Boys Girls Clubs Of America

Boys Girls Clubs Of America Socialization is generally thought of as being an essential part of human development in that its importance is often times disregarded. However, understanding socialization can be a complicated and enduring process. â€Å"Sociologists use the term socialization to refer to the lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn culture† (Macionis, 2011, 68). Humans need social experience to acquire the skills needed to learn their culture and for survival. â€Å"Social experience is also the basis of personality, a person’s fairly consistent patterns of acting, thinking and feeling. We build a personality by internalizing – taking in – our surroundings† (Macionis, 2011, 68). When an individual is lacking social experience, personality seldom develops. People usually rely on others for assistance when their children are growing physically and emotionally but most importantly as their personality is developing. Many th eorists have focused on childhood as being the most critical time when personality is formed; however, Erik H. Erikson’s eight stages of development have set apart that focus and places emphasis on socialization throughout the life course as being the most influential (Macionis, 2011). Erikson centralized that challenges are faced throughout the life course fluctuating from infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, preadolescence, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood to old age even though not everyone faces these challenges in the exact order (Macionis, 2011). In summary, Erikson’s stages of development model calls attention to how several factors, including the family, school and peer groups, shape our personalities. Since socialization is a learning process that begins after birth and is learned throughout an individual’s life span, a common question is how can people be socialized? Looking around the world, we see that different cultures used different tech niques to socialize their children both formal and informally through school and peer groups. As we age, we enter new statuses and need to learn the appropriate roles for them. Across America, there are many national organizations that have been organized to provide programs for young people that help with maintaining socialization skills that have been embedded amongst our youth. â€Å"The Boys & Girls Clubs of America is a national organization of local chapters which provide after-school programs for young people† (http://www.bgca.org). The first Boys’ Club was founded in Hartford, Connecticut in 1860 after a group of women noticed how young boys from needy families would hang out on the streets after school because they didn’t have anywhere else to go. The club was created to provide them with a safe place to play. By 1906, there were fifty-three independent Boys’ Clubs that came together in Boston for form a national organization known as the Federat ed Boys’ Clubs. After many years, the organization renamed itself Boys’ Clubs of America and in 1990 renamed itself to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. There are currently over 4,000 autonomous local Clubs, which are affiliates of the national organization and serve over four million boys and girls. Clubs can be found in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and on US Military Bases. In 2010, member percentages included: 65% are from minority families, 5% are 5 years old and under, 43% are 6-10 years old, 19% are 11-12 years old, 21% are 13-15 years old, 12% are 16-18 years old, 55% are male and 45% are female (http://www.bgca.org).