What re some myths about family life in the U.S.?
One of the biggest myths about family life in the U.S. was the myth about the stable and harmonious families that was famously depicted in 1950, even up to some 21st century films wherein the father and every member of the family enjoys their life as a part of that family. The father works hard to provide for his family, while the mother simply does the household chores. According to Eitzen et al. (2009), most husband-wife relationships were empty and in reality, members of the society lived under single-parent family banners with step-parents taking care of them. Divorce was not uncommon and couples tended to separate more often. Some other myths about family life in the U.S. include the “haven in a heartless world”, “monolithic family form”, and “undifferentiated family experience” myths.
What is the relationship between the economy, work and family patterns?
Nuclear family is by far the most common form of family that exists not only in the U.S. but also in other countries in the globe today. The presence of the nuclear family encourages whoever the breadwinner in the family is to become more and more competitive in order to provide more for the family. This contributes to the where the competition is present. Globalization promotes the existence of hard-working family members, due to economic and financial demands, and creates a spillover effect wherein there is already interference between, for example, a mother or a father’s work, social, and family life. One thing that could prove this theory is the fact that there is a higher divorce rate in the working class than in the non-working class.
What are the changes in marriage and family roles?
Nuclear family or postmodern family is a term used to describe a family that is composed of a pair of adult parents and their offspring. A nuclear family lives independently from the adult parents’ parents and can have any number of children. In terms of family roles, nuclear families tend to belong to the working class due to the economic and financial pressure being set by the government. Sometimes, both parents work so that they could provide for their own and survive.
Summarize and then critique Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s 1965 report on the state of African American families ("tangle of pathology") from the conflict perspective.
Basically, Moynihan blames the existence of the ghetto culture and their rich background in slavery for the high divorce rates and prevalence of single-mother families. From a logical point of view, Moynihan does not enough factual bases that could directly show the relationship of the ghetto culture’s background in slavery and the rise in divorce and single-parent family rates. Instead, it could be more logically linked with the conflict perspective which states that socialization is unreliable and thus produces different types of results or outcomes.
How does the formal system of education reinforce the social stratification system in society?
The formal system of education imposes a hidden curriculum among its students. This is where the children’s roles in the society, and the rules and the norms they have to adhere with are taught. These were actually not part of the formal educational curriculum but are still being taught to children in schools. A formal education system enables the social system in a society be more organized, and leveled. Overall, it enhances the society’s development and stability.
Compare and Contrast the Order and Conflict Perspectives on Formal Education.
Simply put, the order perspective in relation to formal education states that at some point, a society will reach stability and equilibrium in managing its education system. The conflict perspective on the other hand, in relation to formal education, explains that at some point, a society will reach, enter, and go through a stage that will most likely be full of conflicts, chaos, due to compelling self-interests and due to the fact that socialization is unreliable—a situation which can only be resolved by a series of remodeling (Farley, 2000). Additionally, conflict is usually present in a society that is reinforced with inequality wherein there are societal members who are rich and there are also who are not. Order on the other hand works under a mechanism called social integration where individuals should learn how to fit and adapt to the demands of the society.
How is Public Education Financed
In most countries like the U.S. and the U.K., formal education, usually from pre-primary, to secondary education, is compulsory for all by the government. Because of this, the government provides (because it has to) for the needs of the students in terms of educational facilities and materials such as books, and other school supplies using the budget taken from a portion of the approved national budget for the Department of Education.
If we are going to trace it, we would most likely discover that the finances used for public education purposes originated from the citizen’s funds through taxation.
What are the consequences of the ways how public education is financed?
Usually, the budget that will be allotted for the department of education has a directly proportional relationship with the national budget which is most probably taken from different taxes and other paid government services. This is actually where one of the primary consequences of financing a public education system lies.
When the overall national budget tends to be low, the national budget for public education would tend to be low as well and then vice versa when the overall national budget tends to be high.
What are some characteristics of the U.S. educational system?
The educational system in the U.S. is managed and funded by three government levels: local, state, and federal. Of course, mandates, orders, and most especially, budget will originally come from the federal government level. Education in the U.S. is compulsory for all children. They are required to take primary and secondary education. Advanced or tertiary education is optional. Secondary education graduates may opt to take it and they may also not. However, recent changes brought about by globalization have transformed the way how native citizens in the U.S. see the optionality in stepping up to an advanced level of education or taking up a Bachelor’s degree of some sort.
This may be partly or mainly because of the fact the federal and global employee competitiveness is now usually based on two main factors: educational attainment and experience. That is, job applicants who have a richer experience in relation to the nature of the job they are applying for and those who have finished higher levels of education—in short, those who have more professional credentials, will most likely receive preferential treatments, etc. in employment and job application processes.
There are two types of educational institutions in the U.S.: public and private educational institutions. Public educational institutions are directly managed and funded by the government. Private educational institutions on the other hand generally do not receive funds from the U.S. federal, state, or local government. However, they are still required to be compliant with the policies, rules, and mandates as prescribed by their respective local or state government body responsible for issues in education.
The U.S. also has this NCLB or No Child Left Behind Act which ensures that all primary school students are given the right amount and proper education. Every year, a national standardized examination will have to be taken by the kids. The schools’ ratings will be measured based on the performance of the examiners who are enrolled in the school. If an educational institution’s rating for at least two consecutive years has been repeatedly poor, then the government will label it as an institution that needs improvement. The educational institution will then have to act based on the advices of the government.
How do other nations approach formal education? What can the U.S. learn from them?
Developing countries tend to approach formal education in a different way. For these countries, an individual can only be formally-educated once he has already finished a bachelor’s degree program from a reputable university or college with a good track record in handling students until they graduate. In some developing countries, they do not address an individual as formally-educated until they have passed the licensure examination for their respective courses. Formal education system in developing countries tends to be very rigid and competitive. This may be attributed to the truth that the ratio between employed and unemployed graduates in developing countries is relatively low compared to the developed countries such as the U.S. and the U.K.
What the U.S. could get from this kind-of unique formal educational systems is competitiveness. Some 5-10 years ago, there was a significant percentage of the entire population who had only finished secondary education. Most U.S. citizens do not have a bachelor’s degree. This may be the reason why most companies based in the U.S. tend to prefer to hire foreign employees—because they are more competitive in terms of educational and theoretical background, especially in skilled and professional jobs such as the ones that have something to do with engineering and allied medicine. The U.S. and most especially the U.S. citizens would really benefit a lot from this type of practice, more so if it has been turned into a mandate.
What is the privatization of education? What are some of its consequences?
The privatization of education is the process of allowing for-profit and not-for-profit types of organizations build their own private educational institutions. In a way, their objectives can be very similar to a government-funded educational institution. They both exist to educate the people, which is compulsory in almost all states of the U.S. There could however be one difference, especially for for-profit educational institutions. Usually, for-profit institutions exist because of money; hence, their classification. These educational institutions usually view the entire educational system as a market which could provide them with rich and money-turning business opportunities.
Most for-profit educational institutions are privatized. Private educational institutions have their own rules, regulations, policies, terms, and by-laws which make them significantly less vulnerable to the ones being imposed by the state’s governing body responsible for managing and regulating educational issues within a warranted area. That’s why if there are some issues or controversies related to education or the students, the government, by virtue, will not be able to intervene because such private educational institutions have the right to act as one.
Students who enroll in private educational institutions are usually required to pay matriculation and miscellaneous fees to keep the entire system running. This is because private educational institutions generally do not receive any form of financial aid or assistance from the government. If the enrollment prices in a private educational institution tend to be high, the local government will not be able to flex its muscles to control the matriculation pricing system in respect to that institution because it’s practically not part of the government-regulated education system. These are just some of the most common consequences of a privatized educational system.
Eitzen et al. argue that people have agency. Write an Essay in which you discuss what they mean by this, what an opposing explanation would involve, and make your own argument for or against the existence of human agency.
Eitzen et al. (2009) argued that people have agency. Agency is a term used to define an individual’s capability to make socially-relevant decisions and commit it to the world. This is not exactly opposed to the definition of free will but it is somewhat distinct from it because free will encompasses not only socially-relevant decisions but practically all types of decisions, thereby establishing a subtle difference between the two non-opposing terms. In a way, I consider myself a proponent of Eitzen et al.’s argument because there is always a reason that could serve as an explanation why a certain individual acts or reacts the way he does when subjected to a certain situation.
Compare and contrast how conflict and order theorists would explain the emergence and outcome of the civil rights movement.
Obviously the order and conflict theories use two polar variables. The social order theory states that a society is provided with a given set of rules which it should use to regulate and manage people, their behaviors, and basically all that is socially-relevant about them to prevent chaos, and any social anomalies. In a civil rights movement, this could be the period where people are still enjoys what they have or what they do with no complaints or whatsoever. Under the social conflict theory, it was stated that people are in a constant search for wealth and power. Meaning, they never get contented. Relating it to the emergence and outcome of a civil rights movement, this theory could be most accurately depicted by the period of discontentment that usually comes after the period of stability. Members of the society feel they are receiving less than what they truly deserve and thus decide to start a civil rights movement to assert their rights for added wealth and power (Eitzen et al., 2010). In theory, conflict is usually present in a society that is reinforced with inequality wherein there are societal members who are rich and there are also who are not. Order on the other hand works under a mechanism called social integration where individuals should learn how to fit and adapt to the demands of the society.
Show how the civil rights movement has gone through the various stages of social movements
There are four stages involved in a civil rights movement: emergence, coalescence, bureaucratization, and decline. Emergence is characterized by a preliminary state of disorganization within a community. It is also in this stage where there is a wide discontent among people. In the coalescence stage, discontent and unrest are present and it is in this stage where these two become focalized and collective. Meaning, more and more people are becoming bothered and discontented. The third stage is the bureaucratization which is characterized by higher levels of organization and coalition-based strategies. This is where legislation and more professional and trained people in the society participate to bureaucratize something that most likely causes the conflict and unrest. In the final stage, the decline, there are four things that could happen: repression, co-optation, success, and failure. Usually, it boils down to the last two which are success and failure of a civil rights movement. In any civil rights movement that occurred inside or outside the U.S., these four stages were all showed.
Giddens presents several potential outcomes of rapid globalization. Based on the evidence presented in the chapter, which of these outcomes is most likely to occur?
The outcome which will most likely occur is the increase in the gap in wealth between the richer and the poorer countries as described by Giddens’ (2006) explanation of global inequality. True enough, countries of this planet can be classified into three, based on the income that they generate under a standard period. There are high, middle, and low income countries. Proportionally, those countries who have higher incomes will continuously become rich and low income countries will continuously be left by higher income countries in terms of wealth, and then later on, power.
Discuss the factors associated with the rapid economic growth in East Asia.
Globalization is by far the main factor that has greatly influenced the rapid economic growth in East Asia. Technological advancements come with globalization and these advancements enable countries in the East Asia region to more freely and efficiently interact with countries from the western part of the globe which are also the higher-income countries. Now, corporations and even the governments of these western countries themselves interact with each other towards an accelerated economic development, according to a study conducted by Lau and Park (2003).
Another factor that contributed to the rapid economic growth in East Asia is the existence of NICs (Newly Industrialized Countries) or NIEs (Newly Industrialized Economies). NIE is a social and economic classification or status given to a country has far exceeded the global developing country standards in terms of the level of industrialization, economy, etc., but has not yet reach a developed or a first world country status. Examples of NIEs in Asia are China, India, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.
Assess the positions of state-centered and modernization theories regarding the role of the state in the economy.
According to the state-centered theory, the state and its actions significantly influence the civil society that exists within that state. It upholds the notion that the state and whatever the government does can either fix or disrupt the civil society that is under the jurisdiction of that particular state, which includes the economy and the members of the society’s way of life. The modernization theory on the other hand is based on the notion that developing countries could also reach a point where they will already be considered as developed through a series of modernization and technological processes. Variables in the modernization that could have direct affectations with a state’s economy may include globalization and world-systems.
Works Cited
Eitzen, D., Stanley, M., & Kelly, S. Social Problems 11th Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 2009.
Eitzen et al. In Conflict and Order. W.W. Norton. 2010.
Farley, John E. Majority-Minority Relations 4th Edition. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. 2000.
Giddens, A. Sociology 5th Edition. Polity Press. 2006.
Lau, L., & Park, J. The Sources of East Asian Economic Growth Revisited. Stanford University and the State University of New York at Buffalo Press. 2003.
