But even public schools are not all the same. Differences in funding result in unequal resources; consequently, children in more affluent areas receive a better education than children living in low-income communities. National Map 15–1 shows one key dimension of difference: Average yearly teacher salaries vary by as much as $40,000 in state-by-state comparisons.

Patriarchy also shapes Indian education. Indian parents are joyful at the birth of a boy because he and his future wife will both contribute income to the family. But there are economic costs to raising a girl: Parents must provide a dowry (a gift of wealth to the groom’s family), and after her marriage, a daughter’s work benefits her husband’s family. Therefore, some Indians see less reason to invest in the schooling of girls, which is why a slightly smaller share of girls than boys will complete the secondary grades. What do girls do while the boys are in school? Most of the children working in Indian factories are girls—a family’s way of benefiting from their daughters while they can (UNESCO, 2021).

Ideally, parents help children become well-integrated, contributing members of society. Of course, family socialization continues throughout the life cycle. Adults change within marriage, and as any parent knows, mothers and fathers learn as much from their children as their children learn from them.

Recalling her childhood, she says, “In Mexico, many of the families I knew had six, eight, ten children. Sometimes more. But I came to this country to get ahead. That is simply impossible with too many kids.” As a result of her desire to keep her job and make a better life for her family, Rosa has decided to have no more than the three children she has now.