Family Midterm Questions

I have gone over each of the family's submissions of three midterm exam questions. There was only one case of two families proposing the same question, and I decided to simply accept the one which I thought was worded best.I also did some editing of the questions I accepted. All participating family members will earn 5 points for this, and the two families from which I accepted an additional question will each earn a bonus point for this activity. I list the participating family members in parentheses.

BLACK FAMILY (Chris, Grant, Jenny, Kristin)

1. As mentioned in Chapter 6 of Affluenza, Family Convulsions, family counselors report that what is a "precipitating factor in 90% of the divorce cases?" (1pt)

ANSWER: arguments about money or finances.


GREEN FAMILY (Justina, Matt, Christie)

1. In Chapter 7, Dilated Pupils, what do the authors contend has been a negative effect of the "No Child Left Behind" policy? (1pt)

ANSWER: 20% (or many) American school districts have banned recess for elementary school children to supposedly "maximize instruction time to prepare children to compete in the global economy" -- that is, prepare them to take standardized tests.

2. Regarding the poor, how do the authors suggest our consumer society conributes to crime? (1pt)

ANSWER: By creating a sense of deprivation among them because they can't obtain the products advertisers tell us we all have to have to fit in or get ahead.

YELLOW FAMILY (Stev, Johnson, David, Megan)

1. In the xerox handout from Consuming Kids by Susan Linn, what fundamental conflict does she describe between parents and marketers? (1pt)

ANSWER: that marketers are intent on undermining parental authority when it comes to selling stuff to kids -- exploit their impulsivity.

BLUE FAMILY: (Jessica, Cody, Ann, Bryant, Sarah)

1. After traveling to America, what observation did Mother Teresa make about America? (1pt)

ANSWER: "This is the poorest place I've ever been in my life."

2. At the conclusion of class lectures on the nature of the individual and society, what definition of society did I argue for? (1pt)

ANSWER: society is an organized system of institutions (institutions being the main actors)


That's it. So, remember, all of the above questions will appear on the midterm exam (as well as those two questions from your first family activity).