The Family
Your family is the most important part of who you are. Your family is there for emotional support. The family is where we acquire our specific social position in society. If your family is rich then you are in a different social class than if they are middle class or poor. I think that families today are not as strong as they used to be. My family life has changed a lot in my lifetime. I went from having a father and all his side of the family to not having it. My moms side of the family is very small. Even though we are a small family we arent very close to one another. In fact, I am closer to people who arent even kin to me. But from reading the book and what it says about my type of family I should not even be in school. I should not even care about anything because I was born into a poor family and I should think it will always be that way. I dont think like that and never will. I do think that most offspring of a poor family will stay that way because they dont want to try for anything better.
The School
School plays a huge role in the social development of children. It doesnt matter what background they come from they will be taught all the same things. School teaches kids to be a productive member of society. School is a means to experience different cultures within our society.
School hasnt changed for me in the course of my life. It has always been important to finish and to go to college. That is instilled in children from day one. I guess back when my parents and grandparents went to school it wasnt a big deal to have a diploma you could get a good job as long as you showed that you were smart enough. I know a lot of people are engineers but never even went to college. Now, its like you cant even work at McDonalds without a high school diploma. Society tells us that we arent worth their time unless we have a degree. There are plenty of times that I would have like try to get a job that is technical knowing that I can do the job but the employer thinks its a risk.
Peer Groups
A peer group is a group of people who are linked by common interests, equal social position, and similar age.
Peer groups start when you are a child in school. As an adolescent you tend to want to be friends with people who you think is like you and have the same things in common. I always wanted to try to be friends with the more popular kids but because of my families financial situation they knew that I didnt come from money and they didnt like me. It didnt matter what I did I would never fit in.
Mass Media
The media functions in several ways they inform us about events, they introduce us to a wide variety of people, they provide and array of view points on current issues. Television, radio and the internet are forms of mass media.
Mass Media has always been a part of my life. I always watched TV and I did very little homework and somehow managed to graduate high school. Once I moved out of the house TV became less important to me. Getting out and enjoying the world and the possibilities beyond the TV became more important like finding a good job, meeting with my friends to just hang out. Once I gained access to the internet I spent countless hours doing and looking at nothing. I have had the internet for more than 5 years and it has been a big part of my since the beginning. It has definitely been a factor in some huge changes in my relationships.
