Agents of Socialization: Examining School's Role in Society

This essay examines the role of various agents of socialization, primarily focusing on the school and family. It discusses the school's function in teaching core values, creating social solidarity, and role allocation, referencing the film to illustrate these points. The essay also addresses challenges such as lack of community acceptance and cultural unrecognition, highlighting the importance of cultural appreciation and respect in education. Furthermore, it emphasizes the vital role of language in expressing culture and the potential benefits and drawbacks of incorporating diverse languages in the school system. The family is identified as a crucial agent of socialization, responsible for teaching essential values and skills. The essay concludes with a reflection on personal educational experiences and the significance of recognizing and valuing diverse cultures.

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Individual in society
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Question 1a
The teaching of core values.
The School is argued to be a significant player in secondary socialization, particularly in
the modern society (Thompson, 2018). Children in a family are judged according to what the
parents refer to as particularistic standards. Therefore, in the same way, children in a school are
judged in accordance with the universalistic standards. The laws apply to all individuals
irrespective of the character.
Creation of social solidarity.
School brings a sense of belonging to students (Gould, 2011). Through learning of
different subjects such as English or History a sense of a shared sense of identity is developed
since they feel they are part of something bigger.
Role allocation and meritocracy.
Through education, people acquire appropriate jobs through qualifications. Therefore, the
most talented acquire occupations that are critical for society. This is deemed fair since all
individuals are provided with an equal opportunity.
Question 1b
The teaching of core values.
Through the film, the Raza classes provide the students with a sense of how to love and
appreciate their culture. They are taught about the values they should uphold hence growing up
with a self-identity.
Creation of social solidarity

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The film depicts how the Raza classes bring together the Mexican-American students.
They acquire a sense of belonging and even their perception of education changes. One of them
testifies that his grades have drastically changes due to the classes.
Role allocation and meritocracy
One of the Raza classes teachers testifies that, as the students learn and acquire their
diplomas and degrees, they get equal chances to compete with other students. Therefore, their
future is secured, and they don’t have to work for a little pay.
Question 1c
The school is successful at performing these functions as an agent of socialization
because it is the nature of students to be egocentric (Gould, 2011). However, this is not the same
by the time the students are leaving the school. They are taught to appreciate others besides
themselves. The fact that they have to interact with other people their age also enhances the
process of interaction and communication. As a result, they can function properly in the society
in a healthy, prolific and confident manner.
Question 2a
To begin with, we have lack of acceptance among the community. The legislators did not
acknowledge the Hispanic culture and deemed the classes to be anti-American hence being
against the constitution. Due to this, the Mexican American students felt left alone and rejected
thus they wouldn’t attend school. Secondly, unrecognition of their culture. Being a community
that has a rich culture, by practicing and learning about their culture the students were able to
connect to their roots. However, since the legislators declared that by teaching the students about
their culture they were promoting racism, the students stopped attending school.

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Question 2b
To begin with, the students were appreciated. This was critical since they began
developing self-confidence that they would make it and had a positive attitude towards
education. Secondly, the classes provided a sense of family and love for the students. By having
teachers who can understand and be able to connect with the students at a personal level
provided a sense of family. Also, by coming together as Mexican-American students, they would
learn about each other’s experience and be able to relate the experiences to their own lives.
Lastly, we have respect. The program taught forgiveness to the students hence allowing them to
be able to appreciate other cultures without discrimination.
Question 3
Culture cannot be expressed effectively without language. This is a very vital subject that
needs to be incorporated in schools considering that students are diverse in culture. Language is a
means of communicating the values, beliefs, and customs of a particular culture (Helms &
Talleyrand, 1997). This will enhance understanding among the students and also teach them to
appreciate the different cultures around the world. Secondly, learning more than one language
has not only intellectual benefits but also offers a competitive edge in the choice of careers.
Question 4
However, this may not be incorporated in the system because of the many different
cultures represented. It would consume a lot of learning time to integrate all these languages in
the system instead of focusing on other important aspects of learning.

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Question 5
The family is one of the most important agents of socialization (Foner & Fredrickson,
2004). It is the parents who are responsible for teaching and training children how to care,
communicate and even function properly. Secondly, the family also provides us with the first set
of values, beliefs, and customs that we live by. These values are mainly a reflection of the
family’s culture, religion, and social standing.
Question 6
The part that the legislators claim that teaching the Raza studies is against the American
constitution struck my mind. This makes me feel that they did not recognize the Hispanic culture
as a culture by itself and wanted to impose their system against the Mexicans. It seems similar to
my personal educational experience where poor students were not allowed to express themselves
in the presence of the affluent students since they did not contribute to the school.

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References
Foner, N., & Fredrickson, G. M. (Eds.). (2004). Not Just Black and White: Historical and
Contemporary Perspectives on Immgiration, Race, and Ethnicity in the United States.
Russell Sage Foundation.
Gould, M. (2011). Socialization in Schools. THE PROCESS OF SOCIALIZATION, 126.
Helms, J. E., & Talleyrand, R. M. (1997). Race is not ethnicity.
Thompson, K. (2018). The Functionalist Perspective on Education ~ ReviseSociology. Retrieved
from https://revisesociology.com/2015/01/26/the-functionalist-perspective-on-education/