Answer to Question 1
F
Answer to Question 2
Discussions will center on likenesses and differences between the ideal family,
with two parent, wage earner and housewife, children cared for at home by mom.
The nuclear family had many and clear role assignments. The family of today is
more egalitarian, with fewer proscribed roles. Some elaborated discussions will
likely emerge from these ideas, providing a comparison. Most discussions will
center on the middle classes, contrasting father's role of economic support and
emotional distance with today's ideal of involved father sharing wage earning with
involved mother. The nuclear family was child-centered and family life was both
physically and emotionally labor intensive. The child was protected and kept from
experiencing the real world. Exclusivity and comforting material possessions
were desired, in an era when some material comfort was available to many. This
later is a characteristic of both nuclear and non-nuclear families today. Parenting
ideals in the traditional family were largely father knows best and children were
not encouraged to be as autonomous and independent as they are today. Marriage
commitments were more stable. Divorce was less available. Single parenthood due
to any cause was poorly regarded. Other issues will be touched upon.
An essay will likely reveal student's unsupported notions, prejudices, nostalgia for
the past, and misinformation about strong families in the good old days, in spite of
the information furnished in the article. Airing and critiquing the essays is a growth
experience for them.
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