Based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you please acknowledge their copyright.
Last night I was watching the Presidential Candidates debate the issues. Mitt Romney received much flak for being wealthy and privileged. John Edwards spent much of his time pointing out the extreme differences between the life where his father struggled to provide for his family as a mill worker and his own life because of his college education and the privileges it has provided him.
Today when I came across this exercise to determine just how privileged of a life you have lived, I thought it might be an interesting entry for the blog. Since my mom is visiting from Kansas, I had her answer the questions, and then we compared our answers. Sometime this week, I'll ask my daughter to do the same. It came as no surprise to me that my mother, born and raised during the Depression, answered only 3 questions with a yes. She went to Catholic elementary and high school and her parents owned their own home. She knew how much the heating bills were because her family often went without the coal for the stove because they could not afford to buy it. I could answer 10 with a yes. I'm certain that my daughter will double my score.
It would seem that each new generation is becoming more privileged. Why do you think that is?
For our first blog of 2008, your task is to go through the questions with at least one older relative, hopefully a parent, and compare your responses. Did you notice the same trend with your responses. What did you learn that was interesting? What are your thoughts about what defines privilege?
1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
6. Were the same class or higher social class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18.
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private elementary or high school
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child
23. You and your family live in a single family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
25. You had your own room as a child
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college
30. Flew anywhere in a commercial airplane before you were 16
31. Went on a cruise with your family
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family
33. Your parents took you to art galleries and museums as a child
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family
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53 comments:
Having to complete this exercise with my Mom, helped me realize that the new generation have more privileges. I think that the new generation have more privileges because back then there was not much education and/or technology. Thses days, there are educated students because of more oppurtunities building up. For example, today students have a school or a public library to check out books, have jobs that are paid well, and have new technology invented from educated students. Back then, some families didn't even own one book at home. What was interesting to me, was that some people didn't even finish colloge. My thoughts having to define privilege is an advantage that is not an open oppurtunity to everyone.
Im kind of happy that i had this little "quality" with my Dad. It was very interesting to know that our answers were pretty much the same. The only things that were different were that my Dad grew up with a lot of books, and i havn't gone to college.
Yet...
From going over this w/my mom, I've noticed that my yes answers were doubled than those of hers. This generation is very much privileged than the past. Things have definitely changed, and have become more advanced. We may not realize it, but we have so much good sitting right in front of us. And we need to start to appreciate it all.
i did this exercise with my mom, and i was kind of surprised. I had half as many no's as my mom did and almost double the amount of yess's.I didnt realize how priviliged i am. I didnt think my mom would say no so many times. i think that when i have kids, and if i asked them this same question, we would have about the same results as me and my mom did. i think a privilige is a very good opportunity that is offered to you or luxuries or even basic necessities.
I went over this activity with my dad and it was so shocking that most of his answers were no. It was surprising to me because i never really realized that i am so lucky to even grow up and have more opportunity today then my parents had in the past, they weren't able to finish college, and less money and opened doors for them for a better future. So i think that in the past there were less privileges than there were today, and that some of us students don't realize that but we should take school more seriously and appreciate what we have.
Our generation is the most fortunate because of the amount of privileges that we have that other generations didnt have in the past.
after i answered the questions i saw that i said yes to most of them. after my mom did it she only had a couple...i can see now that i have lots of more privileges than my mom...
i am shocked at the different answer that me and my mom got. while going through this i realized that our generation has more priviledges then back in the day, we just don't appreciate it. i am glad to know this now because it will force me to try harder, do better, and at least accomplish the things they were unable or wanted to do!
When reading the questions with my mom, I couldnt belive how many questions she said 'yes' to. I also couldn't believe how many she said 'no' to. It really makes me think how much more of an oppurtunity we're getting in education because back then, they're education wasn't as good as ours is today. We don't realize it, but we should. Compared to then, we're getting such a great opurtunity to learn, and it's SO much more advanced. I think we should all take that into appreciation.
To my surprise, me and my mom had some similar answers... up until the middle of the questions. I think some of the things that were questions are just simple things to have or do now...years ago they weren't a neccessity. The answers that were different from my moms, did show me how I am more privileged though.
When my mom and i went over this, we had a couple of the same answers, but we had a lot of different answers. I noticed that we are more advanced and that we have it easier then our parents did.We should be thankful for what we have a not take advantage. I am so glad i live in this time period.
i completed this with my mom and i was really surprised to see how different our answers are because i had a lot more yes answers than my mom did. i think this is because we now have better education. I've realized how privileged i am.
i have went over this with my mom and our answers were very different. Even though most of the questions received the same answers from my mother and I, i know for a fact that there are definitely more privileges than the one stated in the blog. i realize how privileged i am to be living in a time period where it is very different from my mother's generation. It has also made me to think of how lucky i am to be in an era where everything is much more advance and easier than before. I have come to think that privileges are more than simple "luxuries"
wheelerkhenry2
well some of the qs i can't answer yet but the ones i could my aunt said no to quite a few.For instance the q. about the t.v. in own room she said no because there was no room with all her siblings sharing one room and some even had to share a bed! The newer generations have it made. It is mandatory to go to school and get an education and now there are plenty of scholarshiips to make the path to college safer and wider,along with the possibility of free or reduced lunch.my generation, all of my cousins ahead of me graduated from high-school, when only one aunt out of six sisters and four brothers graduated. my family still has a pretty good life but they all still wished they graduated so it would be better for them.
uluavelhenry2
Doing this with my mom showed me how different our generations are. I have more privileges than she did, back in her days. Most of my answers were yes & hers were no. This shows me that i should be more greatful on what i have now because the generation im living as, is getting oppurtunities easier than my parents generation. My mom says that she had it worse when she was younger and that they had to try even harder since they didn't have computers or anything. My thoughts are now setted on, trying harder. This is because, i have all these things that i can take advantage of to become more successful, and these are things my mom didnt have. So theres no excuse of me not doing that much work if my mom done much more. Everyone in my generation should be more thankful and take advantage of what they receive.
Going over this with my dad made me noticed how much alike we are. We had a lot of the same answers. Our generation has way better privaleges than my parents generation because we have a lot more and improved technology that could help us with a lot of schoolwork.
palafoxmhenry3
when i asked these questions to my mom i knew it was going to be hare telling her this beacuse she went to school in mexico. i learned that my mom didn't have family vacations. i think what defines previleges is that everybody has a special benefit.
Going over this activity with my Mom was interesting. We pretty much have the same answers just that I haven't made it to college just yet. Though we have similar answers I already noticed how much our generation has alot more privaleges then before because of the things my grandparents tell me. For example, at our very own school we have Avid that helps and motivates students for college starting from the beginning (such as preparations and goals). We also have a lot of openings, conferances, and activities that are motivations to success in life. I'm thankful for it, even though my Mom just answered a few questions we went into deep conversations about these questions as well.
Billy Ojakian 2nd period ms. henry
no matter what everyone in our generation has alot more privlages then the old generation due to technoligy advancments. People always say that our generation is spoild and i do agree cause our lives run off technoligy and computers.
I did this assesment with my father and it showed how each generation is way more privleged. My dad had 15 yes's and i had 21 yes's. I think this is because the growing number of jobs and technology to make life easier. I think when i have kids they will almost have them all answerd with a yes and if not then at least more then i did. I also think that with each generation you sorta lose that determination to be who you want to be because all the high paying jobs that are out there today. Even though my dad answerd with less yes's then i did i still want to like him when i grow up.
I went over this with my mom and it was pretty cool. i got to understand how much different our generations are. we answered a couple of the same questions but pretty much all of her answers were the opposite of mine. everything has become more advancd. theres new technology like everyday. we should appreciate what we have.
its nice to know that my parents gave me so much inorder for me to have a better life. having to complete this exercise with my parents i found out that my parents lived in a very poor condition compared to what ive been through and im very grateful for what i have right now
After completing this excercise with my mom i realized how as time progresses the new generation recieves more priviliges. Mainly because the advances in technology, and every parents drive to want a better life for there child then they had growing up. For exemple, no one in my family has ever gone to college and that is the main thing my mom wants my sister and I to do. In a way no parent will ever feel they had a privliged life growing up because they will always want something better for there children.
lujanahenry2:
when i did the questions with my mom, i answered at least 5 questions more than her's with a yes. i believe that my mom and i were both privileged with the same amount of things in our lives. even as this generation has more technology and you need to complete your education to get a steady job, i think i am privileged in that sense of way. i think that every generation has become privileged because of the new advances in technology and the way the world is changing with new ideas. every gerneation is becoming even more privileged because of this and they will still become even more with new oppurtunities that come there way.
After the finish of the survey. I realize that in my parents generation, they don't need to pay for their college. However, we have to pay for every colleges we want to go. Maybe is because my parents went to colleges in China. Also, my school life is much better than them. They have to pay for their own school materials, not my grandparents pay for them. All of my school supplies were pay by my parents, so I don't need to work. Overall, my school life is much better my parents.
esquiviasghenry7
As i went through this survey with my Mom and Dad, I noticed that we had a lot of same answers; but yet
I noticed that, I had more priviledges than they did when they were my age. I also noticed that probably one of the reasons why, for example, they didn't read me books as a young child was because neither my Mom or Dad grew up in an environment in which they were read books as young children. but I am still priviledged because there's a lot of questions that i answered as "no" that can still be answered as "yes".
i'm glad i did this survey with my mom. it was kind of cool. our generation is more advanced than my moms generation. when we finished the survey my mom and i showed eachother our answers and pretty much all of her answers were the opposite of mine. we have great opportunities and dont notice them.
I learned a lot about some of the privilages my mom had during her teenage years and how they compare to those I have now. She had a lot more no's to the questions than I had. I realized that she was a lot more independent as a teen and didn't rely on her parents as much. Today, we tend to look to our parents for everything including finances and extra privilages that we don't really need. My mom said she started working at the age 14, and had to buy all of the "extra" things she wanted. I think privilages are any opportunities given to you that a lot of others may not have. They are kind of like advantages that you have over less fortunate people.
I talked to my dad and I had more privileges then my dad had.
garciaehenry2
this activity was fun in a way because i got to learn a bit more about my family.growing up he had less then my but when it came to education he was lucky enough for his parents to understand he needed it and did pay for it.as i was answering, thats when it made me realize that because my answers very oppisite from his.
I was surprised how similar the answers were between my dad and I. He answered thirteen questions with YES, and I answered sixteen questions with YES. There was definitely a similar trend in our answers. The only questions that really made a difference were the questions about father going to and completing college. I answered both with YES, and my dad answered both with NO. It was interesting to learn that our lives were so similar. I think that we live similar lives, but the there is just a different generation of technology that my dad lived with than I live with. I think that my generation has the privilege of newer technology. But my definition of a privilege is something that you earn the right to use or do; like your parents allowing you to drive. In some circumstances I consider a privilege something that gives you an advantage; like the developement of new technology.
The comment above is from mooneyJhenry2
carmonaphenry2
man I did the activity questions with my mom and i was so surprised. I mean she always told me that this generation is so different then from when she went to school, but I didn't realize how much privaleges we have. we are so lucky that we have all these easy access technology in this generation that makes it way easier for us and our generation. for example, these high tech calculators and the fact of having the teachers being available for you for any of the help that you need. I just have to say we should be grateful.
The new generation do have more privileges, this is because educations and technologies are more available, everything is is available to my parents back in the day we're doubled, or even tripled to the new generation, we could accomplish so much more. the new generation is spoiled with so much opportunities, and we really should appreciate it.
I went over this with my Dad. As we were going over it I noticed that there are deffinitely differences between his generation and my own. But, not that many because some of the questions don't apply to me yet. We do however have similar privliges because he wants to provide the same oppertunities and more than he had to me. He wants better for me than he had. That's totally understandable. I think every parent wants better for their child than what they had, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Ambramhenry3
Macedodhenry3
By going over this chart with my dad I notice that I have a lot more privilege.I also notice that I said yes on more questions also by reading this I notices that i need to go to college and make somthing of myslef.Also i notice that I do alot more family things that he did.
Going through this survey showed me how privledged i am compared to my mother. My mom live in an other country than I and schools and streets were alot more poor in that country. Now since there in America they noticed that to make a living here you have to make money and stay on top of things and since the city wants more and more things for the children that means more money to be made so the children can have a better life. I guess parents always want better for there children than what they had so everytime its the children are more privledged.
I completed this exercise with my mom and i realized a lot of things about her generation and mine, today. I think the new generation today is more privileged then hers because i had a lot more "yes" then her and she had so many "no". Technology has improved more and more and people today are educated better because of new learnings. I learned that each generation gets more improved after the other. I think I'm so much more privileged today then my mom was and im happy for that because i can learn more and more with the new privileges i have each day.
Completing this exercise with my dad, gave me a better understanding of his basis for the lectures he gives me on how blessed I am to be living in a society that offers more privileges and freedoms to the youth. As i compared my answers to his, i saw that most of his were "no" and mine were almost the complete opposite. This enabled me to undergo a realization of the fact that myself, as well as many of my peers, take these privileges for granted. Although it's not solely our fault, seeing as we have grown up in a society that has vastly changed and improved in many areas of life. For example, technology has grown to a much more advanced state than it was years ago when our parents were children. Therefore, they weren't able to take advantages in resources that didn't exist. This exercise offers the chance to explore the similarities and contrasts of different generations and allows the two to have a better understanding, and more or less, an appreciation for one another. I think that if anything, from this exercise we should learn to be thankful and show more appreciation, as well as take advantage of what there is to offer in the present day.
i just finished with this exercise with my Aunt and what i saw is that i have more priviliges than her because she started to work early and i didn't. also, because now the government is giving us a right of education that they didn't have at least not in mexico where my aunt came from.
Yes I did this activity with my father, Sia, and it was truly a waste of time. hahahaha!!!!! just kidding. But yeah fisrt off I would like to just say that there were way too many questions and my brain started to hurt by question 3 so Ms. henry Im just going to be real with you right now, I did not read all of them. But the ones that I did read i found to be that the younger generation tends to be more beneficial than the more "OG" generations, if you will. But yeah i would just like to finish with that because i know you have something better to do tonight, Mrs. Henry, than to sit at your computer and read a students blog that you know will probably not pass your class. Thank you, that is all.
I just finished this blog approximitly 2 minutes and 37 seconds ago. I did it with my daddy Jarvey, it was pointless because I feel I'm living in a more complicated srugglte then he did. During his time he didnt have to worrie about a quarter of things I have to. I believe we have an equal amout of privliges though. He agrees with me. It was an amazing experience doing this blog, thank you you for letting me relize his struggle.And being able to relate to it.
wEsT To EasT HUNNINGTON my homiEz ToSs iT up...
I found out that me and my mom grew up with pretty much the same, and had the same privileges, even thought there’s that big time gap. I learned that if my mom and my grandma did it, then it would be way different because of the different time eras.
wow i actualy went through this with my parents and majority of their answers were no. my answers were mainly yes accept the college questions i guess the past they did'nt have any technology but at our times we did, that's one of the way it was different from both my parents, i ask them if they both went to college and they said "no",they got married after graduating highschool.Going through this exercise made me bond with my parents more because it made them think about the past.
i did the questions with my mom and i realized that she had to work hard to let her little sisters get into college the more we went over questions the more iseen that my mom did alot to do good and succed so now it has given me more confidence to work harder in school and suceed
lopezvhenry2-
I went through these questions with my mom and more than half of her answers responed with a no. My answers on the other hand, included more questions answered with a yes. Its obvious that the later generations are more priveliges than those who have lived before today's youth.Being privledge is defintley an advantage of kids today. It even seems to be whatever social class your family belongs to has to do some with your privelges.
trinidadahenry2
I did this exercise with my mom and saw that we should all take advantage of what there is to offer. As I compared my answers to her, I saw that most of her answers were no because of technology. Technology gives us the advantages. I saw that today we are living in a society that offers more privileges. The point of this exercise is to show that there are similarities and differences in generations and that society has changed for the better even if we see negativity around us.
After going other these questions with my mom I've realized that our generation definitely has a lot more privileges than previous generations. This is probably because of all the resources available to us which our parents and their parents lacked. These resources are available to us because of a boost in economy which aided our respected families.
As i did this with my mom i realized how many more answers i answered with yes than her. As the years pass the generations are becoming more spoiled. Personally i think that our parents got to realized what it was like to grow up on there own. The generation now we get everything handed to us.
When my mom and I both did this exercise I notieced that I had 18 answered yes while my mom only had 10. From what I know about my mom's past I wasn't too shocked to find that my generation is more privileged than hers. What I found most interesting was that both of her parents (my grandparents)attended college. I was assuming with the way life was back when my grandparents were younger that college wasn't a great option in their country. I thought it was mostly working and getting paid that was more popular. I feel that our generation is more privileged due to the economical and technical advances. Computers are everything these days and the computer is one object that in some ways keeps our generation updated and advanced.
The blog is now closed for credit to Mrs. Henry's classes.
alegre,jorgeHENRY2
I've gone over all of the questions with my mom, one thing that i've noticed is that teenagers these days have alot more priveleges then they did in previous generation, also i've noticed that school was tougher before, also i've noticved that now people have more education then they did before, In my moms generation some teachers would take advantage of students by hitting them with the ruler and etc. Both my parents went to college and graduated from universitys, my grandaparents also had an education, but i think that my grandparents were the one who really had to work their buts off because they had to struglee with both an education and getting a job to support their parents, also alot of teenagers now want to be more independent, they want more freedon, my parents didn't seem to get that from my grandparents, the technology is also much different then it was thirty years ago so that made a big diference, but that wasn't an excuse for my parentsb ecause both of them finished both college and University.
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