When we were growing up, everything in our home was a competition between my brothers and I. Who could get the best grades? Who was the best athlete? Who could get done with chores fastest? Consequently, we all had g

were part of the working class and his requirements of obedience and respect came as a result of what thought he were the best qualities we needed to possess to succeed. It was then that I realized that my father was not really the harsh dictator that I had always imagined him to be.

were good athletes, and always completed our chores. However, we didn't always enjoy what were doing mostly because our motivation to avoid failure was usually much higher than our motivation to succeed. We were not succeeding because we wanted the success. We were succeeding to avoid getting in trouble.

In me, my father saw my talent for basketball as a way for me to escape my situation. My family lives in a small town in Ohio where everyone graduates and the majority of people work in factories or other similar working class jobs. Therefore, what was once a pleasure for me to participate in soon became a chore. He used to make me shoot one hundred free throws a day and practice many other aspects of the game that to a 12-year-old seem not the least bit fun. I continued to

Some common words found in the essay are:
Social-Learning Theory, , getting trouble,
Approximate Word count = 723
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)