The Case Study of Babies in the Mill My immediate reaction after reading the case several times was, that the case reflected a period of history when children had to miss out on a school education in order to work. Personal experiences that might explain my reaction come from my teenage years of growing up. By sixteen years of age, I was taught from childhood that a man must be a provider and hard worker for himself and his family. In order to you have to work for them was what my father instilled in me and stuck with me. I started working at a young age and began to learn what money and an education can bring you, as far as rewards and better job postings. In a psychological aspect, in order to achieve some of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of need, an individual has to work. I feel that by working at a young age and being introduced to the work force, I have yet my bottom level of needs which were food, sleep and water (survival needs). I also met my security needs, social needs and esteem needs. The final need of self-actualization and work was not a concept that I grasped when I was 16 and working. As I got older I have not yet reached the point of self-actualization, but with more experiences I will eventually. My experiences of working at a young age and incorporating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs unknowingly constructed my life, self-worth, my desires as well as my needs. The babies in the case are eight or nine with no school education. The babies have accepted their society. They are conditioned from growth lacking the normal routines and functionality of other children their ages. The habits of not going to school, waking up early in the morning, reading or writing, are what the babies are accustomed to. The babies are given a social position from their society and therefore, governed by a set of norms for “proper” behavior under strict force. The concept of social norms and the roles are the primary facto...
