Casey Smith
Blog 2
9/19/12
Education 115:Embracing Diversity
After reading “The Cycle of Socialization” by Bobbie Harro I reflected onmy path in life and the cycle I have followed. That thought process led me to thinkabout Annabel from my class. Socialization beginsbefore we are born, we have no say on whom we are or how we are going to be raised: you are who you are. Annabel was born into a black low-income family and she had no input about how she was going to live.
The next stage of the cycle is First Socialization. In this stage the people we love and trust shape our self-concepts. We are raised believing whatever our loved ones have taught us. Annabel was raised by her grandparents and grew up learning that alcohol is part of everyday life and it is acceptable to drink at all times. However, when she started going to school, Annabel experienced the next stage Institutional and Cultural Socialization. Thisstage involves incorporating new institutions into your judgments, learning new opinions and views and being able to fit them into your life. Annabel’s views were affected when she was in elementary school and she started to learn that drugs and alcohol are not acceptable, the assumptions she had created had started to change.
The followingstage is the Enforcements Stage and this stage explains why people follow rules or guidelines even if they disagree. Annabel fits into this stage because she had always wanted to go to college but no one in her neighborhood had gone so she followed the norm of her culture and never thought to pursue getting a four-year degree.
The Results Stage is the next stage and it involves internalized oppression, meaning that by participating in our roles as targets we reinforce stereotypes. This stage is notorious for outcomes such as crime, anger, hatred, and inequality. Annabel follows the stage of results by participating in her neighborhood beliefs. If she stuck to her morals she would stand up for herself and go to college. Unfortunately, Annabel follows the stereotypeof a young black woman from her neighborhood and does not plan on pursuing her education.
The final stage splits into two separate directions: the continuation and actions. The Continuation Stageis choosing not to make any changes and accepting to live with the status quo and restarting the cycle. The Actions Stage can be referred to as a “wake up”; something dramatic happens causing an individual to reconsider the path they have been following. Actions is the path Annabel took causing her whole life to drastically change. She had the realization that if she did not receive a college degree, her future would be restricted. She stood up for herself and applied to several colleges and was offered a full scholarship to Amherst College. Annabel was able to end hercycle of socialization.