Family
Divorce and Single Parenting:
Families come in all shapes and sizes in U.S. society. Changes in social acceptance of divorce and single parenting have had a profound influence on my life. My parents divorced when I was in 4th grade. Unlike most kids, I was relieved that my mom finally had the courage to divorce my dad. Newman points out research that has proven negative impacts divorce has on children's development at every stage of life. For me, my parents' divorce was beneficial to my development. The frequent fighting that went on between my parents when they were married was more severe to my well being than the divorce was. Newman points out my situation saying, "Research suggests that behavioral problems are caused not by the divorce itself but by the exposure to conflict between the parents." The conflict I was exposed to during their marriage was much worse than having a separated family.
The acceptance of divorce, my mom's social status, economic circumstances, and laws that have made divorce easier were external forces that influenced my mom's decision. In society today, divorce rates are skyrocketing. The growing social acceptance of divorce influenced my mom's decision because she wasn't afraid of the social consequences associated with divorce and single parenthood. Many women are scared to get divorced because after a divorce it is common for women and children to have decreased economic status. For my mom, this wasn't the case. My mom was educated and had a high paying job. My mom was capable of supporting herself and children without depending on a man. This trend is increasing through-out society today. The roles that mothers play in society have changed drastically; the number of working mothers in the U.S. have increased. This has given more women the option of divorce without having to work minimum wage jobs. The external forces in society had a profound influence on my parents' divorce. For my situation, these societal changes had a positive influence of my family.
Be careful with your writing. E.g., re "more severe to my well being than the divorce was..." More severely what? Saying that fighting was severe to your well being doesn't make sense. You either want a different word there or use it modify something else. Re "Newman points out my situation..." Newman couldn't "point out your situation," unless you know him. I think you mean something like, "My situation is reflected in Newman's assertion that "[r]esearch suggests...."
ReplyDeleteWriting aside, here is the core of the assignment: "Compose a thoughtful blog post that discusses "the family" in the contemporary United States, but with regard to a specific issue of your choice. You are encouraged to consult outside material, offer links to supplement your discussion, etc. Be sure to state clearly what issue it is you are discussing, giving the reader enough context for your discussion. Remember that you are to write from a sociological perspective and on the basis of your learning. This is not a personal essay about your family or your opinions, but is to be an informed piece of sociological "conversation" about the issue you have identified."
You identify an issue that many consider important, but you haven't addressed it in the way the assignment required and relied far too much on the personal account. That can be woven into a more lengthy treatment of the issue, but, as is, what you've said doesn't respond well to the assignment.
Remember, as also noted in the assignment, "As with all posts, it is possible to respond to the assignment in brief and without much depth. A strong post will introduce the specific issue you have selected and offer a thoughtful discussion of that issue as regards the family in the contemporary US."
I read this post well. Since you clearly stated your family situations and how you felt during their being together and separation, I feel so sorry to hear that you were very not as happy as you probably are now. However, I also agree that this entry seems like to be a more personal essay or journal rather than a socialogical assignment post about family because you just stated your family's past situations and how you were. I think you should have stated those situations relating to sociology or sociological views.
ReplyDeleteI like how you state what the issue you are focusing on is, but if you had focused on how that was affecting many people in the US, or society as a whole, this would be a stronger post. You could try to add more evidence or statistics of the divorce rates.
ReplyDeleteI think it was a well-written post. Some suggestions I have in order to make the post better would be to talk about what kinds of external forces made your parents divorce easier to handle? Maybe talk about how you were affected in a positive way after the divorce was finalized. I thought you did a good job of developing your ideas.
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