and children and daily confrontations with kin." (Lareau, 2003, p 3). Christopher Davis was born and brought up as the son of middle-class parents and his birth and nurturing demonstrate the state of affairs with child rearing in the contemporary America. Christopher Davis was born in 2004 while his mother, Susan, was eighteen years of age and was pursuing her Bachelor's degree. All through her pregnancy period, Susan attended college and she never dedicated time for the nurturing of the baby. Interestingly, she hardly took a semester leave from the school to look after her new born and continued her studies thereafter. The rearing of the newborn was not a special concern for her, and her life went through as normal as before. His father had an active role in the former part of his life and the split in the family affected his nurturing. The family under investigation belonged to middle-class Blacks and their experience with child rearing suggests the influence of class difference on the shaping of individuals in the families. "It is the class differences and how they are enacted in family life and child rearing that shape the ways children view themselves in relation to the rest of the world." (Lareau, 2003, p 4). Therefore, the paper undertakes an essential qualitative analysis of the case of Christopher Davis in an attempt to achieve a deeper knowledge of issues to educational practice. The research problem in this qualitative research case study is the issues connected with child rearing and the example of Christopher Davis illustrates these issues most effectively. The case study reported in the paper primarily focuses on parental involvement, child-rearing practices and academic achievement on the basis of the specific case of Christopher Davis. Research Design and Methods This research study undertakes an analysis of the specific case of Christopher Davis who confronts several pertinent issues of child rearing. The subject of this qualitative research case study Christopher Davis (Chris) who is son to Susan and John and they live in Brooklyn, New York. Chris has 2 bothers that look up to him. Christopher Davis is the perfect selection for an analysis of the pertinent issues concerning child rearing as he faced some of the most important nurturing problems in his short life. The research reported in this paper undertook personal interviews with the family of Chris. A reflective analysis of the life experience of Chris in his development and education suggests that child rearing is one of the most essential issues confronting modern society. Field notes were collected on the basis of the personal interviews with the family of Chris which served as the essential tools for the analysis. Accordingly, the analysis of the case of Chris's experience with his family and education was conducted which brings out some essential facts regarding the issues of child rearing. Christopher Davis: Case Study Report The social structure has a pertinent impact on the child rearing and issues are common when the social context of an individual interacts with his daily life. Man is a social being and the development of an individual is influenced by the social factors which are determined by the social structure. Child rearing is an important function of the individual and the society and it is influenced by the social conditions in which the child is born. "To understand the biography of an individual, we must understand the significance and meaning of the roles he has played and does play; to understand these roles we must understand the institutions of which they are part... In short, children grow up within a broad, highly stratified social system." (Lareau, 2003, p 15). The case study of Christopher Davis suggests that the social structure is the most influential element determining the child rearing. Christopher Davis was born as the son of Susan and John and he underwent various significant issues in child rearing. During his childhood, Chris had a mixed experience with family and he resided with his mother, great grandparents, and two uncles until he was six years of age. His infancy witnessed several important events which had a major influence on the nurturing of the child. Thus, he was born when his mother, Susan, was just eighteen and was pursuing her university studies. It affected the child rearing and she was not able to dedicate much time to look after the child. In fact, she took leave of just a semester from the university for the birth and child rearing of Chris and the split between the father and the mother also affected the child. When he was three years of age, Chris was sent to a private school in the area they resided and his grandmother paid all the necessary money. Whereas his father was active in the former part of his life, the father and mother were separated. His mother lived with her family while the father resided with his family. His mother was particular that the child should be given the most efficient education and she sent him to live in New Jersey because there was a better school there than the one he was attending. He had a very unpleasant experience at the present school as the school he attends now is 99 percent white children. Chris and another little boy in his class were the only black kids in the class and their experience was not pleasant. When he started school in September, his teachers said he was extremely quiet and that they had given him a chance to become accustomed. Thus, surviving in the White dominated school was not easy for the child and his mother was not pleased with the course of events. In order to secure the child's better future, Susan decided to send the child another school in New Jersey. According to Annette Lareau, the mother was exercising her social capital and her aim was the benefit of her child. Annette Lareau points out that "both Black and White middle-class parents, and mother in particular, routinely scanned the horizon for opportunities to activate their cultural capital and social capital on behalf of their children. By shrewdly framing their interventions in ways that institutions such as schools and public and private recreational programs found compatible with their organizational processes, parents could gain important advantages for their children. These benefits go beyond specific short-term goals, such as securing a place in the classroom of 'the best' fourth-grade teacher or getting into 'the best' gymnastics program." (Lareau, 2003, p 15). In fact, Susan was very much careful about the future of the child and she was activating her cultural capital and social capital on behalf of her child. Therefore, the child rearing of Chris revealed some of the pertinent issues prevalent in the contemporary society. John, Chris's father, rarely participated in his life or his education and his mother was constantly in court fighting for child support for Chris. The father meets the child once in two months or so. He is unable to engage in any profession due to a car accident in 2001 in which he was seriously disabled. However, the influence of his mother was evident all through the child rearing of Chris and Susan believes that education is very imperative for her children. She did not send the other two kids because they have a different father from Chris, and their father was not willing to take the kids out of the state. Susan had a bachelor's degree in mass communications and she was particular that all of her kids have to attend college. It was not a wish for her children alone, but she wanted the same with all the black boys growing up in a working class neighborhood in Brooklyn New York. She is currently working in Manhattan as an administrative assistant. Every Friday after her work, she picks Chris up from the school in New Jersey. She takes the New Jersey transportation and his aunt usually waits at the train station to hand Chris over to his mom. Then they travel back to New York by train as the mother had to give up her car after her divorce. Conclusion and Implications The research undertaken in this specific study had an important implication in understanding some of the essential issues in child rearing. Therefore, the case study of Chris reveals the most pertinent issues concerned with child rearing in the contemporary American society. Class distinctions as well as race distinctions have a major impact on the child rearing in the contemporary American society which is famous for the unequal treatment of its citizens. "Among middle-class families, race played a role, not in terms of whether or how parents intervened in their children's organizational lives, but rather, in the kinds of issues that they kept their eyes on and in the number of potential problems parents and children faced. Middle- class Black parents - whose children tend to spend a large part of their daily lives in predominantly white environments - were attuned to issues of racial exclusion and insensitivity on the part of other children as well as adults." (Lareau, 2003, p 181). The prudent activation of the cultural capital and social capital by the parents, especially the mother, on behalf of their children is one of the most important factors which results from such class distinctions and race distinctions. Therefore, it becomes lucid that Susan, the mother of Chris is exercising her social capital by sending him to an elite schooling in New Jersey. Reference Lareau, Annette. (2003). Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. New York: University of California Press. p 3. Read More