Building gender socialization starts at birth and grows with us throughout are lives. We all learn by watching and because a lot of what children see helps them shape their identities about who they are we, as parents, need to know what we teach them will benefit them in the future. Children not only learn from the people that surround them in their life but also learn and get ideas from something as simple as a commercial that happens to pop up right before their favorite show is about to come on. They are witnessing gender socialization and they don’t even realize it. I was even unaware of how something as simple as a commercial could influence the thought process of a child.

          While looking at a Christmas magazine with my child we came across a toy that she noticed that she would like to have the chance to play with but don’t me she couldn’t because it was for boys. I had asked her why she thought that and she told me that on the commercial it showed a girl being “grossed out” by the toy so girls wouldn’t want to play with it. So I asked her if it bothered her or grossed her out and she told me it didn’t. I told her as long as it didn’t bother her and that she would enjoy using it, then it wasn’t just for boys.

          That short conversation was a real eye opener as a parent as in how, toys especially, are marketed to children. My daughter has grown up around going camping, fishing, getting dirty, and 4-wheelers. All of which are stereotyped as boys activities. What we teach our children is so important for their futures. We need to teach them that as long as we try hard enough and dream big enough, whether or not it says it is just for girls or just for boys, you can accomplish anything.

 

http://voices.yahoo.com/gender-socialization-children-2632765.html?cat=25

http://www.unc.edu/~dcderosa/STUDENTPAPERS/childrenbattles/toysrusdenise.htm

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~susan8/parinf.htm

Office socialization means less stress and better work. Since we can all relate to the fact that we spend more time at work with co workers then we do with our families and friends, it is most likely essential that we make nice with those we work with. It should be our goal to make it tolerable and friendly so make it a good place. Socialization is described as how we learn to become part of our culture or the world around us. We have developed ourselves based on a certain set of norms that form our personalities and those norms and values in the workplace are different and that is what can be hard to adapt to. There is a possibility of a conflict in norms and in order to survive in the workplace we need to adapt to a new culture. Independence is a skill that is necessary in the socialization process in the workplace because if the person cannot communicate then the ability to learn will diminish.

If socialization is nonexistent in the workplace then this can lead to added stress.  It is important to take time for workplace socialization. While working and getting the job done is important, getting up from the desk once in a while is a good thing. Healthy workplace socialization is good in order to reduce stress. This will provide for more healthy and positive relations with coworkers and maybe even the boss. The positive effects of workplace socialization are the easing of stress, anxiety and job depression. This can also result in a more productive work environment.  This makes for a better person and employee. Socialization in the workplace also is responsible for better morale. I know I always could use a good laugh and some sort of humor in my workday. As long as the humor is tasteful and not offensive to others. It is important not to offend others in the process, this may have a reverse effect on morale. This could result in no friends on the job and may cost you your job.

We must also be mindful of the fact that we have a job to do each day and we have to adjust to many different personalities. So being able to adjust to a diverse group of people is essential.  An example is when new employees are hired and the supervisor brings that employee around to meet the staff. It serves as an ice breaker and a way to initiate a sense of common ground between the newbie and the existing workers.

 

 

http://ezinearticles.com/?Office-Socialization-Means-Lesser-Stress-and-Better-Work&id=2548252

A huge place we see gender socialization is in the media. I am focusing more on younger kids, but it can be seen throughout all types of media. In the first link below there is a little video that shows pieces of Disney movies. When kids are younger Disney movies are a very popular form of entertainment. As the video shows, the characters in the movies show kids how they should act based on their sex.

The girls are usually in need of a man to come save them. There are almost no cartoon movies based on succesful women. The idea of women staying home and cleaning the house is seen in a lot of the films. For the boys watching the movies, they get the idea that they need to be strong and not afraid. The heros in the movies are always men, and they always have big muscles. Usually the end of the movies comes down to two men fighting for the women. Whoever is the stronger of the two, will win the girl. Women are seen more as objects for men.

Almost all disney princesses wear pretty dresses, and are poliet. They are seen as innocent. The men have fit bodies and usually have their muscles showing. The men are seen as more powerful than the women.  It gives young girls the idea that they should be pretty, thin, and dress in girly clothes. Boys get the impression that they need to be able to fight, and also be fit. Disney movies is just a small example of media socializing gender. It is seen through tv shows, commercials, advertisments etc. I also included a link to a page on gender socialization through toys since we have recently been discusing that in the forum.

http://www.feministfatale.com/2008/10/gender-socialization-in-the-media-from-childhood-to-adulthood/

http://www.inforefuge.com/gender-roles-media

http://www.unc.edu/~dcderosa/STUDENTPAPERS/childrenbattles/toysrusdenise.htm

Traditional Universities No More

 

The days of traditional classes at higher education institutions have changed drastically. Students of the modern world are impatiently waiting for colleges to catch up to their needs. Students today are in the world of social media, instant responses, and technology access everywhere on cell phones to i pads. Students no longer have the patience to sit through traditional lectured classes, they now prefer on-line lectures. Higher education institutes must find ways to recruit students and meet their demands by providing more creditable on-line classes and communicating through social media. In order for a university to be competitive they must do both, the new generations learn and communicate these ways.

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, blogging and pod-casting are the tools of choice for US institutions of higher education. All of them have realized double-digit increases in adoption in the past year. Video continues to be strong with 41% using it. YouTube made its first appearance in this new study and debuted at 86% using the relatively new tools. It is interesting to note that pod-casting now highlights faculty, students, lecture series etc. to create the experience of being on their campus. www.umassd.edu

The goal for all higher education institutions is clearly to make some changes to keep up with today’s societies needs to communicate and engage with the tech savvy young people of today who want schools based on their online presence and offerings.

http://chronicle.com/article/Todays-Unpresidential/135228/

http://www.msm.nl/Introduction/News/Weblogs/Rita-van-Deuren/October-2012/Attaining-and-Sustaining-Mass-Higher-Education-%E2%80%93-a.aspx#.UI8whWfWXvE

http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesandresearch/socialmediaadoptionsoars

 

Everyone always thinks a mother should stay home with the kids. That mothers should helps kids with their homework and do house cleaning. But now a days men can stay home and be a stay at home dad.

In the industrial revolution, men would be the one’s at the factories working with their kids. The mothers would have to stay home and take care of the house and kids. But in today’s society women have more job offer’s. They are at the same level as men. Women can be lawyers, construction workers, firefighters, police officer’s, etc.

Also kids need their father in their life. They need help with school work. It’s that leader ship they need. Father can do the same things as women can do.

Staying home full-time to take care of your children is an option that most of us can’t take on. With the economy the way it is mothers have no choice but to have a full-time paying job. This wasn’t always the case.

Since the beginning of the 19th century motherhood as an institution has changed. Women started off being the one who was told to stay home to teach and educate their children but this was only for the middle-class white women. Colored women were still expected to go out into the work force. They were, in a sense, deemed unfit to take care of and educated their own children.

In the 20th century, women wanted to work outside of the home but were considered, by child experts, not a good mother if they didn’t stay home with their children. This was due to research that indicated how benifical it is for children to be home with their mothers.

Now in the 21st century most women have no choice, financially speaking, to be at home with their children. Either they need more then one income in the household or they are a single parent who can’t afford daycare. This puts limits on our choices as mothers. We want to provide for our children, but are in a hardship.

In any case motherhood is what keeps our society going. If we, as women, do not reproduce then our society, one day, could disappear.

http://www.njmac.ca/taf/issue9/mother.htm

http://suite101.com/article/social-institution-of-motherhood-a64879

Marriage-Happily Ever After?

The knowledge of marriage between a man and a wife has been evident since Adam and Eve. (Genesis 2:23)  Marriage has been the foundation of family structure.  Two people; a man and a woman who marry, establish a life together, are faithful to each other, have children together, eventually grandchildren, and live happily ever after until death do them part. 

 Over the past hundred years, society’s views on marriage have changed.  In the 1920’s dating became popular, making people wonder if marriage was going to go way-side.  In the 1950’s post war time, marriage was expected.  Family values were stronger than ever. Along with the ring came one’s right to spousal benefits- “What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours”, health care decisions, power of attorney, marriage acquired assests, and much more. If you chose to remain single during this time you were viewed as if there were something wrong with you.  In the 1970’s women decided that they were going to have equal rights and were self-sufficient. Divorce rates began to sky rocket for the first time. Now in the 2000’s everyone focuses on love. Marriage for the sake of having a family structure is no longer the focal point.  Marriage as a union has changed from being a union between a man and woman to encompass gays and lesbians.  Seven U.S. states (mostly in the N.E. with the exception of D.C., and Iowa) now view gay marriage as a legal marriage.

  www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200505/marriage-history

 

I have included a couple interesting links on marriage as an institution.

 

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2032116,00

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/116400

Nursery school is a social institution which holds an important place in the life of a child. It is important because it is the introduction to peer socialization for many youngsters. It serves as a preview to school and more demanding pursuits such as sports teams. It allows the young child to interact in a situation which is less threatening and holds less import in the larger scheme than elementary school.

While nursery school affords a new and exciting challenge for the small child it also has benefits for the young family as an institution. It allows the parent a practice session in the soon-to-be longer separation that school and other demands will place on the relationship between the parent and child. It allows the parent to see the child in a new light, that of an independent person with perhaps heretofore unknown strengths and talents.

Another benefit which may ensue from the child’s introduction and exposure to the adults, many of whom are child care and education specialists, in the new environment of nursery school is the possibility of diagnosis of any learning or social and emotional problems of which the parent was not aware. This early diagnosis can also lead to early introduction of treatment modalities which may ease the child’s transition to elementary school and quite possibly be of great importance in allowing the child to manage and even excel in his or her early education.

So while nursery school may seem to some as just a fun experience and a break for Mom or Dad, it can actually serve a much broader purpose and benefit as a societal and individual tool.

 

http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/en-ca/importance-of-early-childhood-development/how-important-is-it.html

 

http://www.educationcorner.com/importance-of-early-childhood-education.html

 

http://ezinearticles.com/?Importance-of-Early-Childhood-Education&id=2672450

 

I wanted to choose a culture that was very different from ours in the United States, because learning about vastly different cultures can often be thought provoking, and can give people a sense of the bigger picture.  One big component of Japanese society is saving “face.” Face can be considered honor or prestige, but is much broader than the way we use it here. It’s crucial to their society and is affected mostly by denying a request or being criticized or embarrassed. So when someone denies a request, it can be polite to say something like “it’s inconvenient” or “under consideration.” This might have a relation to the idea of harmony.

“Harmony is the guiding philosophy for the Japanese in family and business settings and in society as a whole.” Children in school learn how we are all dependent on one another, and are urged to try and act for the greater good, while trying to offer opposing facts in a polite manner. Working productively means working together, something that is reflected in personal and formal settings. I think they have a good point, although I have to stay objective when studying different cultures. Japan also has a hierarchy, and the oldest person in the group is always respected while the students refer to their peers as senior (senpai) or junior (kohai). When you are sitting down to eat, the elders and honorable guests are the first to start eating.

Japanese language is very different from English, and is spoken by 99% of the country! It’s the sixth most popular language in the world despite being scarce outside of the country. In the United States, almost 18% of people spoke another language in the year 2000. This number has probably grown since then, too.  Japanese puts more emphasis towards the pitch of words, unlike English which gives more emphasis to different syllables. A person also uses the family name first when being introduced, and their personal name second – another custom that might be tied to the stress on the universal matters rather than the individual ones.

Non verbal communication also varies, and staring someone in the eye is actually considered disrespectful, especially if they are your senior. There is even a book to help foreigners understand non verbal signs like scratching eyebrows or the back of heads. Greetings also vary, but foreigners are expected to shake hands because they probably don’t understand the subtleties involved with bowing, the traditional greeting. Bowing when you are being greeted shows respect, and the deeper the bow, the more respect is shown. In the movie, The Last Emperor, one scene depicts a crowd of people bowing with their heads to the floor as the little emperor walks among them (although this movie was about the last Chinese emperor, the meaning of the bow is similar). When you walk into a house, you are also expected to take off your shoes and leave them pointing away from the doorway. There are sometimes even bathroom slippers for guests.

Japanese culture is interesting because it varies so much from our own. It seems like there are a lot of crazy traditions and art forms (especially with a huge list of table manners in the sources), but we can only look at their culture through our own cultural lens. I’m positive that when someone who has lived in Japan their entire life comes to America, they are just as astonished at our own lifestyles and silly traditions

http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/japan/pro-languages.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762163.html

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/japan-country-profiles.html

 

Comparing and ranking nations on any basis is a sensitive issue, especially for those who don’t come out on the top.  PISA is an international comparison of students’ knowledge and skills in three major fields (reading, mathematics and science), published every three years.  Out of the 65 nations that participate, the U.S. comes out towards the middle of the list, behind many smaller nations (31^st in math, 23^rd in science.) The best performers are the students from Shanghai, China, clearly leading in all domains. Singapore and Finland are also on the top, so the attention gets focused on their education systems: what makes them perform so well?

Inside the U.S., we might also wonder about where all the inequality in academic performance comes from.  There is plenty of anecdotal (and also some statistical) evidence that students of Asian background tend to excel, and also that ‘inner city’ high schools tend to lag behind. We all might remember a provocative article (What Makes Chinese Mothers Superior?) by Amy Chua, who became famous a couple years ago as the ‘Tiger Mom.’ She argued that the better school performance of Asian students comes from different cultural values and practices, and starts in the family. The article became a hot spot on the internet, and attracted a record number of comments in the Wall Street Journal.

The PISA results show that some education systems perform better than others, and this is not only a question of finances. It is also possible that some cultures encourage and value high academic performance more than others. Where exactly the difference in academic performance comes from is a complex question, and cannot be answered just based on personal experiences, opinions and anecdotes.

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/education/07education.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://ourtimes.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/oecd-education-rankings/