1. Think about movies or television programs you have watched that portray college life and college students. Together with a small group, put together a list of characteristics of college students that media portrayals convey. Focus in particular on the demographic characteristics of the students shown. To what degree are media portrayals of college students today accurate representations of real-life students? How do they differ?

2. Survey 8–10 students in your sociology class or other classes about their family’s educational history: How many students have two parents who completed college? How many have one parent who completed college? How many are the first in their family to attend college? (You may add other questions you think are useful as well.) Share your results with other students in the class and discuss whether and in what ways parental educational attainment is a good predictor for children’s educational attainment. What does sociological research show? What argument would you make?

3. In many states, public schools are still funded primarily by local property taxes. This has historically translated into unequal funding for schools in well-off and poorer areas. Should this means of funding schools be changed? Prepare a discussion on this issue, attending in particular to arguments for maintaining local funding for local schools and for equalizing funding by distributing funds from the state or federal level.

4. In cities like St. Louis, where some public schools have lost their accreditation, students have the right to be transferred to another school. This usually comes at the chagrin of parents in other school districts who do not want their local property taxes funding the education of students who do not live in the school district. Listen to This American Life, Episode 562: “The Problem we all Live With”. Use a conflict perspective or a functionalist perspective to explain the Francis Howell parents’ dismay over accepting students from Normandy. What is it that seems to be “the elephant in the room” so to speak about why these parents are uncomfortable with the Normandy students?

5. Based on the chapter, make a list of the main reasons students drop out of college before completing a degree. Working with a small group, create two short but specific policy proposals that could be used to address the problem; write one proposal that addresses the issue at a school level and one that addresses the issue at a state or federal government level. Be sure that your proposals directly address the sociological roots of the problem.

6. The functionalist perspective argues that one of the primary functions of school is to foster social solidarity by promoting the development of shared norms and values. The conflict perspective argues that schooling has been primarily used to replicate existing social order rather than to challenge social inequality and as a result schools have perpetuated social conflict. In the United States, school curriculum decisions have historically been largely decentralized with elected state and local officials developing curriculum standards for the students under their jurisdictions. This is a very different model than in many other countries where curricular decisions are nationalized and made by a panel of educational professionals. Compare and contrast these two models of curriculum standards from both a functionalist and conflict perspective. Which model is more likely to create social solidarity? Which is more likely to perpetuate the existing social order?

7. In this chapter, you learned that key innovations have been important drivers of major economic transformations, for example, the plow helped spur the agricultural revolution; the harnessing of steam and water power contributed to the rise of industrial societies; and the creation of the microchip helped usher in the digital age in which we live today. Talk with a class partner about the future of the world economy (yes, it is a big topic!). Specifically, speculate about what kind of innovation could change the development path of modern economies. You may want to represent your ideas with a drawing or a written description. Share and compare with other classmates.

8. Fifteen years ago, there were no such job titles as webmaster and social media analyst or strategist. It is often said that some of the jobs of the future will be jobs we cannot today imagine. Try to imagine them! Write a sample example of a job that could exist in 15 years. Then, recalling labor market trends discussed in the chapter, write down some jobs that might exist.

9. Recall from the chapter the discussion of “emotional labor,” which sociologist Arlie Hochschild suggests is a characteristic of the modern service economy. Emotional labor is, in a sense, the new physical labor – sold for a wage, used for a company’s profit, and perhaps a source of alienation and exploitation. Think about jobs you have held or currently hold and talk to a small group of classmates about your job experiences. Have any of you held jobs requiring “emotional labor?” Do you agree with Hochschild’s characterization of these jobs? Why or why not?

10. With a group of peers make up a list of economic interactions that have become increasingly automated during your lifetimes (e.g., voicemail response systems versus live operators, ATM machines versus bank tellers, self-checkout lines versus cashiers). Discuss what the social impact of this automation has been for consumers, for workers, for business owners, and for communities. Is automation increasing or decreasing social solidarity? Is automation increasing or decreasing social conflict?

11. Read a major newspaper for a week. Examine all the stories dealing with economic issues. What are the economic issues being discussed? Are the articles focused on the impact of events on businesses, capitalists, shareholders, workers, or communities? Whose economic interests are being well represented and whose are not being well represented? Do you see evidence of Marx’ reserve army of labor? Do you see evidence of ideas related to scientific management?