Cultural Lag...

Cultural Lag - this means that not all parts of a culture change at the same pace. When some parts of the culture changes, other parts are lag behind.

A striking example of this is our nice-month school year. Have you ever wondered why it is nine months long and why we take summers off? For most of us this is "just the way it's always been," and we have never questioned it. But there is more to this custom than meets the eye, for it is an example of cultural lag.

In the late 1800's, when universal schooling came about, the school year matched the technology of the time, which was labor intensive. Most parents were farmers, and for survival they needed their childrens help at the crucial times of planting and harvesting. Today, generations later, when few people farm and there is no need for the school year to be so short, we still live with this cultural lag.