SOCI 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Mass Media, Upper Middle Class, Fairy Tale
Document Summary
Parents understood they couldn"t buy knowledge and wisdom. Girls were still treated as young women though. In the 19th century was a prolonged period where kids were forbidden in participating in labour. Unions worked hard to ban children from the workplace. Middle class recognized education was the best way to social mobility. So it was understood that spending 20 or so years at school was normal. Schools aren"t just places to learn skill and knowledge. Some of the cost was picked up by the state. Theory one is meritocracy: believe in acceptance requirements. University is used to sort out intelligent people from the less intelligent. Theory two is democracy: it should be more accommodating for ethnic minorities, women. Teach people knowledge and skill to be responsible citizens. Theory three is driven by middle class parents. Two on childhood: childhood and adolescence is taking over adulthood.