The Real World An Introduction to Sociology Fourth Edition Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein Chapter 10: Aging, Education, and Religion

Aging Gerontology is the scientific study of the processes and phenomena of aging and growing old. Life expectancy is the average number of years a person born today may expect to live. 2

Aging in Global Perspective Social Construction of Aging Industrialization and Graying of the Globe 2/3 of All People Who Have Ever Passed 50 are Alive Today Graying of America Race, Ethnicity, and Aging © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Deciding When You Are Old Changing Perceptions Biology Personal History © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Changing Perceptions of the Elderly Ageism: prejudice against a person based on chronological age. *Ironically, ageist people are aging right now and will be until the day they die; they are essentially biased against their own future status. Shifting Meanings Influence of Mass Media We perceive both ourselves and others according to the symbols of our culture © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Functionalist Perspective Disengagement Theory elderly people realize the inevitability of death and begin to systematically disengage from their previous roles while society simultaneously disengages from the elderly person. Activity Theory the elderly benefit from high levels of activities, especially meaningful activities that help to replace lost life roles after retirement. Continuity Theory older adults maintain patterns in their later years which they had in their younger years. © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Conflict Perspective Social Security Legislation Intergenerational Competition and Conflict Fighting Back Gray Panthers The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recurring Problems Gender and the Elderly The impact of gender does not stop when we get old Nursing Homes Understaffing, Dehumanization, and Death Gender Roles among Elderly © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problems of Dependency Elder Abuse Although abuse of the elderly is a genuine problem, it is not typical Elderly Poor Gender and Poverty Race-Ethnicity and Poverty © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sociology of Death and Dying Industrialization and New Technology Death as a Process Denial Anger Negotiation Depression Acceptance © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sociology of Death and Dying Hospices Emerged as a way to reduce the emotional and physical burden of dying To lower the costs of death Suicide and Age Recurring patterns of human behavior Adjusting to Death © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Looking toward the Future New Views of Aging Creative Aging Emphasis is being placed on mental growth and enhancing people’s creative abilities Impact of Technology How might technological breakthroughs might affect your own life as you grow older? © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is Education? Education is the process by which a society transmits knowledge, values, and expectations to its members so they can function in society.

What Is Education? (cont’d.) Schooling serves a number of important functions for society: The transmission of knowledge Learning to follow society ’ s rules and to respect authority Being socialized to develop other qualities that will eventually make people efficient and obedient workers

What Is Education? (cont’d.) Educational institutions also help to reproduce the inequality seen in society. The hidden curriculum describes the values and behaviors that students learn indirectly over the course of their schooling because of the educational system’s structure and teaching methods.

What Is Education? (cont’d.) The Pygmalion Effect: the idea that teachers’ attitudes about their students unintentionally influence their academic performance

What Is Education? (cont’d.) Kozol’s ethnography, Savage Inequalities, contends that because schools are funded by local property taxes, children in poor neighborhoods are trapped in poor schools, which reinforces inequality.

What Is Education? (cont’d.) Many believe that America’s educational system is in crisis, though there is little agreement on how to fix the problem. Some attempts have included early college high schools, homeschooling, school vouchers, and charter schools.

What Is Education? (cont’d.) Early college high schools: institutions that blend high school and college into a coherent educational program in which students earn both a high school diploma and two years of college credit toward a bachelor’s degree

Homeschooling: the education of children by their parents, at home What Is Education? (cont’d.)

School vouchers are payments from the government to parents whose children attend failing public schools to help parents pay for private school tuition. What Is Education? (cont’d.)

Charter schools: public schools run by private entities to give parents greater control over their children’s education What Is Education? (cont’d.)

Distance learning includes any educational course or program in which the teacher and students do not meet together in the classroom, a situation increasingly available over the internet. What Is Education? (cont’d.)

What Is Religion? Religion includes any institutionalized system of shared: Beliefs: propositions and ideas held on the basis of faith Rituals: practices based on those beliefs that identify a relationship between the sacred (holy, divine, or supernatural) and the profane (ordinary, mundane, or everyday)

What Is Religion? (cont’d.) Sociologists do not evaluate the truth of any religion, but rather study the ways that religions shape and are shaped by cultural institutions and the ways that religions influence and are influenced by the behaviors of individuals.

What Does Religion Do? Religion Shapes everyday behavior by providing morals, values, rules, and norms for its participants Gives meaning to our lives Provides the opportunity to come together with others to share in group activities and identity

Religion and Social Change Religion can be made dysfunctional by promoting inequality with sexist, racist, or homophobic doctrines. On the other hand, religious organizations have also been agents of social justice and political change.

Religious Composition in the United States 35

What Is Religion? (cont’d.) Religiosity is the regular practice of religious beliefs, measured by church attendance. Thirty-eight percent of Americans report attending services weekly.

What Is Religion? (cont’d.) Extrinsic religiosity refers to a person’s public display of commitment to a religious faith. Intrinsic religiosity refers to a person’s inner religious life or personal relationship to the divine.

What Is Religion? (cont’d.) Two groups have dramatically increased in size in recent decades: Fundamentalists: those who literally interpret texts and want to “return” to a time of greater religious purity Unchurched: those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, and who often adopt aspects of various religious traditions

So What? Importance of Institutions Social institutions are an important part of the structure of our society. As a sociologist, it is important to understand how institutions shape our lives, and how we can shape institutions as well!

There are millions of people who are eligible to vote in the United States. What percentage of those people do you think usually come out to the polls for a presidential election? a.close to 100 percent b.not 100 percent, but over 75 percent c.around 50 percent d.less than 25 percent Chapter 10: Participation Questions

Which of the following best describes your K – 12 school experience? a.I was in a remedial track. b.I was in a regular or standard track. c.I was in an honors track. d.I was in a dual enrollment or advanced placement (AP) track. e.I was in an intense college preparatory track like the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge program Chapter 10: Participation Questions

Have you taken an online class? a.yes b.no Chapter 10: Participation Questions

Which of the following best describes you? a.attend religious services regularly b.attend religious services occasionally c.rarely or never attend religious services Chapter 10: Participation Questions

© 2014 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. The Real World 4 th Edition AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein 44 This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 10