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Nature versus nurture on human development
Nature versus nurture on human development
Effect of nature and nurture on individual development
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Our kids is a New York Times best selling novel by Robert D Putnam. It features in depth looks into the lives of Americans from varying social classes, and provides important data on the population of Americans and our disproportionate life opportunities. During his in debth looks into people’s lives, he shows us the way in which these broad social problems affect individual people, and really makes a moving argument that something is very wrong and something needs to be done about it. A couple of people that stood out to me were Lola and Lisa. Both girls are from very low income families residing in violent impoverished communities. These girls demonstrated how incredibly difficult it is to break out of poverty in our nation because of influences outside of their control. Lola demonstrated how our school systems restrict students in low income neighborhoods from getting good educations, while Lisa …show more content…
Lola demonstrated the disparities of our school system, as she is from an impoverished neighborhood with a school that hindered the progression of her education. Lisa demonstrated how community influences individuals and impoverished communities often cause young members to perpetuate their parents socioeconomically situation. However, some influences, such as church communities, can have strong positive impacts on their lives. Both girls demonstrated the importance of guidance and advocate in one’s life. Lola through her troubles in the school system, and Lisa through receiving guidance through the church. Both girls have been greatly influenced by their parent’s socioeconomic status and restricted from their full potential, causing them to fall into only slightly better situations than their parents. They are prime examples of the cycle of issues in our society, and the reason that we need to make a
In the book “There Are No Children Here” by Alex Kotlowitz, the author followed the lives of two young brothers (Lafayette and Pharoah) while they grew up in the harsh streets of Chicago in the late 1980’s. The author uses the story of the two boys’ lives to discuss the social divide in our very own society and to persuade readers that there is a major problem in “the projects” of the United States.
The idea of this essay is to explain how poverty is being represented the wrong way by nonprofit organizations here at home. The author uses the title to explain to the readers that poverty is not being represented the correct way. The way organizations represent poverty is by using images from a third world country instead of using pictures of people that live here at home that are living at poverty. The author explains how there are children here in America that need help just to get their basic needs, she explains “There are so many children like her – children that are deprived of their basic necessities right here in America” (George 668). The author is referring to “Mandy”. The picture of the girl on the Children Inc. flyer. She looks normal but she is need of help. The title gives an understanding to the reader about what is about to be
Instead of loving and caring for her baby, and forgetting about Danny, she became worse than him. Rodriguez presents many aspects of the minority class that live in the United States, specifically the South Bronx. Even though the cases presented in Rodriguez’s short stories are difficult to mellow with, they are a reality that is constant in many lives. Everyday someone goes through life suffering, due to lack of responsibility, lack of knowledge, submission to another entity or just lack of wanting to have a better life. People that go through these situations are people who have not finished studying, so they have fewer opportunities in life.
However, she never really experienced the actual life of living in poverty as the majority of people living in poverty experience. Barbara, an educated white women had just that on other people living in poverty, because of the color of her skin and education level that is more often than not restricted from people living in poverty. She was able and more qualified for jobs than other people living amongst the status she was playing. She also was able to more readily seek better benefits than people living in poverty. When she first start her journey in Florida she had a car, a car that in most cases people living in poverty do not have. She was also able to use the internet to find local jobs and available housing in the area that many people living in poverty are restricted from. Another great benefit she had was the luxury of affording a drug detox cleansing her of drugs deemed bad. Many people living in poverty do not have much extra cash laying around much less fifty dollars to afford a detox for prescription drugs. She also had the luxury to afford her prescription drugs, another option that many people living in poverty do not have. Another element that made Barbara’s experience not that genuine was the fact that she was not providing for anybody other than herself. Twenty-two percent of kids under the age of 18 are living below the poverty line (http://npc.umich.edu/poverty/#5) , Barbara did not have to provide for pets or kids which would of changed her experience altogether of living in poverty. Not to belittle Barbara’s experience, but many factors of what life is like living in poverty were not taken into consideration during her
Imagine attending a low class segregated school, no matter how smart you may be, you are always categorized. Picture yourself surrounded in a city that’s filled with crimes and poverty, being judge constantly because of your residency. In the book Amazing Grace, Jonathan Kozol interviews the children of Mott Haven and other lower class cities in the state of New York. Some children in the community are very well educated; however, some of them who obtain such knowledge lack confidence in a poor environment. How can one maintain through such chaos and still aspect to succeed? Having faith, motivation, and positive people in one’s life can really make a difference in their outcome. Although the population is high for lower class children of the ghetto, there is much hope for each individual who follows a clear path.
Each day in America people face new challenges weather big or small. The normal everyday challenges include bills, tight schedules, disagreements, and the unforeseen trials that may arise. It is possible for the average person to have a good day or a few good days while feeling worry free. A person who is considered a part of the working poor may never feel worry free. Their challenges hit them hard each day as they struggle with the issues they’ve most likely dealt with their entire lives. Living in poverty does not afford those citizens the luxury of feeling worry free as if they are just anyone else. Sadness sets in at the realization that children of a family in poverty often times feel the same stress and worry
Connie was born into a very poor family. She described herself as living in poverty for the first eighteen years of her life. She often went without food, shelter or financial support. Connie’s mother worked extremely hard to support the household; she worked shampooing hair for only $50 a week. Connie’s father did not work at all, he was in charge and demanding yet put no effort into any aspect of the family. Connie was the first in her family to graduate from high school. It was more common for women to become pregnant, and marry young than finish high school. College was not even an option for Connie because of a lack of means. Subsequently, she followed in her mother’s footsteps; and the cycle of poverty and worked low paying, unfulfilling jobs for many years. "All Americans do not have an equal opportunity to succeed, and class mobility in the United States is lower than that of the rest of the industrialized world " (Mantsios 200). It is very difficult to get out of the cycle of oppression, when the system is created to keep the poor in the same socioeconomic status. Connie stayed very poor until she was about eighteen years old.
...g of the struggle of poverty and subsequent educational barriers. Though extremely grateful for all of the privilege in my life, it was difficult to realize my fortune until working with the teens at RYP who often do not have two parents, have limited adult influences, and live below the poverty line, making education an afterthought. From the perspective of a tutor and mentor, the educational support that the teens require is unquestionable, just like the injustices they face daily. Through service, not only does one gain perspective into the needs of the local community, but also insight into systemic issues of racism, poverty, crime, education and more. By participating in service and trying to counteract the sources of need for others, one will undoubtedly change their perspective of the framework question, knowing that the very least one should help others.
In The Working Poor: Invisible in America, David K. Shipler tells the story of a handful of people he has interviewed and followed through their struggles with poverty over the course of six years. David Shipler is an accomplished writer and consultant on social issues. His knowledge, experience, and extensive field work is authoritative and trustworthy. Shipler describes a vicious cycle of low paying jobs, health issues, abuse, addiction, and other factors that all combine to create a mountain of adversity that is virtually impossible to overcome. The American dream and promise of prosperity through hard work fails to deliver to the 35 million people in America who make up the working poor. Since there is neither one problem nor one solution to poverty, Shipler connects all of the issues together to show how they escalate each other. Poor children are abused, drugs and gangs run rampant in the poor neighborhoods, low wage dead end jobs, immigrants are exploited, high interest loans and credit cards entice people in times of crisis and unhealthy diets and lack of health care cause a multitude of problems. The only way that we can begin to see positive change is through a community approach joining the poverty stricken individuals, community, businesses, and government to band together to make a commitment to improve all areas that need help.
The documentary “Dropout Nation” shows how difficult it is for students who live in poorer communities to receive a good education and graduate high school. Students and teachers are interviewed in this documentary to show that these students are intelligent but are not able to graduate due to their circumstances. These examples help explain the concepts learned in chapter 10 about social institutions and how it is affected by politics, education, and religion.
Why are some people poor and homeless, while others have so much money they literally
New development has created heavily concentrated pockets of affluence, an effect clearly visible in our schools. Take, for example, Green Hope High School and Cary High School, two public high schools only miles away but with distinct differences in demographics. The former has a 7% free and reduced lunch rate with 40% of students taking AP classes (Great Schools). In contrast, the latter has a 32% free and reduced lunch rate with only 19% of students taking AP classes (Great Schools). Being at the school with the greater free and reduced lunch rate, I have experienced incredible diversity and a robust sense of community. This rapid growth has allowed for the creation of multiple unique communities within the larger community of Cary, each with their own distinct culture and demographics.
Although, African Americans are considered minorities in the United States, not all of them live in poverty. Many African Americans live in a middle class society along with the dominant culture. However, many African Americans do not live in a middle class society, but rather live in poverty and have to suffer along with this poverty. For instance, Donald Goines’s Black Girl Lost and Tina McElroy Ansa’s Baby of the Family, two narrative novels, that illustrate the difference in two young African American girls lives and the society in which they inhabit. Not only do these young African American girls represent the two sides of poverty, they also represent how children can also qualify in the minority category. For example, Sandra lives in a run down apartment with a drunk mother who could care less about her daughter. In addition, Sandra remains all on her own and has to find ways in which to survive each day. But on the other hand, Lena lives in a nice size home with her two parents, her two brothers, and her grandmother, all who love her very much. Moreover, Lena has many family members who look after her and take extra special care for her because she is the baby of the family. Although, both Sandra and Lena lead very different lives, both are faced with challenges as a minority and as a child which questions their view on life.
Life struggles and injustices in my community have shaped me into a passionate, determine, and empathetic community leader. My aspiration in building stronger and safer communities derived from the obstacles I experienced as a first generation Chicana, growing up in a low income community. I was born and raised in East Los Angeles where at age 11, I witnessed how education inequity played a critical role in the life opportunity and academic success of the youth in my community. During my first two years in Stevenson Middle School, I began losing friends and classmates due to drugs and alcohol, gang violence, and delinquency. Throughout those two years, I lived with fear and anxiety not knowing whether tomorrow I would be alive. I had no mentors
Perhaps, the film Dangerous Minds puts too much emphasis on the character of Louanne as a savior for the children, and sensationalizes the idea of “gang life.” However, it nevertheless manages to draw attention to important social factors that can influence the lives of children growing up in poverty, and how these factors can effect who we become. I see the film as an avenue to begin breeching mainstream views that cloud the issue of poverty in the United States, to start opening up paths for discussion, and consideration for the steps that might lead to social