Introduction
It is impossible to find two people who have identical beliefs, the same reaction to one situation, and are equally treated by society. The place we were born, the people who surrounded us while we were growing up, and many other elements that might be considered minor ones affect us and make us unique. They are not only our background but our playing field. It includes such things as family, gender, social class, education, race and ethnicity, culture, or religion. They can be both positive and negative, but they always influence our lives. In my work, I will focus on three topics; these are family, education, and race/ethnicity.
Main body
The family has a prominent place in my life. All members of the family have their own roles, which others expect them to occupy according to their status (Andersen and Taylor 114). My parents need to meet the demands of two conflicting roles, the parent and the job ones. A lot of time should be given to both, and it is very hard for them to find the golden mean. Thus, one role dominates another one from time to time. Structural theories concerning the family question raise a problem of the clear distinction between female and male roles. Nowadays, many men stay at home and take care of the children while their wives are working. However, this situation is not that relevant to my family, as both parents try to share the responsibilities. Speaking of the masculine and feminine privilege, I believe that we preserve the first one, as male members outnumber. The power includes such aspects of everyday life as the weight of opinion in making important decisions and control of money and expenses (Ritzer 383). Nevertheless, female members of the family have an opportunity to influence these spheres, and their opinion is not ignored. Thus, the majority of conflicts, dealing with these aspects, are solved. According to the exchange theory, men and women decide to get married, as they believe that the rewards will have a bulge on the costs, and it will be better than staying alone. It is said that husbands and wives stand to benefit from these relationships; they live longer, have a better financial situation, and ail less (Ritzer 384). Evaluating my family, I came to the conclusion that this outcome can be true to life. It is seen that when parents are happy with their relationships, they influence me in a positive way, gain more success at work and worry less. Conflict theory points out that all members are also to adapt to the needs and demands of the country, they teach children to be obedient and respect the authority (Andersen and Taylor 399). As judged by the way I was brought up, these facts are valid. We are made to be good members of our society from early childhood.
Today it is very important to have a good education, although it was not compulsory a short time ago. One of the strongest predictors that are mentioned in the course of the school education is a family background (Ritzer 304). I support this statement referring to the elementary school. Little children are their parents’ reflection, and so am I. The efforts that were placed in order to turn a child into a person who is conscious of his actions were not wasted in my case. I believe that the foundation of my worldview was laid at that time by the parents and teachers. Since then I have extended it including my own efforts. Having the role of student right now, I am usually expected to share my professors’ thoughts and provide my own ones at the same time. This is called a role strain, a situation in which two expectations occur within one role and make tension (Andersen and Taylor 115). This element deals with cultural and social values and cannot be relevant to all similar cases. While studying, I gain some information and, as a rule, I am supposed to reveal this knowledge but not my own ideas regarding the topic. However, it seems to be the right approach, as new worthy thoughts should be produced on the basis of reliable information. Education is considered to be tightly connected with socialization. These processes make people learn something new on different levels (Ritzer 403). For example, at home, I got to know how to speak and use the speech in the conversation, and at school how to write and communicate with my classmates. Now studying at the Irvine Valley College, I am socializing and adapting to the peculiarities of the new country and gaining the information connected with the chosen sphere. The functional theory claims that it is possible to unify society and to make people equal through the process of education (Andersen and Taylor 425). Having the same level of basic knowledge, more people will have a range of opportunities in their lives. I support this idea and also believe that a well-educated society has a chance to improve the country. The wish for improvement is the thing that motivates me to make progress.
The connection between race/ethnicity and education is said to exist. There are different reasons for this relationship. Education is evaluated differently in various countries, society waits for different specialists, and financial situation also plays a great role. Hispanics and Afro-Americans are thought to be the least likely to get a diploma. Asians, and I am one of them, have more opportunities to gain a bachelor’s degree and continue education. To my mind, the gap occurred because some time ago only a privileged class of Europeans was considered the one to be well-educated. Up-to-date research shows that even now Asian and European students have better achievements than Hispanic and Afro-American ones (Ritzer 412). Race and ethnicity difference is not the problem that it used to be. Some conflicts occur because the attitude was formed through centuries and is very hard to change. The controversies take place when people start imposing on others racial or ethnic prejudices (Andersen and Taylor 277). For now, I was lucky enough to avoid them and treat all people equally, that is what I am going to do further. I can say that I succumbed to the influence of the county I am studying in and, thus, the assimilation occurred (Ritzer 303). I cannot say that I am ready to forget my values, but in some cases, I prefer to use English and a number of US customs appeal to me. Such ideas are supported by the functionalist theorists, as they see the harmony between different races/ethnicities in compromise and assimilation (Ritzer 299).
Conclusion
Thus, we can see that playing fields influence our lives greatly. They are hidden in trifles but are extremely valuable in person-making. People and things around us maintain our position in society and stimulate further changes.
Works Cited
Andersen, Margaret, and Howard Taylor. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society, Belmont: Thomson Learning, 2007. Print.
Ritzer, George. Introduction to Sociology, Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2014. Print.