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Playing to Win: Raising Children in a Competitive Culture follows the path of elementary school-age children involved in competitive dance, youth travel soccer, and scholastic chess.
Why do American children participate in so many adult-run activities outside of the home, especially when family time is so scarce? By analyzing the roots of these competitive afterschool activities and their contemporary effects, Playing to Win contextualizes elementary school-age children's activities, and suggests they have become proving grounds for success in the tournament of life—especially when it comes to coveted admission to elite universities, and beyond.
In offering a behind-the-scenes look at how "Tiger Moms" evolve, Playing to Win introduces concepts like competitive kid capital, the carving up of honor, and pink warrior girls. Perfect for those interested in childhood and family, education, gender, and inequality, Playing to Win details the structures shaping American children's lives as they learn how to play to win.
Why do American children participate in so many adult-run activities outside of the home, especially when family time is so scarce? By analyzing the roots of these competitive afterschool activities and their contemporary effects, Playing to Win contextualizes elementary school-age children's activities, and suggests they have become proving grounds for success in the tournament of life—especially when it comes to coveted admission to elite universities, and beyond.
In offering a behind-the-scenes look at how "Tiger Moms" evolve, Playing to Win introduces concepts like competitive kid capital, the carving up of honor, and pink warrior girls. Perfect for those interested in childhood and family, education, gender, and inequality, Playing to Win details the structures shaping American children's lives as they learn how to play to win.
Price: $29.95
Pages: 355
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
03 August 2013
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520276765
Format: Paperback
"Impressive. . . . This study is vital reading for parents and educators interested in how the American idea of winners and losers is trickling down to the next generation."
"If you are interested in after-school activities and the future prospects of the children who participate in them, Playing to Win by Hilary Levey Friedman is a must-read. An astute, well-researched and clearly written account, the book examines the ins and outs of today’s competitive youth culture across three different arenas: chess, soccer and dance."
"Given the considerable competitive pressure on even young children to prepare for elite colleges and lucrative careers, this study is timely and provocative...Nonspecialists who have read both Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Lenore Skenazy's Free-Range Kids: How To Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry ) may find it of interest."
"In leading up to her examination of the characteristics and motivations of modern-day chess families, Friedman delights lovers of of historical and global context by tracking the evolution of competitive chess among young people in the United States."
"Top 12 Must-Read Education Books . . . . Harvard sociologist Friedman follows children involved in chess, dance and soccer, showing the differences among these sub-groups, how and why these competitive activities work and the resulting implications for inequality and gender in the educational system."
— Alison Krupnick, ParentMap Education Editor
"This book is a must-read for scholars interested in family, childhood, and stratification. It would also be a thought-provoking text for undergraduate students, many of whom may have participated in competitive activities throughout their lives."
"Richly textured... insightful."
— Erendira Rueda
Hilary Levey Friedman, PhD is an affiliate of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. She recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University as a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy and she received her PhD in Sociology from Princeton University.
Preface: Enter to Grow in Wisdom
Introduction: Play to Win
1. Outside Class: A History of American Children’s Competitive Activities
2. More than Playing Around: Studying Competitive Childhoods
3. Cultivating Competitive Kid Capital: Generalist and Specialist Parents Speak
4. Pink Girls and Ball Guys? Gender and Competitive Children’s Activities
5. Carving Up Honor: Organiz ing and Profiting from the Creation of Competitive Kid Capital
6. Trophies, Triumphs, and Tears: Competitive Kids in Action
Conclusion: The Road Ahead for My Competitive Kids
Appendix: Questioning Kids: Experiences from Fieldwork and Interviews
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Introduction: Play to Win
1. Outside Class: A History of American Children’s Competitive Activities
2. More than Playing Around: Studying Competitive Childhoods
3. Cultivating Competitive Kid Capital: Generalist and Specialist Parents Speak
4. Pink Girls and Ball Guys? Gender and Competitive Children’s Activities
5. Carving Up Honor: Organiz ing and Profiting from the Creation of Competitive Kid Capital
6. Trophies, Triumphs, and Tears: Competitive Kids in Action
Conclusion: The Road Ahead for My Competitive Kids
Appendix: Questioning Kids: Experiences from Fieldwork and Interviews
Notes
Works Cited
Index