SCHOOL

How Schools Influence Children The school place is the second home for children.  It is where all children go five days a week up until the age of eighteen by law. This is where the teaching-learning process is formed; it is where children learn to interact with other kids, where competitiveness comes into play, and where education can be different for males compared to females. In school children form friendships where competition can begin. Children begin to form an idea whether it being realistic or not on what their career goals are. In some schools girls can be taught that it is better to be a sensitive house wife when they grow up while boys are taught to be tough all the time and that they must be the bread winners in their future relationships. School is also where kids can be bullied and made fun of which in return creates bad self-esteem in young children.

As children get older and begin to understand what right from wrong is, this is where “bad” decisions can be made from the influences of their friends. Teenagers can get into drugs based on what their friends think is cool and based on how their friends influence them. Depending on the people someone hangs around can be a major influence on the decisions someone will make. It’s also the same things with teachers, how a teacher interacts with their students is very important. A teacher’s job is to help educate their students as well as steer them in the right direction of life, kind of like the job of a parent but not as hands on or controlling. A teacher just needs to help guide children in the right direction and if that is done so correctly it can have a big influence on someone and completely change someone’s life.

School is the basis where children learn outside of their home School is the basis where children learn outside of their home. In some cases the school place can really make or break someone based on their interactions with friends and the teachers around them. School can teach you discipline, it offers after school programs such as sports, band, or clubs which can also influence children in positive and negative ways. School is one of the most important socializing factors outside of a child’s home life. It can have a great effect on a child positively or negatively.

Teachers Role inSocialization A teachers role in socialization is to facilitate and reinforce the socialization process by modeling, and projecting positive expectations. Modeling appropriate behavior gives children an example of how to be part of society. Stressing what to do rather than what not to do. “Projecting positive expectations attributes, and social labels to students may have a significant impact on fostering self-esteem and increasing motivation toward exhibiting prosocial behaviors.” Jere Brophy

Schools Purpose in Socialization Process "The school is the official place where our society transmits its accumulated knowledge and skills from one generation to the next. It's also the place where we officially pass on our cultural values, traditions, and heritage, at least the "official" heritage."Quoted by Andrew Rollings, from Western New England College. "It is in this [school] environment that children learn to interact with their peers, to compete, to cooperate, to respect authority, and many other valuable skills. Besides these interpersonal skills, schools are also places of learning cultural context in which one can be made aware of their society's history, traditions, and norms."Quoted from New World Encyclopedia - www.newworldencyclopedia.org (No person's name given.)

Methods of Socialization Used by Schools In one way or another and to some degree or another, schools use all of the methods of socialization. The Affective methods of socialization are those in which attachments are formed between a child and his parent or primary caregiver. In the school setting, Affective methods of socialization occur through what can be significant, but often temporary, connections that form between teachers and students. These teacher-student relationships, although not as strong as the parent-child bond, still function as important socializing agents in the child's life. If the student forms an attachment to his teacher, he is likely to absorb some of the teacher's values, characteristics, and beliefs.

The Operant methods of socialization are the responses that the child receives as a result of his actions and behaviors. Sometimes the Operant methods are used to socialize children via hidden curriculum, which is the underlying "lessons" that are learned in the school setting but are not a part of the official curriculum. Through the Operant methods, schools teach values, beliefs, and desired attitudes and behaviors.

'Reinforcement' occurs when the child is rewarded for positive behaviors, such as staying on task, cooperating, and following instructions. Example: When a child raises his hand to speak, the teacher will reinforce his behavior by calling on him. 'Extinction' occurs when a child's inappropriate or negative behavior receives no response from the teacher. Example: The child speaks out of turn and is ignored by the teacher.

'Punishment' is used when the child's behavior is responded to with disapproval that is intended to change the child's behavior. Example: A child might receive detention as a response to a negative behavior. 'Feedback' occurs as a way to continue, discontinue, or change the student's efforts and behavior. Example: Grades and report cards evaluate the child and can give praise or show concern.

The Observational methods of socialization are methods wherein children become socialized through observing and imitating others. Within the school setting, children observe the people around them, whether they are teachers, staff, or peers, and accept or reject the behaviors, attitudes, actions, and emotional responses that they see modeled before them. Example: When a child witnesses another student receiving punishment for an action, he is not likely to imitate that action.

The Cognitive methods of socialization are those in which children learn and find meaning through experiences that involve thinking processes. Instruction of the official curriculum refers to what the school officially plans to teach in the classroom, such as lessons in math, science, or the language arts. According to Andrew Rollings of Western New England College, instruction in the school setting is "where our society transmits its accumulated knowledge and skills from one generation to the next."

School standards teach children what is expected of them in the school environment and often reflect the standards of the larger society. Example: testing children is a way of socializing children through the use of standards. Reasoning is used as a way to engage children in thinking logically and coming to conclusions about what they are learning.

The Social cultural methods of socialization within the school setting are the ways in which a child learns what his role is as a student and how to work effectively as a part of a group. Some Social cultural methods are taught through the school's social curriculum. Social curriculum includes the interactions that occur among teachers and peers that provide children experiences in how to lead, follow, compromise, cooperate, negotiate, and communicate, all of which are important skills that prepare them for later interactions in school, the workplace, and the greater society. Other social cultural methods are learned through the school's hidden curriculum.

Peer pressure or group pressure occur when the child feels a pressure to do things, such as dress, speak, or behave a certain way, often because he believes that everyone else is doing it and he must do it to feel accepted by the group. Rules, rituals, and traditions are taught, or handed down, to children as a way to maintain the status quo and create cohesion or unity within the group. Examples: the classroom's schedule is a ritual; dressing up in costume on Halloween is a tradition; No gum chewing at school is a rule.

Apprenticeship methods of socialization are the ways in which a child learns by being shown how to do something. In the school setting, the child is taught by a teacher or a peer who has mastered the desired skill and, through practice, learns to do it on his own. Example: A reading mentor program can teach a child to read if the child is paired with an older peer who is already proficient at reading and has the willingness to teach.

School Group PowerPoint presented by Lindsay, Scott, Francesca, Angelica, Leslie and Araceli (Child 90.1)