Family And Education : A System Of Behavioral And Relationship

This essay will discuss the various family structures in society. It will give theoretical explanation as to why and how families have changed. The essay will also bring statistical, historical and political evidence to back up the reason for these changes.

The book Unequal Childhoods explains a study conducted to prove the significance of social class. Annette Lareau presents the study highlighting two primary ways of parenting that ultimately affect how successful the child becomes as they transition into adulthood. These styles of parenting include Concerted Cultivation which is where parents put through kids through structured activities, and Accomplishment of Natural Growth which is emphasized through freedom and directives. While both styles of parenting have their benefits and their weaknesses, the educational system of the United States is built predominantly on Concerted Cultivation and middle class values, which in turn may negatively affect how children prepare for their transitions into adulthood. This imbalance in education can put students farther ahead and at the same time neglect children who don’t have the resources they need to keep up with the other students. There are a multitude of variables involved with helping students reach their full potential and become successful. Some of the big factors to a student’s success include the student 's socioeconomic background, how they “fit” into the educational system, how strong their relationships are with other people, and their ability to access resources. Creating an education that can accommodate students from all different backgrounds will empower students to reach their full potential.

In turn, these factors will be important in shaping one’s experiences in the family. Social class is also another important micro environment that serves to determine one’s experiences in the family. Depending on an individual’s social class, their families will want them to undertake certain roles. Social class might also serve as a reference point for many, undermining their desires to get the best in life, in case they belong to a lower social class. An individual whose family belongs in a higher social class is more likely to have the best in

Education still remains the institution that indorses equality of opportunities in America society as the textbook explains. Even though education diminishes inequality among individuals with different backgrounds, inequality still exists in the sense that not everyone who graduates from high school has the same opportunity to attend college. Individuals born into wealthy family will have more opportunities in attending college compared to someone born to a poor family. Although, opportunities are more limited in America, having education will compensate those that do well in school by rewarding them with life opportunities. Social class, race, and gender play a major role for education success, experiences, and outcomes.

According to the text, education is defined as the social institution responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills, and cultural values within a formally organized structure (Kendall, p. 462). Every human has a right to an education. Despite this definition, evidence of inequality based on race, class, and gender can be seen in the system despite good intentions to promote awareness of and appreciation for cultural differences.

n the upcoming page’s I will answer the following questions. Why is family the most important agent of socialization? What caused the dramatic changes to the American family? What are the changes? I will discuss the differences in marriage and family, I will discuss how they are linked to class, race, gender, and personal choices. The purpose of this study is to explore the many different family functions and the paths that people are now choosing. I will give my opinion on whether these changes have had a positive or negative affect. I will finally discuss the trend of the modern family, back to pre-World War II family structure, how would that effect the strides that have been made in the progression of women rights.

Class, race, and gender organize society as a whole and create a variety of contexts for family living through their unequal distribution of social opportunities. Gender, like class and

For my sociological portrait I have decided to discuss the institution of family and the way it has affected my identity. Family is an important part of how our adult identities are shaped. If we are lucky to have them in our lives, we learn so much from our parents when we are young, and as much as some of don’t want to admit it, they are a very large part of influencing who we will be in our adult lives. The concept of family as a driving force and social institution is interesting because it has the ability to effect of positively or negatively for the rest of our lives and it has the power to shape all of our future relationships and actions.

Education and schooling in the United States is an interesting concept. I have always suspected that there are disparities between the quality of education a student receives, and the outside influences that act upon the student in both positive and negative ways. I was fortunate enough during my academic career that I had parents and a social situation that allowed some of the best opportunities for a good education. In the course of events I was afforded the opportunity to attend a private school, get money for a college education via the Army, and always had parents that were involved with my education, ensuring that I meet their expectations. As I look at the education system as a whole in our country, a commonality is seen the socioeconomic (SES) status of a student and the quality of education they receive. I saw this in my own perspective knowing that by attending a private school, I was being offered an education that other peers might not have. However, I also believe that a person’s individual drive and family involvement play a vital role in the education system as well. I know many students that attended the same school as I did, but without a good family structure or involvement, that failed academically in school. On the other side of the spectrum, I also know students that came from disadvantaged schools but had a good amount of family involvement and personal accountability in their own academic careers. These students succeeded, where many of

(Page 44, online) In both cases these sets of rules provide morality for the characters as well as some direction. The importance of family in shaping an individual can be explained through the sociological functionalist theory. In sociology, family is explained to be an institution, the theory states that “institutions fulfil functional prerequisites and are essential”. It is arguable that family are one of the most important institutions, as individuals often spend the most time at home learning morals and values from their parental figures.

When I consider family systems, I am reminded of a metaphor I heard while in undergraduate school about a mobile. A mobile is used to soothe an infant, normally placed above a crib or basinet. Each of its parts are in balance, when working correctly, however if one section becomes off balance the objects become out of sync. This is true with families. If each member of the family unit is doing their part, there is complete balance or homeostasis (Henson). This balance is viewed as a healthy family system. However, if one part of the unit becomes off balance, it disrupts the whole unit causing an unhealthy response with possible long term consequences. As families grow, each member plays an equally important role in the family unit. Children learn quickly the importance of relationships and adapt quickly to their environment. No one can deny the family unit is the most complex system in existence.

In many societies, there are people with different assets and prestige in the world. Many people in higher social classes have different ways in raising their children than people in lower classes. The reason behind this inequality is due to social classes that exist. Social classes are groups of people with different statuses. Social classes are important because it helps determine the way a child will be raised. In addition, it is shown to significantly affect a child’s future. Furthermore, social class is shown to affect people’s families such as with child rearing. Child rearing has changed over time during the colonial era there were no classes that were defined, both parents were responsible for child rearing. During the industrial era, most of the responsibility belonged to the mother. In a society, the social class of a parent impacts a child’s life. Therefore, due to the parents social class children would be able to go to better schools such as private schools to better their education and later have better jobs in the future. As a result, this impact on a child’s life due to social classes brings up the questions how does a social class affect the financial incomes of a family for raising a child? As well as how do social classes affect the ways of child rearing in a nuclear family?

This essay discusses the way in which I understand the sociological concepts of family, gender and race - nuclear family, doing gender, and identity, in particular. Arguably, these three concepts can relate to each individuals life, through different personal experiences. To demonstrate my argument, I highlight relevant situations in my own life that further explain my chosen sociological concepts.

Another defining factor for social class is education especially since education is seen as an achievement toward the American Dream. (Lareau, 235). Younger generations seem to place more emphasis on achieving higher education and the occupational opportunities provided for those who are well-educated (Cherlin, 113). The socioeconomic stratification corresponds to those with differing levels of education such as upper/middle class individuals have a college education while working/lower class have some college and/or minimal high school education (Cherlin, 118-119). These individuals and their given circumstances based on education and income have different values and trends about marriage, family and socialization/rearing of children. (Cherlin, 114-117). Family inequality is then based on direct obtainment for individuals who are head of these households such as employment of fathers and mothers (Cherlin, 111), which in turn affects the childhood/family experience of child within the socioeconomic status of their parents. (Lareau,

"We are shaped by society 's structures," is the primary concept of the idea developed by C. Wright Mills (Henslin). In this paper, I will demonstrate how my social class affected my family life and education.