Assignment:
Requirements:
Purpose: The general purpose of this signature assignment is to assess students' understanding of course concepts and for students to apply concepts to their own lives. The specific purpose of this assignment is to interview a parent, grandparent, or individual of the older generations about concepts covered in class in regard to relationships and family.
The report should be in its final, professional form including: Create a 3 pages, typed, Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, and stapled.
Question/Assignment: Please interview/have a discussion with your parent(s), grandparents, and/or someone else of those generations. Ask them what it meant to be a man or woman when they were your age. Ask them about masculinity and femininity expectations, media messages, role models, etc. as they were growing up. Analyze how their experiences differ from yours. What are your thoughts about how much has changed and cultural practices that seem resistant to change, if any? Be specific! Use APA style in citing the sources of your interview(s). Feel free to interview numerous individuals from multiple generations for more comprehensive comparisons.
Evaluation: You will be graded on the following:
-The depth and content of your interview (did you ask appropriate questions about culture,
femininity/masculinity, family, media).
-Your comparison and contrasting of their experience with your own.
-Your discussion of change and the resistance to change
-Clarity of writing (correct grammar and spelling, free of typos, style, word choice)
-Your application of course material to your analysis of generational differences in
the experience of culture, gender and family
Here is what I have. I have completed the interviews but I need to get started on the paper (below is the entire paper). I have done it in question/answer format but it should be narrative.
I chose to interview my father and Grandfather.
(Edward Cullen, personal communication, March 22, 2017)
(Richard Pawlick, personal communication, March 22, 2017)
Mark: What was the culture like in your neighborhood growing up? How did you feel about people with different ethnic backgrounds?
Grandfather: I grew up in a diverse community. My neighborhood was primarily Irish, so it was predominantly white. Although prejudice existed, we all came from immigrants. My father came from Ireland and my mother came from England. As immigrants, the Irish became Cops and firemen as no one else wanted those jobs, which is why there were and still are lots of Irish in these professions today. Neighborhoods were divided. African Americans had their own; the Italians had theirs. We were all in the same boat. No one had money. Most of my friends and I had to drop out of high school to work to help support our families. College was not even on the radar. By the time I was 18 I was working 2 jobs. As kids we played in parking lots as we did not have playgrounds like you have today. One kid in the neighborhood would have a basketball and if he could not come out then we could not have a game. We would roll newspapers to use as a football. I drive by many soccer fields, parks and play areas and they are empty! I would have loved that as a kid!
Father: My neighborhood was primarily Irish and Italian. It was also predominantly white. Unlike Grandpa, our town was not divided into ethnic neighborhoods. We had African American families living in our neighborhood as well as Jewish families. We did have playgrounds and organized sports. I think the difference between my upbringing and Grandpa's is that we were able to be kids. My parents did not want me to drop out of school. They knew that an education was important. Back then a high school diploma and hard work would be enough to support you and a family with a decent life. College was still unaffordable for me as my parents did not have the money for all of us to go to school so I decided to go into the trades.
Mark: What were the female/male roles then?
Grandfather: The role of women was to grow up, get married and raise a family. Most women did not work, that was the male role. Women took care of the house, shopping and all the cooking. As a male, it was your job to protect your sisters. The boys in the house had chores such as mow the lawn, clean the garage etc. where my sister had to do the laundry, dishes and help clean the house. Boys had more freedom. We had later curfews that the girls. Girls were protected more than us boys.
Father: Male and female roles were changing. When I was in high school, males were steered toward science and math by the Guidance counselor where girls were pushed to home economics and typing. Men were still able to get the better paying jobs and most women were company secretaries. Education was emphasized for both male and female and many girls graduating from high school did go on to College. I'm sure it's not like today where almost everyone goes off to school. Some girls were still settling into homemakers, but not as much as in Grandpa's day.
Mark: what was family life like then?
Grandfather: Most of my family all lived in the same neighborhood. Many did not have cars so they did not venture far from home. It was nice to have all my cousins, Aunts and Uncles living within a small radius of me. Holidays were fun as we all would get together to celebrate. Families were also big. It was not unusual to see a family with 8 to 10 children. We also handed down clothes. You would get them from your brother or cousin. Getting something brand new was a treat. Dinner was on the table every night at the same time, usually when my father came in from work. You were expected to be there.
Father: I was the product of a large family. I am number 7 out of 9. I grew up with lots of friends from big families. Today it is not quite as common to have 5 or 6 kids. I think 3 is average now. We would always get together for holidays too like Grandpa said. It was fun to have everyone around. Unlike Grandpa, many of my siblings moved away. We were scattered all over the United States. Like Grandpa, we had dinner at the same time every night. Since there were so many of us, you did not want to miss or be late. If so, then there usually were no leftovers! You would then have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Mark: What if any media did you have? How did you get your news?
Grandfather: Well, unlike kids today we did not have computers or internet. You young kids get news as it is happening! We would read newspapers or you would find out from your neighbor , at the local tavern or the social club you belonged to. Most everyone belonged to something. We did not have television or cell phones. At your age, we were at war so it was imperative that we keep up with what was going on in Europe. Since we did not have any of today's technology, we spent most afternoons and Saturdays playing outside. I drive by soccer fields, parks and playgrounds and sometimes do not see a kid there! I would have loved that as a kid.
Father: the television came out when I was a kid so we had about 7 channels to watch. It still is nothing like today! We did not have computers at home but they were a becoming a big part of companies. I remember carrying a beeper! I know you have no clue what that is since you have a cell phone. We watched the news on TV. I can remember them televising the Kennedy funeral procession. I think just about everyone on my block were inside watching that. I too spent much time outside with friends. I think we used our imaginations much more than kids today do.
Mark: Who were your role models growing up?
Grandfather:
Father: When I was in grade school, I looked up to Olympic wrestler Dan Gable. I wrestled all through high school and he was my inspiration. As I grew older, I admired my father and brothers.
I noticed from my interviews that both my Grandfather and father had similar experiences growing up. Both were in a non-technological era and were forced to entertain themselves. Sitting around inside the house was boring for them. They both spent much time interacting with friends and family. Today, some of my generation stay in playing video games, watch TV or surf the internet. Playing outside does not appeal too many kids today. In my father's generation people were more mobile. Families no longer lived in the same community where my Grandfathers generation did. I see that through the generations education became more important with the emphasis on College today. My father and Grandfather were more independent at an earlier age that I. At 18 they were off to work and taking care of themselves and in my Grandfather's case he was working at 15, where I went off to College at the expense of my parents. I have been to celebrations at my Dad's family's house and it is nice to see so many people there. I did see that thru the generations the family unit is getting smaller. The similarities I see are that family has stayed important through time. The work ethic my Grandfather and father had growing up is something I hope to see in myself.