Before the conflict ensued, one can see that Larry is only close to his 12-year-old son. That is the microsystem only. He is familiar with his family member. Moreover, he is only acquainted with a few of the residents from West Texas, Lockney out of 2200 in total. Not much can be said about his relationship with his peers, but he is formal with the school members well enough and is aware of the events that occur. The environment that he lives within is highly changing in terms of laws and policies, and Larry seems to be aware of that too.
From where I see it, the most essential components need to be first the school and the family members. The neighborhood and peers are only secondary to that. Larry’s family members include his 12-year-old son for which he has to cause the issue with the authorities and also the neighborhood where he has garnered a bad name due to his appeal. The mesosystem can also impact the development of his child due to the fact that his child will be made to face the consequences of his father’s decision. The exosystem holds some relevance too as the social setting and the individual’s relationship are important.
Once the conflict occurs, there are likely to be issued with the neighbors and friends. The conflicts within the microsystem are stated as the school district has vowed to take immediate action against the 12-year-old son, Brady. Brady will also be made to miss his extracurricular activities which will limit the social time that he spends with his peers. There are influences from the community as well that can be seen to affect Larry. U.S. Judge, Cummings, is one who will form an important part of the public appeal and perception. Due to the fact that Larry’s appeal made the headlines, he has also been treated as an outcast in the community, hence weakening many of the links in the ecological map after the clash.
There are likely to be some long-term implications that Larry would have to face. The school was likely to apologize for the wrongdoings and Brady would be able to join his classmates in all extracurricular activities. There were many issues that Larry and the family had to face due to the long-held fight against the policy. The community, to some extent, is also expected to limit itself from Larry and the family due to the nature of the appeal that they made. Also, it is likely that the social community will take an active interest in Larry’s case as he challenged the norms of the time and fought for what he believed was right for his child. It is expected that the exosystem is to be affected for some time only and that the child will not have much direct contact with the situation, but will be influenced by it. The child will be affected by any bad experience that they will have to face post the resolution of the issue.
In general, the significance of using an ecological paradigm in evaluating the individual in a social context is seen during one-on-one counseling or family counseling within any nursing or clinical profession. The social worker and the patient can look at systemic representation in the simplest manner possible. Essentially, the ecological theory and map allow one to study the influences of the environmental effects, growth, and development of children. The different levels include the microsystem, microsystem, mesosystem, and chronosystem. The child is always in the center and all external stimuli are seen. The system looks at the multiple interactions that shape the individual’s life over time.
Reference
Larry v. Lockney. (2003, July 1). Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/pov/larryvlockney/
