Coursework on sociology Essay

To be a non-traditional student is not at all an easy decision I made. Having my own family who needs my full time and attention is the biggest consideration I had when I decided to take on-line course. However, my family is also the best encouragement and inspiration I had. The world is taking its fast pace towards globalization and everyone must be able to cope up. The computerization of almost everything requires that everyone must conform to the speed of economic changes. In this world where education is a key to success and progress, everyone must avail of education by any means available. I believe that the best thing I can do is to avail of education while still having time with my family is to take online courses. The decision will affect my social life and the financial status of my family since I will have to allocate time and finances with my studies. The hours I am spending before in personally doing the household chores will now be partly consumed by my studies. The few I hours I am spending before in visiting my friends next door will now be lessened in have time for my studies. (Kindly use the remaining required words in answering the question whether you are studying a technical field) In the absence of on line courses, I may consider having evening or weekend classes. However, evenings are my only time to help my kids in their home works. I do not want to sacrifice weekends either because I strictly set these days as family and church days. So the best thing for me is to choose timeslots that will best fit school hours when my children are in school which online courses offered. Question 2 English is undoubtedly the world’s widely accepted language as it is the required language for everyone to communicate globally. It is therefore important that everyone be able to have the opportunity to learn Standard English in order to cope up with the fast changing world especially that the world is pushing through globalization. I believe that even the students in the rural areas can compete globally. However, it is impossible for them to do it if they cannot meet the standards of the global arena expressed in Standard English. I believe that with this need, a child needs to learn English even before he go to a formal school. This does not however mean that local dialects are to be set aside and be forgotten. While English has been set as the official language of Kentucky in 1984, I believe that their local dialects as well as that of African-American who speak Ebonics must still be practiced. â€Å"Teachers should be given every possible tool to reach our children† (L. L. Rush). Even in school premises, it is important that students be able to freely express themselves which can only be possible when they speak in their dialects. But in order for them to cope up with the global standard, they are to strive hard in learning Standard English. Even the government of Kentucky is doing steps in order to assure that the students get the minimum skills required in English and Mathematics (V. Honawar). China, being the host in the 2008 Olympics is requiring its people to learn English in preparation of the event. The best way to learn is to practice and that is what every child in Kentucky and the rest of the world must do. This way, their confidence in facing the world will be better build up which will be their instrument in achieving success whether educational or economic success. Question 3 Robert William’s list of values have been created in 1970, that was more than three decades ago. The world has changed a lot, and so are the American’s perspectives, priorities and moral standards. As a contemporary American, morality and family are the values that are of the highest importance to me. With the fast changing world, I value education in order for me to cope up with the success and progress of the world. In order for me to do this, I need to avail of the freedom and equality that the American government offers. All of my current efforts are for my family and I owe all of what I have now from God. With reference to William’s list, I think that the importance of protecting the family is the value that he had missed. As I browsed on the websites providing lists and information on the American values, I was impressed with the survey results made by the Roper Poll Corporation revealing that protecting the family is the first in the list of values that Americans consider as important. The other values in William’s list still appear to be the same important values for Americans although there is a noticeable change in their sequence. I believe that because America has already been progressive, the value of success, achievement and progress are no longer on top of the list. Most of the websites I browsed agreed on the order of the values but are contrary to William’s list in the sense that family is not included in the latter’s list. Also, achievement and success are no longer on top of the values prioritized by modern Americans. I believe that my list of values will differ with that of the other students in a way that family and morality, including faith are on top of my list. I am assuming that majority of the students will conform with the latest survey of which family is on top but religiosity and morality at the 8th and 9th spots out of ten values. WORKS CITED Crawford, James. â€Å"Issues in U. S. Language Policy†. Retrieved on June 23, 207 from http://ourworld. compuserve. com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/langleg. htm Grass, Gunter. â€Å"The US Betrays its Core Values†. The Los Angeles Times. April 07, 2003. Retrieved on June 23, 2007 from http://www. commondreams. org/views03/0407-05. htm Grouling, Thomas E. â€Å"American Values†. â€Å"Common Questions: Uniquely American Questions†. Retrieved on June 23, 2004 from http://www. americanhospitals. com/questions/american/amervalues. htm 06/23/07 Honawar, Vaishali. â€Å"Kentucky Seeks to Improve College Readiness†. Retrieved on June 23, 2007 from http://www. edweek. org/ew/articles/2004/11/17/12ky. h24. html Rush, Ladonna Lewis. â€Å"The Ebonics Debate†. Retrieved on June 23, 2007 from http://www. princeton. edu/~browning/news/rush. html The American Demographic Magazine. October 2000 issue â€Å"American Values: Overview†. Retrieved on June 22, 2007 from http://www. orednet. org/~jflory/205/day_val_overview. htm