James and Prout: Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood

James and Prout: Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood Child as a subjective word to be defined is what we call a structuring becoming and childhood thereby, can be termed as the time a child takes to be a complete adult. Some take childhood as an age from infancy to adolescence. However, most of the people believe that childhood includes all the three stages:- Infancy: One steps into the golden period of life, childhood, with the birth. During the stage on infancy, a child is in his early stage of his childhood. Infancy is generally considered till 1 year of age. However, without words or self independent movements, a child can express a lot with his innocence and crying and sobbing. (Moss Petrie) Kid: The next stage is what is called a kid stage. Child grows with time and so his childhood experiences. Knowing the family, getting to the new school, making new friends and having fun most of the time is what this stage is all about. (Moss Petrie) Adolescence: When it is about adolescence, it is to be noticed that it is the most complicated stage. This stage brings in various confusions along with tough learning procedures. Coping up with the study pressure along with the competition in friends is one of the most common features of this stage. (Moss Petrie) As such, three phases of childhood brings in all new and different experiences in the life of a child. This is what is called the structuring becoming. A child is incomplete, an extending ladder, a learning process and the future. In all, it can be said, childhood is actually the base of the person made in future. Childhood is innocent and childhood is what we call the incomplete adult age. It brings in various colors, colors of confusions, colors of innocence, colors of fear, colors of happiness and colors of truthfulness. (Moss Petrie) NATURE OF CHILDHOOD: CONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD Childhood is uncertain and one of the most integral part of a persons life. The most prominent feature of childhood is its immaturity and innocence. However, how this immaturity of the child is studied and understood by the society is what we mean to be a part of child a social institution. The culture of the societies may differ from region to region and so these facts of culture and its impact is what is the integral part of the social construction of childhood. (James Prout, 1997) Alan Prout and Allison James have well presented the childhood as a part of society. They studied childhood as theory rather than just a function. Childhood, as believed depends on various sociological factors. Hence, how these factors affect the childhood along with the development of child is what is needed to be understood. These changes made in child with relation to the theories of social sciences indicate the theory of new emergent paradigm for the childhood sociology. (James Prout, 1997) The paradigm can be well understood under following heads: Childhood as a social constructive study: we are here talking about the early years of human life. The constructive study contributes in putting down in the context, the early stage of human life. Childhood is a variable in social representation: Every child has his own experiences along with the individual perspective. Hence, childhood is not a fixed factor. Rather, it is one of the variable factors while studying the representation of the society. Childhood carries variant social cultures and relationships: each society carries its own norms and values. A child is a blend of various societal norms and the cultural trends prevailing in the society. Childhood is an active social constructive stage: childhood is learning and constructive phase of human life. It is all about gaining the knowledge whether though books or experiences. It is a constructive phase which represents the prevailing norms in a society. Childhood is an input to future societal culture: todays child is the future adult. Hence, when the discussions are about the input provided in form of knowledge and culture to a present child, it is representing the future of frame of society. (James Prout, 1997) Hence, with the above points indicated in the theory of Alan Prout and Allison James, it is quiet clear that study of sociology of childhood is inevitable. It is a device through which the present and the future intellectual state of mankind can be determined. Also, the sociology will well indicate the importance of child development and the factors affected it. THE EMERGING MODERN APPROACH TO CHILDHOOD Before getting to the sociology of children, it is important to know what has been the approach to childhood and how it has been changing with the time. The primitive concepts to childhood with the restrictions and strict teaching has transformed to a modern, rational and friendly approach. The trends of knowledge have been changed to teaching to learning and from book to technologies like computers and microchips. Today, knowledge is everywhere. Unlike older times when school and home was the main source of information, todays children experience a wider field of exposure. The reasons can be studied as follows: Modern technology: technologies like internet and virtual world has opened gates to the massive source of information. World has become smaller with internet. It is easy to access and informative at the same time. Sitting at home, one can have detailed data of any other place. Also, the immediate updates are added flavor to modern technologies. Resource: commercialization of children. (Williams, Compass (Organisation), 2006) Media: media has been playing a crucial role when it comes to children. Its affect can be studied by a fact that a 1 year kid is able to recognize Cadbury chocolate though he may not know his sir name. Similarly, kids recognize heroes or cartoon characters like Superman, Spiderman, Tom and Jerry etc though important things like their addresses etc may not be known. (Williams, Compass (Organisation), 2006) Modernization: one of the direct effects of modernization on children can be seen in their fashion statements. Today, every child wants to follow fashion trends of the movie stars like Hanna Montana and so on. Each child is aware of the current prevailing clothing and trends in accessories. (Williams, Compass (Organisation), 2006) It can be seen that with the modernization childhood has been transformed in a different way. Not only the parents but various other organizations also have a transformed approach. Now-a-days, children are commercialized and they carry a proud tag of being a different target segment for various companies. (Williams, Compass (Organisation), 2006) CHILDREN- A BRAND RECOGNITION Children are modern and well aware of the current market trends. They are no more shy and follower of their parents. Modern children, as today, are known for their individual choices and rock-star attitudes. Parents are well dedicated towards completion of each choice of their children and so do children make sure to get things of their own choices. This is the actual reason of commercialization of children. Kids are well aware of the market trends and thus are grabbing strong positions in the decisions of the family. From ice-cream to shampoos and school bags to mobiles, a child has a say in the decision making. Even the brands are aware of the strength a child is having, hence, they are focusing on these kids. A sheer example can be taken as the increasing emphasize on child artists in advertisements. Apart from that, brands like Hanna Montana specially produce products for children. (Williams, Compass (Organisation), 2006) As such, it can be well seen that with the increasing awareness among children, various problems has been increasing. The common problem is obesity and depression. Increasing stress levels and competition scale are responsible for increasing pressures on children. Apart from that slaughtering time from childhood and early maturity is another problem that is being faced by the society. This again adds to already increasing stress levels. Hence, children are more and more pressurized, be it because of the society or because of the modernization. (Williams, Compass (Organisation), 2006) Now, the changing trends of society can be well noticed with reference to the above discussion. Here the question arises how and why to bring in the changes in the childhood. The answers can be well understood with the contextualization of sociology of childhood. (James Prout, 1997) SOCIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD A child is an integral part of the society and the childhood is the inevitable part of child. Not, only it brings in the base of an adult but also provides with huge learning process that is at its height during childhood. As Alan Prout and Allison James has widely discussed, it can be said that, construction and restructuring of childhood is inevitable. (James Prout, 1997) Child a social actor A child is a part of society and so the childhood is. Children are no more the neglected part. They are brand in themselves which can be noticed with the increased interest of traders in children. However, it is to be noticed that they are innocent and immature. Hence, they actually require more care and guidance than any part of society. They are active participant in social science as its the child who transforms to a responsible adult of a country. (James Prout, 1997) Child generational order There are major generation gaps prevailing in the society. It has been rightly said that children are ahead 25 years of their parents. The change in the time and change in the trend should be taken care off. Major responsibility lies with the parents when it comes to the generation gap as children are innocent and immature. Only the present situation is the foremost concern for them and forecasting future is out of their capabilities. The generational order has been one of the most fixed yet variable ingredients of social sciences. It is quiet fixed to be present but its extent varies from family to another. (James Prout, 1997) Child futuristic approach It is the child of today that will be the earning and responsible adult of tomorrow. They are the future of the current society. It is important to understand the childhood needs as the experience of childhood is what that frames an adult. (James Prout, 1997) Child the ethics Inculcating the sense of responsibility and humanity is the function of society. Human is a social animal, hence, it becomes inevitable to learn the norms and rules of the society. Social ethics are to be learnt by a child so as to be a responsible part of society tomorrow. As such, the norms may differ from a culture to another but; ethics, to be a part of the society are to be inculcated in a child. It not only helps retaining the essence of humanism but also tracks a positive future force. (James Prout, 1997) WELL BEING- CONSTRUCTING AND RECONSTRUCTING THE CHILDHOOD One of the major objectives of sociology of children is enhancing and improving childs well being. Well-being here may refer to various ingredients of childhood that includes the material conditions, development of relationship of a child with family, friends and teachers, physical and mental health and facing the fears of life. It is the central motive of society to take care of the complete and concrete development of childhood. (Child wellbeing and child poverty, 2009) One of the factors that have been affecting quality of childhood is poverty, though being a different aspect of wellbeing. It is the poverty that leads to poor living conditions along with deteriorated childhood experiences. In European countries the figure has been absurd in child wellbeing index, especially in case of UK. UK is the 24th country in child well being index, out of 29 European countries, listed. When it comes to health, subjective well being, education and material inputs, UK is one of the last five countries. However, taking into account the factors like housing, environment, relationships etc UK somehow manage to get a middle position. This figure very well describes the condition of childhood in advanced country like UK. Similarly, indexes of other countries are like Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria are not much acceptable. Hence, some steps are to be taken by these countries to construct the childhood in a better way. (An overview of child well-being in rich countries, 20 07) Child health and safety: special measures should be taken for the health of children. Initiatives regarding better immunization and infant care should be taken. Low rate of immunization is one of reasons of low health care. Right vaccination at the right time is the mantra to be followed. Also, hygienic conditions should be provided to children so as to avoid any mishap with health. Mental and emotional health: emotional and mental strength de[ends on he upbringing of child. To have a positive attitude towards life along with taking care of development of mental strength in a child should be the central objective. Helping in the development of relationships with friends and family and guiding them on right path should be the prime objective of society. (An overview of child well-being in rich countries, 2007) Stop the classroom discretion: it further adds to the difficulty of the poor child when classroom are divided on the basis of performances and competition. Increasing competitiveness adds to the stress levels in children. Hence, may hamper a healthy growth in a child. Especially, when it comes to the children who are already living in economically chaotic conditions, the classroom divide further stops them to have a better exposure to knowledge. (An overview of child well-being in rich countries, 2007) Incentives and public services: Poverty is one of the common factors that is affecting childhood to major extent. Hence, there should be some incentives for children who are not able to have a standard childhood due to lack of resources. A fair set of public services like free education, job opportunities etc should be provided to children so as to make sure that their future is safe and bright. (An overview of child well-being in rich countries, 2007) Rational approach: Modernization of world has changed a lot of things. Rational and practical approaches should be part of guidance. Stale and old ideas and approach may affect childhood adversely and stop from a better growth. (An overview of child well-being in rich countries, 2007) Practical study: children today are getting matured faster. Unlike, older times challenges of life today are tougher and approaches faster. Hence, rather than the bookish knowledge it is important to inculcate experiences through practical study. Live projects, case studies are few of the realistic approaches that may help a kid to grow in a better person. (An overview of child well-being in rich countries, 2007) CONCLUSION The emerging new paradigm laid by Alan Prout and Allison James has a rational and new approach. It very well claims that childhood is a continuous phenomenon that is being structured and restructured by society. It is the norms of the sociology of childhood that is directly proportional to the approaches prevailing in the society. However, there are few things that are to be taken care off. First thing, the sociology of childhood is important. It is the present sociology of the childhood that determines the future adult and right combinations of approach in future society. Hence, there is the need to protect the children mentally, physically and economically. Also, the process of construction of childhood in society is important. It is the societal approach that provides a firm base or the childhood. Hence, there is a need to reconstruct the societal norms with the change in time. A modern and informed approach help todays children to grow better and have a profound future. Apart from that, the negative impressions of children being over-loaded with information and competition are to be removed. Negative factors like poverty and division of education must be removed with initiates taken in the society. Also, the new paradigm approach relating to the modern world and new technologies should be taken care of. It is to be understood that children are no more unaware, they may be immature though, and however, their thoughts and ideas should be welcomed to the society. Basically, a child is a bud that takes time to blossom, hence it is the duty of the society to provide that time in form of quality childhood and retain a better quality of future adult force.

The work

The goal of MapleBear schools is to establish an enthusiasm for learning and knowledge in young children that will serve as a foundation for future uccess in the education system and in I Premium327 Words2 Pages Welcome Speech Welcome speech Good Evening/Afternoon everybody! I am extremely honoured to have the chance to address you in this prestigious moment when our institution, VC Kumaran Memorial School celebrates its 33rd Annual Day today. This is so precious moment for us because aside from the fact this funced each and every inch of this stage, be so hesitant to come up here and speak.What I am about to do is absolutely Premium978 Words4 Pages Farewell Welcome Speech â€Å"Goodbyes are hard. It may be harder for the person leaving, but it's always hardest or the one being left behind. † Welcome everyone to this special occasion. This event is bitter-sweet occasion. It is very sad to say good-bye to our classes 10-A and 11-C who are ending their remarkable J Premium284 Wo rds2 Pages School Speech Dear Principal, Teachers, Parent and children a very good evening to you all.It is my pleasure to be here today. Being invited to be the Chief Guest at the must be one of the high points of any parent's life. I was a student many years ago and indeed it's a great honour to be abl Premium313 Words2 Pages School Speech by Chief Guest Draft speech of Mrs. D. Purandeswari, MOS-HRD (HE) as Chief Guest on the occasion of the Annual Day of the Rainbow Concept School, Mahaboobnagar, A. P on 9th February, 2007 at 5. 30 p. m.It gives me immense pleasure to be here this evening and to address the young students of the Rainbow Concept Sc Premium1998 Words8 Pages School Day discover as the colours of cultural feast unfold ! Premium308 Words2 Pages Annual Sports Day My School Sports Day Games are compulsory in every school as physical development along with mental development is essential. All students are not necessarily good in studies. Some are good in sports. Much to the Joy of each students the Sports Day is one of the major events in the school.

A Report on Youth Unemployability in India Essay

Students have weak foundations because of which they are not picking up new skills. Picking up new skills can develop only when the people lose faith on conventional wisdom. This sentence may appear arbitrary in the beginning but there is a catch. The new skills can never be picked up unless we promise to unlearn old one. By unemployable, we refer to individuals who have to be trained by the industry in basic skills which they should have acquired through college and university education,† said by Manish Sabharwal, Chairman, TeamLease Services. Our institutions are misaligned with demand. We need a modular framework of courses covering a mix of knowledge, skill and work-attitude modules that fit people to high volume vocations and incentivise ‘edupreneurs,'† avers Visty Banaji, Executive Director, Godrej Industries. While problems of unemployment are not new, the rise in number of people who are unable to meet the industry’s needs due to the failure of institutions to impart career-oriented knowledge and skills-set is a pressing problem, as it can hamper India’s double digit growth. The skill deficit hurts more than the infrastructure deficit because it sabotages equality of opportunity and amplifies inequality while poor infrastructure maintains inequality (it hits rich and poor equally),† A recent survey throws light on the problem, problems with the educated youth. They are mainly lacking three types of skills. 1. Communication skill 2. Analytical skill and problem solving 3. Domain. While in interview approximately 60% candidates are screened due to lack of communication skills. Rest 25% is screened for analytical skills and 5% for their lack of knowledge in their respective domain. Hence 90% of educated youth are lacking in one of these three main skills required for job and employment. Only 10% of educated force of India is employable. Several companies have introduced strategies entwined with the college syllabus to equip students with the latest demands of the industry and thereby customize education accordingly. Information Technology major Infosys has the campus Connect initiative with engineering institutions in Mysore, Bangalore, Pune and other cities, through which workshops and seminars are held for students to provide them with industry-specific exposure. Likewise, ICICI Bank is working in upgrading curriculum in areas like wealth management and credit relationship sales with institutes like MDI, NMIMS and so on. As a natural growth pattern, this strong base then needs to be given adequate options towards vocational training. The critical pillar in the strategy to tackle the employability challenge is thus the school education system. The next is vocational training.

The Effect of Technology on Humanity in the World State - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1195 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/05/13 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Brave New World Essay Did you like this example? Humanity can be defined as a combination of ones own morals, benevolence, and experiences in life. There are a multitude of things that could quickly diminish humanity, including technology. In many instances, technology could be a positive impact to society. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Effect of Technology on Humanity in the World State" essay for you Create order However, if used for the wrong reasons, it could be a catalyst in the eventual disfigurement of humanity. In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, one of the most important aspects of human life is the technology involved in the World State. In the novel, technology has a negative relationship with humanity as seen through various types of technology such as, scientifically generating children, hypnopedia, and Soma. One of the most important aspects of an individuals humanity is their benevolence. Most of the time, an individual will develop their good-heartedness based upon life lessons provided by parents. In the novel, however, the children are scientifically developed in a lab through a process called bokanovskification. This process is used to increase the number of embryos generated from just one ovum. (Huxley, 1932, p.17). Towards the beginning of the novel, the Director of the fertilizing center gives a tour to children in which they are flabbergasted at the mention of the word parent. The Director is forced to explain, In brief the parents were the father and the mother (Huxley, 1932, p.32). The citizens have little knowledge on what a family is, which means that the important life lessons that should have been communicated by the parents have not been. The citizens must rely on the false sense of humanity that was given to them by the government in their fertilization process. Additio nally, in this section of the novel, Huxley greatly speaks upon the topic of technology and how it can make an individual even less of a human. In the process of bokanovskification, the scientists will categorize the embryos into certain hereditary classes. The Director describes the creation of the lower castes: Reducing the number of revolutions per minute The surrogate goes round slower; therefore passes through the lung at longer intervals; therefore gives the embryo less oxygen. Nothing like oxygen-shortage to keep an embryo below par (Huxley, 1932, p.24). Essentially, their humanity is superficially created for them through the scientific process which means that the human does not have the ability to improve or alter their humanity. Today, this can be seen through the dangers of gene splicing to cut out certain diseases in offspring. If this technology is used incorrectly, this will create a negative impact on what it means to be human and the child will not get to decide for themselves who they want to be. Ultimately, by creating these children in the lab, they are taking away their ability to shape their own benevolence which damages their humanity. Secondly, humanity is centered around the decisions that an individual may make and the morals that are developed. In the novel, the citizens are incapable of making their own decisions due to conditioning. The process of hypnopeadia is described as, Theyll have that repeated forty or fifty times more before they wake; then again on Thursday, and again on Saturday. A hundred and twenty times three times a week for thirty months (Huxley, 1932, p.35). If a human is taught how to perfectly act, then the worth of ones humanity will diminish. People will not be focused on being good because they will be previously manipulated to act or believe a certain way. In this sense, Huxley is showing how technology can be utilized to brainwash and diminish the worth of a human. A real-world example of this could be Pavlovs conditioning, in which the brain responds to a certain neutral stimulus upon sound or sight. Furthermore, the conditioning does not allow one to know right verses wrong. In one scene, nosy children are watching over John the savages deathly ill mother in the hospital which he describes as disgraceful. The nurse replies, Disgraceful? But what do you mean? Theyre being death-conditioned. (Huxley, 1932, p.184). The children, who do not know they are doing wrong, are being taught that death is normal to escape the mourning that may prolapse on es death. They will not be capable of developing what is right or wrong nor grow as a person due to anothers death. An individuals humanity will be directly affected since they will not be learning from certain aspects of their life. All in all, the individuals will not be capable of learning from their mistakes or knowing right verses wrong which leads to the disfigurement of humanity. Lastly, perhaps the most controlling type of technology, Soma, greatly impacts the experiences of the citizen. Soma functions as a drug, in which the citizens have been conditioned to believe is an all-powerful substance to solve all their problems. A large part of the development of ones humanity is the perception that a person has about the world. To be truly human, one must be capable of understanding the suffering as well as the evil of the world. In the novel, the citizens describe their escape as,the warm, the richly colored, the infinitely friendly world of soma-holiday. How kind, how good-looking, how delightfully amusing everyone was! (Huxley, 1932, p.79). The power of Soma is putting the citizens in a trance where nothing can harm them mentally. This creates superficial happiness and blocks out suffering. There is no pos sibility of knowing what true happiness is if one does not know the feeling of true sorrow. The citizens are unable to truly formulate their humanity because they do not have a worthy perception of the world around them. The technology, overall, has a harsh impact on humanity because it disfigures what it means to be human, which Huxley is attempting to state multiple times in the novel. Moreover, Soma is utilized so frequently that there is not a moment in which the characters are able to fully view the world on their own free will. It is not uncommon to hear one character telling another, you look glum! What you need is a gramme of soma (Huxley, 1932, p.65). The perception of the outside world is majorly misguided and ones humanity has little ability to progress and be worthy when it is forgotten. A real-world example of this would be drugs, alcohol, sex, and other items with addictive qualities, which blur the perception that one may have of the universe. If perception is disfigured, then humanity is not worth anything. Overall, technology, as shown by Huxley, can greatly discolor ones view of the world which prohibits them from improving their humanity. In closing, scientifically generating children, hypnop? ¦dia, and Soma are all forms of technology that document a negative impact on the humanity of society. Huxley is attempting to show how technology can grea tly diminish a humans worth and make an individual much less human. Huxley repetitively states how technology can erase the perception, worth or even identity of a person. This is like todays society and it could be argued that it also has a negative impact on humanity today. All in all, the relationship between technology and humanity is entirely negative and could lead to drastic measures if it is not controlled.