Lucis Trust / Forums / Problems of Hum... / Children, Youth... / Children and Educaton - a historical perspective

Children and Educaton - a historical perspective

Previous topic

Children, Youth & Education

Next topic

You need to be logged in to get access to the forums. You can do so here

David Hopper

Posted on: Thursday 22 March 2007 7:00:17 pm

Since WW II in the United States, the attitudes about values and morality have changed considerably and still have a strong influence on the way children are raised decades later. The family unit in post-WW II was stable and people had a generally positive attitude when they thought about their future. It was a time of new hope with developing technologies in food production, electronics, medicine, and manufacturing which promised a better life for the children. In the 1940-50s, the values and morality of the model suburban family life were depicted in most TV shows such as Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, and Leave it to Beaver. This was a time of American innocence. However, a darker side of America existed just below this façade.

Underlying the "innocence of America," the real life in suburbia had many dysfunctional families with the children being beaten and abused with relative societal acceptance. Although child abuse in families was occurring, it was not identified as such until much later. The motto in many homes at this time was "children were to be seen and not heard." This diminished the value of what a child can contribute emotionally and intellectually, and effected their general self-esteem.

From the disillusionment of the beliefs of their parent's generation and dysfunction within the family, the baby-boomers rebelled against the 1940-50s mentality. Beginning in the 1960s, many movements such as free love, environmental, civil rights, and anti-war seized the public's attention. Great leaders in the African American community such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and Malcom X were also saying the abuse must end so we can have a better future for everyone, including the children. In the 1960s, President Kennedy and First Lady Jackie symbolized the nice average family of America. Their marriage and appearance projected innocence and fidelity but behind closed doors were scandals and infidelity.

From the 1960s through the 1990s, with changes in attitudes toward relationships, family, and morality, many children were raised by a single parent. This fragmentation in the family was complicated by divorces, with the divided families forcing the children to choose between the mother and father. Many single mothers were forced to go on welfare, as jobs for women were not as available as for men. The fathers that did pay child-support usually saw their sons or daughters only on an infrequent basis. As a result, the stability of the male part of the family unit was weakened or completely missing. When the parents did stay together, both were often forced to work to provide for the family to make ends meet, as inflation was rampant This was especially necessary, in the post-Vietnam War economy. With both parents at work and absent, the latchkey child had to come home to an empty house and often had to make dinner or complete his or her chores alone. The child in this setting was growing up with little guidance from either parent.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century, the pace of life for the average American added further pressures and complications to the life of the child and their family. With health care available to only those who could afford it, millions of parents and their children were forced to go without proper nutrition and checkups from the doctor. During this time many children were born with many emotional and physical problems stemming partially from a poor diet. A poor diet consisting of fast food (usually filled with chemicals) and lacking the proper nutrition, contributes to a child growing up with the potential for emotional and physically challenged bodies. Further, many women smoking, drinking, and taking drugs during pregnancy contributed to children being born with mild to severe birth defects. A large number of these children are currently growing up with problems ranging from psychoses to ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The majority of these disorders can be traced to physiological conditions such as poor diets and pollutants in the environment, although it should be noted that social scientists and pediatricians are not all in agreement on this.

In the daily life of the child at the beginning of the twenty-first century, he or she must contend with a proliferation of drugs, violence, and sexual messages coming from television, movies, computer games, the Internet, and from peers at their schools. This presents a formidable challenge for the child and their parents to counter. If the parents are using drugs (including tobacco and alcohol), or are sexually active outside their marriage or involved in violent activities, then the child gets mixed messages when educators teach non-violence and abstinence. When children involved in gangs bring guns and knives to school and use them, we see the horrifying consequences in places such as Columbine High School and other academic settings across the country. This has turned many schools into high security zones and has given them a siege-mentality atmosphere. Needless to say, everyone from the children, to educators, parents, and ultimately society are strongly inhibited from participating in a quality learning environment in this situation.

David Hopper