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I would say I am the same person I was at the start of this class but with a different outlook on things. I learned a lot of new things that I didn't know before. This class has made me aware of my surroundings and how different people view different things. I became more aware of others from being in this class. I learned that each person can make a difference even if it is small. Helping one person can go a long way.

race part 2

This we we watched a movie called Crash. This movie follows the lives of different people with different ethnicities. The movie shows how each character is effected by what race they are or look like. One character who works on locks was called a gang banger because he is latino and has tattoo's. He is later shown going home to his daughter, and the women was stereotyping him. There was a Persian family that was accused of being Arab and for that their store got broken into. This shows that you don't know exactly who someone is by just looking at them. This unit along with watching the movie made me realize to not judge anyone that I don't know.

race

This week we talked about race, and how it doesn't exist biologically. I always assumed that race existed because I never thought anything of it. I also never knew that if I go somewhere else I might not be called white. I also thought that I was white no matter where I went. We think this way because of the social construction that our society has created. In class we talked about how in Japan they only have two races. You are either Japanese or foreign. In America we group people on how they look either by their skin tone or nationality. This could cause a problem because many people "look" a certain race but are actually something else.

community service

This friday I volunteered at the Just Harvest soup kitchen. Before going I was unsure about what I would have to do and what it was going to be like. I never volunteered at a soup kitchen before so I was excited to help out. It definitely made me step out of my comfort zone. Everyone was very friendly, and wanted to talk. One man I talked to was going back to school to get a degree so we talked about going to college. A lady was reading a book, and as we started talking we liked many of the same books. It was inspiring to see that everyone had a good attitude and it made me realize that when I'm having a bad day I should really just try to get over it. These people are in a bad situation, and they still make the best out of their day. These people seemed more positive then some people I know in the area I live. When we got there we were split into different groups of things that needed to be done. There were servers, cleaners, people who distributed the food, and people who went around with drinks. Many of them came to say thank you when they were done eating and even said happy mothers day. They had gone through some difficult things but they were still more friendly and positive then most people I know.

Social Class

This week in sociology we continued to talk about social class, and what exactly it means to live in that class. We watched a show about a guy who took the life of someone making minimum wage and the struggles that come along with it. He did this with his wife and with the combined salaries they were hardly getting by. It was a struggle for them to do this for thirty days while some people spend their whole life dealing with this. It was eye opening to see how they were living from pay check to paycheck and how much of a struggle it is. I think the people who work pay check to pay check should be given more credit because they work very hard.

community service

I volunteered at Bernies Book Bank in Lake Forest. At the book bank I sorted and packed books to be given to at- risk children. We had to put stickers on the books and place them in the age group they belong. We did this for about half an hour. We then moved on to packing books to be sent. There was a specific way they needed to be packed. Each bag needed six books. There was a container of new books and each bag needs one of those. Each bag needs an "anchor book" a heavy hard cover book at the bottom followed by the new book with three other soft cover books.  Jessie works at the book bank full time and she was in charge when I volunteered. There was another girl in high school who was there and two boys in middle school with their mom. I went on a Wednesday which is when you can walk in and volunteer from four-thirty to six. I went with my mom which was very nice because I don't spend that much time alone with just her. While we were sorting the books she found some that she used to read to me when I was little. It brought back memories and it was good bonding experience. I would definitely go back and volunteer.

Social Class

This week in sociology we learned about social class. We define people by what occupation they have an how much they make. There are some factors that go into social class like: education, income, prestige, and where you live. There are three main classes: upper, middle and lower. The middle class divides into upper and lower, and lower divides into working class and underclass. Only 1% of America makes $500,000 or more, and most Americans are in the lower middle or working class.

These were all things that I knew but I never really took the time to think about. Going to Stevenson and living in Buffalo Grove is something I shouldn't take for granted. I go to a school where I can get a better education then most because of where I live. I can live here because my parents have the money to be able to live here and because of that I go to this school, and go on to a four year college.

Gender Panel

This week in sociology we had four students come in and talk about what it's like to be LGBTQ. Each student told us their story on how they came to realizing what exactly that meant. It was very interesting hearing their stories, and it takes a lot of courage to talk about the hard times in their life in front of strangers. I learned some things that I didn't know before. I learned what gender queer is and that is when they are not quite sure where they stand. One student made the comment that when they tell their parents they are LGBTQ it's like the death of a child. They had this image of what their child would be and they ended up being different then they expected. I'm really glad they came in to talk to us about their experiences and it gave me a new outlook on what some people go through.

Community service

For project dance our group had to raise money to participate in the fundraiser. Each person in our team had to make at least 30 dollars. I sold cookies and brownies to help out to help raise that money. I have been to project dance before so I knew what to expect. One reason why I really like project dance is because you raise money for a great cause and have a great time. You get to have a fun time while doing something for a great cause. There was a video from the people at Riverside who we raised the money for and it made me realize that every donation really helps. Over 60 thousand dollars were raised for the Riverside Foundation. 

Masculinity

Last week we learned about how women are portrayed in the media and in our culture, and this week we got to learn about how men are viewed. We watched a documentary about how men are viewed as not talking about their emotions and use violence as a way to show these emotions that they are not suppose to talk about. It was linked to the amount of school shootings that have occurred, and how teenage boys want to feel like they have power. In television shows and movies men are always shown as being the tough ones, and if you show any amount of weakness you are not a man.

In my life it has been a little different. My dad isn't the "typical"guy. My dad doesn't watch sports and is really open to talking.  I used to be embarrassed of him because he wasn't like my other friends dads. I soon realized that just because he didn't fit the typical definition of what many guys are he still did what he enjoyed.  I think from my dad not being your typical "tough guy" I learned that there are many different types of people and that you don't have to be a certain way.

Media

This week we watched a video about how toy companies market their products toward children. They take a television show or movie and make any sellable product possible and put their logo on it. We also watched a movie about how girls are portrayed to look a certain way because of them models being shown. This causes girls to feel depressed, and causes eating disorders. The movie also talked about boys vs girls and how girls and how each should fit the stereotype. We looked through a toy magazine and the girls were all in their rooms playing with dolls or with toy kitchens. The boy pages were boys who were all outside playing with toy machines and being masculine. It was obvious that the message they were conveying is that those are the ways it should be and that's the only acceptable thing.

Socialization

We started a new until called Socialization. We were given the growing man metaphor to better understand how children grow from just their genetics, and what they learn from the environment around them. Through socialization they grow into a more aware and conscience person. We read the story about Genie who was lock in her room strapped to her bed from when she was born until she was found at age thirteen. She had no contact with the outside world, and was not nurtured at all. This effected in every single aspect of her growing. She could not do simple tasks that we could all do because she was never taught how. Chewing, talking, walking, and even seeing were very difficult for her. Babies need the nurturing and attention to learn basic skills.

Tuesdays With Morrie

This week we watched the movie "Tuesdays With Morrie." The main characters are Mitch who was Morrie's student and Morrie who is going to die from Lugarics disease. Mitch spent too much time on his career and ignored his girlfriend. He didn't understand that you have to value certain things and people in your life. Mitch has a had time facing his fears and uses defense mechanisms. I also don't like facing my problems sometimes. I hate confronting people and I will do anything to avoid it. From the movie Morrie explains that we need to take advantage of every moment and not be afraid to face those fears.

Subcultures

This week we talked about subcultures. Everyone is part of their own subculture, and might be part of more than one. I am part of the stevenson subculture. Our material culture is the PAC, the six fingered patriot and the point. A more at our school is traveling because most school wouldn't know what that means. A folkway is that you cannot step on the patriot otherwise you will get bad luck. Thinking about this does separate us from other schools because they wouldn't understand, but if you go to stevenson you do. If someone walked into our school they would notice people not walking on the patriot, and people being late to class because they were traveling.

God Grew Tired of Us

This week we watched a documentary called "God Grew Tired of Us."The lost boys of Sudan walked 1000 miles and it took them 5 years. They settled in a refugee camp in Kenya, but a few of went to America to start a better life. They were so amazed by everything because it was nothing like their home. At the camp they would live in big groups of people and it was normal to talk to everyone. They had to get used to living in an apartment with one other person which was difficult for them. They often got lonely because they felt isolated from the other lost boys. People were intimidated by them traveling in packs so they were only allowed to walk with two people.

culture

We started a new unit this week which was culture. We learned about ethnocentrism, cultural relativity and culture shock. Culture shock is when someone is surprised at how different something is  compared to your culture. When someone starts to think that their culture is doing it the right way and the other is wrong that is ethnocentrism. We were given three words on the board and they we had to see which ones didn't fit. The words were laundry, beer and clothing. Everyone said beer didn't belong because clothing is a form of laundry. Some cultures might say that clothing doesn't belong because beer and laundry are liquids. As americans we put things together that function rather than how they look.

I have been to Mexico a few times and it's always difficult to communicate because I don't' know their language that well. Once my family and I got on a bus and got off at the wrong stop because we didn't understand and it was very frustrating. We were in culture shock because everything around us was completely different.

A Bronx Tale

This week in sociology we watched a movie called "A Bronx Tale."In the movie the main character Calogero was in many groups during different times of his life. He was in a group with his school, family, friends and the people in his neighborhood. C's master status when he was younger was son. He used to ride the bus with his father frequently and shared a bond of baseball. When C got older he became very close with Sonny and he was like his second father. C's master status then changed to a friend. He was a friend to Sonny and everyone in the neighborhood.

My master status has been the same for most of my life. I am a daughter and a sister. My family means a lot to me and they are the ones that influence me the most.

This week in class we put our desks in a circle and had a discussion. We were to put our names in the middle of the paper and put all the the groups we were apart of. The group could be with one other person or with millions of others. We then had to pick our master status which is what is most important to you. I picked my family as my major status because they are very important to me and they impact a lot of the decisions I make. It was interesting to hear other person major statues and what was important to them

We also did an experiment by splitting up the class into people wearing blue jeans and people who are not. I was wearing jeans so we were given a white board to write down some reasons why they are not wearing jeans. At first some comments were generic like "they didn't want to" or "they were in the wash." Then as time went on the comments started to get meaner like "they didn't' fit anymore" or "they are ugly." This was to give an example of the video we later watched about a teacher who split her class up into kids with blue or brown eyes. She said the blue eyed kids were the best and it caused bullying between the kids. This showed "in groups" and "out groups."

Freaks and Geeks

This week in sociology we learned about the three perspectives of sociology. To get a better understanding of what exactly the perspectives are we watched Freaks and Geeks. One perspective is functional analysis founded by Emilie Durkheim. Each group in a persons life serves a function for the individuals. The freaks allow Lindsay to be rebellious. The mathlets let her be cool in school by being smart. Gym class allows for the ones that are not as intellectual but are athletic to feel accepted. Society created with people from experiences is called the social construction of reality. We do what is "socially acceptable" because that's what we are used to. The seniors feel like they have the power in the school because they are the oldest. Seniors are the only ones that order class shirts that is because each senior class before us has ordered them. If freshmen were to order class shirts the seniors wouldn't like that because they would be changing the tradition and it wouldn't be special anymore.

Sociological mindfulness and sociological imagination

This week in class we leaned about sociological mindfulness and sociological imagination. Sociological mindfulness is how we can make positive changes in our daily lives. Sociological imagination is how a person is shaped or influenced by the time period and where they live. There are many factors that go into the reasons I chose specific things in my life. Lets say I stayed in Highland Park instead of moving to Buffalo Grove. I would have been a completely different person because I would have had different experiences and made completely different friends.  I live in a time were everyone has the newest technology and everyone reads the news online and that is a norm for my generation. We watched a video in class about a guy in high school who performed a poem about technology and how much we rely on it. My dad when he went to college had no choice but to get roomed with someone that he knew nothing about. I had the opportunity to join the Facebook group of my graduating class and found a roommate through there. In some ways it helps us but in others it creates bad situations. Many times people don't think about what they are saying if they are texting it because they don't see them in person.

Who Am I?

I am a twin. I have a twin sister that I am very close with and we do almost everything together. It's cool having a twin because its like always having a best friend with you. Freshmen year we moved to a new high school and having her with me made it a little easier. I think the reason we are so close is because we have gone through almost experiences. Going through the had times with her made me realize how lucky I was to have someone my age to confine to. We decided for college that we would just try to find a school that we like and if we end up together then it would be fine. Of course we both liked the same school so next year we will be at the same college.