Symbolic Interactionism And Conflict Theory

1. Discuss the differences in how conflict theorists and symbolic interactionists view the issue of gender and housework. In regards to the belief in equality among men and women, Symbolic Interactionist are firm believers. They study the different experiences and perspectives in a successful marriage. If the woman is financially contributing to the home, then the man can contribute to the house work and vise versa. I see this becoming more and more common and I praise it. As society has grown, women are starting to work more hours and men have begun to spend more time with their children and helping around the house. In today’s world, people are starting to see the importance of family life and the quality of time necessary for a man to …show more content…
Conflict theorists believe that education highlights the social differences within the various classes, races and ethnicities. Conflict Theorists vision school as an institution that reflects the social hierarchy by granting prominence to the power relationship in the society. It’s interesting to see how it mirrors the conflicts in a society. They believe education promotes social inequality by the impact of hidden curriculum, standardized testing and unequal funding. Hidden curriculum is the attitudes and the unwritten rules of behavior that schools teach in addition to the formal curriculum. For schools that think their students are on the right track stress “proper” English and “good” manners, but for students who struggle or are slow don’t give them the proper education or advanced material to progress further on in life. It is evident that education system sustains social inequality by the way their testing is done. Conflict theorist view IQ tests as a way school systems discriminate to maintain social structure across generations. These tests are more leaned toward white, middle-class students who have had an opportunity to get taught this information more than the lower-class have had. Unequal funding is a way schools “stack the deck” against the poor. The funding and resources available will affect the ability in which the student can learn. Schools in richer communities can offer higher pay thus resulting in more educated teachers. Also, they can afford better supplies, computers, and even advanced software. So, overall schools in better communities receive more funding, and schools in poor communities receive unequal funding. The rich have the ability to provide their children with better educated schooling and tutors to help them succeed. This results in the richer children transferring to prestige