CHAPTER 6-LIFE COURSE
LIFE COURSE FOLLOW CHANGES IN HISTORY PRODUCT OF TIME & PLACE BIRTH RATE DECREASES SINCE COLONIAL TIMES EXCEPT BABY BOOM
BIRTH COHORTS-people born in the same year or years; similarities GREAT DEPRESSION No $ or jobs Impacts values: $ Responsibility Conservative Handle problems easier Work is most important “vocational crystallization” Frugal BABY BOOMERS Post WW2 prosperity TV & rock music Vietnam War Values: Freedom Individuality change
SOCIAL DEFINITION OF AGE Set of behaviors at each stage of life Depends on culture Timetable for normal behavior 18-vote/graduate 21-drinking age 65-retirement AGE GRADING—school Stick with same age groups—marry similar age people
Rite of Passage Ceremonies to mark an age transition Baptism; Bar Mitzvah Debutante ball Quinceanos
POPULATION PYRAMIDS Increased life expectancy Improving healthcare Results: need less elementary teachers need more college teachers Need more retirement homes; geriatric doctors