Respond to two peers:
* Responses need to be substantive; responses under 2 sentences will not be considered substantive. Responses should be thorough, explanatory, offer some sort of new insight or reasoning, or offer critical or analytical thought and should be in full sentences.
Additional notes:
* You can use pictures, graphs, pie charts, etc. in your answers, but not for your answers.
* Always support your opinions with scholastic sources.
* When you use outside material, please use in-text citations and give references at the end of your post in APA format. Otherwise, it is termed as Plagiarism.
* Plagiarism is a critical offense according to Galen policies. Your answers should not be simple ‘copy and paste’ from an outside source. In such instances, even though you give references, they will not be considered your answers. The first time I spot plagiarism, you will be given a zero with a warning. The 2nd time will be a write-up. Please be careful about plagiarism.
First peer post:
Sarah Shugan
- Track the social stratification of your family tree. Compare the social standing between you, your parents, and your grandparents. Which social traits were handed down by your forebears? Are there any exogamous marriages in your history? Does your family exhibit status consistencies or inconsistencies? What changes do you think will occur for the next generation of your family? (CSLO 5, USLO 4.3)
When looking at the social stratification of a family, one considers factors such as family background, education, wealth, power and even influence (Openstax, 2015). When looking at my parents, some of the social traits that were handed down are being college educated, working in healthcare, non-involvement of religion (but celebrating Christian holidays) and being socially and politically more liberal. Social traits handed down from my grandparents would be education being important, family being important and being involved in service for the community. Additionally, I am middle/working class like both my parents and grandparents where both spouses worked outside of the home. In my family, I am the only one in an exogamous marriage, as my husband comes from a family where only his dad worked, and his mom stayed home with he and his brothers and they are in a higher socioeconomic class that my family, however with no greater power or influence. I do not see many inconsistencies in my small family other than my parents are divorced and have been for over 30 years after only 10 years of marriage, whereas my husband and I are still married and have been for 16 years now with a healthy and happy marriage. I feel that from my family our status is consistent and my kids are living in a similar socioeconomic status and lifestyle as I did, however as the economy has changed over the years, it is more difficult to maintain a similar type of lifestyle. Changes that I feel will occur for the next generation of my family is that my children may have a more difficult time attaining home ownership than my husband and I, as well as my parents and grandparents, did as the financial landscape has greatly shifted in the last 10 years. I feel that they may have a more difficult time achieving the middle-class status that we have now due to the economy and unfortunate work to life balance that may be sacrificed to obtain it.
Second peer post
Samantha Stafford
- Track the social stratification of your family tree. Compare the social standing between you, your parents, and your grandparents. Which social traits were handed down by your forebears? Are there any exogamous marriages in your history? Does your family exhibit status consistencies or inconsistencies? What changes do you think will occur for the next generation of your family? (CSLO 5, USLO 4.3)
My grandparents would be in the working class. Growing up, my parents would have been between the working poor and the underclass. There were periods of my life where we were homeless, my parents had to steal food even though we had the government assistance. My father worked a factory job and my mother was a stay-at-home mom due to health concerns. We lived without power for months; we borrowed money from relatives all the time. What confuses me about which class we would have been in is the job category. My father had an okay paying job, but there just wasn’t enough money to go around. Now, my parents would be considered lower middle class. They live a comfortable lifestyle, my father got a degree, and his job has excellent benefits. As for the family that my husband and I have, we would be considered middle class. We live in a comfortable house and drive new cars. Our children have savings accounts, and we are able to afford vacations. I feel extremely lucky as I look back on where I started. I have had to learn as I go. Everything that was taught and handed down to me all revolved around being very poor. My parents were unable to teach me how to save money, how to invest, and how to spend money appropriately. My mother always spent a lot of money whenever we had it. So naturally that’s what I’m programmed to do, and I have worked very hard to unlearn that trait. I would also say we exhibit status inconsistencies. The fact that my father got a degree and is now considered middle class can be an anomaly. We have no exogamous marriages in our family, exogamous marriages are formed between two people from different social standings and classes (Griffiths et al., 2015), and all of the couples in my family come from very similar backgrounds. I believe the next generation of my family will be even better than the current generation. I am able to put money into savings for my children and I plan on paying for their college. So hopefully they will be even better off.
Griffiths, H., Keirns, N., Strayer, E., Sadler, T., Cody-Rydzewski, S., Scaramuzzo, G., Vyain, S., Bry, J., & Jones, F. (2015). Introduction to Sociology 2e. Openstax.
