Ever since the origin of our species, education can be eluded to be the epicenter of our survival.
The Darwinian process in which humans learned what to do and what not to do dictated their daily lives,
and that knowledge was passed on to their successors, which eventually made its way onto us, the modern
day human being. Historically, education in America has served both political and economic needs as it
played a major role in facilitating the growth of our nation. What was once regarded to be the nation
containing the best education system in the world, America seems to have been falling short of its goals.
As such, both sociologists and educators are beginning to debate the function of education.
Sociologists operate upon a series …show more content…
Though this
distribution isn’t quite as extreme as it was back when, we are still able to distinguish between the low,
middle, and high classes. Our second theory is called functionalism which argues that the various
institutions that exist in society coexist to keep society intact (Conley 29). These two theories have their
stark differences in perspective, one arguing against inequality and one deeming it necessary, and as such,
it seems quite fitting that we compare the two views to a topic that is highly debated: education.
Both sets of theorists, functionalists and conflict theorists can agree that the educational system
practices some kind of sorting, but they disagree upon how it enacts that sorting. Functionalists claim that
schools sort based upon merit, whereas conflict theorists argue that schools sort based on their class as
well as their ethnicites. Education is not limited solely to the instruction of academia, as it is also cultural
and behavioural. Functionalists argue that the differences in everyone’s ethnic background and our
constant mixing of generations lead to form what we deem our culture. In history lessons, we learn …show more content…
Education itself is getting more and more accessible, with mandatory public schooling and certain
standards for graduation, schools do output a number of educated civilians. Those civilians go on to either
higher education, or straight into the workforce. Whatever the skill set, their school has prepared some
level of education in regards to that job, allowing for a more trained labor force. The functionalist would
be amorous to that idea, but the conflict theorist would reject it. This trained labor force, a direct result of
education, would mean that there are different areas of professions that people are skilled in, meaning that
there is a division of labor, and when there is a division as such, it is inevitable that a class supremacy be
formed, which just so happens to be the inequality that conflict theorists frown upon.
Sociologists, no matter what kind, functionalist or conflict theorist, find themselves debating over
different topics, but somehow, they all end up in the same, big, melting pot of discussion. Education is
definitely a strong topic that needs to be debated, but whose views do we align to? On one hand, we have
the conflict theorist who views education as a facilitator for inequality as shown by the wage
The Darwinian process in which humans learned what to do and what not to do dictated their daily lives,
and that knowledge was passed on to their successors, which eventually made its way onto us, the modern
day human being. Historically, education in America has served both political and economic needs as it
played a major role in facilitating the growth of our nation. What was once regarded to be the nation
containing the best education system in the world, America seems to have been falling short of its goals.
As such, both sociologists and educators are beginning to debate the function of education.
Sociologists operate upon a series …show more content…
Though this
distribution isn’t quite as extreme as it was back when, we are still able to distinguish between the low,
middle, and high classes. Our second theory is called functionalism which argues that the various
institutions that exist in society coexist to keep society intact (Conley 29). These two theories have their
stark differences in perspective, one arguing against inequality and one deeming it necessary, and as such,
it seems quite fitting that we compare the two views to a topic that is highly debated: education.
Both sets of theorists, functionalists and conflict theorists can agree that the educational system
practices some kind of sorting, but they disagree upon how it enacts that sorting. Functionalists claim that
schools sort based upon merit, whereas conflict theorists argue that schools sort based on their class as
well as their ethnicites. Education is not limited solely to the instruction of academia, as it is also cultural
and behavioural. Functionalists argue that the differences in everyone’s ethnic background and our
constant mixing of generations lead to form what we deem our culture. In history lessons, we learn …show more content…
Education itself is getting more and more accessible, with mandatory public schooling and certain
standards for graduation, schools do output a number of educated civilians. Those civilians go on to either
higher education, or straight into the workforce. Whatever the skill set, their school has prepared some
level of education in regards to that job, allowing for a more trained labor force. The functionalist would
be amorous to that idea, but the conflict theorist would reject it. This trained labor force, a direct result of
education, would mean that there are different areas of professions that people are skilled in, meaning that
there is a division of labor, and when there is a division as such, it is inevitable that a class supremacy be
formed, which just so happens to be the inequality that conflict theorists frown upon.
Sociologists, no matter what kind, functionalist or conflict theorist, find themselves debating over
different topics, but somehow, they all end up in the same, big, melting pot of discussion. Education is
definitely a strong topic that needs to be debated, but whose views do we align to? On one hand, we have
the conflict theorist who views education as a facilitator for inequality as shown by the wage