SOC 100 1st Edition Lecture 21 Outline of Last Lecture I. FamilyII. Function of familyIII. DiversityIV. HistoryV. Future of FamiliesVI. Love Outline of Current Lecture II. Marital satisfactionIII. Domestic ViolenceIV. EducationV. Higher EducationVI. Inequalities in SchoolCurrent LectureFamily and EducationFactors underlying marital satisfaction- 1. Economic factorso Divorce are more common among groups with high poverty rateso Satisfaction of both husbands and wives increases when wives enter the paid labor force- 2. Divorce lawso When people are free to end unhappy marriages and remarry, happiness increases among married peopleo Is a country where it is easy to get a divorce, you have to really work hard to maintain your relationship- 3. Family Life Cycleo ¼ of all divorces take place in the first 3 years of a first marriageo ½ of all divorces take place by the end of the 7th yearo Nonparents and parents whose children have left the home enjoy more happinessThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- 4. Housework and child careo Marital happiness is higher among couples who share housework and child care- 5. Sexo Sex improves during a marriageo The relationship b/t marital satisfaction and sexual compatibility is reciprocal.Each factor influences the otherReproductive technologies- Four main reproductive technologies:o 1. Artificial insemination- donor’s sperm is inserted in a women’s vaginal canal or uterus during ovulationo 2. Surrogate motherhood- donor’s sperm is used to artificially inseminate a woman who has signed a contract to surrender the child at birtho 3. In vitro fertilization-eggs are surgically removed from a woman and joined withsperm in a culture dish, the embryo is transferred back to the woman’s uteruso 4. Various screening techniques are used on sperm and fetuses to increase the chance of giving birth to a baby of the desired sex and end problematic pregnanciesDomestic violence- Every nine seconds, a woman in the U.S. is assaulted or beaten- 1 in 5 teenage girls who have had relationships say a boyfriend threatened violence- Still very difficult to prosecuteTypes of domestic violence- Common couple violenceo Occurs when partners have specific argument and one partner lashes out physically- Intimated terrorismo Is a general desire to control one’s partner- Violent resistanceo Typically involves a woman violently defending herself against her partner who partakes in intimated terrorism(End of Information on Exam 2)EducationWhat is education?- Process through which academic, social, and cultural ideas and tools are developed- Unfortunately, not all students emerge successfully from this system- Some problems include:o Functional illiteracy: the inability to read or write well enough to function societyo Innumeracy: having insufficient math skills to function in societyLearning to learn or learning to labor?- The two main functions of schools are to educate students and to socialize themo Schools teach general skills, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as specific skills needed for the workplaceo Human capital= refers to the knowledge and skills that make someone more productive and bankableo Schools transmit values, beliefs, and attitudes that are important to societyo This hidden curriculum serves to form a more cohesive society but it also imposes dominant values on outsiders or minorities.Manifest functions of school- Train and socialize students- Create social cohesion- Transmit culture from generation to generation- Sort students, presumably by meritLatent functions of school- Create a youth culture and a marriage market- Create a custodial and surveillance system for children- Maintain wage levels by keeping students out of the job market- Occasionally becoming a “school of dissent” that opposes authorities- Schools have been describing as sorting machines that place students into programs andgroups according to their skills, interests, and talentso Critics argue that this sorting process is not based solely on merit and that ultimately it serves to reproduce social inequalitiesDo schools matter?- Coleman report says two primary factors- family background and peers determine your success- Since the 1980s, it has been shown that smaller class sizes have a positive impact on student performance- Private school students do tend to perform better academically than their peers at public schools; due to academics and behavioral differencesWhat’s going on inside schools- Tracking is dividing students into different classes according to ability or future plans- In practice, tracking has a number of negative effects and may be more beneficial for those who are already privilegedo Once you get in these tracks, hard to get out of them- The Pygmalion Effect, or self-fulfilling prophecy, is the process that occurs when behavioris modified to meet preexisting expectations- Studies show that low-achieving students placed in a classroom with mostly high-achieving students tend to improve rather than fall behind- In a similar vein, a class with more problem students (in terms of behavior) tends to havemore disciplinary problems overall and lower test scoresHigher Education- In 1910, 3 percent of men and women over the age of 25 had a college degree- In 2004, 28 percent of men and women over the age of 25 had a degreeOpening colleges to everyone- Before WWII, most colleges were limited to the children of a wealthy elite- After the war, educators argued that the country would be stronger if colleges admitted capable students regardless of background or their ability to pay- Beginning with GI fill, federal and state governments assisted these effortsClass privileges in college admission- Students receive admission points if a parent graduated from the college to which they are applyingo Example: Present Bush was accepted at Yale with an SAT score of 1206- Students benefit when parents contribute money to the colleges their children want to attendViews on class privilege- Advocates of special treatmento Without the generosity of the alumni, college tuition could increase by as much as two thirdso Everyone who goes to college benefits from the money brought in through legacyand development admissions- Advocates of meritocracyo Oppose special treatmento Believe only fair system is one in which talent alone determines college