Sociology Assignment Chapter 12 PDF

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Homework assignment for chapter 12...

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Activity 1 List characteristics of college students that media portrayals convey. ● ● ● ● ●

Promiscuous Driven/Determined Wealthy Highly Intelligent Well-Dressed

List the demographic characteristics of the students shown in the movies or TV programs you have watched. ● ● ● ●

Pretty/Attractive White Great Hair Skinny

To what degree are media portrayals of college students today accurate representations of real-life students? How do they differ? The extent to which the media portrayals of college students today are accurate representations of real-life students is a very small extent, as I am currently thinking of the extremely unrealistic cast of “Gossip Girl.” The main characters in the show, except for Dan Humphrey are very wealthy and reside on the Upper East Side. They all are very pretty/handsome due to the emphasis placed on their outward appearances. Each of the main characters, especially Blair, Serena, and Chuck, dress impractically in every single episode. I do not personally know anyone who is college aged and dressed like them. I also did not see anyone at UNC Charlotte who dressed like them. The students at my university most likely do not come from the same background as the cast of “Gossip Girl,” and from my experience, I did not see any student who placed loads of effort on their outward appearance. UNC Charlotte seemed to care more about their grades than the characters on “Gossip Girl.” (Chambliss, William J., and Daina S. Eglitis.)

Activity 2 How many people had two parents who completed college? Out of the three people surveyed, two of the girls had two parents who finished at least a four year college. One of the girls had two parents that finished community college. How many had one parent who completed college? All of the three girls had at least one parent who completed college. How many were the first in their family to attend college? All of the three girls were not the first in their family to attend college, with all types of college considered (community, four year, etc;)

How is parental educational attainment a good predictor for children’s educational attainment? Parental educational attainment allows for a likely increase in job opportunities, income mobility, and social status. Parents may use their connections to further their children in life and that will likely have impact on their educational career. An example of this would be two parents could attend an Ivy League school, and both become lawyers. The same parents would likely use their connections and opportunities to help their children in a way that parents without a college education could not. What does sociological research show? Sociological research shows that parents with higher levels of education will likely have children who will also reach higher levels of education. What argument would you make? I would make the argument that parents who reach higher levels of education and possibly even graduate school will without a doubt be able to provide a life for their children that also leads to higher education. I also believe that children who have parents that never went to college will also be able to attend higher education through their determination and drive. Kids who are from a poor background will likely be more motivated to get into a University in order to improve their lifestyle. What do contemporary data show us about the relationship between family income and academic achievement, as measured by variables such as educational attainment or SAT scores? It shows us that the higher the educational attainment and SAT scores, the higher the possible academic achievement and future family income. If a student has two parents that both graduated a four year college, then the child will have a better chance of obtaining a great SAT score, due to the parents’ experiences. The high SAT score will likely have an impact on the child’s future in the world of higher education. The child will eventually graduate and have the opportunity to earn a great income for his/her family.

How do sociologists explain the relationship? Sociologists explain the relationship between the family income and academic achievement as the higher the academic achievement, the higher the possible family income, and vice versa. Parents who both graduated from Yale, will have the opportunity to obtain a larger income than the parents who graduated from Furman University. Also, parents who are better off will likely cause for their children to attend a greater college, than the parents who are not as well off. Sociologists may also explain the relationship between the two using physical characteristics and incomes of various families. What are the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments? The strengths are that they understand how a family’s income can greatly affect the lives of their children, and their children’s college careers. The weaknesses are that they may believe that the success of students comes from their demographic features which may be the case when it comes to affirmative action. There may be situations similar to one where one Asian student with an SAT score of 1560 would not get into Harvard, but an African American student would receive admission with a SAT score of 1480 due to the fact of affirmative action. Those situations may be harmful to students if they are granted admission based on their skin color, rather than their merit. (Chambliss, William J., and Daina S. Eglitis.)

Activity 3 In cities like St. Louis where some public schools have lost their accreditation, students have the right to be transferred to another school. This usually comes at the chagrin of parents in other school districts who do not want their local property taxes funding the education of students who do not live in the school district. Using a conflict perspective or a functionalist perspective, explain the Francis Howell parents’ dismay over accepting students from Normandy. Francis Howell parents’ did not want to accept students from the Normandy school district, as they believed that the students there did not have the strength nor mindset to succeed. Within the Normandy school district, there may be a very small portion of parents who are looking out for their children, and are trying to put their children in charter schools. It is a challenge for the parents to send their children to other schools or charter schools, and it becomes even more difficult for them when the students come from not-so-great school districts. What seems to be “the elephant in the room,” so to speak, about why these parents are uncomfortable with the Normandy students? The parents are uncomfortable with the Normandy students because they all come from the same school district that Michael Brown attended. The students either went to the same school as him, or went to a school that was within close proximity of the school he attended. What is the current state of racial segregation in U.S. public schools? Racial segregation does not currently exist in U.S. public schools. How has it changed since the civil rights era of the 1960s? Thankfully, racial segregation has changed since the civil rights era of 1960s, as there are not any schools that legally decline a student based off of the color of his/her skin. Schools today do not have to send in the police to block a student from attending a school based off of his/her skin color. Schools today accept students of any color, and will continue to do so in the future. What sociological factors help explain high levels of racial segregation in schools? Segregation within schools does not exist, but there may be schools that are either fully or majority one race. Schools with a student body that is only one race likely is in that situation due to the surrounding population and neighborhoods. That situation may also exist due to the lack of school choice in some locations, and the lack of charter schools. How can the United States address high levels of racial segregation in our schools? The United States can allow for parents to have the option of school choice, and should allow parents to receive money for their children’s schooling, instead of the public schools receiving the money. If the United States allows for school choice, then there is a possibility that schools that are currently majority white, will no longer stay that way, as parents from minority neighborhoods will have the great advantage/opportunity to send their children to a school that is beneficial, rather than the nearby underfunded public schools. (Hannah-Jones, N.)

Activity 4 Based on the chapter, make a list of the main reasons students dropout of college before completing a degree. ● ● ●

Outrageous Tuition Prices Challenging Workload Obstacles In Way of Perfect Attendance

Create two short but specific policy proposals that could be used to address the problem; 1. (School Level) A program should be implemented at colleges and universities (for STEM majors specifically) that would allow for a student to be assigned to a counselor or a recent graduate, who would help the student work through his/her schedule and make sure he/she is held accountable for all of the assignments. The students would be able to meet with the counselor, etc; when he/she is feeling stressed, and make sure all of the assignments are completed by their due dates.

2. (State Level) A program should be implemented at colleges and universities that offers people the ability to “sponsor” a student. College students would compete for the opportunity to be sponsored, and the students would likely write essays for the competition. The winning students would then be placed in the program, and their stories would be advertised on websites and possible news channels. Regular citizens could choose whether or not to “sponsor” the students in the program, and that would operate in a specific way. The students would have their grades at the end of each semester sent to the “sponsors” and the “sponsors” could decide to reimburse the student with the cost for the whole semester. That program will help students get rid of loan debts, and encourage them to make great grades. The “sponsors” could stay with the student throughout all of the four years, or for just a few semesters. (Chambliss, William J., and Daina S. Eglitis.)

Activity 5 The functionalist perspective argues that one of the primary functions of school is to foster social solidarity by promoting the development of shared norms and values. The conflict perspective argues that schooling has been primarily used to replicate existing social order rather than to challenge social inequality and, as a result, schools have perpetuated social conflict. In the United States, school curriculum decisions have historically been largely decentralized with elected state and local officials developing curriculum standards for the students under their jurisdictions. This is a very different model than in many other countries where curricular decisions are nationalized and made by a panel of educational professionals.

State/Local Decisions

Nationalized Decisions

Functionalist Perspective

The shared norms and ideas that are held dear to the local schools will be supported and considered when local decisions regarding the local schools are made.

The shared norms and ideas that are held dear to local schools will not be supported and an all encompassing national decision is made, without any of the norms of small schools taken into consideration.

Conflict Perspective

State/Local decisions may not be able to address larger scale issues that are impacting schools overall, and therefore not be able to change them at the local level.

National decisions will be more likely to have an impact on all encompassing larger issues that are causing issues within a large number of schools across the country, rather than a few schools in Texas.

The two perspectives are similar in the sense that both are able to address problems within society, but on different levels. The two perspectives are different, as the functionalist perspective focuses on societal issues that deal with shared ideas and beliefs, while the conflict perspective places emphasis on issues that are all encompassing on a larger scale. Which model is more likely to create social solidarity? The functionalist perspective is more likely to create social solidarity, as this perspective focuses on shared beliefs and ideas. Which is more likely to perpetuate the existing social order? The conflict perspective is more likely to perpetuate existing social order, as this perspective focuses on problems that can cause conflict within societies. (Chambliss, William J., and Daina S. Eglitis.)

Sources: ●

Chambliss, William J., and Daina S. Eglitis. Discover Sociology. 4th ed., SAGE, 2020.

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Hannah-Jones, N. (2018, November 15). The Problem We All Live With - Part One. Retrieved November 20, 2020, from https://www.thisamericanlife.org/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-one...