Families: Culture and Class

     Well, it's been another week learning about the family! We discussed culture and social class this week and the effect that has on a family system. Our discussions in class helped me to understand a few things about the family as a living, breathing, SYSTEM!  I hope I can share some new knowledge with you.
     First of all we talked about how in a system every member plays a role. Systems have ROLES and systems have RULES...just like the family. Woah, connections! So when roles are changed or rules are broken the family has to "reshape" itself in order to compensate for what is missing or what is different. Makes sense, right?
     Well, what happens when ALL the roles and rules change? What happens when you move to another place where you aren't sure what the roles or rules are? For families immigrating to another country these changes happen and it puts a lot of stress on the family. The family system can change in various ways. For some families a majority of the stress may come from leaving the extended family support system back home or from having to immigrate in "shifts" where the family may be separated for a long period of time. Can you imagine what kind of "reshaping" would need to go on in the family to keep them together?
    Another social force acting on the family is social class. In my opinion, social class isn't just about a dollar amount in an individuals bank account but attitudes and manner. A question we were asked is whether social class has an influence on a families capacity to meet its needs, responsibilities and purposes. Well, does it? I think its obvious that it would HAVE to influence it. As much as we like to think we're so independent we are always being acted upon by outside forces such as our culture or social classes.
   The most important lesson I took away from class this week oddly enough didn't have as much to do with systems or immigration. I learned how to true the phrase " knowledge is power" really is! When we recognize the social forces acting on us and our families we can react to them. We can decided how much of an effect we're going to allow them to have in the life of our family. We decide, to a certain extent, what we will let influence our family. We need to take this obligation seriously because our families are forever!