Gwen Sharp's article is about child labor, and how the past effected adolescent development. Times have changed a great deal since 1900s. In the 1900s children working was a normal thing.
School came in secondary. Today children are not expected to work, but are expected to attend school. Children in the early 1900s had responsibilities like adults today have. Children today do not have the same responsibilities. The laws that were made have restricted children from having these forms of responsibilities.
This article makes me thinks of how different things have
become over the years at least here in the states. In some countries children
still work at an early age, such as Guatemala. To these children working is the
norm because that is all they know. School isn’t not a priority. I found the article to be interesting, and the pictures said a lot.
I really like the video you posted about child labor. I also appreciate the connection you made to children in other countries like Guatemala. Your point that some children don't know a different world or life is a good one -- it's easy from an armchair in 2013 Rhode Island to cast judgement on child labor. The picture has to be more complex. I remember reading a journal entry from a boy in the early 1900s who wrote how much he hated sitting at a desk at school and how much he missed working alongside his siblings and parents. I'm not condoning child labor, but raising the issue that it's not as easy as saying "school for children good, work for children bad."
I really like the video you posted about child labor. I also appreciate the connection you made to children in other countries like Guatemala. Your point that some children don't know a different world or life is a good one -- it's easy from an armchair in 2013 Rhode Island to cast judgement on child labor. The picture has to be more complex. I remember reading a journal entry from a boy in the early 1900s who wrote how much he hated sitting at a desk at school and how much he missed working alongside his siblings and parents. I'm not condoning child labor, but raising the issue that it's not as easy as saying "school for children good, work for children bad."
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