Week 2

As Michael Schwalbe discusses in Chapter 3 of TSEL, social indexes are used in order to represent or identify a greater or broader aspect of society. One social index relevant to my life is living at home for college. Most girls in my community choose to stay at home after graduating to stay with their families, as well as save money and improve our undergraduate schools.

I grew up in a fairly traditional South Asian Muslim family in California. In India and Pakistan, girls are expected to live at home with their families until marriage where they can start their own families. Although living in the Bay Area made my family and community more moderate, I was still raised with similar values. I attended a very competitive high school where the only acceptable plan after graduation was to attend a four-year university. And although my parents were supportive of my education and career plans, they also preferred I attended school close to home and stayed back for two years then transfer. While the majority of students who transfer do it for financial reasons or to increase their grades, my parents knew that keeping me at home would teach me to be more responsible and take care of myself to prepare me for the sudden change once I moved out.

Many people, both in and out of my community, see this index as a representation of poor prioritizing, where culture and ethnicity dominates over education. Attending community college today is still not seen as the "smart" decision, especially where I come from (in fact, it's seen in both my high school and social circle), because it is the "last resort." From a cultural perspective, this index teaches me that traditional values can dominate other ideals because they keep families (in particular immigrant families) closer to their roots in a land where heritage can be lost so easily. From an educational perspective, this index shows me just how much a brand-name school matters to the public, and just how American culture values the entire package over practicality.