9 min
What is A Family? 21st Century Families and the Education System Leah Kerbs
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- Education
LinCS Winter '21
In this podcast, I will explore the changing meaning of family in the 21st century as family structures continue to become more diverse. No longer are families relegated to the traditional roles of mother, father, and children after marriage. With the rise in single-parent households, cohabiting households with step-parents, and LGBTQ families expanded by surrogacy and adoption, our students are increasingly coming from a wide variety of family circumstances. In the classroom, it is critical for educators to learn about the implications of these changes and make efforts to be inclusive of all students and families. If we do not take efforts to include all families in our lessons, we risk alienating students and contributing to their struggles in the classroom. Using resources and my own experiences as an adoptee, this podcast begins to dig into the experiences of children from untraditional families in today's education system.
REFERENCES
Pew Research Center, December 17, 2015, “Parenting in America: Outlook, worries, aspirations are strongly linked to financial situation" https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/12/17/1-the-american-family-today/#:~:text=Today%2C%20fully%2062%25%20of%20children,with%20parents%20who%20are%20cohabiting.&text=Conversely%2C%20the%20share%20of%20children,and%20just%209%25%20in%201960.
Children's Bureau, May 2020, "Foster Care Statistics 2018" https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/foster.pdf
US Census Bureau, "Quick Facts" https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219
LinCS Winter '21
In this podcast, I will explore the changing meaning of family in the 21st century as family structures continue to become more diverse. No longer are families relegated to the traditional roles of mother, father, and children after marriage. With the rise in single-parent households, cohabiting households with step-parents, and LGBTQ families expanded by surrogacy and adoption, our students are increasingly coming from a wide variety of family circumstances. In the classroom, it is critical for educators to learn about the implications of these changes and make efforts to be inclusive of all students and families. If we do not take efforts to include all families in our lessons, we risk alienating students and contributing to their struggles in the classroom. Using resources and my own experiences as an adoptee, this podcast begins to dig into the experiences of children from untraditional families in today's education system.
REFERENCES
Pew Research Center, December 17, 2015, “Parenting in America: Outlook, worries, aspirations are strongly linked to financial situation" https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/12/17/1-the-american-family-today/#:~:text=Today%2C%20fully%2062%25%20of%20children,with%20parents%20who%20are%20cohabiting.&text=Conversely%2C%20the%20share%20of%20children,and%20just%209%25%20in%201960.
Children's Bureau, May 2020, "Foster Care Statistics 2018" https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/foster.pdf
US Census Bureau, "Quick Facts" https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219
9 min