Learning And Cultural Theories By Elijah Anderson

LEARNING AND CULTURAL THEORIES
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LEARNING AND CULTURAL THEORIES In his book Elijah Anderson tries to describe how life is, living in a black poor community in an American town known as Inner-city. In this area, everyone is struggling financially and seem distant from the rest of America. The main social class in this town is the “decent” and the “street” families as the community has labeled them. The labeling by the local is as a result of social contest between the inhabitants. The line between a decent and street family is usually very thin it’s based on a family evaluation of itself labeling itself decent and the other street. The irony is that families bearing a street label

However, this is a social learning theory where the anthropologist uses a community to show how the child is nurtured into violence. The violent and dangerous behavior we can see that it’s not a natural behavior, but it’s as a result of the child’s environment. This has led the street culture to develop the street culture, deeply entrenched into the life of the people since it has become the survival tactic of the young pole here. The article shows that violence is the proper way to respond to provocation to avoid being edged out by the others in the streets. (Anderson,

Where we have some families doing very well and others are very poor, but remain at the decent rank. The majority of the people here are suffering, distant from other Americans and very bitter with their life. Many have resulted in drugs and leaving in dangerous mindset of mugging and armed robbery. This is the social terrain that criminologist traverse in their quest to understand how criminals think. Moreover, the article shows also the dilemma that the decent families trying to raise children in a morally upright manner go through. The parents try to show their children to value education, job and have a better future. Truly public life is characterized by intense competition for the limited resources in which those who are able to gain those resources are rewarded and those who lack the means to source these resources face a fate worse than death. Just like the adage ‘survival of the fittest’. Trust cannot be conferred to anyone fully. We can see brother turn against brother, parents against their children. Violence becomes the way in such a situation and its felt and experienced everywhere in the families, schools, playgrounds and in the streets. Violence has become a way of life that is well sheltered by the code of survival, which presumably is the code of the street. (Brookman,