Social Class & Cultural Diversity

For class discussion this week we had to read "The Costs of Getting Ahead: Mexican Family System Changes and Immigration" which helped to explain some of the challenges that immigrant families face when trying to come to America. When we discussed it in class, it became even more real to me than ever before.

Brother Williams started by bringing students to the front of the room and creating a "family". There was the immediate family-a dad, mom, brother, and two sisters-and an extended family-grandma, uncle, and cousin (I think). While Brother Williams tried to simulate the process that these families went through, the students were moved around and asked questions about how they felt. It had not occurred to me before, first off, how much money was involved in coming to America-thousands of dollars simply to cross the boarder. Then tons of money to live. The fathers come first. They hope to only be away from their family for 6 months or so, but more often than not do they end up being gone for years before they are reconnected with their family. The dynamics of the family relationship was demonstrated during our discussion.

The only son had to become the man of the house and take on responsibilities that he may have not been prepared for. Mom had to go to work to support the family since dad was gone. Because mom was out of the house now, the oldest daughter had to leave school to care for the youngest child. The whole family was forced to rely more heavily on their extended family for both financial and emotional support. The entire family relationship and dynamic was changed simply because dad wasn't there any more. Eventually they become accustom to living this way when finally they have enough money to send the entire family across the boarder to meet with dad.

But wait. The family has gone years without dad and are now used to living without him. Now that he is back in their lives and home, the dynamic and relationships, once again, must change. But the kids are older, some may even be resentful towards dad because of having to live without him for so long or because they don't want to be in America-they want to be with their friends. This is another shift that they must face to attempt to have a healthy family relationship once again.

This is just an example of some of the things discussed in class this week that kind of amazed me. It makes perfect since that just one person coming or going can cause such a shift in the family dynamic, but it wasn't something I had ever given much thought to before-probably because I had never experienced it before.