The Social Construction of Childhood Essay - 2194 Words

While all societies acknowledge that children are different from adults, how they are different, changes, both generationally and across cultures. â€Å"The essence of childhood studies is that childhood is a social and cultural phenomenon† (James, 1998). Evident that there are in fact multiple childhoods, a unifying theme of childhood studies is that childhood is a social construction and aims to explore the major implications on future outcomes and adulthood. Recognizing childhood as a social construction guides exploration through themes to a better understanding of multiple childhoods, particularly differences influencing individual perception and experience of childhood. Childhood is socially constructed according to parenting style†¦show more content†¦He then analyzes these measures into how it would be possible to change the perception of childhood, making it possible for all children, within any environment, to enhance their capabilities provided the oppo rtunities to reach success. He explores the experience of childhood according to social cultural beliefs and expectations, parental income, poverty, race and effects of parenting styles or adult roles in children’s environment. Tough tackles the theme centered on cultural belief and practice about what kinds of adults children should become, finding links to parental income. He focuses on the cognitive hypothesis which is based on the idea of preparing children for adulthood by sending them to school in order to learn cognitive skills such as problem solving, reading, writing etc. This theory relies solely on standardized testing to determine success and acts in creating a gap between children based on their economic status or parent’s income. According to the cognitive hypothesis, children who are born into low income and poverty experience a different type of childhood, a lesser quality than children who are born to middle or upper class parents. In other words, c hildren in poverty are not able to reach the same levels of success as children born into families with more money and therefore more resources. The experience of childhood by children in poverty differs from children not in poverty. Children in poverty are prone to more risk factors such as lackShow MoreRelatedSocial Construction of Childhood Essay1286 Words   |  6 Pages1. Introduction Social constructionism gives meaning to phenomenon in social context and connections between culture and society build up realities in their circumstances. The studies of this idea have been conducted more than thirty years by a number of North American, British and continental writers (Burr, 1995). However, in childhood studies this notion appears later on. It is mostly held universally, childhood is a stage that biologically existing in human life in early years. It should be consideredRead MoreSocial Construction Of Childhood Essay770 Words   |  4 Pagesmeaning of social construction of childhood. I am very familiar with the history of psychology and children’s literature. My grandmother used to live with us when I was a young, and she told me many stories of the past. For this reason, I am able to link the materials I study to the real world. The social construction of childhood is somehow new to me. Especially the way Postman (1999) expresses social construction of chi ldhood. For example, he stated, â€Å"In the twentieth century, childhood began toRead MoreChildhood Is The Social Construction Of Children1606 Words   |  7 PagesChildhood is the social construction of children, where they develop and understand different relationships and cultures in their society. Children grow up during their childhood, when they realise their â€Å"sense of meaning in their lives† (Layard and Dunn 2009, p.9), by socializing and personal development. Childhood starts with a family, which is the beginning of life. Family is where children first learn about the world. In children’s perspective, as long as family members love each other, it isRead MoreChildhood And The Family A Social Construction1497 Words   |  6 Pagesdirectly influences the childhood and family relationship, something I aim to explore in this assignment. Is childhood and the family a social construction? Childhood according to Aries (1960) in his book ‘Centuries of Childhood’ is that childhood is not seen as a natural occurrence but a concept created by society. This has been argued and furthermore been researched by Cunningham (2006) in his book the ‘Invention of Childhood’, where he highlights the historical features of childhood in the Middle AgesRead MoreEssay on Social Construction of Child and Childhood1406 Words   |  6 PagesSocial construction of child and childhood To start with an overview of social constructionism in very general terms leads to build understandings of child and childhood in a social world more explicitly. Notion of social construction is defined in diverse disciplines and instead of generating a description there are a number of thoughts. â€Å"It is sometimes called a movement, at other times a position, a theory, a theoretical orientation, an approach; psychologists remain unsure of its status (StamRead MoreAssess the Sociological Explanation That Childhood Is a Social Construction.1499 Words   |  6 Pagesexplanation that childhood is a social construction. Childhood is the time of a person’s life when they are a child. Childhood is said to be socially constructed, meaning that it has not been influenced by nature but has been shaped by the quality of family life and the culture within society. The social construction of childhood points out that childhood is dependent on a number of social factors rather than a biological stage. Sociologists argue about what the term ‘childhood’ actually means. TheyRead MoreTo What Extent Can Childhood Be Considered a Social Construction?1489 Words   |  6 Pageswhat extent can childhood be considered a social construction? This essay will analyse the major experiences by which childhood is constructed: one determined by the society and the other examined personally. Following this approach will be explained socially constructed childhood that asserts children’s attitudes, expectations and understandings that are defined by a certain society or culture. Furthermore various aspects of childhoods will be taken into account in relation to social, economic, historicalRead MoreExamine How Social, Historical and Spatial Constructions of Childhood and or Youth Inform the Design, Practices and Values of a Selected Institution of Childhood or Young People.733 Words   |  3 PagesExamine how social, historical and spatial constructions of childhood and or youth inform the design, practices and values of a selected institution of childhood or young people. Childhood is not a biological state, unlike infancy (Postman) it is a construction placed upon a group of humans by society (James and Prout). Differing societies have different views of what a child is and should be. The ideas surrounding children and childhood not only differ within different societies there are alsoRead MoreCo Constructive Environments Create Learning Opportunities For Children927 Words   |  4 Pages Co-constructive environments create learning opportunities for children. The learning strategy of co-construction is an extension of the philosophy of constructivism that maintains interpretation is required to â€Å"make meaning† of the world (Schwandt, as cited in MacNaughton Williams, 2009). The early childhood setting often bases their program on the developmental play curriculum as this relates to Piaget’s theory of children’s cognition. This approach is about the child constructing their ownRead MoreHow Childhood Has Changed over the Centuries1220 Words   |  5 Pagesideas about childhood over the centuries, there are several points of discussion that arise. Many ideas surrounding the change and evolved over the centuries, ideas such as the views towards education and the impact of the industrial revolution on westerns societies views towards childhood, due to the limited space, this essay will focus on two underlying issues which have contributed greatl y to the changing ideas about childhood over the centuries, which are; the recognition of childhood and innocence

A Social Worker s Perspective Food Essay - 841 Words

Form a social worker’s perspective food is a human need and a right for everyone no matter a person’s race, sexual orientation, class, and status in society. Social workers understand the cycle leading to hunger in America and the impact it has on children and families. Hunger has divided families and communities by placing certain groups of people at greater risks of food insecurity. According (Coleman, Greogry Singh, 2014) â€Å"More than 1 in 5 children is at risk of hunger. Among African-Americans and Latinos, it’s 1 in 3†. Social workers plays a pivotal role implemented change in society by connecting ethical principles along with the standards of treatment from The Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the safeguard and well-being of society’s oppressed people. Human rights are the guided principles of freedom and liberty, in which everyone should have access to nutritious foods regardless of their race, sexual orientation and class. Lik ewise, social justice follows the beliefs of fairness and just treatment for all. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) strive for the amelioration of society’s most vulnerable people, the children. According to UDHR, (1948) Article 25 (1), â€Å"everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing†¦.† Yet many families are still struggling to feed their children. Given the critical need for food. Social workers have to analyzeShow MoreRelatedFood Stamps to SNAP Essay1030 Words   |  5 PagesFood Stamp is a government-funded program in the United States. This is a program that helps people buy food for their families; in other words, it is a very important program to families living in poverty. It is the nation’s most important program in the fight against hunger. This program was developed in the 1960’s; it is made to improve the nutritio n level and food purchasing power of people with low-income. This program is offered to people who cannot afford to buy groceries for their familiesRead MoreKarl Marx And Functionalist Theory1329 Words   |  6 Pagessomething to agree with in each one of the three sociological perspectives. There is accuracy in conflict theory perspective in that those in power determine social order and structure. Symbolic interactionism concentrates on social interactions. Since society consists of different social structures, social interaction having an effect on society certainly makes sense. Functionalist theory takes a large-scaled or macro view of social structures or institutions. Within the institutions, there is aRead MoreThe Conflict Theory Of The Food Crisis931 Words   |  4 PagesThis food crisis is consequently causing an increasing gap between the rich and poor. This gap includes the amount and quality of food that is being consumed. Along the way, a solution to produce the amoun t of food needed to serve the population was to use Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). With the growing signs and evidence of the risk that GMOs bring, people have a right to know what is in the food that they are eating. Through conflict theory we can identify that the elite deter us from educatingRead MoreWal Mart1969 Words   |  6 Pageshighest- grossing company in the United States (Fortune 2008a), and is by far one of the most successful companies worldwide. Wal-Mart offers a place to buy the majority of our goods under one roof like electronics, furniture, clothing, pharmacy, sports, food, books etc. Wal-Mart sells good at lower price than the others and this is even shown by its slogan â€Å"save money, live better†.   It drives out smaller and sometimes even the expensive stores out of business due to its lower prices. Wal-Mart providesRead MoreThe Migrant Worker Lifestyle Can Be Largely Explained As A Subculture943 Words   |  4 PagesThe migrant worker lif estyle can be largely explained as a subculture. These people have their own values and behaviors that distinguish themselves from the average American. The migrant workers work for little pay, and believe that hard work will pay off for them. They travel north and south and across the United States following the harvests of different crops so they can work and get paid. The one thing that sets this apart from the larger culture is that they are not following around the easiestRead MoreCharacteristics Of Society And The Populations Living1648 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Department of Juvenile Corrections due to having that networking piece. The social worker at the agency is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and is a contracted employee. Her role is to meet with the students and work with them one on one. 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Perception of the African American Males Free Essays

Perception of the African American males African Americans males are considered dangerous based on a false identity, misconceptions, and misinformation that are available in the media; this includes but is not limited to rap music, news, and TV shows. This misconception can be traced as far back as slavery. The perception of blacks’ males as being dangerous began when the slave came to America on 1619. We will write a custom essay sample on Perception of the African American Males or any similar topic only for you Order Now Due to the situation of being treated as property, to be freely bought and sold, and that the owner was free to split up a couple or family at any time simply by selling some of his/her slaves. African slaves started to behave in a hostile manner. Because of their behavior the Caucasians immediately started to classify the slaves as being dangerous, and they need to be tame as if they were wild animals. This lead the slave masters to start putting chain and walking around with their rifles when they would be in the fields with them. As it was stated in ‘The Brut Caricature†, it portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal; deserving punishment, and maybe death. Due to the negative influence and portrayals of African Americans males, these individuals are often misguided. The nature vs. nurture theory comes into play. I. e. Low income black males are predisposed to innate qualities, while behavioral traits are learned i. e. through the media. â€Å"Get Rich or Die Trying† is the mentality of most African American males with the help of the media. Most males see themselves as rap stars, sports stars, and or comedians. There is limited exposure of African American as doctors or lawyers at an early age its learned that their chance of success in life is limited. The men in the low income communities have the tendencies of wanting to become like the â€Å"white man†. The main problem is that they portray the idea of â€Å"get rich quick†. These perceptions cause them to turn into drugs, and from there into violence and crimes. According to a 2006 National Urban League report a third of black males will spend time in prison before their 35th birthday. This fact could be because of the high school dropouts and the poor understanding they get from society. Yes, I said the poor understanding from society, because black men are one of the least understood groups in our country. People don’t look at the conditions that cause a lot of black men to be in the situations they’re in today, they just look at the results. † According to my findings, among men, blacks (28. 5%) are about six times more likely than whites (4. 4%) to be admitted to prison during their life. I also noted that there are more black males in prison in America than are in college. (The Black and White of Justice, Freedom Magazine). Volume 28. Another consequence for African Americans it’s that the â€Å"monster† image given by the Caucasian people are carry by the poor African American people. According to Stallworth (early 1990’s) young black males continue to follow patterns of slavery times. Many fulfill white America’s image of them legitimately by becoming successful gangster rappers, others fulfill these image illegitimately by becoming â€Å"bad niggers† Rappers, therefore reinforce the popular belief that as â€Å"bad ass niggers† young black can achieve fame, recognition, and sense of being (somebody). If they lose, however, they can face a long stay in our jails and prisons or even bodily injury and death. Which it’s happening now days. Media and the African American Males According to the book ‘Black Demons’ there is a â€Å"black pathology† a fundamental weakness in African American families that can be traced to their experiences as slaves. The news media, for example, have taken the lead in equating young African American males with aggressiveness, lawlessness, and violence. Likewise, the entertainment media have eagerly taken their cue from the journalists, and these false images not only affect race relationship but also create a self felling prophecy for African American youngsters, whose limits of achievement can be determined for them by suggestions in the media. A common stereotype about African American men is that they are engage in drug abuse a disproportionate way which it’s not true because according to statistics from the US department of Health and Human services that although eight percent of African American males cocaine, eleven percent of whites have use the same drug. This is, however, not the impression that we get from watching the evening local news or even an episode of television program COPS. Blacks Stereotyped of Being Intellectually Inferior and Criminals. Another common negative stereotype, establishes the African American male as intellectually inferior. Studies directed by psychologist Claude Stale, indicate that African American teenagers are aware that they are stigmatized as being intellectually inferior and the go to school bearing what psychologist Claude has called a â€Å"burden of suspicion† Such burden can affect their attitudes and achievements. These shadows hang over stigmatized people no matter their status or accomplishments. These stigmas have the potential to roll them of their individually and debilitate their attempts to break out of the stereotypical roles. Blacks are the repository for the American fear of crime. Ask anyone, of any race, to picture a criminal and the image will have a black face. The linked between blackness and criminality it’s routinized by terms such a â€Å"black-on-black crimes† or â€Å"black crimes†. I also have to mention the ‘black brute stereotype arise in the early 1870’s. Such stereotype is one of the pictures white Americans have in their heads about black men: as savage, violent amazingly strong and not caring about right and wrong. Even today according to my findings , blacks are three times more likely to be physically threatened, harmed or killed because if their race than whites. So this idea of whites as peaceful and blacks ad threatening to white is not rooted in fact. It is rooted in something else. Yes, there are black men who are violent and savage, who do unspeakable things. But there are white men like that too. In either case they are hardly common enough to reasonably determine one’s ideas about the ordinary people of their race. Rap Music and its influence in African American males Rap music celebrates vulgarity. Indeed, it markets vulgarity; that is its product. It is the vulgar excesses of rap-the profanity, the over-sized jewelry, the naked acquisitiveness, the sexual aggressiveness-that are its hallmarks. New media attention on rap music seems obsessed on instances of violence at rap concerts, rap producers’ illegal use of musical samples, gangster raps’ lurid fanatics of cop killing, and female dismemberment, and Black Nationalist rappers suggestions that white peoples are devils disciples. It seems that rappers to notice the influence they have in people mostly African American people, and by say this type of things they send an incorrect message to their fanatics and other people in general. In most of the songs you can find a high level of aggravated language, images, and high crimes scenarios. . According to the authors of these songs, they just make it for the entertainment of their fans without thinking of the image they are given of their people and themselves. One question and many answers from our society I took the duty to find out the perception that common US citizens have towards African American males, by submitting a question on (answersyahoo. com) people from all around our country answered to my question. The following are the answers to my survey. †¢ People poisonous stereotypes the black males with the â€Å"5 Ds†Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dumb, deprived, dangerous, deviant, and disturbed†. †¢ Lazy uneducated †¢ Drug dealers †¢ Poor †¢ Hate other races †¢ They are dirty †¢ Loud, obnoxious, rude My Opinion For these reasons and many other African American males are consider dangerous for our society. But stop and think for a minute, are they all really dangerous or this is only a big misunderstanding? Can we judge them all as a whole, or there are some of them that can be excluded of being stereotyped as â€Å"dangerous†, â€Å"criminal†, etc? In my opinion we cannot judged them all as a whole and we should also try to understand the reasons behind their actions. We have to learn how to be open minded and see things from different perspectives. We also have to realize that not everything that we see and listen in the media is always the truth, there is always a second part of a story and most of the time we fail to look for that second part. African American behavior has been shaped by us (society) because of our mistreatment towards them and our racism†¦ I believe if we change the way we look at them and express about them, they will change their behavior and we no longer will have to use the statement of â€Å"dangerous† when referring to a African American male. Conclusion To conclude to this issue in question I just have to say ‘Black or white, God gave us the opportunity to succeed, and regardless of the situation we are dealt, we can all live the life we imagined. After s days of research I can’t say there is a wrong or right theory about African American males because everyone has their own way of thinking and their own opinion. But just to add ‘the world would be shocked to know that the majority of black men make the right choices and build successful families and careers every day in America, yet are rarely discussed in the headlines’. Bibliogaphy How to cite Perception of the African American Males, Papers