Essay on the Role of Education and Schooling in the Society According to John Macionis

In Chapter 20, John Macionis focuses on the role of education and schooling in the society and how it affects everyday life. The author notes that education is a social institution that transmits both knowledge and skills and in the process teaching socio-cultural values and norms applied routinely in life. There exists a difference in the education provided and schooling in different societies around the world at all levels of the society. In low-income nations and pre-industrial communities education was informal provided within the family while in the middle and high-income industrial societies, there are formal education systems to provide education to people. The differing level of education is a reflection of the levels of economic progress and cultural values in different countries.

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In all parts of the world, the statistics on education differ significantly. The author outlines that in India, education is shaped by patriarchy despite being a developing country with more boys than girls attending schools. 97% of school going children complete primary school with 92% proceeding to higher education. In both Great Britain and Japan, early schooling transmitted different sociological cultures and traditions with more men and women, over 99%, graduating from high school in Japan than in The United States. The United States undertake mass education which encompasses the need to develop an industrial economy and democratic political maturity. In most developed countries such as the United States, education stresses the need for practical learning that prepares college students for future work with the provision of equal opportunity.

Schooling involves the delivery of precise directions given under the guidance of trained tutors. According to John Macionis, Chapter 20, the structural-functional model theory in schooling explains that teaching and education contribute enormously to the orderly functioning of the society. Through this model, education serves the function of promoting socialization, social integration, cultural innovation, and social placement. These features are essential to the discovery of opportunities for success as well as imparting skills that young people need to succeed in life. Education teaches social norms and values hence reinforce meritocracy that serves the function of upward social mobility in the society.

Schooling and education aid in the building of relationships through the social interactions theory. John Macionis enumerates that the performance standards of students can be influenced by their image through the self-fulfilling prophecy. Education can also bridge the gap in social inequality in gender, race, and class. Formal education generates conformity that produces obedient workers. The challenge of standardized tests usually criticized for bias can be bridged by education in schools. In the US, a majority of students enroll in public and state-funded schools with only a few in the elite preparatory and college schools. This difference in funding has a negative effect on the overall quality of education because of the quality of education offered. High costs of education impact on the enrolment with only 66% of students enrolling in colleges after high school.

Additionally, John Macionis Chapter 20 highlights the problems that face the educational sector and challenges in schools. Schools have often fallen short of teaching personal discipline contributing to violence. Beauracracy in schools instill passivity through rigid uniformity, demanding success through high expectations, and specialization contributing to high-school dropouts. The rate of dropouts in high school is at 6.8% increasing the risk of unemployment and poverty. Children from low-income backgrounds have the highest rate of dropouts from high school. The quality of academic educational standards is declining to provide a major challenge in education contributing to functional illiteracy. This is reflected in the low scores on achievement tests. Additionally, the author points out that shortage of teachers contributed to autocratic frustration and low salaries with a high amount of workload discourage teachers from providing high-quality education.

Currently, in the United States, innovative schools are on the risk to provide school choice movement that aims at making schools accountable to the public domain. Charter and magnet schools are such innovative schools that are on the rise. Moreover, home schools, schools with disabilities, and adult schools have performed the function of instilling the culture of education that promotes different types of schooling purposes in the society.

Summary of Chapter 21

In Chapter 21, John Macionis explains the role of health and medicine that contribute to the well-being of individuals and how different health patterns are shaped by the society. The author describes health as a social issue because, in addition to its contribution to well-being, health is dependent upon the distribution of resources and level of technology in the society. Health is influenced by social inequality, technology, and a free culture shape. There is a significant contrast in the state of health between moderate and high-income nations across the world. Low-income countries have the challenge of hunger, poverty, and poor sanitation with low life expectancy which is 20 years less than in the US. A high percentage of children die with two years of birth due to inadequate health services. On the other hand, Industrialization has improved the state of health dramatically in North America and Western Europe. Compared to developing countries, high-income nations are affected by chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke, and heart diseases as the primary cause of death in old age. John Macionis, Chapter 21 notes about the state of health in the US according to gender, race, class, and age. Statistically, over 82% of white men and 89% of women compared to 73% of African Americans live beyond 65 years old. The health of women is better than that of men because the masculinity of men contributes to aggressiveness which predisposes them to coronary diseases. Moreover, the author identifies high social status as one contributing factor to good health because of better living conditions, nutrition, and better access to improved health care. Living under stressful conditions also contributes to a poor state of health. African Americans face the threat of poverty rated at three times worse than white Native Americans which contribute to poor health, early infancy deaths with risks of violence and drug abuse.

The author points out that cigarette smoking, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), as well as obesity and eating disorders, contribute to the rising cases of deaths and poor, healthy living. Smoking as a way of relieving stress is common among men of the working class, divorced, the unemployed, and in the armed forces risking cancer which contributes to 440,000 deaths yearly. Similarly, bulimia and anorexia nervosa are common eating disorders that cause thinness with females more at risk than women. Obesity and overweight, with currently over 65% adults risk coronary heart diseases, diabetes, and stroke. According to John Macionis, Chapter 21, the most common attributes that cause obesity are a sedentary lifestyle, fatty food, and high salt consumption. STDs is a matter of great national concern since the 1980s caused by promiscuous sexual behavior, intravenous drug abuse, and anal sex causes AIDS. Deaths in the US have an associated ethical issue with euthanasia and death with dignity, the right to die at the forefront of discussions on whether they should be made legal or outlawed.

In Chapter 21, John Macionis highlights about the rise of medical systems and how their use has been vital in modern medicine to change the routine health of people. Scientific medicine provided by trained specialists has been the most popular model of the medical establishment in the US. In the US, health practitioners have put a keen focus on holistic medicine which focuses on the health issue at the expense of the disease itself. Provision of preventative medicine is constantly on the rise. Holistic medicine promotes individual health responsibility in which patients take responsibility for their health issues through personalized medicine and relaxed surroundings.

Importantly, the author notes that Medicare is an essential coverage right offered by health insurance covers in the US. Medicare is purchased. The federal government has put in place health reform measures to ensure that everyone is covered by either government or private health insurance. The author notes that approximately 42 million Americans lack medical insurance. However, one major challenge to the provision of better healthcare is nursing personnel shortage to serve a rapidly aging population.

According to John Macionis chapter 21, there are four sociological theories of health care medicine. The Structural-functional model ponders illness as dysfunctioning and affects the ability to be able to do work. The practitioners role is to take care and charge of the patients welfare while the sick role prevents a person from routinely working. The social-conflict theory model highlights that there is an inequality in the distribution of health care with a more Lazar focused on profit making. Patients rely so much on surgery and drugs. Furthermore, the feminist theory sharply criticizes the medical establishment because their policies allow male domination over women in health care services. Finally, the author notes that the interaction method allows a daily interaction with people on medicine. For instance, individuals define differently the factors that contribute to their well-being and poor health with differing response to illness.