Book Reading #38 - Coming of Age in Samoa

Title:
Chapter 13: Our Educational Problems in the Light of Samoan Contrasts


Reference:
Mead, Margaret. Coming of Age in Samoa. Harper Perennial, 1928 (1971)

Summary:
In this chapter Mead analyzes her questions of whether or not adolescent girls in all societies entails a time of stress and conflict.  As seen in previous chapters she states the answer is no.  She now focuses on why there is this turmoil in the United States.

She points out the idea of not caring in the Samoans.  This is an attitude not carried in the US because we care about so much, and we make big deals out of everything.  Our children are faced with many choices in morality.  Samoan children really don't have any obligation to moral circumstances.  Our children are are socially pressured into choosing a group to relate their ideas to.  In this group there is even a contradiction of ideas.  In Samoa, the entire village holds the same attitude about all things for the most part.  Building off of this idea, Samoa does not have the extreme individualistic attitude that we do.

The close relationship between parent and child is also not found in Samoa.  There are not the taboos of America concerning kids, sex, and death found in Samoa.  Mead points that this is vital in the development of internal conflict.

Mead sees a resolution to the problem in the form of education.  She poitns out that America separates work, play, and school.  School is seen here as incompatible for the most part with the activities of adult life, making a complacent and bad attitude towards school.

Discussion:
This was the first truly interesting chapter in the book.  It was very applicable to life here in America, especially her thoughts about education and the differences between work, play, and school.  This is something to truly consider when raising children, or thinking about our education system as a whole.  I can see what she means by the disconnect between school and adult life.  I think something that we can take from this book is to have school be more applicable not just to professional jobs, but to everyday life.