There Are No Children Here is a book written by Anthony Kotlowitz in 1992 and reports on the conditions and experiences of two brothers (Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers) living in a housing project, Henry Homer Homes, in the projects of Chicago.
Kotlowitz’s goal is to portray a glimpse of the everyday struggles of the people within their nation (First World Country) experience first hand. Using an ethnographic approach, Kotlowitz is able to obtain authentic details and emotion the children experienced that made the reader “feel” while reading the book. An ethnographic approach is the study in the point of view of the subject in question; in this case, the study is done on the boys of the book. In Chapter 4 of the book, Lafeyette experiences an …show more content…
Being born and raised in a poor environment can have drastic effects on the individual. This can be linked to a higher number of school dropouts. Just because we are in a First World country does not mean we do not have issues of our own within our borders. The slums of our nation do require aid and may improve with the help of programs and cleanups. During the book, we can see how a lack of stability in the neighborhood caused issues for Lafeyette in his pursuit of education. He had difficulty as a student and was also caught shoplifting in Chapter 16. Referring to our class notes, we can see that through sport, individuals can be connected through community services and supports through sport-based outreach programs. Having sports programs in place can aid participants to transfer life skills to increase employability, increase self-confidence and social skills. When looking at the book, you can notice there was a lack of these program initiatives. Potentially, the situation with Lafeyette getting caught shoplifting might have been avoidable if these sports programs were available to him. The social environment is an essential factor when looking at a child’s education or social life. For example, a mother’s education has a direct impact on the culture of the child. LaJoe is a struggling individual and mother to the children; we can relate her relationship to Lafeyette and his struggle with
Kotlowitz’s goal is to portray a glimpse of the everyday struggles of the people within their nation (First World Country) experience first hand. Using an ethnographic approach, Kotlowitz is able to obtain authentic details and emotion the children experienced that made the reader “feel” while reading the book. An ethnographic approach is the study in the point of view of the subject in question; in this case, the study is done on the boys of the book. In Chapter 4 of the book, Lafeyette experiences an …show more content…
Being born and raised in a poor environment can have drastic effects on the individual. This can be linked to a higher number of school dropouts. Just because we are in a First World country does not mean we do not have issues of our own within our borders. The slums of our nation do require aid and may improve with the help of programs and cleanups. During the book, we can see how a lack of stability in the neighborhood caused issues for Lafeyette in his pursuit of education. He had difficulty as a student and was also caught shoplifting in Chapter 16. Referring to our class notes, we can see that through sport, individuals can be connected through community services and supports through sport-based outreach programs. Having sports programs in place can aid participants to transfer life skills to increase employability, increase self-confidence and social skills. When looking at the book, you can notice there was a lack of these program initiatives. Potentially, the situation with Lafeyette getting caught shoplifting might have been avoidable if these sports programs were available to him. The social environment is an essential factor when looking at a child’s education or social life. For example, a mother’s education has a direct impact on the culture of the child. LaJoe is a struggling individual and mother to the children; we can relate her relationship to Lafeyette and his struggle with