Sociology Reflection Paper
Sociology Reflection Paper
When I first decided to go back to school at the ripe age of 33, I had no idea what I wanted to study. I had recently closed my Pedorthic business and needed a change. Due to my fulltime job and five children, I decided taking online courses would fit into my hectic schedule. In High School I enjoyed taking Sociology and Psychology so I figured those two classes would be fun and interesting to start with. Not only have I enjoyed this class, I have decided to major in Sociology. Taking this class awakened the interest and excitement that I had back in High School. I am looking forward to continuing down this path.
While I enjoyed the entire course, I specifically enjoyed chapter 8, Global Inequality. I have always been empathetic to the less fortunate, and reading and studying about the inequalities only reiterated the fact that the gap between the rich and the poor is getting worse. What I didn’t realize was how many children in the world were being forced to work. 250 million boys and girls between the ages of five and fourteen are working in developing countries. That is one out of every four children. That is heartbreaking. It made me realize that some of the shoes and socks I was providing to my patients were most likely made by a child! I felt that child labor was only touched on briefly in this chapter and I wanted to know more. So I did more research on my own.
Child labor has recently become a very touchy subject throughout the world. Well known corporations and clothing and sporting goods distributors that have for decades been taking advantage of cheap labor in third world countries are seeing their names and images tarnished by allegations of child labor practices and obscene working conditions. Child labor is nothing new to the world. It has been a part of almost every society in recorded history. From ancient times, children have been a part of the economic survival of their families, particularly in
When I first decided to go back to school at the ripe age of 33, I had no idea what I wanted to study. I had recently closed my Pedorthic business and needed a change. Due to my fulltime job and five children, I decided taking online courses would fit into my hectic schedule. In High School I enjoyed taking Sociology and Psychology so I figured those two classes would be fun and interesting to start with. Not only have I enjoyed this class, I have decided to major in Sociology. Taking this class awakened the interest and excitement that I had back in High School. I am looking forward to continuing down this path.
While I enjoyed the entire course, I specifically enjoyed chapter 8, Global Inequality. I have always been empathetic to the less fortunate, and reading and studying about the inequalities only reiterated the fact that the gap between the rich and the poor is getting worse. What I didn’t realize was how many children in the world were being forced to work. 250 million boys and girls between the ages of five and fourteen are working in developing countries. That is one out of every four children. That is heartbreaking. It made me realize that some of the shoes and socks I was providing to my patients were most likely made by a child! I felt that child labor was only touched on briefly in this chapter and I wanted to know more. So I did more research on my own.
Child labor has recently become a very touchy subject throughout the world. Well known corporations and clothing and sporting goods distributors that have for decades been taking advantage of cheap labor in third world countries are seeing their names and images tarnished by allegations of child labor practices and obscene working conditions. Child labor is nothing new to the world. It has been a part of almost every society in recorded history. From ancient times, children have been a part of the economic survival of their families, particularly in
Cited: Cody, David. "Child Labor." The Victorian Web. http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertexts/landow/victorian/history/hist8.html(8 Mar. 98) Scott, Jonathan F. and Baltzly, Alexander. ed. "The Life of the Industrial Worker in 19th- Century England" The Victorian Web. http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertexts/landow/victorian/history/workers1.html (8 Mar. 98) Brown, Ashley. "Kids Can Free the Children". http://www.freethechildren.org/clinfo.htm