Karen Ho's Analysis

In his often cited essay, “The Formation of In-Groups,” Gordon Allport offers his theory on how the groups with which one identifies directly influence the development of one’s individual identity. An “in-group” is a group where members share common traits such as societal status, religion, values or sexual orientation. All the members are alike in some way and that similarity unites them as a group. Allport suggests that one belongs to many in-groups throughout his or her lifetime. Individuals are born into some in-groups, such as one’s family, race or socio-economic level; this Allport terms as an “ascribed status”. People also obtain “achieved status” in a group such as one’s circle

When people hear the term “Ivy League school”, they oftentimes think of a prestigious, high ranked college where extremely intelligent, well-rounded individuals go to shape themselves into an efficient member of society. However, a piece published by William Deresiewicz called “Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy League” does exactly the opposite, as Deresiewicz, a former 8 year Yale professor, criticizes Ivy League schools for being too constricting and not allowing their students to be themselves and come out to be a well-rounded efficient member of society. Deresiewicz is an award winning essayist and critic, as well as a frequent college speaker, and the best selling author of the 2014 novel “Excellent Sheep,” which also criticizes the roles of major Ivy League schools relating to American society. The main theme of “Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy League” is to convey the message to parents that contrary to popular belief, Ivy League schools do not always create perfect, well rounded individuals, and Deresiewicz uses his years of experience at Yale and the years he attended Columbia to back up his claims that sending away your kids to the Ivy League is not always the best choice.

The upper-upper class are those who come from old money, which is inherited from previous generations.This class compose less than 1% of the population, but possess a great deal of power, and influence society. The upper-lowers are those who come from “new money.” Most of these people a famous stars and are sometimes referred to as the “working rich” because they work for the money they earn. Although the upper-lowers may possess more money than the upper-uppers, they often find it difficult to be apart of the upper society.

In Lofton’s book, she addresses that there is more to Oprah than meets the eye. Her thesis statement, “What is Oprah? Oprah is an instance of American astonishment at what can be” (Lofton 1), shows the reader that the author clearly sees Oprah as a significant figure in America and will proceed to show us how so throughout the book. Through several examples, Lofton conveys her point by pointing out the influence Oprah has had on others to help them live life to their full potentials religiously, economically, physically, emotionally and socially.

Ever since a young age, the youth of the United States are taught that they must strive to be the best they can be. This would ultimately result in one possessing a competitive edge, once one enters the selection process of joining one of many higher institutions of education or the job market. In the essays “Project Classroom Makeover,” “Biographies of Hegemony,” and “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society,” respectfully by, Cathy Davidson, Karen Ho, and Joseph Stiglitz, the topic of competitive behaviors and practices is widely addressed and heavily criticized. Education is competitive, yet bias. Institutions of higher education value students based irrelevant factors, something which is unacceptable in the modern, digital age. This heavily impacts the selection process of candidates, leading the system to favor unqualified individuals. Prevalent business superpowers, many residing in Wall Street, pick low hanging fruit. In other words, these firms take very minimal effort to choose candidates in positions that are extremely competitive and valuable. They recruit individuals who graduate from top schools and have no other realistic edge for the company, aside from namesake. Woven into these practices, many examples of uncompetitive behavior arise as well from other factors of the system. In this essay, I argue that competitive and uncompetitive behaviors have molded modern America, with massive organizations and authorities playing into these behaviors from all

Cathy N. Davidson suggests an innovative education system, providing an emphasis in today’s digital era, and claiming that the existing education system needs to be renewed according to the new expectations of the digital era. Davidson states that,” In the last half century, many changes have occurred in the technology field, however, classrooms and educational methods have remained fairly steady for the past years as well in consequence students are not being prepared for the future advances of society.” That being said, it is important to improve and to give a change to the current educational methods, adjusting them to the existing demands of the era that we are living and taking advantage of the resources that it provides. “What if we continued to the lesson of internet itself,

Students when given the opportunity to expand in something that interests them gain a confidence in learning that focuses more on internal aspects rather than on an education that will set a standard on what kind of individual they should be. For instance, Davidson in examination of Inez Davidson’s classroom found that "kids want to learn...as long as there is a payoff, not in what is won or achieved in statistical terms, but what is won and achieved inside, in the sense of self-confidence and competence" (Davidson 67). Students are not as shallow as education deems them to be. When given the opportunity to prove one’s worth it is more than high grades that are gained, it is having a place in the world through the betterment of “the Self” which betters the planet. Despite this, students are still being handed specific knowledge, and predetermined paths that are said to lead students to “success.” In truth, being handed opportunities only lead to a lack of motivation, since individuals will not want have the drive to earn for one’s self and to improve on all their overlooked skills and assets. Karen Ho refers to this as she quotes the undergraduate, Devon Peterson, on how “banking firms provide [undergraduates] with a way to maintain [their] elite status in society by providing avenues to wealth and power that other professions do not” (Ho 179). The recruitment process reflects how institutions, especially ones

Their entitlement and self worth is not in them it is constantly told to them and so they believe it when in actuality these people who run our countries finances may not be the "smartest". "They [investment bankers] make Harvard students feel like they are best and are constantly reminded of that" (Ho 176). By Ho showing the mindset behind these people to the public she helped bring society to the realization that the investment bankers although obtained knowledge at these elite institutions they, investment bankers, are not very different from the rest of society. The students, investment bankers as well as the rest of society are placed on a level playing field and in turn Ho brings them all together as well as her "self".

Karen Ho, in “Biographies of Hegemony” explains how investment bankers, the high forces on Wall Street, influence undergraduates while negatively contributing to societal norms. In “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan,” Ethan Watters illustrates and explains how the Western conception of an illness has been deliberately exported to Japan. In both of these texts, there is a clear overlap between the themes of cultural narratives and personal choices. Cultural narratives in a given society help shape the community and allow an individual to get a better understanding of the general principals and societal norms. For examples, narratives such as a culture of smartness in Ho’s essay and marking strategies in Watters’ essay, allow an

Although there is trust between Wall Street and their “atomic family” Harvard and Princeton, Wall Street’s “extended family” such as Yale and the University of Pennsylvania do not receive the same level of trust and fairness. Since Wall Streeters tend to favor Harvard and Princeton when recruiting, they really only give Harvard and Princeton graduates the opportunity to succeed in investment banking. By doing so Wall Streeters treat their “extended families” from other schools unfairly. This is evident when Ho writes, “investment banking recruiters at Princeton and Harvard explicitly express how the do not care if undergraduates are trained in finance because a skilled background… [it’s] not really what they are looking for” (186); what they are looking for is the Harvard or Princeton degree they will graduate with. Whereas, there could be plenty of skillful undergraduates at other Ivy League schools such as Yale; but those

The general argument made by Deborah Gilboa in her work Hey, Jimmy Kimmel, Find a Different Funny expressed her thoughts on Jimmy Kimmel’s challenge given to parents. More specifically, Gilboa argues about how parent’s taking their children’s candy can damage their relationship with each other for a humiliating reaction. Gilboa explains how it was cruel to use their children’s horrifying reaction to get a for a chance of it being viral on the Tonight’s Show. Gilboa writes, “I see parents damaging their kids” (Gilboa, 2015) and Gilboa disputes how she is a family doctor that deals with parenting and youth development; she then brings up how “It’s the fragile kids — the ones who weep and wail and swear and throw things” (Gilboa, 2015) that actually

Along with the presence that Wall Street as a whole has on universities, the investment bankers themselves influence undergraduates as well. To Ho, being “consumption-oriented” means that to be the best, you have to look and act the best. Wall Streeters are in fact labeled as “‘the best,’ ‘the greatest,’ and ‘the brightest’” (Ho 167). With all their wealth as individuals and as a company, Alice Easton and Ian Shapira claim that “the ‘vigorous college recruiting

As a high school senior, the pressure to pick the school that will provide me with both a good social and academic experience is on. For someone like me, I would be content with going to a good state school to save money. But for other students, Ivy League is the only option. These same students and their parents strongly believe that an Ivy League education is the principal to the finest opportunities in life. William Deresiewicz claims they do not give a remarkable social experience nor do they allow room for students to think themselves. In his article, “ Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy Leagues”, he uses his status and personal anecdotes to persuade the reader of just that.

During the war years, people stated humorously in Washington that Roosevelt said a nightly prayer before he went to sleep: “Dear God, please make Eleanor a little tired.”

Class is the relative location of a person or group within a larger society based on wealth power, prestige, or other valued resources. In other words, class can be defined as a socioeconomic status in which one’s capital defines their class position thus giving us a ranking of financial status. This categorization of class position is based on economic status that can be determined through income, profession, or inherited wealth. Blue collar (working class), white collar, and upper class (professional services) are the three class categories based on economic status. This class structure is society’s way of determining between the haves and have-nots. One’s ability to be aware of the class system and one’s place within it is known as class consciousness or class standing.