Meritocracy Essay

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.

In the beginning of the year I entered this class with a very sheltered and ignorant view of current and past events. Through time and sociological evolution I have begun to see things in a different light. The development of my ability, to look at something or some kind of situation, lets me use the sociological terms in such a manner to relate them to micro and macro problems in society. This started with the assigned readings of the class; the aim was to decipher the messages the authors were presenting. The goal was then to dig deeper and use my experiences to help myself understand the concepts throughout the course. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited." Plutarch (46-120 CE--common era) I was no longer

To achieve the American Dream, one must work hard and have the dedication to be successful. There are myths relating to this dream leaving lower class members to wonder if the dream exists for them. People in lower class are told if they want to be successful they must put in hard work and true effort. Once they do, they see that they are remaining in the same position they started in. In “Class of America-2012,” Gregory Mantsios states the ideas of class in the US and explains them. One myth addressed in this selection is, “Everyone has an equal chance to succeed. Success in the United States requires no more than hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance: ‘In America, anyone can become a billionaire; it’s just a matter of being in the right

The cost of health insurance has changed drastically over the years as it has become more expensive. Depending on personal characteristic, the cost of health insurance may vary. For instance, as individuals grow older the more expensive it becomes. In this case, health insurance is more costly because “older individuals require more health care” therefore “the cost of providing health care is rising” (Madura &Atlantic, 2012). Not only does this affect the high cost of health insurance, but the number of individuals uninsured. As stated by Madura and Atlantic (2012), “about one in every five workers is uninsured” and has increased since then because health insurance has become unaffordable. As a result, individuals tend to seek health care elsewhere as they can no longer

Living in the United States, there is one essential thing you need to have, which is health insurance. Health insurance is a type of insurance that can covers cost of medical and surgical expenses when you need them. Without health insurance, the cost of one single surgery would be a enormous number. But in the United States, there are about 46 million americans are uninsured. To them, the cost of health insurance is too high. In America, the average cost of health insurance per month is about $328 and the minimum wage per hour in here is $7.25(where cite from?). From here, we can conclude that it is too expensive for those people to get sick. So, is the health insurance cost unjustifiably high? The answer is the highly developed technology, waste of health care budget and the free competitor in the health insurance market, caused health insurance’s price to remain so high.

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.

What factors compel the patients to skip the medical care? Many people and the doctors blame the corporate sector for their greediness. But many business leaders reject and view insurers reject this. Some employers blame

     Most of the people who are uninsured are the working poor, which the overall costs of medical care can hurt them. By the means of doing their best, these people just can’t afford the insurance. Health care has become increasingly unaffordable for businesses and individuals. (Reese) Premiums grow several

After the formulation, development, and implementation of my anti-entitlement theory, I began analyzing my own personality to evaluate this new theoretical perspective. Using integrated schools of thought including aspects of the personal construct theory and social cognitive theory, the newly devised anti-entitlement theory posits a new school of thought that correlates to my perception and attitude regarding both personal and professional life in addition to the environment I’m subjected to as an educator.

Similar to Toni, many individuals without health insurance are unable to take care of their medical issues, which can lead to preventable exacerbations or sequelas of chronic health conditions. For example, without monitoring and taking care of one’s diabetes, individuals can develop blindness, gangrene leading to amputation, or neuropathy that creates significant pain. These exacerbations/sequelas of chronic health conditions can lead to missed work/ the lack of ability to work, lost income, lost societal productivity, reduced independence, and reduced emotional/psychological

Politician from all walks of life nowadays agree on one thing: we need to build more meritocratic societies. That is, societies where everyone, no matter what their background is, has the chance to succeed on their own merits. This is a beautiful idea responsible for some great things like free education for all, and a real effort to end nepotism in business and government. We have largely done away with the old world of feudalism where lords couldn't manage their estates, commanders couldn't understand the principles of battle, and peasant were brighter than their masters. No longer is background an impossible obstacle to advancement. An element of justice has finally entered into the distribution of rewards. It's been going on for about two

The book, Privilege, Power, and Difference brought awareness to where I stand as a Latina female in the United States. Growing up, I did not like to focus on the differences I experienced or saw others experience. These differences made me feel angry, scared, nervous, confused, and hopeless. Instead of focusing on the unfairness I was a part of I decided to look at it as a challenge, I would prove to myself that I could do whatever I set my mind to. I took every opportunity handed to me and tried to make the best of it, to make myself proud and my family proud. At least that is what I thought at the time, but now that I have had time to reflect on my desire to succeed I know that part of that desire comes from proving to the dominant culture that minorities can succeed.

In chapters four through six of A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion, Martin focuses on several social and cultural aspects of religion. Two concepts that I found interesting are legitimation and the myth of meritocracy. I found both of these concepts very interesting because they are easy to identify and apply to everyday life.