Defining Modernization

What is Modernization?

            According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, modernization is the state of being modernized; having characteristics of the present or most recent period of development. It is a revolutionary transition from an old-fashioned society to one that is considered ‘modern’. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolution theories followed by the societies which are now known as ‘modernized’.

            Historians and sociologist may link modernization to the processes of urbanization, rationalization and industrialization. As sociologist say, “When modernization increases within a society, the individual becomes that much more important, eventually replacing the family or community as the fundamental unit of society.”

             Modernization has been used widely by today’s rapidly developing societies and communities to aid in their development. In countries like China, modernization is said to be the most useful framework in their history.

            Traditional beliefs and old-fashioned cultural traits become less important in societies undergoing the process of modernization. Instead of being cooped up in conventional practices, modernized societies tend to arrive at governance dictated by abstract principles and greater appreciation of innovations.

            Some believe that science, technology and education are the best ways to make a society modernized, some believe in the importance of a “special path” or standing out, and some has tried isolation.

            It has also been said that democracy follows modernization. As Seymour Martin Lipset said, “All the various aspects of economic development--industrialization, urbanization, wealth, and education--are so closely interrelated as to form one major factor which has the political correlate of democracy.”

            Each society can transcend from traditionalism to modernization and those who do usually follow more or less similar paths. More modernized societies are wealthier, more powerful, has a visibly higher standard of living and the citizens experience more freedom and privileges brought about by modernization.

           

Thoughts On Writing

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                Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.” For me, this famous quotation best illustrates the importance of writing. Writing is very important for many reasons: through writing, we can express who we are as persons, writing fosters our abilities to explain complex positions to readers and ourselves, it helps us preserve our ideas, writing also helps us demonstrate our intellectual flexibility and maturity, and writing equips us with the communication and thinking skills we need to participate effectively in life.

          We should look back to all the knowledge that has been written down through the ages and see what people have learned from this knowledge. Through the written knowledge of the past, we learned new things, explored history, and learned to live and cope in a more convenient way.

                In our class today, we talked about how we feel about reading and writing. Miss Dianne relayed to us the result of the survey we took last meeting about the Internet and Digital Tools usage. During our first meeting, Miss Dianne made us write a bit about how we feel about writing and research. Basically, out of 64 respondents, 30 of my classmates feel positive towards writing; 14 feel apprehensive and 10 are feeling neutral about this topic.

          If I remember correctly, at the time, I was feeling fairly neutral about writing. I don’t think I’m a bad writer but I do believe my writing skills can improve so much more. On the plus side, I’m already an avid reader so I’m pretty familiar with different forms of writing. I like to think I know how sentences are supposed to be constructed and how words should be used. On the negative side though, I’m extremely lazy. I don’t really use much of my time writing. When I was younger though, in elementary school and high school, I used to love making short stories and novels. Unfortunately, I don’t think I ever got to finish a novel.

          Most of my classmates have said in the survey that they mainly like to write to express themselves. They use blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites to post their sentiments. They also pointed out the relaxing and meditative effects of writing. Some people tend to write to help relieve stress and express their emotions.

          Though we already know the many advantages of writing, there are the problems and needs we need to address and work on. Some of these were brought up by my classmates during today’s class. There are our problems with grammar, vocabulary, difficulty of putting thoughts into words and being scared of criticism.

          With all the problems brought to our attention, I think it would be best to first work on our fear of criticism. If we start gaining confidence, we wouldn’t be as afraid to commit mistakes; we would learn to experiment, try new things and improve our writing skills. We should learn to be more open to criticism so we would know which areas we need to improve on and therefore produce better writing in the future.