Jennifer has two children aged 16 and 14.
Jennifer’s parents came from Germany and her father died when she was 16 years old. She knows her parents wanted her to complete high school but was unsure about their expectations for any further education. Jennifer’s mother was a homemaker and she did not know about her mother’s schooling. Jennifer’s father was a millwright and a nuclear power plant worker; he had trade school training. Jennifer did not recall seeing her parents writing or reading. Her father would watch wrestling on television. She remembered her mother singing with her little sister. Jennifer did not remember her parents reading to her although she did get books from her friends as a child. She also did not recall her parents helping her with homework or going on cultural outings. She lived in a small town that did not have a library.
Jennifer is a Material Controller with a high school diploma. She completed on the job training and has completed a lot of courses (for example, computer and supervisory skills) that were between half an hour and several days in length. She watches television three hours a week; mostly reality television but she also loves documentaries. She uses the internet for half an hour a week primarily to do research for things that she needs.
Jennifer expects her children to get a university degree. She encourages her
daughter to write. She said her daughter “loves to journal and write stories”
although she does not show her mother. Jennifer sees her daughter reading a
lot and said, “I’m addicted to reading books and so is my daughter.”
Her son is primarily interested in computer games.
Jennifer’s children do not see her watching television. She used to sing and rhyme with her children often but does not model this very much anymore. Her daughter frequently writes songs.
Jennifer helps with her children’s homework to some extent. She does
not help with math but will help them if they need help and watches and asks
questions. Her children are “too old”
to be read to but she used
to read to them every night when they were younger. The family has a lot of
books at home. Jennifer’s children used to use the school library but
they now go to Chapters and used book stores. Her children used to have cards
for the public library but “they no longer have time to go.”
Her children watch three hours of television a week, mostly adult cartoons. Her son uses the internet for one hour a day and plays recreational games for half an hour daily. Her daughter uses the internet to email and chat.
The family goes on cultural excursions at least twice a year.