How does school act as an agent of socialization?

[Nikita]

This is my essay topic and I can't seem to get any ideas flowing. Can anyone give me some suggestions?

[Forever American]

Forced socialization via group projects, group work, lunchroom and P.E. They are even more socialized than in the past because teachers can't control their classrooms and all kids do is talk instead of work. Though there isn't much to learn at schools now either.

[lisa]

I disagree, so hope your essay is of the persuasive kind!

I disagree because school puts children together in an artificial environment. Those kids would not be associating with each other if it weren't required of them. Being forced together 8 hours a day is not natural.

Children have so many other means to socialization.

You have asked this in the homeschooing forum, so you will probably hear from others who will disagree. Perhaps they can explain better than I!

(I suppose it does act as an agent, but only as one of many, better, alternatives!)

[K]

Yeah, in much the same way as prison acts as an agent of socialization.

students = inmates
teachers = officers
principal = warden

Different social strata coexisting in a climate of tension. Teachers/Officials are mainly worried about keeping the students/inmates from committing overt violence against one another and keeping them on the premises. Students/inmates are confined to certain rooms or certain days per a concrete schedule, and behaviors such as what clothes to wear, when and where to eat, and permission to use the restroom are carefully guarded and dictated by the teachers/officers.

[misswinchester]

Obviously you are going to get plenty of hate from a home schooling section. I'm not pro or anti home school or public school. I have kids in both.

My kids who go to public school now DO have a better social life than they did when they were home schooled. But that's just our story. It doesn't apply to everyone, I'm sure. They have been able to meet many new people that they weren't able to before, not just kids their own age either. An entire schools worth of kids grades 5 - 7 ( middle school ) as well as many wonderful adults who have devoted their lives to teaching and caring for children. They have access to sports and clubs that they otherwise wouldn't.

[Pepe]

They're asking from an academic point of view. Many organizations and institutions are "agents of socialization"; the family, church, school, work, mass media, social media, even (gasp) homeschooling groups are *all* agents of socialization. It does not mean that school is the only place to socialize. It really isn't about socializing as in interacting. It's about how institutions affect behavior.

Read the definition as it applies to sociology:

https://globalsociology.pbworks.com/w/pa...ialization

You might want to repost this so that you get answers whose biases are less the point of the answer. .

[canoso]

Here is an essay on the same topic:

http://angellumague.blogspot.com/

In sociology, agents of socialization are any groups or organizations that mold behavior. It's not about socializing and hanging out with other people. You could write a persuasive essay about whether it is a good agent of socialization. But from a sociology standpoint, there is no arguing it is an agent of socialization. Everything about schools shapes behavior. From curriculum to lining up, you are supposed to do things a certain way. Whether that's good or bad is a topic for another essay.

Just about *everything* acts as an agent of socialization. Here are some other examples: The media is an agent of socialization. Advertising is a huge agent of socialization. It tries to mold your behavior and convince you to buy its product. You know those Axe cologne ads for guys? They are telling teen boys if they smell like Axe they'll have the girls falling all over them. Boy's ya better go buy axe! You could make the argument this thread is an agent of socialization. If you argue here that school is a good thing, you will be quickly corrected in that is not something you should say in this thread. Churches are an obvious example. "Thou shalt .........", they modify behavior.

Just write a straight forward essay about how schools attempt to mold and affect behavior and social norms. It's not asking you to argue whether it's good or bad.