The habitus

Speaking of the habitus of ‘good students’: I’m currently sitting outside in the shade in my little suburban subdivision, poking around aimlessly on the internet; I hear voices; I look over at the street and a family is riding by on bikes. Family time seems like an unqualified good. As I watch, the sweaty adult guy with his shirt off is passed by the zippy young kid on the much smaller bike. I imagine a conversation about this later:

“Kid, stay behind your old man.”
“But I was having fun!”
“Do as you’re told.”

Here’s another version:

“Hey Dad, I beat you!”
“Whatever. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

Try this one:

“Dad, I’m way faster than you!”
“I saw that! Why do you suppose that is?”

I’m interested in how a kid happens who may notice status performances and weight-to-acceleration ratios as things she could figure out for herself.

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