Institutions make up a big part of the society they reside in. People spend a good chunk of their life, especially at a young age at institutions, specifically educational ones. This gives institutions the power to influence those who attend them and establish a certain dominance over their future. In Cathy Davidson’s essay “Project Classroom Makeover”, Davidson talks about how educational institutions can limit some people's identity by standardizing and favoring certain subjects that society values. In Karen Ho’s essay “Biographies of hegemony”, Ho discusses how Wall Street affected recruitment in Ivy leagues and how they were able to influence students into believing that Wall Street is the only viable option. In Susan Faludi’s essay “The …show more content…
Those educational institutions, then embody those same beliefs and try integrating them into their students' curriculum. A big part of a students' life is spent at educational institutions, especially at a young age where they accept the guidance of others around them. As explained by Davidson in her essay “As we have [learned], an infant’s neural pathways are being sheared and shaped along with his values and his behavior in constant interaction with the people around him who exert influence over his life” (55) Those beliefs that these institutions hold can have a great impact on the students' behavior and identity. An educational institutions goal is to teach their students what is beneficial and what is harmful, and that depends on the institution's own beliefs and practices. An example of this is in Ho’s essay when she mentions “I found out only that most bankers come from a few elite institutions, but also that most undergraduates and even many graduate students assumed that the only ‘suitable’ destination for life after Princeton-the only sectors offering a truly ‘pricetion like job’- was, first, investment banking and second, management consulting” (169-170). Princeton's environment was affected by Wall Street’s influence and its extensive recruiting system; that, therefore, was able to influence their students. The excessive recruiting that Wall …show more content…
Institutions try to maintain their structure in order to try to maintain a certain hierarchy in society, however, this can backfire. For example, The citadel’s environment back in 1882 was able to influence The Citadel. As Faludi mentions in her essay, “Its new mission was to reinvigorate the masculinity of the south by showing men how to compete with the business and the industrial skills of the Yankee carpetbaggers, who believed to be much better prepared than the sons of Dixie to enter Darwinian fray of modern commerce” (79). The change in the economy that was happening in the north was able to create the need for creating an independent man with the skills to compete in his society. This change in society’s view of what young men should acquire was able to influence The Citadel program to focus more on the skills needed. Similarly as described in Ho’s essay, (qtd Peterson 2002) “ Four years we have enjoyed being the most elite college-aged kids in one of the most elite, unilaterally powerful nations ever to exist.., These banking firms provide us with a way to maintain our elite status in society by providing avenues to wealth and power that other professions do not” (179). Careers on Wall Street that are regarded highly by society, attract people to join Wall Street as a result. The need for students to work on Wall Street lead to the expectation that a person is expected to work on Wall Street to become a
Institutions can have positive and negative effects that can alter an individual's perceptions, judgment and values. "Raw" by Scott Monk, "Hard Rock" by Etheridge Knight and "Dangerous Minds" by John N. Smith help communicate an understanding of how such institutions can reform an individual.
In "Becoming a Real Person", Davis Brooks weighs on the notion of the purpose of college. He claims that there are three ways that college aims to lead us. The cognitive objective teaches us knowledge and how to correctly use it, the moral role helps us build a unique individual self, and the commercial role leads us toward a future career. These three roles play a part in improving an individual's future prospects. While I agree on the importance these roles take, Brooks undermines the significance of moral education in higher education.
Recruitment is the very first part of becoming an investment banker. The typical profile of these new recruits are very privileged, elite university graduates who are primarily Euro-American. Although there are some African Americans, Asian Americans, and women found in Wall Street; Ho sees that the higher you climb, the less diverse it tends to get (Ho, 78). Firms pull from 5-10 of the most elite universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and so on and it is these new recruits that are seen as the best and the brightest with the most “smartness”. Part of this has to do with the fact that a persons pedigree is seen to legitimate how that investor will do in the market. New recruits that are fresh out of college are expected to hold the future of corporate America in their hands even if they do not have much real world experience straight out of college. When it comes to social status in Wall Streets’ elite community, it is these great pedigrees that are the ones smiled upon. “They are the elite of Wall Street. Their offices are furn...
To achieve this, “banking firms provide [them] with a way to maintain [their] elite status in society by providing avenues to wealth and power that other professions do not” (179). They leave them unconsciously with an ultimatum, to either continue living their prestigious lifestyle and be the in the top with the elites, or settle for lower than what they’ve worked for, which is any other career path. Students who attend Princeton and Harvard who aspire to become teachers or writers are told they are settling for less than what they deserve and will be “more happy” with an investment banking career. There is a subtle form of manipulation being acted upon prospective students from investment bankers which is hidden by all of the positive, glamorous stigmas of Wall Street. To fully understand Wall Street as a whole, someone must know the small components that make it come together as a whole. This is shown through Karen Ho’s observations such as learning that students at Princeton and Harvard do not need to hold a finance degree to obtain a job on Wall Street. Whereas, Yale and Brown students must have a finance degree and are forced to show their abilities at a higher level than Princeton and Harvard students. Underneath all the dashing appearances and smart conversations on Wall Street, there is a hidden bias and a constant manipulation system in order for them to get what they want. The small components of Wall Street consist of their “small” priorities,
Students are in colleges because they are told to, or because they still want to be financially depend on their parents and not have to worry about growing up to face the real world. The author in her article writes such ideas. Furthermore, since colleges became a big industry in the 60’s, and now the number of people attending has fallen, colleges use marketing skills to bring more students in. They try to make college sound as easy as possible to make more people register. Students, once in college are not happy and drop out,...
An industry that once promoted fairness and attainability was now itself becoming an obstacle to overcome. “American universities are in fact organized according to middle- and upper-class cultural norms or rules of the game and that these norms do indeed constitute an unseen academic disadvantage for first-generation college students transitioning to university settings” (Stephens et. al, 2012). This proposed characteristic serves as an almost uncontrollable and unchangeable disadvantage that students will likely fail to subdue. Institutions should serve as mediating platforms that allow students to start at impartial grounds, where their talents, abilities and connections are the only factors that can influence their
The Oxford Dictionary defines institution as “a society or organization founded for a religious, educational, social, or similar purpose”. On the contrary, an individual is defined as “a single human being as distinct from a group, class, or family”. Institutions are organizations created by groups of individuals in order to provide social order and guidelines for a community. Although institutions are intended for common good, they can ignore, manipulate or even enslave individuals. In corrupt institutions, authoritative figures maintain power by oppressing and persecuting those who threaten their authority and are even willing to exterminate individuals to protect the institutions. There are two types of individuals whom institutions typically persecute: those who cannot be molded into the ideal citizen; and those who speak out against the institution. Throughout history, authoritative figures and controlling institutions have taken extreme measures to stifle the individuals, threatening their power. For example, the German Nazi regime sought to
In the article “College is Not a Commodity. Stop treating it like one,” Hunter Rawlings explains how people today believe that college is a commodity, but he argues that it’s the student’s efforts; which gives value to their education. Rawlings states that in recent years college has been looked at in economic terms, lowering its worth to something people must have instead of earn. As a professor Rawlings has learned that the quality of education has nothing to do with the school or the curriculum, but rather the student’s efforts and work ethic. Rawlings explains the idea that the student is in charge of the success of his or her own education, and the professor or school isn’t the main reason why a student performs poorly in a class. Rawlings
The intention of colleges in the United Stated during the 18th and 19th centuries was to create a system that would serve in loco parentis (in place of the parent). In the early years of American higher education, college professors sought to be disciplinarians, who played a parental role. However, the students at these institutions often behaved in a disruptive manner towards teachers, as well as fellow students. This unruly behavior can be directly linked to the economic background of the students attending these institutions, in addition to the philosophies set forth by the colleges. During this time period, colleges attracted mostly upper class men who showed little interest in their academic studies. They were individuals following generations of family members to the institution, and as a result of their connections possessed more authority at the school than the faculty. This issue began to change in the early 20th century, when colleges began admitting more economically diverse individuals. The economic background of the students, in addition to their reluctance to abide by the rules, led to violent and unruly behavior at these institutions.
Returning to his old high school after having had graduate ten years ago, Shamus Rahman Khan came in with one goal: to study the inequality of a school that claims to be more “diverse.” St. Paul’s School located in Concord, New Hampshire claims to have become more diverse over the years, accepting people of different racial backgrounds and social classes to their prestigious boarding school. However, as described in his book, Khan found that this claim made by the school is false. He also found out that the elite that used to attend his school is not the same as the elite attending it now. Nonetheless, it was the elite that were succeeding because they were the ones who could afford the school, had family linages that already attended the school, and mastered “ease” which made them privileged in society. Separating his book into five different chapters, each focusing on a different topic that helps support his claim, Khan describes this change in elite and the inequality that still accompanies St. Paul’s. In the introduction to Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School, Khan states the three most important points he will refer to during the rest of the book: hierarchies are natural and can be used to one’s advantage, experiences matter more than inherited qualities, and the elite signal their status through ease and openness. These are discussed thoroughly in throughout Privilege.
Although most of his evaluations are favorable, he was fearful of the comments that his class was also enjoyable; Edmundson doesn’t teach to amuse nor interest. He possesses the genuine passion of spreading knowledge resulting in hearing the students talk of how the course changed them as a person, an individual. (Edmundson, p.390). Addressing the culture of the university Edmundson believes they are more devoted to the consumer consumption and entertainment values. The quality of education is declining due to giving the consumer what they want, rather what they need. Higher learning is shifting towards a society that is sophisticated with technology. The marketing side of decisions that are made with the finances and education are primarily for money being placed their pockets and making sure it stays there due to their tenure and permanent seats. They will always have a job, but what about the decisions for the quality of the education? Or having to cover the expenses of staying current with the newest technology and amenities as well? In order to keep balance in all of this the school will usually raise tuition which causes a chain reaction of rising costs for everything. With the rise of costs, school becomes undesirable to the students who aren’t able to afford it, or the ones who go into debt
Owen and Sawhill maintain that college can positively affect one’s life by “affecting things like job satisfaction, health, marriage, parenting, trust, and social interaction. Additionally, there are social benefits to education, such as reduced crime rates and higher political participation” (Owen and Sawhill 640). By expressing this, Owen and Sawhill are trying to bring to mind the idea that by going to college, you will be an all around better citizen, which definitely plays with emotions because who doesn’t want to be a good citizen. Furthermore, Owen and Sawhill remark on the college decision process. Here, thier general claim is that when choosing a college, it is better to choose a college that will benefit you financially, not just the one you
It may be disappointing to realize we are the kind of person who we do not like in others; however, it is more disconcerting to realize we are not the kind of person that we believe we should be or are. We think we are smart, optimistic, popular or possess greatness, but later we perceive that we are not that good. Unwittingly, and without rational thought, “Wall Street smartness is, in a sense, ‘generic’ and it is precisely this notion of elitism so pervasive as to be commonplace, smartness so sweeping as to become generic, that reinforces Wall Street’s claims of extraordinariness” (Ho 184). Wall Street does not realize the negative influence of focusing only on credentials. In fact, they do not care. This hiring process has become a tradition for them. Even though they may overlook potentially qualified employees, they do not want to recognize that their system is imperfect; it is easier to blame inadequate candidates, claiming that they should have studied harder to get into a better university. If Wall Street insists their system works, they will continue to lose opportunities to groom talent. Being rejected by Wall Street is not the time to implement a defensive “immune system” to console oneself. It is the chance to recognize our status and to be who we want to be. We face our shortcomings, admit that we still need to work harder or change in order to be the person we want to be. Even though this is
Despite this, there continue to be incidents where middle class people are devastated when unable to achieve the so-called American Dream. Of course, the social expectations of a society are generally set by the previous generation and cause the newer generation to feel guilt when they cannot meet them. In order to avoid this feeling of guilt and insufficiency, people are willing to give up their unique hopes and goals; thus creating a people that are cohesively identical. Students in today’s universities are amazingly bright and creative, yet change their majors to those society has placed honor on, such as medicine, law, and engineering. The amount of innovation and invention
Institutions play a key role in many of the things that are happening in society today. From financial institutions to the types of goods consumers can buy in a place of business. One of the biggest aspects of an institutions influence on society is the need for supply and demand and to control society so that it can adapt to the changes caused by individuals within it. All societies necessarily make economic choices. A society is a system of social relationship while institution is the organization of rules traditions and usages. Institutions are the forms of procedure which are recognized and accepted by society and they exist for the society and govern the relations between members of society. Society represents human aspect while an institution is a social condition of com and behavior.