Social Class Tracking Problem Resolving - Assignment Example

Secondly, as social class is less immediately obvious, it may be that there is no real way of preventing tracking based on social class, as it would be hard to suggest ways to combat this type of tracking. Finally, the Pygmalion effect suggests that once someone is tracked, then they will find it difficult to break out of this track. These individuals may not be provided with the tools to break out of this lower tracking because of their social class. Additionally, if someone from a lower social class with no money for private education suddenly finds themselves in a private school, their previous schooling may mean that they are in some way behind the others, and could be tracked lower for this reason.

This poses a problem because it is impossible to combat this effect because of the way that private and public schools are run, and is not necessarily a social problem that can be combatted with knowledge of the Pygmalion effect. It is not a definition based on social class, but a definition based on the results of that social class and can occur right up until college. Use the information in Chapter 15 (Population, Urbanization, and Environment) to explain how and why U.S. culture has become more individualistic because of demographic changes and why some factions (sub-cultures and/or classes) have had more influence in this progression than others.

The population of the U.S. is increasing for many reasons, which perhaps has alienated some people to the point that individualism is the predominant ideology. It could be that as the population grows, some individuals feel that society is achieving less for them and more for the majority, and therefore they have the right to pursue their own interests for their own benefit. Demographic changes in the United States have also played a part in increasing individualism because some sub-cultures and social classes have benefited more from the recent changes in U.S. society than others.

African Americans have obviously had a troubled past within the United States, and therefore more work has to be done to achieve equality for this group. Some within this group may feel that because society is still predominantly run by white males, there is a need to pursue individualism to gain more from society than for those who are serving their own interests. The same can also be said for those who perceive themselves to be in lower social classes than the ruling minority and therefore they have to work harder to achieve the same because of some predetermined bias against them.