Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id g85NfMX14767; Thu, 5 Sep 2002 19:41:22 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2002 19:41:22 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <4.2.0.58.20020905192350.0095c510@email.uc.edu> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Bernadine Skowronski <skowroba@email.uc.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:2281] How women are viewed in adult literacy X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.2.0.58 Status: O Content-Length: 1610 Lines: 34 Suzanne Smythe wrote: >For me, this slogan ["teach the mother to reach the children"] is one among >many examples of the increasing >professionalization and regulation of mothering (witness the growth in >parenting classes, many of which are obligatory for low income and minority >families on social assistance). This is accompanied by increasing >expectations placed on mothers to compensate for what North American >governments no longer believe to be important to children and their >families, such as community-based social support systems, access to health >care, access to quality formal and non-formal education, decent paying jobs >with reasonable work hours, a clean environment, etc., etc. Suzanne, I agree with you about the regulation of mothering, particularly for low income families. Last winter as I completed a paper on family literacy, I questioned repeatedly WHY does family literacy - especially Even Start - require parenting classes. I don't understand why some people (particularly the government) think that just because one is poor, s/he doesn't know how to be a parent. I've personally seen far more examples of bad parenting done by those who are middle class or higher than I have by the low income families that I've been privileged to work with. My other burning question from that research is: why is family literacy considered to be "family" oriented when it includes only one child and one parent (usually the mother)? What about the child's siblings and other adults in the household? Bernadine Bernadine Skowronski Doctoral student University of Cincinnati
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