There has always been much controversy regarding the relationship between parents and children through the ages. While some consider that parents are responsible for their children’s material upbringing and that they need to provide their offspring with the basic needs, others believe that parents primarily need to focus on the intellectual upbringing of their children. Jeannette Walls’ situation is self-explanatory when considering parents who would rather instill creative thinking in their children instead of trying to provide them with basic needs. Most people are inclined to associate parents with teachers and children with pupils; yet, not uncommonly children also take on the role of teachers. Through adopting such attitudes they can construct the limits and responsibilities for their parents. As Jeannette’s parents, Rex and Rose Mary, attempted to provide their children with a different way of parenting, it was difficult for Jeannette and her siblings to understand what their role was in the family. Although this is not necessarily the best way to raise a child, society promotes the belief that parents need to raise children in ways that are not consistent with how they actually want to behave. One of the most important roles of children and parents alike is related to how each group needs to accept the other, and Rose Mary displays this when trying to convince Jeannette to stop hiding the reality of their family, stating, “Your father and I are who we are” (p. 5). Rose Mary has always contended that Jeannette was mature for her age and did not hesitate to provide her with missions that would normally be performed by an adult. It is probably because of this that Jeannette burned herself badly while she was cooking hot-dogs as a little girl. Jeannette experienced the plight of homelessness firsthand. Even with this, she hesitated to explain her attitude at the moment when she started an argument with Professor Fuchs, claiming that, “Homeless people want to live on the streets” (p. 257). Professor Fuchs was unable to comprehend that Jeannette had a much more complex understanding of homeless people and thus decided to associate her with the stereotype of coming from a privileged environment. Jeannette is particularly interested in social acceptance and she feels that it would be impossible for someone like her mother or her father to be socially accepted while continuing to display such socially inacceptable behaviors. Professor Fuchs’ challenge to Jeannette of what she knows “about the hard-ships and obstacles that the underclass faces” (p. 257), is likely what influences Jeannette to keep quiet. It is her belief people like Professor Fuchs are actually the ones who will never be able to understand homeless people. In reading The Glass Castle, it appears that Jeannette is not necessarily frustrated with who her parents are as one would expect a child of such family structure and lifestyle would be. Instead, she appears more irritated with society’s attitudes and their tendency to discriminate despite a lack of understanding of her situation. She also appears reluctant to speak out due to her own disappointment with her attitude towards society and her situation, which is further reason for her to deny her background. The Walls family is dysfunctional because Rex and Mary Rose are unable to see further than their personal objectives, nor understand how their behaviors reflect negatively on their children. While Jeannette seems happy most of the time, she also seems tormented as a result of trying to present herself as someone she is not. While the family’s dysfunctional condition does not prevent them from personal satisfaction regarding their situation, things gradually start to unravel and they experience more and more hardships as a consequence of their reluctance to address the issues plaguing their family and the results of their life choices. As a social worker, Jeannette’s family would be a tremendous challenge due to her parents currently falling into the motivational interviewing definition of “pre-contemplation.” When individuals are existing within this stage, it is difficult, if nearly impossible for them to see that a change needs to be made, let alone engage in services to help. Since Rex and Mary Rose remain in this pre-contemplative state throughout the duration of Jeannette’s memoir, it is difficult to put an exact social work approach together. However, the use of motivational interviewing techniques, specifically related to individuals in the pre-contemplative state, are key to making any sort of progress, regardless of how minimal. It is important to validate the individual’s life experiences and respect their right to choice. At this stage it is necessary to help the individual identify that change even needs to be made, so there must be an intricate approach to helping them see the consequences of their life choices. Nonetheless, it is also important to validate that they are not ready to make a change. Throughout this process, it is essential that the individual know that they have full control of what changes are identified as necessary and how to address these changes. When this level of engagement is achieved, the individual has moved from the pre-contemplative stage into the contemplative stage, where the person is reaching out to engage in supportive services as they begin to see what changes need to be made in their life. Ongoing self-exploration is key in both the pre-contemplative and contemplative stages. As they progress through the contemplative stage into the preparation stage, the focus and direction becomes clearer for both the social worker and the individual. This is where true service planning may begin and progress made to address the problem(s) affecting the family. Continuing with motivational interviewing techniques through the subsequent stages helps to ensure a person-centered approach to service delivery and builds trust and rapport between the worker and individual. This relationship is paramount to all service delivery, so this must be evaluated on a regular basis as it can have a profound effect on the individual’s progress, both positively and negatively. Through the use of these motivational interviewing techniques, the Walls family would like feel more in control of their situation and likely to engage in services to help them identify these social issues and create action steps to resolve them.[pic]