Open the Sociology Game of Life sheet that is below directly this assignment on the homepage and play it with a friend or by yourself. This is a modified version of the actual game - NOT the real game.
Our chapter examines social class and life chances. This activity serves as an innovative way to mimic the life chances of a person in the working class poor.
If for some reason, you cannot access the game document (again, it is not the actual game but the version for our class), then you can use the link here and get the main idea about social class (American Dream (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). I recommend doing both, just for fun!
Once you are finished with the game, here are questions you will need to REFLECT on and answer in your assignment. You do not need to include all of the answers below - just a brief summarization (4-6 sentences) will do for this portion.
Describe your situation: job, income, number of kids.
Describe your food menu. Is this food enough? Is it healthy? What are the consequences of this kind of diet?
Tell us where you live. Is this place big enough? Is it safe? What are the schools probably like?
How did you decide to spend the rest of the money?
Do you have enough left over for quality health care? How will you treat a sick person in the house?
Can you afford to give your children educational tools like a computer, the internet, a printer, etc?
Will your children go to college? How will you make sure that they have a better life?
Say you come home and you are tired and stressed out from working so hard. How do you unwind or release some tension? What are typical outlets for pressure among the lower class members?
Let's imagine your child is sick. You take them to the ER. It costs you $600 for the visit. Can you pay this? Do you think you would turn to other means, perhaps illegal means, of making money?
Summarize your response to the above questions. Then, thoroughly answer the questions below in 300+ words. Include your word count in your assignment.
Share your overall reaction to this activity.
According to the text, who are the poor? What are the factors that might result in a person being poor?
Given this activity, what do you think is the relationship between social class and crime, physical health, education, parental guidance, mental health, politics, life satisfaction?
According to functionalists, poverty is essential in maintaining social balance. Evaluate this claim by arguing how poverty is functional for society and who benefits from the existence of the lower classes, then discuss how poverty is dysfunctional and causes social instability.
Look at the social class ladder chart uploaded for you on the main course page.
How does education play a role in life chances and social class?
How will you use your education to prevent the imaginary scenario of this activity from becoming your reality?