Children
of the Land, by Glen H. Elder, Jr., and Rand D. Conger, Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2000. ISBN: 0226202666.
This book asks whether traditional observations about farm families –
strong intergenerational ties, productive roles for youth in work and
social leadership, dedicated parents, and a network of positive
engagement in church, school, and community life – apply to 300 Iowa
children who have grown up with some ties to the land, in contrast to
150 children from nonfarm households. Born in the late 70s, these
children grew up during the agricultural crisis of the 80s amid farm
bankruptcies. The authors followed these young people from the 7th grade
through high school graduation, and found that youth with ties to the
land were remarkably successful, both academically and socially. And
their accomplishments continued into the post-high school years, as they
pursued further education, entered the labor force, and started families
of their own.
The book is based on data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project.
American families and young people continue to
leave agriculture as they have over past decades. A century ago,
most Americans had ties to
the land through their own lives and those of immediate kin. Now only one in
fifty is engaged
in farming and little more
than a fourth live in rural communities. Exodus from the land is not new, as
the famous
photographer Dorothea Lange
once observed, but it represents one of the great social movements of our age.
It is
also symptomatic of an unparalleled
transformation of society and of who we are.
The loss of farming families represents an economic cost to
local communities. But perhaps more importantly, their
departure threatens the social fabric that makes communities
a desirable place in which to live. In the American Midwest,
these families commonly assemble to achieve shared goals,
whether a stronger school system or improved roads. They
provide leadership and resources. Farm parents and
children do more activities together, both in the family and in
the community, than do members of urban generations. Farm
children may also be counted on to a greater extent than
other young people; they are more involved in activities that
families value and rely upon. Out of such environments come
the disciplines for a successful life.
In Children of the Land, we
ask whether these observations
apply to over 300 Iowa children
who have grown up in families
that have some tie to the
land — such as full-time or
part-time farming to some experience in farming, and
farm-reared. Over 120 children had no farm experience and
thus form a comparison group. We examined whether "family
ties to the land" increased
the developmental competencies
of the young (in academic
success, peer relations, self-confidence,
the avoidance of trouble)
through
related
experiences, such as shared
activities and mutual support
between parents and children,
strong family ties to kin
and community institutions,
the
productive roles of children,
and their social involvement
in both school and community.
In the rich farming country
of north central Iowa, we
followed these children's
lives from
the seventh grade to the post-high
school decisions of education,
work, and family. The seventh
graders were indeed "Children of Hard Times," a
generation of the agricultural
crisis of the 1980s. They
were born at the
end of rural prosperity, in
the 1970s, and grew up amidst
farm bankruptcies, the closing
down of industries and commercial
establishments in their communities.
A large
number were under heavy economic
stress as they left grade
school. Despite such adversities,
a
good many children
seemed to fare well by the
time they entered high school,
especially
children with farm origins.
In high school, these young people tended to be successful in
academics and in social relationships. Apart from other
considerations, their success continued into the post-high
school years. They were most likely to be enrolled in
four-year colleges. This success has much to do with the
distinctive life style of Iowa families that have connections to
the land. They tended to establish resourceful pathways to
adulthood through strong intergenerational ties to parents
and grandparents, productive roles for youth in work and
social leadership, parental and youth engagement in
community life, and the developmental social activities of
young people in school and church. For most members of
this generation, life opportunities will take them to cities, both
near and far. Few will enter farming, and yet the agrarian
culture of families has prepared most young people for the
challenges of their future, wherever they may be.
read a review about this book at
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