In what sense does modernisation and post-modernity present a Essay

In what sense does modernisation and post-modernity present a challenge for identity and the self - Essay Example There is a great demarcation in identity constructs when comparing the post-modern era to the pre-modern era. The biggest difference is that the post-modern era has been marked with a great deal more impersonality then the pre-modern era. Whereas, in the pre-modern era, an individual could derive a sense of self and identity from their close connections – their neighbors, their churches, their family – in the post-modern era, this changed. Moreover, the role of the man has changed with the advent of the changes that have occurred in the post-modern era. Where he was the sole breadwinner in the pre-modern era, and this is where he derived his identity, in the post-modern era, the man has become less of a breadwinner and thus, according to some views, he became more of a consumer.Therefore, the male identity has changed substantially in this era. The following explains the broad nature of identity, then explains how individuals, in general, have been affected by the post- modern changes, then, finally, how men in particular have been affected by these changes. The nature of identity Identity is a dynamic social product, residing in psychological processes, which cannot be understood except in relation to its social context and historical perspective. (Breakwell, 1986, p. 9). It is a process that is developed over a person's entire life span.. Identity grows across time, but there is a nature of time that must be considered. Inner time is a duration, and is in tune with each person's cognitive rhythms. Martin (1987) references this time thusly - inner time is the realm of subjective consciousness of the individual. As we know from experience, the two may seem inconsistent, as when we talk of time flying or passing slowly. (Martin, 1987, p.199) This concept of time refers to our inner states. Intersubjective time is measured by face-to-face social interactions, by sharing experiences with others, thus moving through time conjointly. By sharing experien ces with others, the interactants come close to achieving a consensual appreciate of their conjoint movement through time. (Breakwell, 1986, p. 21). Biographical time refers to large chunks of time that are meaningful in one's life eras, such as adolescence, childhood, college years, married life, etc. There are also social and personal aspects to an identity. All humans have a division between self-identity and the performance of oneself that he puts out into the world, in specific social contexts (Giddens, 1991, p. 58). The personal identity, or real self, differs from one individual to another - some individuals' real self comes out when they act impulsively, other's real self is manifested when acting out social obligations. (Breakwell, 1986, p. 16). The real self may be looked at as being a person’s root core of who they are, and who they would be if there were not the influences of various social dynamics and constraints. (Tracy & Trethewey, 2005, p. 173). Another way o f looking at this concept is the private self, the self that known only to the individual, and the public self, the self that is known to others. These two aspects of identity both act in concert with one another and conflict with each other. Most individuals unconsciously deem one aspect more important than the other, and the favored aspect is the one that controls their behavior. (Brewer & Hewstone, 2004, p. 185). There is some theory that one's personal identity is only exposed when making moral decisions, as this exposes values, which are the cornerstone of presuppositions about the self. (Breakwell, 1986, p. 17). According to Anthony Giddens (1991), identity is a reflexive project. The premise of reflexive awareness is that an individual knows what they are doing, and why they are doing it. Humans monitor their circumstances, and are able to discursively explain why they are engaging in a certain behaviour. Discursive practices use reason or argument to explain something, as op posed to emotions and intuition. Practical consciousness is the

Investigate Challenges in the Classroom (3) Coursework

Investigate Challenges in the Classroom (3) - Coursework Example The problem of multilingual classes especially has risen in the last decade because of intensive emigrational rates. Thus kids whose home language is not English have started filling kindergarten classes. The very first question that has become actual is how to reform class curriculum and methodic of education in order to provide the ESL (English Second Language) students with the same social and academic level as English native speakers get. Although, elementary school teachers claim that before getting to academic English and more professional levels of education in multilingual classes they first face the problem of misunderstanding of regular English and disability of students to speak normally even basic everyday English (Spycher 2009). Thus the problem becomes even more complicated: how to translate and teach foreign ESL kids English language so that it would be possible to move on to more academic education? Also, studies on two Puerto Rican kindergarteners revealed that often the educational result that kids get at kindergarten gets erased when the kids get involved into their natural cultural environment at home (Volk 1997). Because it turns out that every day teachers should remind the kids what they have learned yesterday. The reason for this is that often parents either don’t want to maintain American education for some reasons or simply can’t help their children with learning, for instance, English language, because they are lack of knowledge. Moreover, there are situations when parents are against American education because they believe it ruins their kids’ national identity (Volk 1997 p.25). Some teachers from Bright Futures prekindergarten in rural Peoria County, Illinois found out that the problem of understanding English is secondary because the main thing in multicultural and multilingual classes is to teach children how to be loyal to different cultures,