Transcript Outline - Widener University

Outline


Please make a big rectangle with the tables
Fundraising and Trip Discussion
Track
 Spring Carnival, 4/10 from 1 to 3:30?



Changing Family Structure
Wilson’s Research


The Fading Inner City Family
Edin and Kefalas Research

Promises I Can Keep
Fundraising and a Trip to Campus


For each task you volunteer for and complete, I’ll
give ¼ point on your assignment grade
Fundraising new information or loose ends
 Change

jars; Track; Lacrosse, other?
Trip to Campus
 Spring
Carnival

1. Describe your feelings about your community
activity. Is it what you expected? Is it worthwhile?
Why or why not?

2. Please describe the most fulfilling thing that you
have experienced while with the afterschool program.

3. Please describe the most challenging thing that you
have experienced while with the afterschool program.

4. Are there things that you have learned from the children or
others that you work with at Chester Eastside Ministries? If so,
what?

5. What have you learned about yourself from this
experience? Have you learned any new skills or developed a
new interest? Has the experience challenged or made you
question any ideas that you previously held?

6. Has your community activity helped you learn something
new about poverty in America? Has it raised any new
questions in your mind?
Moving Forward


My plan is to spend time talking about public policy
and anti-poverty programs; and poor people’s
movements (or the lack there of)…
Are there are their other things you’re interested in
learning about? Questions you have? Things you’d
like to explore?
Changing Family Structure…

1. Both the Wilson chapter and the Edin/Kefalas
handout suggest that the changing family structure
in urban areas is reflective of the changing family
structure society at large. Briefly describe the way
family structure in the United States has changed. Be
sure to cite one of the texts as evidence in your
answer.
Family Structure By Race


Growth in Single Parent
Households by Race, 1970-1995

Actually more growth in White
population (more than tripled)…

But a higher percentage of Black
families are now single parent
60% of births in Philly now occur
outside of marriage (Edin and
Kafilia: 2005:33)
More American Children in Single Parent
Households

“In 1993, 27 percent of
all children under the age
of 18 were living with a
single parent. This figure
includes 57 percent of all
black children, 32
percent of all Hispanic
children, and 21 percent
of all White children”
(Wilson 1996: 87)
What explains this nationwide trend?

Not just a trend with
the poor…
Ever here this saying…
Why? “Culture-wide redefinition of
marriage…”(K&E 2005:201)

“The commitment to traditional husband wife families and
the stigma associated with out of wedlock births,
separation, and divorce have waned significantly in the
United States” (Wilson 1996: 105)
 Less
emphasis now placed on marriage and idea that
male led family is standard of success


“…having sex, establishing a common household, and
having children have all been decoupled from marriage”
(K&E 2005: 200)
Important to note that change in attitudes are shared by
poor and affluent alike
Impact of Family Structure

2. In Chapter 4, Wilson briefly reviews the research
regarding children in mother only households.
What are some of the research findings he reviews?
Impact of Single Parent Households

Wilson (1996:.92)

Children in single parent households are more likely to:

Drop out of school…Jencks asks…but would this happen anyway?

Receive lower earnings in adulthood…Jencks ask…but would their earnings be
low anyway?

Receive welfare…Jencks asks…but would they be on welfare otherwise?

Be adequately supervised


“Single parent households tend to exert less control over the behavior of adolescents.”
(Wilson, p.92)
To be poor…see next slide…and again note that Jencks asks would this happen
anyway…
More likely to be poor,
Iceland p.42
Declining Marriage Rates Among Urban
Poor



Wilson’s prior work emphasizes the lack of “marriageable
men”
Jobless ghettos emerge for reasons that we have discussed
Young men without employment are not good potential
partners

“…strong relationship between the annual earnings of young black
men (18-29) and their marital status” (Wilson 1996: 95)

Anyone remember the relationship???
Married Black Men Age 18-29, 1987
(Numbers in thousands)
Why the decline…?

Longitudinal studies suggest these earnings and employment
status account for small proportion of the overall decline
among African Americans overall


Decline almost as large among working men as non-working men
But Wilson presents research that suggests the lack jobs
and earnings is a strong cause of single parent households in
the high poverty inner city neighborhoods that we have been
considering

In the Chicago neighborhoods he studies, men 18 to 31 were 8 times
more likely to marry if they were employed
Joblessness and Norms

4. According to Wilson, what has happened to the
norms regulating marriage in the inner city ghetto?
What does he think has caused this?
Norms…

Normative constraints on pre-marital sex, out of
wed-lock pregnancy and non-marital parenthood
have weakened

“In the inner city ghetto community, not only have the norms
in support of husband-wife families and against out-ofwedlock births become weaker as a result of the general
trend in society, they have also gradually disintegrated
because of the worsening economic conditions in the inner
city, including the sharp rise in joblessness and delcining
real incomes.” (Wilson, p.97)
Weakening Norms…


“The ethnographic data reveal that both inner-city black males
and females believe that since most marriages will eventually
break up and since marriage non longer represent meaningful
relationships, it is better to avoid the entanglements of wedlock
altogether” (Wilson 1996: 104).
“For many single mothers in the inner city, non-marriage makes
more sense than does marriage. Single mothers who perceive
the fathers of their children as unreliable or as having limited
financial means will often – rationally – choose single
parenthood” (Wilson 1996: 104)
Changing Family Structure

Wilson concludes:

African Americans in the inner city feel little pressure to
commit to marriage

“They have little reason to contemplate seriously the
consequences of single parenthood because their prospects
for social and economic mobility are severely limited
whether they are married or not” (Wilson 1996: 105)
Logic of Wilson’s Argument



Development of jobless ghettoes
Fewer Employment Prospects
Weakens foundation for stable relationships










Why commit to someone who is not financially viable?
More out of wedlock births, more separation, divorce
Norms that pressure people to marry weaken 
More single parent homes
Inadequate social control and socialization of youth
Youth are not socialized/prepared for labor market
Little human capital and destructive culture
 Children not exposed to the habits and routines of work
More likely to remain among the joblessnessSTART AGAIN
For Wilson: “…cultural arrangements reflect structural realities” (Wilson
1996: 106).
What do you think???
Promises I Can Keep



New Book by Kathryn Edin (University of
Pennsylvania) and Maria Kefalas (St. Josephs)
Work is getting a lot of attention…
Based on 162 interviews with women in Philly and
Camden designed to shed light on “why poor women
put motherhood before marriage.”
Views on Pregnancy

5. Edin and Kefalas suggest that inner city women
view pregnancy as a “chance to grasp a better
future.” Explain what they mean by this, being sure
to cite the text in your answer.
Grasping a Better Future

Children as a gift, not a liability

Bring a new sense of hope

Motherhood viewed as most important social role, so out-ofwedlock pregnancy not viewed negatively

In fact, quite the opposite

“viewed as a mark of self worth” p.43

“Whereas outsiders generally view childrearing in such circumstances
as irresponsible and self destructive, within the social milieu of these
down and out neighborhoods the norms work in reverse, and the
choice to have a child despite the obstacles that lie ahead is a
compelling demonstration of a young women’s maturity and high
moral stature” (E &K 2005: 48).
Different Views of Pregnancy

6. Compare and contrast the attitudes of middle
class youth and inner city poor youth towards
starting a family at a young age. Be sure to cite
text in your answer.
Different Views…Different Choices

Poor actually ascribe “higher value to children than members of the middle
class.”

1986: It is better to have a child rather than go through life childless
 Poor nearly twice as likely to agree

2001: Poorly educated women more likely than highly educated to agree
that motherhood is one of life’s most fulfilling roles


Poor view childlessness as “one of the greatest tragedies of life”(K&E 2005:
204)
 Female HS dropouts 5 times more likely than Female College Grads to
think “childless people leave empty lives.”


Fewer MC women think lives would be empty without kids
Putting having kids (a la Murphy Brown) as selfish and unnatural
Why the difference???
Why?



“We believe the high social value the poor give to children has two sources:
fewer forgone opportunities and stronger absolute preferences”
(K&E 2005: 205)
Forgone opportunities (7) Please explain how the opportunity costs of
having a child early in life differ for poor women and middle class women.
Be sure to cite the text in your answer.
Opportunity cost

The true cost of something is what you give up to get it. This includes not
only the money spent in buying (or doing) the something, but also the
economic benefits that you did without because you bought (or did) that
particular something and thus can no longer buy (or do) something else.
For example, the opportunity cost of choosing to train as a lawyer is not
merely the tuition fees, PRICE of books, and so on, but also the fact that
you are no longer able to spend your time holding down a salaried job
or developing your skills as a footballer (Economist.com)
Lost Future Earnings Differ…

Middle Class


There are economic rewards for putting off kids for a decade or more after sexual
maturity
Each year of postponement translates into more earnings


Wait till mid 30s and likely to earn twice as much as if have kid right out of college
Accordingly, pregnancy at 15 is costly

Career trumps motherhood… because career opportunities are readily
available

Poor


Maybe not ideal, but they recognize they have limited economic prospects
There is little to lose if they don’t time births like MC

“Disadvantaged girls who bear children have about the same long term
earnings trajectories as similarly disadvantaged youth who wait until their
mid or late twenties to have a child”(K&E 2005: 205)

Jenck’s Fairy Tale Number #1
Jencks

“In an effort to separate the effects of family
background from the age at which women became
mothers, Arlene Geronimus from the University of
Michigan and Sanders Korenman from the University
of Minnesota compared sisters raised in the same
family. They found that women who had had their first
child while they were teenagers ended up only a little
poorer than their sisters who had waited.”
Lost Future Earnings Differ…

Middle Class


There are economic rewards for putting off kids for a decade or more after sexual maturity
Each year of postponement translates into more earnings


Wait till mid 30s and likely to earn twice as much as if have kid right out of college
Accordingly, pregnancy at 15 is costly

Career trumps motherhood… because career opportunities are readily available

Poor



Maybe not ideal, but they recognize they have limited economic prospects
There is little to lose if they don’t time births like MC

“Disadvantaged girls who bear children have about the same long term earnings
trajectories as similarly disadvantaged youth who wait until their mid or late twenties to
have a child”(K&E 2005: 205)

Opportunity costs are low…Jenck’s Fairy Tale Number #1
Motherhood trumps career goals… in part because
career opportunities are so stunted
Stronger Preferences…

Poor women put children ahead of careers,
marriage and education…

Children put “at the center of their meaning making
activity” (K&E 2005: 206)

“While middle class women are now reaching new
heights of self actualization, poor women are relegated
to unstable, poorly paid, often mind-stultifying jobs with
little room for advancement. Thus, for the poor,
childbearing often rises to the top of the list of potential
meaning making activities from mere lack of
competition”( K&E 2005: 206)
“I’m not going to make any promises I can’t
keep.”




Given the small opportunity costs, the strong preference for
children, and the lack of “marriageable men”…single
parent households become more common
“Most poor women we spoke with said it is better to have
children outside of marriage than to marry foolishly or risk
divorce…”(K&E 2005: 207)
Pregnancy before marriage becomes a sort of test for
male partner…
“…poor women consider marriage a luxury- one they
desire and home someday to attain, but can live without if
they must”(K&E 2005: 210)
Fairy Tale #1: If teen mothers simply held off
parenthood until their twenties, they would have
enough money to raise a family


Jencks: “The [Clinton] administration is right when it
claims that early childbearing is correlated with
subsequent welfare receipt. But everyone knows, or
ought to know, that a correlation of this kind is not
sufficient to prove causation. Women who have babies
as teenagers differ from those who wait in a multitude
of other ways, many of which affect their economic
prospects.”
Interpret and tell me the multitude of ways that women
who have babies as teenagers differ that would affect
their economic prospects?
Now to Jencks…

8. In the Jenck’s article, he writes: Fairy Tale #1: If
teen mothers simply held off parenthood until their
twenties, they would have enough money to raise a
family. Explain why this is a fairy tale, being sure to
mention the research by Korenman.
Fairy Tale #1: If teen mothers simply held off parenthood until
their twenties, they would have enough money to raise a family.



From the Jencks Article:
“Family background aside, most teen mothers have also had trouble in school.
Their grades and test scores have usually been below average, and they are
more likely to have been in disciplinary trouble than women who delay
motherhood.
Many attend schools where below-average students are written off at an
early age. Because of these problems, many teenage mothers quit school even
before they become pregnant. When a teenager comes from a troubled
family, has learned little in school, and has left school without graduating,
she is unlikely to be economically self-sufficient no matter how long she
delays motherhood.”
Fairy Tale #2: If single mothers got married, they
wouldn't need welfare.



Jencks notes that is commonly argued: “…dropouts with low
test scores could stay off welfare if only they would marry
before having children.”
“Once again the correlation is clear. Women who have a child
out of wedlock are at least three times as likely to need
welfare as women who have their children while married. But
that does not mean two-thirds of unwed welfare recipients
could have made themselves self-sufficient by marrying the
man who fathered their children.”
Why not?
Fairy Tale #2: If single mothers got married, they
wouldn't need welfare.



From the Jencks:
“If a would-be mother wants to stay off welfare, she has to
find a husband who can pull his weight economically….for
marriage to make a mother better off than she would be on
welfare, her husband must usually earn at least $12,000 a
year. There are not enough men (or jobs) like that to go
around.
Marrying a man with an unstable work history or low wages is
not a good formula for avoiding welfare. These days more
than half the women who marry such a man can expect their
marriage to end in divorce; and when that happens their exhusbands are unlikely to be either willing or able to pay much
child support.”
Fairy Tale #3: If teen mothers finished high school
before having kids, they could get good jobs.


Jencks: “ While high school dropouts with low test scores often found some kind
of work, their wages averaged only $5.50 to $6.00 an hour (in 1991 dollars).
Nor did their earnings rise as they accumulated more labor market experience.
After adjusting for inflation, Burtless found that these women earned only 25
cents an hour more when they were 29 years old than when they were 21. Nor
does earning a high school equivalency certificate (technically known as a
Certificate of General Educational Development, or simply a "GED") seem to
increase their earnings. Recent research shows that high school dropouts with a
GED earn no more than those who lack one. Nor does the short-term job training
that most states now offer welfare recipients boost their hourly wages--though it
does help them find work, so the money is not wasted.
Women with low test scores who finish high school on schedule do earn $1 to
$1.25 an hour more than those who drop out.
Inability of the Labor Market to
Support All Families


Are the jobs that household
head are working at
capable of getting a
family out of poverty?
9.4% of households were
working at jobs in which
their earnings could not pull
a family out of poverty
Should Poor Women be Permitted
to Have Babies?

Should Poor Women be Permitted
to Have Babies?

Jencks: “…the problem is that we cannot
predict in advance which children might
eventually need welfare. Nearly half the
children on welfare in any given month were
born to parents who were married at the
time of their birth, and most of these parents
had enough money to scrape by while they
were married. If we tried to prevent married
couples from having children until we could
be sure that they would not need AFDC even
if they separated, we would have to regulate
the most intimate behavior of millions of
married people.”
Percent of Americans Who Experience
Poverty Across Adulthood

By the time they are old, most Americans will
experience a spell of poverty
Children in Single Mother Families:
Percent Poor, 2003… What to do?
So what, if anything, is to be done?


“Conservatives are acting on the premise that not
being married is what makes so many women and
children poor. But poor women insist that their
poverty is part of what makes marriage so difficult
to sustain…How, they ask, can an economically
strained marriage hope to survive” (K&E 2005:
218)
Chicken or egg…
 Poverty
causes low marriage rates
 Low marriage rates cause poverty
Lessons for Marriage Policy


Bush Administration created a “marriage czar” and spent money on
“relationship skills training.”

Assumption: Problem is not lack of skills or jobs but lack of marriage that creates
poverty

Solution: Pre-marital counseling designed to teach relationship skills
Kefalas and Edin seem to think this can’t hurt, but doubt that it can deal with the
problems that plague inner city relationships



Infidelity, alcoholism, drug use, violence, incarceration, etc.
They argue that the goal should be to improve the quality of the male partners
in the marriage pool…address the “problem of marriageability”
“Providing more access to stable, living wage employment for both men and
women should therefore be a key policy objective” (K&E 2005: 219)
What is to be done?

Anyone remember what happened to the rate of
non-marital child bearing during the period of
economic growth of the late 1990s?
What is to be done?


“During the late 1990s, when America saw several
years of unprecedented economic growth and very
low unemployment, many of those on the bottom
were swept up into the economic mainstream. Most
people who wanted a job could suddenly get one,
the tight job market moved wages for unskilled
workers sharply upward, and for the first time in
modern memory, the rate of non-marital childrearing
stopped increasing- it even declined somewhat”
(E&K 2005: 219)
If people see new opportunities for hope or
meaning, they may “choose to forgo early
childhood…”
So…what is to be done…

Marriage czar, decent jobs, baby
block…Something else?
Reflection

1. Describe your feelings about your community
activity. Is it what you expected? Is it worthwhile?
Why or why not?
Reflection

2. Please describe the most fulfilling thing that you
have experienced while with the afterschool
program.
Reflection

3. Please describe the most challenging thing that
you have experienced while with the afterschool
program.
Reflection

4. Are there things that you have learned from the
children or others that you work with at Chester
Eastside Ministries? If so, what?
Reflection

5. What have you learned about yourself from this
experience? Have you learned any new skills or
developed a new interest? Has the experience
challenged or made you question any ideas that
you previously held?
Reflection

6. Has your community activity helped you learn
something new about poverty in America? Has it
raised any new questions in your mind?