Raising a Global Kid in Today’s Modern Society
Raising a Global Kid in today’s Modern Society
Peter L. Berger, a renowned American sociologist perceives the study of Sociology as believing that the world is not what it appears to be1, whereby sociology explores the mere surface of social issues plaguing the world today. Studying sociology will see oneself analysing the relationship between an individual and social structures established in the world today, and therefore the possibility of making change in society based upon these drawn relationships. Through an examination of parents raising a “global kid” – where they move overseas so as to provide their children with a culturally rich and bilingual education – we shall explore an individual’s relationship between social structures like Family and Globalization, seen from the lens of sociological concepts.
In “How to Raise a Global Kid”, Pamela Wolf and Maribeth Henderson weighed in on their rationales of moving overseas in order to expose their children to a whole new culture and language, in order to ready their children to be “competitive and successful” in the global economy. The article examines the opinions of these women in such important family decisions, exemplifying women’s increase in power and authority in the family in today’s modern society. This greater democracy in the family, whereby the powers of Patriarchy (meaning that the male is dominant in the family) is mitigated, has seen a new emergent family form, where the family is now more symmetrical. Wilmott and Young explored this symmetrical family form in Britain in the 1960s (Young and Willmott, 1973)2, as both partners, husband and wife, are now sharing decision-making and financial resources, whereby women like Pamela and Maribeth are now fully involved in family decisions like choosing to relocate overseas with their children.
This greater symmetry in the family also explores greater gender equality in modern society today, as women are given more power and authority when it
Peter L. Berger, a renowned American sociologist perceives the study of Sociology as believing that the world is not what it appears to be1, whereby sociology explores the mere surface of social issues plaguing the world today. Studying sociology will see oneself analysing the relationship between an individual and social structures established in the world today, and therefore the possibility of making change in society based upon these drawn relationships. Through an examination of parents raising a “global kid” – where they move overseas so as to provide their children with a culturally rich and bilingual education – we shall explore an individual’s relationship between social structures like Family and Globalization, seen from the lens of sociological concepts.
In “How to Raise a Global Kid”, Pamela Wolf and Maribeth Henderson weighed in on their rationales of moving overseas in order to expose their children to a whole new culture and language, in order to ready their children to be “competitive and successful” in the global economy. The article examines the opinions of these women in such important family decisions, exemplifying women’s increase in power and authority in the family in today’s modern society. This greater democracy in the family, whereby the powers of Patriarchy (meaning that the male is dominant in the family) is mitigated, has seen a new emergent family form, where the family is now more symmetrical. Wilmott and Young explored this symmetrical family form in Britain in the 1960s (Young and Willmott, 1973)2, as both partners, husband and wife, are now sharing decision-making and financial resources, whereby women like Pamela and Maribeth are now fully involved in family decisions like choosing to relocate overseas with their children.
This greater symmetry in the family also explores greater gender equality in modern society today, as women are given more power and authority when it