Sociology – Comprehensive Reactionary Essay
1. The major agents of socialization in the US are:
a. Family – Family automatically, by nature, predetermines race which has a great impact on the socialization of a child in the US. The social class of the family often places similar expectations on their children, as successful parents demand success in their children. During the formative years, the family is responsible for teaching their children skills, values & beliefs. Lots of the learning that occurs in the home may be indirect based on the home environment and the way that the family interacts with others.
Specific contributions of human development made by the family:
i. Educational standards
ii. Religious beliefs
iii. Sexual preference (not in all cases, but the standard is set by family)
iv. Personal ethics
v. Basic human needs
b. School – School is often times the place where students have their first interactions with students of other ethnic groups, nationalities and origins. This diversity is essential to socialization and the venue is ideal because students are also initiated into gender roles as they break off into groups for competition, play and other collective learning experiences.
Specific contributions of human development made by school:
i. Cultural awareness
ii. Cognitive development
iii. Social skills
iv. Discipline
c. Peer group – Peer group is essentially a group of people in the same age range, with the same interests who are seeking similar life experiences. A peer group may focus on skateboarding as their main interest, which is an activity that is looked down upon by some due to the stigma associated with the activity. Peer groups look to one another for strength in facing difficulties, and share taboo information with one another about topics such as sex or drugs which is also looked down upon by authority figures.