Considerations for All families in Partnerships Demographic change What are Culturally Inclusive Views of family Identity? What are reflections of possible family arrangements in local Contexts? How do I adapt my practices to meet those arrangements? What is the force of middle class parent communities? On individual children? Groups of children? Schools?

Fundamentalists of all stripes cast the beleaguered family as the villain for all that ails contemporary society. Perdita Huston, activist, writer, actor, journalist

Dimensions of identity within culture which intersect with relationships between home and school Race--> Commonly--any one of the groups into which the world’s population can be divided on the basis of physical characteristics such as skin or hair color. 2) the fact of belonging to a group of humans who share the same physical features such as skin color. A contested idea, with newly uncovered biological and social basis. Social class--> a group of people within a society who share the same social and economic status. Usually social class is associated with education and always economic and social resources. Chronic Poverty, working class poor, working class vs professional class, blue collar, White Collar, and even Pink Collar occupations usually are code names for social class. Gender-->The sex of a person or organism, or of a whole category of people or organisms (often used euphemistically to avoid the word ‘sex’). Male, & Female, (Social roles, power, financial wealth, and family make up is often determined along gender lines, matriarchal, patriarchal, egalitarian divisions in families result from gender roles).

Dimensions of identity… continued Sexuality-->The state of expressing/being sexual. Commonly heterosexuality produces children (which need schooling), but expressions in families of sexuality include gay/lesbian, adopted, divorced, extended, Blended, Step, and Grandparents as parents. Marital status reflects sexuality, birth patterns & family size relate to expressions of sexuality Ethnicity-->Commonly: ethnic affiliation or distinctiveness within racial groups, sometimes thought of within race, but more commonly a way of grouping people according to religious expressions, clan and extended kin practices, geographic locations, common ways of being, customs, and how people define themselves, Jewish American, African American, Pluto rica, Polish-german american, etc. Linguistic status-->Relating to language or languages, majority and non majority languages, as well as discourse communities, communities of practice in which certain language systems reside concurrently, and in which some gain power over others,

6 Disruptive Demographic Trends—predicted by 2010 census The south has risen again The browning of American Marrying out is in The silver Tsunami is about to hit The end of men? Lost jobs by gender The rapid growth of grandparent headed households

The Rise of New Families—Diversity in the 2000’s Census 2000 indicates that only 24% of all US households are comprised of two parents and children today, sliding down from 45% in Two types of households--family and non- family arrangements. Married couples, single parents, and people who live with other relatives has decreased. Non-family households, those who live alone or with non-relatives has risen. Market trends, tax base changes.

The class based decline in marriage About ½ (52%) of all adults were married in 2008 in 1960 (72%) The new marriage gap is combined with the growing income gap in /3rds (68%) of people in their 20s were married in 2008 only (26%) were Families and family forms remain resilient

Children in Contemporary families Single parent Headed families Almost 1/4th of White children and more than 1/2 of Black children are born to unmarried mothers 22% of children live with one parent in % of children in 2000 Recently divorced 2/3rds of first marriages end in divorce (2x as many as 2 decades ago) 60% of children will spend part of their childhood in single parent home Mothers in workforce with preschool children 30% in % in % in % (at least) 2008 (age of child impacts %) Multi-dimensionally Complex

Changes for children Families maintained by single women increased 3x as fast as married couples in the first half of the 90s. 28% of children live in single parent families in % A household with a single parent and children is just as much a family as one with two parents 83% classify childless married couples as family

How do we operate within this moment? The world presently can be characterized by complexity, uncertainty, and questions of culture, difference, class, privilege, and politics. Young children, their families, we as teachers are all tied to these issues and others that are embedded within historical, social, and political circumstances (Grieshaber & Cannella, 2001) Public Views on Demographic Trends (go to Pew Research Center) about-the-changing-american-family/ about-the-changing-american-family/