Institutions structure my own attitudes, behaviors and beliefs. The main institutions that do such are family, religion, sports, and law enforcement. The classes I’ve taken have reiterated the structure these social institutions have in my life. An average person probably doesn’t think about this concept- that we have so many social institutions, and that they structure main parts of your life. Classes such as SOC 233- Intro to Social Inequality and Difference, helped me learn more about institutions such as family and sports, while SOC 345- Social Research & Program Evaluation reiterated family and also education. SOC 205- Deviance taught me a lot about law enforcement, and briefly touched on religion.
Family is the social institution that probably shapes most of my attitudes, behaviors and beliefs. In SOC 233, we discussed work, money, education, home life, health, etc. While I had a different childhood than most, being a military brat and then changing homes and families at age 16, it was quite odd; however, it has shaped not only the values I hold such as a clean home, but also the behaviors I portray such as working well under pressure, and control of my emotions. Because the military has a lot to do with my background and upbringing, a privilege I have now in relation to the military is my financial assistance for my education, and I am also now married to someone in the military. This is just a few ways that the family institution has shaped my behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs.
Another social institution that highly influences my life is religion. Although most of my classes haven’t touched on this topic much, I know that religion shapes most of my beliefs. For example, I grew up Roman Catholic, and continued to be Roman Catholic throughout my adult life. I got married in the Catholic Church, and I am still practicing. Concerning controversial beliefs such as euthanasia, contraception, and abortion, instead of relying on what the rest of the world believes or what beliefs are thrown at me, I typically rely back on how I was raised in the church and the beliefs that the church has taught me. Another example of how this social institution has shaped my attitudes and/or behaviors is through the way I interact with people. In SOC 205 – Deviance, We talked a lot about deviant people and deviant acts. With this concept, along with how religion has shaped my life, I believe that I am less prone to acts like homicide and/or suicide, etc. due to the “being kind” and “showing mercy” stances that I grew up hearing in the church.
Sports, although less influential than family and religion, have also shaped my life, behaviors, attitudes, etc. For example when the super bowl comes up, I don’t get as excited as most Americans, but at the beginning of the NFL season, I’m very excited. My grandfather is from Detroit, and therefore plenty of people in my family are Detroit fans. This being said, the behaviors I display towards the super bowl are typically not as energetic and excited as the beginning of the NFL season due to the fact that Detroit has never been to the super bowl and probably will not make it to the super bowl in my lifetime. This doesn’t mean that I don’t support my team, however. In SOC 233- Intro to Social Inequality and Difference, we talked a lot about inequality and difference in different social institutions, and I got to learn a lot about the racism and sexism that are displayed in the sports industry. Being so, this has shaped my views on sports as well, and what teams I look highly upon, and what teams I do not.
The last social institution that has influenced my life, behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs, is law enforcement. This is the social institution that shapes the career field that I want to enter into. In SOC 205 – Deviance, the class was filled with a mixture of criminology and sociology students, and I got a lot of input on the field. I don’t have family members who are specifically in the law enforcement industry, however, I do have family in the military, which in my mind are very parallel. Deviant concepts taught in this class drove me to want to join the law enforcement field. In the class, we looked at current events and things that were happening in the world today that also fed into those beliefs that I hold, and helped determine, in my mind, more, that I want to help people. Previous to attending Longwood, I was pretty neutral when it came to my relationship with this social institution. I didn’t have many connections linking me to this industry or providing me with more information; however, now they have more information and more knowledge, I have a better understanding of the career field that I am pursuing.
Using the skills and knowledge I have learned about in these classes about different institutions, I realize that they provide me with skills to help me perform duties in the job that I am pursuing. For example, controlling my emotions, working well under pressure, communicating effectively with other people, etc. can all be useful skills in the law enforcement field, specifically, dispatch. In dispatch, one must be effective at controlling their emotions, working well under pressure, handling difficult concepts such as concepts I learned in SOC 205 – Deviance, like suicide, family violence, mental health problems etc. Other skills such as typing, and using computer software efficiently, and learning quickly are also skills that I have picked up from all of these courses that don’t necessarily pertain to social institutions, but have been effective skills I have learned.