Effects Of Meritocracy

In The Merits of Meritocracy, by David Brooks, Brooks discusses the lives of middle-class children growing up in America. He opens up with an anecdote about his daughter, to lead into one of his main points: middle-class children have busy and protected childhood, filled with many opportunities supervised by adults (193). For instance, his daughter has four different helmets for biking, pogo sticking, skateboarding, and playing baseball (193). She is a prime example of how the middle-class is presented with opportunities and busy lives; because of this, Brooks claims the general middle-class parent fears their child is too spoiled by abundance, and will never have to commit to one thing (194). Another large fear Brooks states they have, is

Meritocracy, the system where each person's progression is due to their achievements, is seen constantly throughout society and it is suggested to be in Australian higher education. This essay will argue that rural students who attend or plan on attending university challenge this suggestion of meritocracy in Australian universities, as rural students are unequal compared to urban students. This essay will show that universities are not based on merit alone, as rural students are disadvantaged in areas such as distance, family & community values, course availability and university availability.

Furthermore, they feel some interest and concern in his/her socioeconomic background, his/her perception of self, his/her position about them, his/her adequacy or dependability, etc. It is also explicitly expressed in the school environment. Both students and teachers do often anchor the relations between different markers of various people for dissimilar motives, however. It was emphasized that children absorb accumulated experiences in terms of racial and ethnic identification. Due to the fact that children may not be conceived of the functioning of the world in an improved, adult manner, they have significant potential to apply self, color and racial basics on or before they are

Newman states, “the most powerful institutional agent of socialization after the family, is education” (Newman 67). The public education system is tasked with not educating, but also socializing and defining student’s sense of self as they mature through

Socialization is the lifelong process of learning rules for adapting to social and cultural normality. Learning to follow societal rules is what allows people to survive, thrive and integrate into groups and communities within society. Through the observation of others, people begin to develop core values, beliefs and morals. This builds bonds and develops a sense of belonging within a given group. In the documentary, A Class Divided, the power of socialization is demonstrated as a third-grade teacher gives her class a hands-on lesson in discrimination and bias by separating her class in to in-groups and out-groups. This lesson not only gives a glimpse into the power of socialization showing how biases can be created, but it also helps

To Hayes the failure of meritocracy comes from its focus on equality of opportunity over equality of outcome. Thus, as inequality escalated, the meritocracy ended up becoming so entrenched and isolated that it is no longer even much of a meritocracy. Hayes cites his elite NYC alma mater, Hunter College High School, as a prime example. The only admissions requirement is passing its entrance exam, yet the percentage students from minority and low income backgrounds has been steadily declining due to the expensive test taking prep courses that more affluent students can afford. Meanwhile the increasingly wealthy “meritocratic elites” isolate themselves from the rest of us in the 99% by living and traveling privately – in gated communities, exclusive clubs and resorts, corporate jets, etc., blaming the masses rather than themselves for societal woes.

The story provided an excellent discussion of the many issues that surround race in schools, it centered on the topic about whether integrated schools were more beneficial than segregated schools. This book focuses on young children in the early grades, listening to parents and racial integration. The author wanted to find the truth that is surrounding multicultural classrooms from those that are involved in it. This book includes many side stories, which serve to explore the concepts, and displays them in a clear way; it also added depth to the book. This book was well written and shows all sides of multicultural education. It does not take one side in particular and it encourages people to explore multicultural education in a new light.

How to minimize the hurts of non-white children once their belief on the theory of a society is fair and equality is completely collapsed when the reality is happening in the opposite. In the reading “Why the Myth of Meritocracy Hurts Kids of Color” Mildred Boveda, an assistant education professor at Arizona State University, said: “I will admit that it sometimes felt risky to tackle these difficult conversations, but this [research] underscores why we cannot equivocate when it comes to preparing our children to face injustices.” I agree with her opinion. Because finding the proper solutions to fully empower and equipping the best knowledge that can help children cope better is not easy, but it is the responsibility of the family, the school, and society. The three elements need to act and work together in an effort to dare to speak about the truths mentioned above.

The myth of meritocracy has been proven true in multiply sources. Studies have hypothesized this before when relating to upward mobility. Upward mobility in the last forty years has been more and more unlikely for years and years now. Factors like race, socioeconomic status, household makeup, and economic conditions of this country play a big role. I will go more indepth about this study by showing more facts in the following paragraphs.

In chapter one's reading, there are many course concepts that caught my interest. The first concept that caught my eye was socialization. Difference Matters by Brenda J. Allen defines socialization as “how we are taught how to behave in the world” (Allen, 2011, p.12). We are taught socialization by our family members, teachers, peers, and the media. Children taught socialization will find their own personal social identity in society. When taught this they will think that it is real and natural for these actions to apply to them. Family members, teachers, peers, and media teach children to act a certain way in society. In doing this they will learn how to function as a respected and accepted member of their culture. For example, in my own personal life, my grandmother always told me to eat like a lady at the table. Eating like a lady included taking small bites, sitting straight up in your chair, chewing with your mouth shut, and never speaking with your mouth full. My grandmother was a southern lady she also taught me that ladies had a task to do around the home. Ladies made dinner, set the table, and cleaned up after the meal. I was always by her side absorbing everything she showed me. While the women cleaned up after dinner; my father, grandfather, and other men at the table would leave to talk or watch television. I never questioned my grandmother or the other women in my family why the men did not have to help clean up. My family was teaching me socialization and I did not even realize it. The next course concept that grabbed my attention was social identity theory. Allen describes this as “human tendency to label self and others based on individual and group identity” (Allen, 2011, p. 11). One could also describe this course concept as a group contently comparing their

The racial income gap illustrates that the United States is not a meritocracy society. A meritocracy society would be an area where everyone no matter what color or background they are from have the chance to succeed based on their own ability. Although it is certainly appealing and a magnificent way of viewing our society, in reality no society can ever truly function as a meritocracy and therefore having no control at birth and the environment where we grow up, and who we get surrounded with puts major races, especially in the United States in disadvantage, a country that is far from meritocratic compared to other nation.

In terms of education, multiculturalism is becoming increasingly disruptive in Canadian society. It seems that there is a new issue in the media focus regarding education on a weekly basis. It's becoming increasingly apparent that most, if not all issues in recent years stem from the debate of whether to centralize or decentralize our current system of education. Proponents of centralization argue that a standard national system of education will provide all people with access to the same quality of education. On the other hand, proponent’s of decentralization claim that individual educational institutions will provide a level of education that is sensitive to

Do Americans believe meritocracy exists in America? Do talented people who work hard earning the reward that they deserve? Do talented people have enough challenges for their promotion that they merit? Living in the United States, many people think meritocracy exists because people expect about the opportunities to learn, to work, to earn, and to deserve. People also think they may have chances to earn what they deserve because the trusting of meritocracy. However, talented people do not receive any adequate reward as they expect. Meritocracy does not exist in America and becomes a myth for many debates. Moreover, most talented people in America who work hard still have fewer resources, less promotion,

During the late 1960’s, America had entered into a period of cultural definition especially with the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement. Although the term “multicultural education” had not come into play yet, the idea that the U.S needed to reexamine their efforts of educating diverse groups was emerging. During this time inequality especially among minority groups in comparison to the white dominant culture became a social issue (Banks 1999). Before the arrival of this reform multicultural education was displayed in the classroom as having minorities adapt to the predominant culture. Teachers during this time felt it would be more beneficial for minorities to adapt. However, many parents of these minorities begin to argue that the

Multicultural Education in the United States made its debut beginning with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s. Its intent was to become part of the cultural mainstream. The Civil Rights Movement brought to light the apparent concerns of discrimination, intimidation and inequality. During this period, pressure was placed on the Federal Government to examine their roles in the perseverance of inequalities when it came to Multicultural Education (Russell, Robert, The History of Multicultural Education, 2011). It can be compared to “Affirmative Action” where whites were asked to leave behind their own point of view and gain knowledge of the traditions of Multicultural groups (Taylor, Samuel. The Challenge of 'Multiculturalism'