Middle-class children: Squeaky wheels in training A study by
Indiana University sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco found
that working-class and middle-class parents often take very
deliberate -- but different -- approaches to helping their
children with their school experiences. Working-class parents,
she found, coached their children on how to avoid problems,
often through finding a solution on their own and by being
polite and deferential to authority figures. Middle-class
parents, on the other hand, were more likely to encourage their
kids to ask questions or ask for help. These self-advocacy
skills taught by middle-class parents not only can help the
children in school -- because these parents know that in
educational settings teachers often expect and reward such
behavior -- but they could help later in life in other
institutional settings. "Youth who do not learn to advocate for
themselves might have more difficulty interacting with social
service providers, financial service providers, legal authoriti