WEEK 3: Culture Shifts:

I am so happy to know that the owrk that i am going into is making a difference in marriage, the video that we watched online this week for homework is proof of that.

The video clip "Class and family Structure in the United States" was so interesting to me and gave me a better understanding of what NEEDs to happen to improve the divorce rate of the lower class. This is not to say that the upperclass never get divorced any more but they are improving slowley. I tried to organzie my notes as a way to remember what was said in the clip. Sometimes i learn better through my notes becasue i right according to my impressions and feelings, not so much, exactly what i hear, so hopefully as my classmates read this with will help them to see what I got from the clip and how it helped me to understand the culture shift and what actions WE can take as future sociologists.

-->Divorce rate in the middle and upper middle class has gone down over the past 15 years, and they are not having children before marriage.

~Acedemics have contributed. What does that me to me?

~We no longer associate marriage with parenthood, there has been a seperation and acceptance OF that seperation of marraige and parenthood. Parenthood is coming before marriage in lower classes.

And "whats wrong with that"

***Parents are having children in unstable relationship***--Social influences

It is possible that they just do not want that, not sure of a long term future with the person. This could be becasue thay have never seen a happy marriage or becaseu they have negative experiences with marriage. This theory creates INCREDABLY complex families " his kids with her kids "

-Family Formation Project, low income urban couples ( fragil families) study them to see the predictors, risk factors and working with them to learn about those situation, many of them do not know a single successful long term relationship couple. "Marriage is an ideal for them but they have never really seen in in thier lives." Add in factors of child support, baby moms and dad, its a miracle that any of them make it.

Dameons Story: Now living with the 4th mother of his children, not proud of this, has apologized. One day he and his partner were having a big fight and she said, "why dont you just leave' and in the past thats what he would have done, he stayed and worked it out.

A CULTURE SHIFT for people to learn what it takes to create a lasting union.

SO... what can we do to help with this culture shift? EDUCATION. the more we educate ourselves on marriage and social factors that go into marital problems and parenting problems, then more people will be able to see the positive influence that a healthy marriage has on a family.