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American middle class. What led to the emergence of an American middle class How did the structure and nature of the family c
Essay questions
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What led to the emergence of an American middle class? How did the structure and nature of the family change with this emergence?
The following essay focuses on explaining the factors that gave rise to the emergence of the American middle class. It is also going to explain the manner in which the emergence of middle class affected the structure as well as the nature of family in the United States of America.
The American middle class exists as a social class that is found in the United States. Concerning the model used, this class is usually constituted anywhere from 30% to 60% of households (Faragher et al., 2005). The members of the American middle class come from diverse groups that often overlap with each other. They are characterized by the fact that they conceptualize, consult and create. This shows that the primary composition of the middle class has gone to college, acquired knowledge in diverse fields. The middle class can be said to have emerged as a result of growth of the American economy as well as the development of industries. In this case, this is a class of people in the society that emerged due to the jobs that they were offered.
The emergence of the middle class had a lot of influence on the structure and the nature of the family. Firstly, the standards of living of these families improved. This is because the members of this class acquired decent jobs that paid handsomely. Therefore, their families could not rely on the government for basic needs. They even had the cash to spare and spend on luxuries (Faragher et al., 2005). Secondly, the structure of the family changed by the fact that there were divisions amongst people. When one graduated from the small class to the middle class, the manner in which they carried out duties changed, and they were thus separated from their mates in the low class.
Describe the policy that Andrew Jackson employed in his quest for Indian Removal. What problems did his system encounter? What effects did the removal have on Native Americans?
This essay aims at describing the policy that was employed by President Andrew Jackson in his assignment to remove Indians from their territories. It will also show the problems that were encountered in the process as well as the effects of the Indians removal from their territories.
The Indian removal was the US policy that was used for the indigenous people, as well as the resettlement of the Indians to the Indian Territory. The depredation of Indians lands by the government of the United States symbolized one of the saddest chapters in the American geography history. As per the law, the president had the right to conclude treaties with the Indians on the land exchange. President Andrew Jackson considered the Indian tribes to be a very stumbling block in the manner in which civilization was delivered. Thus, he supported the Indian removal from the rich southeastern side of the USA towards the wild lands in the Great Plains. One of the problems that he faced was the disapproval of Indians, as they did not want to leave. Jackson also had to face opposition from a faction of leaders who deemed the exercise as against human rights.
The result to this was the adoption of the Indian removal act in 1930, after which the process of the taking over of the Indians land was at its peak. Many Indians lacked sufficient funds that would enable them cater for their own transport, and they were thus forced to walk to the lands where they were directed. Thus, about 10000 Indians moved to the Indian Territory in the present day Oklahoma (Faragher et al., 2005). There were instances whereby many Indians lost their lives, and thus this wasseen as a sad and shameful era that was heralded by President Andrew Jackson.
References
Faragher, J., Buhle, M., & Armitage,S. (2005). Out of Many, Volume 1: A History of the
American People. Prentice Hall.
Examining Various Educational and Curriculum Philosophies over At Least the Past 100 Years
Examining Various Educational and Curriculum Philosophies over At Least the Past 100 Years
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Introduction
Education is simply a form of learning where skills, knowledge, and the habits of a group of individuals are consequently transferred from a given generation to the next generations through trainings, teachings, or research. While on the other hand, curriculum is the intended interaction of the pupils with the instructional materials, content, processes, and resources for the evaluation of the attainment of the educational objectives. While the curriculum theories are usually esteemed by the scholars within educational field as a significant component of the of the curriculum studies, it is often held in very low regard by several practitioners who in moat cases dismiss it as being completely not related to their daily work. Nonetheless, the theories are of great value to the practitioner and scholar. The curriculum theories are capable of providing a set of the conceptual tools that is applicable in the analysis of the curriculum proposals, for the guiding reform and illuminating practice (Ornstein & Hunkins, Frances, 2009). Indeed, the theories are significant in the planning process within the education sector.
Various Educational and Curriculum Philosophies over At Least the Past 100 Years
In order to understand education and how it should be delivered via the curriculum, it is significant to explore some of the different philosophical theories of education. There are several educational and curriculum philosophies that have been advanced by different scholars within the education sector. On of the approaches is the behavioral curriculum theory that is based on a given plan that outlines objectives and goals through the use of strategies and models in the formulation of a curriculum. This approach is rigid and relies on scientific and technical approach step by step strategies and models. This approach is the oldest and has remain the most applied. On the other hand the managerial approach is always inclined to center on the selection, communication, and supervision of the people involved. The theory plans its various ways of communication through schedules, programs, resources, space, personnel, and equipment. The approach focuses on the implementation and administration and not the subject matter (Ornstein & Hunkins, Frances, 2009).
Another philosophical theory of curriculum is the systems approach that stresses the significance of engineering the policies and individuals into different units as well as sub units. The curriculum is actually structured with the flow charts, diagrams, and committees that establish the different concerns of the whole school as opposed to subject or department. This approach is also known as total quality management. While academic theory examines and produces trends, chief positions, as well as trends on a philosophical and historical level rather than with the practical or social reasoning. This approach is often overwhelming for the learners who are not having any strong background of the knowledge (Glatthorn, 1980). Nevertheless, the approach is subject oriented, traditionally intellectual, and encyclopedic.
The humanistic philosophical theory considers all the other approaches inflexible to the extent that they miss the social and personal aspect of the need for human development in the context of creative solving of problems and natural curiosity. The theory focuses the curriculum on the games, group, life experiences, and interest centers. It stresses on the cooper-active learning as opposed to competition. While on the other hand, reconceptualist philosophical theory is actually more focused on the reform and change. The approach stresses the curriculum to be inclusive of the ideological issues while investigating and consequently influencing economic, social, as well as political issues (Glatthorn, 1980). In this approach the theoretical work is more significant as opposed to the practical applications. The approach considers the school to be an extension of the larger society and therefore should play a role in changing the future of the society.
After discussing the various philosophical theories of curriculum, it is significant to indicate that philosophy is one of the main foundations of the curriculum. Allan Glatthorn has mentioned seven different types of curriculum that includes recommended, written, taught, supported, assessed, and learned, as well as hidden curriculum. However, this paper will argue from a school of thought that the reconceptualist philosophical theory or simply society-centered approach is the best approach that should be adopted during the conceptualization of a curriculum (Glatthorn, 1980). Several of the curriculum theorists have actually agreed that social order is the starting point and consequently the determinant of the curriculum. The students learn from what they see within the society and if curriculum is focused on the social issues then it will definitely achieve its intended purpose.
The school of thought that reconceptualist philosophical theory or simply society-centered theory is best suited can be supported through looking at the social learning theory. The theory was developed by Albert Bandura in the year 1977. In this theory, Bandura indicated through numerous experiments, that the presence of consequences was not mandatory, in order for learning to occur. Learning could take place through simple observation of other peoples’ activities. He demonstrated this through the Bobo doll experiment. In this experiment, Bandura demonstrated that, children can change their behavior patterns simply by observing others. He held a notion that, aggression can be explained in three dimensions. The first dimension is how aggressive modes of behaving are developed; secondly, what factors make individuals to show aggressive behavior, and what indicates if this pattern of aggressive behaviors will be sustained in the future (Isom, 1998).
Social theory is based on observational learning, which is sometimes referred to as imitation or modeling. In the social learning process, learning takes place when people imitate and observe others. In this process there are four aspects. They are influenced by the observer’s perception, after being exposed to learning models. These aspects include: retention, attention, motivation, and motor reproduction. The first component of observation learning is attention. People can not learn a lot by observing without perceiving and concentrating on the important aspects of the behavior in the learning model. For example, Mary had to pay attention to what her abusive fathers were doing, for her to reproduce the same behaviors later (Akers & Sellers, 2004). The second component of social learning is retention. For an individual to reproduce the behavior in the model, the individual must retain the information in long term memory.
The third process in observational learning is motor reproduction. The individual, who learn though observation, must be in a position to physically reproduce the behavior in the mode of learning. A case which shows motor reproduction is where an individual learns how to ride a bike. After a behavior is learnt through the processes of attention and retention, the observer must be in apposition to produce the learned behavior. Mary had the ability to reproduce her learnt behavior, through her violent adult life. Reinforcement or motivation is the final stage of observational learning. In this stage, the individual expects to obtain positive reinforcement from the learned behavior. In the Bobo doll experiment performed by Bandura, children were made to watch violence films. These children observed that, adult in the film who acted violently, were rewarded for their behavior. Therefore, these children after watching the film, acted violently to achieve the same results. Bandura also observed that, as these children grew up, the violence they were exposed to formed part of their personality as adults. This turned them into violent adult (Akers & Sellers, 2004).
Later, Bandura introduced cognitive aspects to his social learning theory, to enhance observational learning. In this modification, he viewed human behavior as a result of interaction between the psychological processes and the environment. He postulated that, human beings are able to control their behavior through self regulation. The self regulation process involves three steps: the first step is self observation. This implies that, human beings observe themselves, and their ways of behaving, and keep a record of their behavior. The second step of self regulation is judgment. In this step, individuals measure their observed behavior against standard behavior. These standards can be either societal norms, or personal standards set by the individual. The last step in self regulation is self response. If the person after judging himself, realize that, the standards have been maintained, the person will reward himself. If the person performs poorly, it will result into self punishment (Wortley, 2006). The theory has simply proved that society or simply the immediate surrounding of the student or leaner influences the learning process and the curriculum development should be focused on it in order to achieve the goals of education. In a nutshell, when coming up with a curriculum, it should be focused on the society making reconceptualist philosophical theory or simply society-centered theory the best approach.
Conclusion
The very nature of the curriculum theory is appearing to be a culmination of the approaches and functions whether apparent or hidden or whether new or old. Theorists have become aware that when coming up with a curriculum, an individual should not just focus on the school or the student but rather the general society and this is what makes reconceptualist philosophical theory the best approach.
References
Akers R. L. & Christine S. S (2004). Student Study Guide Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Applications. Accessed from web March 13, 2013
<http://roxbury.net/images/pdfs/ct4ssg.pdf>
Glatthorn, A. A. (1980). A guide for designing an English curriculum for the eighties. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Isom, M .D (1998). Theorist -Albert Bandura the Social Learning Theory. Accessed on web March 13, 2013 http://criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/bandura.htm
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, Frances, P. (2009). Curriculum, Foundations, Principles, and Issues. U.S.A: Pearson Education.
Wortley, R. (2006). Guilt, Shame and Situational Crime Prevention. Accessed from web March 13, 2013 <http://www.popcenter.org/library/crimeprevention/volume_05/06_wortley.pdf>
Examining Unemployment
Examining Unemployment
It is a universally accepted norm that adult humans must engage in one or more forms of gainful employment activities in order to eke a meaningful living. We rely on income from labor to maintain or improve our living standards. Rewards of labor give us a sense of personal achievement and self-worth. Losing a job translates to lower living standards and loss of self esteem. Unemployment comes with a severe impact on a person’s emotional and economical well-being. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (King). This means that unemployment is not a problem for the affected individual alone but for the entire national economy as well. Unemployed citizens are considered by economists as an impediment to the growth of a country since they do not contribute the country’s production and national output.
Productive labor is internationally recognized as a means to an external but basic end. As a gainful activity, employment is an instrumental good. It is instrumentally valuable to the individual due to the income that it brings. From a socio-economic point of view, employment is also instrumental in the production of common wealth. Unemployment, therefore, adversely affects a person physically and mentally. Unemployed people are bound to suffer from conditions such as depression, obesity, malnutrition, and self-resentment besides the torment their families and dependants undergo. They lose their self-esteem when the society seems not to recognize their skills and achievements. The end result is development of deviant or unproductive behavior such as alcoholism or crime which might permeate through successive generations. This is what creates cultural stereotypes and discrimination in distribution of jobs.
From a simple citizen’s point of view, I find it absolutely scandalous for a country as rich as the United States to have over 46 million of its citizens collecting food stamps due to rising rates of unemployment. The real scandal here is that unemployment is a problem hardly discussed in the same level as warfare and celebrity gossip. Problems related to unemployment come to the center stage during election years only. I had the misfortune of accessing the national unemployment statistics recently and was quite disheartened to learn that by August 2011, African-American unemployment rate had surged to 16.7%, which was the highest since way back in 1984. At the same time, white-Americans’ unemployment had fortunately dropped to around 8%.
I say “fortunately” to underscore the scandalous nature of unemployment in one of the richest nations in the world. Job losses due to the current economic crisis seem to have affected some groups more adversely than others. This unemployment situation is even more scandalous considering the words of Thomas Thoreau: “If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself” (Thoreau). Thoreau’s statement in this case refers to the instigators of the 2008 financial crisis whose actions resulted in massive lay-offs worldwide. These culprits took away the only means most people had in the pursuit of success and happiness. Most people who lost their jobs were not responsible for the financial crisis and deserve to be reinstated back to work. Wall Street, Enron, Citibank, and other companies responsible for the current rise in unemployment rates should be made to give back the plank to the drowning people and pay for the lost wages and salaries.
High unemployment rates among minority youths call to mind the state of Ireland’s poverty stricken youths described by Dr. Jonathan Swift as young laborers who “cannot get work, and consequently pine away from want of nourishment, to a degree, that if at any time they are accidentally hired to common labor, they have not strength to perform it, and thus the country and themselves are happily delivered from the evils to come” (Swift). Jonathan Swift’s implication in this statement is quite relevant to the present situation where some sections of the American citizenry are denied working opportunities for such a long time that when they eventually become employed they can never meet the demands of a highly competitive corporate world. They are eventually laid off on the pretext of incompetence yet the government does little to correct this injustice. Provision of full employment for all deserving citizens regardless of race or gender should be the central purpose of every government. As Thoreau states in the famous “Civil Disobedience” discourse, a state that is not governed by principles of reason has only poverty and shame to provide to its citizens (Thoreau). This implies that a government that does not address unjust distribution of jobs breeds poverty and shame among its citizens.
There are however some legitimate views to the argument that unemployment is, to a large extent, self-instigated. The government plays its part by providing access to successful employment such as in provision of quality education for all and implanting laws that ensure there is no discrimination in the hiring process. Most companies operate under an ‘equal employers’ status meaning they do not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, and race. It is therefore imperative for minority groups to stop pointing fingers at rising unemployment rates and strive to improve their status. This is possible through development of skills and capacities for all citizens equally.
It is the legitimate business of every government to ensure that deserving candidates for employment positions are never denied such opportunities due to age, gender, or ethnic bias. Equal employer policies should not only exist on paper but in practice too. Above all, the economy of the country should be structured on principles that lead to creation of more job opportunities for all rather than on amassing wealth for a few billionaires. These are, in my honest opinion, rationally justifiable objectives our government should pursue in its efforts to reduce unemployment.
Works Cited
King, Jr. Martin Luther. Letter from a Birmingham Jail. African Studies Center – Universityof Pennsylvania, 16 April 1963. Web. 26 March 2012.
Swift, Jonathan. A Modest Proposal: For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland,from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial tothe publick – 1729. Guttenberg. 27 July 2008. Web. 26 March 2012.
Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience. Berkeley Digital Library. 20 Aug. 2001. Web. 26March 2012.