Introduction
I am a twenty year old college student. A female, a daughter, a sister, a Catholic. I am of Asian descent, a Filipino American, who was born in the Philippines and moved to the United States at the age of six. I am a California resident that comes from a middle class family in the Bay Area. I am fearless, an adventure seeker, a spontaneous tripper, a traveler. What I have listed are just mere descriptions of myself— how I choose to identify, how I explain to others the difference between me and them. However, who I truly am is rooted from my life experiences that have been shaped by my social class, gender, race-ethnicity, education. As a college student, I am able to attain a holistic approach to my perceptions, thoughts, ideas and become a more well rounded person because of it. I am able to think for myself, become empowered and understand my contributions to society. As a young woman, a minority, I am driven for social change and justice. I am a proud Asian American that appreciates others regardless of race-ethnicity because I was raised in a diverse, accepting community in the Bay Area. The society I am immersed in has allowed me to accept other cultures, to be able to adopt ideologies, practices, and have love for others. Social inequalities caused especially by my social class growing up has not limited my potential, but has driven it. My social institutions such as family and education have shaped my morals and attitudes. Who I am is what my society, culture, social inequalities, and social institutions have offered me.
Section 1: Society and Culture
Culture, as stated by the textbook, is “the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors and even material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next” (Henslin 36). Residing in the Bay Area, several cultures are alive and thriving. From religious culture, to gender culture, to corporate culture, and pop culture, the Silicon Valley has provided a large spectrum of cultures one is able to indulge in. However, one type of culture that has impacted how I have become who I am today is cultural diversity. With many people of all race-ethnicities and backgrounds residing in the Bay Area, I was exposed to numerous amounts of diversity. Cultural relativism, the idea of being nonjudgmental to a specific culture by attempting to understand it, is taught at a young age in school (Henslin 38). This sociological concept has been learned throughout my educational career because of the diversity school presents with its demographics— whether it is implicitly by being seated in class next to someone of different race-ethnicity or through the curriculum instructed in school. This enables each student an opportunity to learn about different cultures, religions, practices, and so on, permitting each student a chance to exercise and value cultural relativism throughout the rest of their lives. By becoming educated and engaging in cultural relativism, I am able to have values—the standards by which people define what is unacceptable or acceptable— of tolerance, recognition, and understanding (Henslin 46).
A subculture, as explained by the textbook is, “the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture” (Henslin 49). A subculture that I associate myself with would be being a college student. Being a college student there are many material and symbolic culture that are significant in the subculture. Material culture, is defined as, “ the material objects that distinguish a group of people, such as their art, buildings, weapons, utensils, machines, hairstyles, clothing, and jewelry” (Henslin 36). Material culture as a college student includes textbooks and computers. Technology, being ever so present in each and everyone’s lives today has become essential in passing a class— such as this online course. Textbooks are also resources that have all the needed information for a class and is essential to being successful. Symbolic, or non-material culture, refers to “a group’s way of thinking (including its beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world) and doing (its common patterns of behavior, including language and other forms of interaction)” (Henslin 36). Examples of this would be the language used in higher education, ethics practiced, and acquired philosophies. Being part of the subculture of a college student is worth mentioning for several reasons. Being a college student has allowed me to challenge my thought processes, motives, attitudes, and has developed my morals. Because of the increase in knowledge, inspiration and enlightenment provided by my schooling, there is no doubt that my development of a person has been influenced greatly by this subculture.
Section 2: Social Institutions
Education, as mentioned in the previous section has had a large influence in my successes, failures, and attitudes. However, going even further back into my life, elementary education begun setting a pathway for me that has created a platform of positive progression and a lifetime of achievements.
Tracking, is defined by the textbook as, “the sorting of students into different programs on the basis of real or perceived abilities” (Henslin 503). This sociological concept has been prevalent throughout elementary school as well as high school. Programs such GATE (gifted and talented education) were available for students at a very young age. As a student that was part of the GATE program, I was put in groups such as “C” groups for classes where I was given more challenging material in all subjects ranging from math, science, and english. However, to be part of the “C” group in elementary school, you did not need to be part of the GATE program as there were a handful of students in the group that were not GATE students. With that said, the groupings done in elementary school is a prime example of tracking as students with real abilities presented by excellence in the GATE exam and participance in the GATE program were placed in a group with much more challenging curriculum but also students who showed academic promise, or perceived abilities, were also placed in the same grouping as GATE students. In high school, students are tracked as they are allowed into honors and advanced placement programs or to general education classes, college prep, or interest based “families”. This is important to note as tracking is done throughout all stages of education. Students receive instruction according to their anticipated skill and ability level, however, this does not necessarily mean that students who are placed in a more challenging settings have the capabilities that entail the curriculum. Being always part of the “challenge group”, I felt at times that I was more inclined to have a higher academic performance and was given more opportunities academically.
Hidden curriculum, is defined by the textbook as, “the unwritten goals of schools, such as teaching obedience to authority and conformity to cultural norms” (Henslin 505). Having education from schools that consist of mostly middle class families, in both elementary school and high school, there was a strong emphasis on being well behaved. Going to school that consisted of other students whose families were also mostly middle class, behavior that was polite, conforming, and was favorable for the teacher always allowed someone to have a good standing with the teacher, however any form of retaliation or actions that annoy an instructor, whether large or small, will lead to immediate disciplinary action that can be to the extent of suspension, expulsion, or a ticket to “opportunity school”. Students who were able to remain out of “opportunity school” and out of trouble, were given teachers who stressed proper skills and were given more attention whereas those who end up in “opportunity school” seemed to have instructors that were more lenient on their students and not as harsh about the completion of benchmark projects and so on that were expected from “normal” high school.
Inclusion, a manifest function of schools in the United States, is defined by the textbook as, “helping people to become part of the mainstream society; also called mainstreaming” (Henslin 502). From my experience, I do think that schools in the United States do a great job with inclusion. In elementary school, we held an annual Spring Program where kids of all grades showcase and perform dances rehearsed throughout the school year. The Spring Program allowed performances from everyone including students with disabilities. I also think that throughout elementary and high school, all race-ethnicities were allowed to attend all events held by the school, resources were available to those with physical and mental disabilities, and so on. I think that inclusion allows for students to respect diversity, increase student engagement, teamwork, understanding and many values. Inclusion can also encourage cultural relativism, as mentioned in the previous section.
Section 3: Social Inequalities
As an immigrant, social inequalities have had a massive impact in the way that I present myself as well as my temperament. Immigrating to the United States, my parents had left everything they had to chase the “American Dream”. Chasing that dream, however, meant starting from the bottom rungs of the social class ladder. Both my parents received masters degrees and successful careers in the Philippines, however, once settling in the United States, those degrees and certifications were not qualifications that allowed my parents to work in comparable jobs. Using Dennis Gilbert and Joseph Kahl’s model of social class, my family’s social class standing when initially moving to the United States was the working class. Despite working long hours at a their jobs, my parents income was just enough to make ends meet. That meant, we were able to afford the necessities but most definitely nothing more. Money was tight growing up and I never quite understood why I was never able to have toys that I wanted or why other kids were able to go on vacations to Disneyland and I was not. I always thought that it was not fair that other children were able to attend camps or have opportunities that I never was able to because of money. I was forced to understand the difference between the things in life that I needed versus the things that I wanted. At a young age, I had to learn how to budget and make the most of what I had.
One of the most monumental moments growing up was when my mother made the decision to go to nursing school. My mother’s persistence and dedication in nursing school allowed her to finish in two years and shortly after, she had landed a position as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) at Washington Hospital. This was a large turning point for my family financially. My mother working hard to become a nurse and my father’s sleepless nights of hard labor to my brother and I lived comfortably while my mother was pursing her education was the factor that allowed us to move up the social class ladder. The reasons I say that this was monumental was that this allowed for certain things such as the opportunity of me to study abroad and excel athletically by joining numerous basketball teams and have time to discover my passions and aspirations. It was the first time in my life that I was able to feel the privileges that a higher social class entails. It also allowed me to appreciate everything my parents had done for my brother and I to have the best life possible.
Although money is not everything, being part of the lower rungs of the social class ladder most definitely has numerous hardships. Witnessing how my parents rose above the challenges that life was presenting for our family has been the blueprint of my work ethic, disposition, mentality, and individuality. The biggest take away from rising up from the social class ladder was that at a young age, I appreciated the value of money, learned how to make the most out of every opportunity, learned how to sacrifice and compromise, as well as have hope for a better future. Being able to internalize the perseverance and tenacity that my parents had, I am able to have the same steadfast approach to my life. It has inspired me to have big dreams and aspirations for myself.
Section 4: Theoretical Perspectives
The theoretical perspective that most guided my analysis in this paper was functionalism. Functional analysis is, “a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function, that when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium” (Henslin 26). This perspective was useful in analyzing my life experience because it allowed me to think about the interconnectedness of everything in my society that has shaped who I am. When approaching my life’s experiences with functionalism, I am able to see functions, or beneficial consequences of actions, and dysfunctions, the harmful consequences of actions (Henslin 26). Both functions and dysfunctions, although different, coincide, creating stability and serves for the purpose of allowing me to define who I truly am.
Conclusion
By taking a step back and assessing how institutions, inequalities, and culture have influenced my experiences, I am able to say that it has been able to aid me in becoming more wholesome. Personal experiences being a college student gives me an advantage in society today. In this day and age, higher education and receiving a degree is highly valued in our society. Most job opportunities require attaining a degree to even receive an interview. Education also serves as a basis of setting people apart in who becomes most suitable for a position in a company. Upon competition of this assignment, I feel as as though I have been able to understand myself more. I was able to critically thinking about the influences of society, culture, social inequalities, and social institutions in my development as a person. I was able to draw a parallel between all avenues of my life— how education, family, culture, social class all were intertwined. This assignment has really caused me to purposefully delve into my life experiences and critically think who I truly am.