Deviance

When we went to see the court case, I noticed that a lot of what was going on connected back to what we were learning about in class.  Gary was obviously deviant seeing as he committed a violent crime against his mother and the escort tha he hired. Gary was also punished through formal social sanctions because the police arrested him and he was going through a fomal hearing to get his sentence. Not only that, we as an audience served as a mode of informal social sanctions. We served that role because we all judged him for what he did, and many of us addressed him as a murder and looked down upon his actions. Not only that we got to witness part of the legal funnel system because Gary's case had to go through all the initial steps to reach an actual trial.You could also apply the functionalist theory to what happened with Gary and his mother because people can take what Gary did and see all the consequences he is going through and it will help prevent people from following in the same path that Gary chose. Another theory that would apply would be the lableing theory because we as a society have deemed murder and the solicitation of escorty as deviant behavior and have made it an official issue by making it a law. So because Gary committed murder and solicted escorts, he committed a crime and had to go through the legal code. Gary will also be paying retribution to society by serving his time in prison.

Chinese Mothers

I actually agree with the chinese mother's approach to socializing kids. I agree because today parents are more focused on their children's self confidence and to ensure that they don't get hurt they try to keep them from hurtful situations, like feeling bad about failing. Although I do think it is important for kids to have a good self esteem and image of themselves, it is more important to teach children that they have the potential to be amazing if they work hard at something, rather than giving up when the going gets rough.

I don't think that raising children in this fashion will mess them up, I think it will help kids form a solid foundation as to how to act in life. Then in most situations parents do know what is best for their kids because they have had more life experience than them and have a better capacity to tell whether or not something is good or bad. Then in the end children do grow up and find their own paths, so even with the "medling" of parents, kids will make their own choices as to how they will spend their lives.

The way "chinese" mother's raise their children is the perfect example of Charle's Cooley's looking glass self. This method of raising children fits well into this category because parents expect a lot from their children and make it clear that they believe they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. So, because children have this support system of belief behind them, they too grow to believe they can excel if they try their hardest. Then according to Sigmond Freud, children develop their personalities from their parents, so because "chinese" mother's are so strict and demanding from their children, their children grow up expecting and demanding a lot from themselves as well. Then as for Jean Piaget, kids who have been raised under the influence of chinese mother's learn to do things in a differnt manner compared to "western" kids. Because the way they learn things is different, they are able to accomplish more whether it be for themselves or for their mothers.

Socialization

My cousin just had her third baby, a boy. Before sociology I never realized how much we teach little kids about society. When I went over to her house to see the baby I noticed that all his clothes were colors associated with boys like blue, red, yellow, and white. Then because in class we are discussing socialization I noticed that the choice of color for my nephew's clothes was a way to socialize him into his gender role. Because all of his clothes were boy colors, Angel will grow up to identify those colors as ok to wear since he is a boy. The same goes for his toys. All my aunts and uncles bought Angel little toys like teddy bears and other assorted animals. Although he did recieve stuffed animals, no one bought him a doll or "girly toys." Not only was Angel being socialized to his gender role, he was getting a lesson of human interaction. Usually, when people see a baby they want to hold it. The fact that a lot of people came to see him, Angel learned to be more comfortable with people and not freak out when someone other than his mom and dad held him.

Little Kids

Sometimes I help tutor some kids that live down the street from me, but lately I haven't had a chance to see them because I am busy with school and badminton, so instead of tutoring them, I have been helping my little sisters out more. My little sister Nahomi is 9 years old and she is learning her multiplicatioin tables and when I was trying to explain to her how to do the 6 tables I found myself getting extremely frustrated with her because she just couldn't get the hang of it. Then the kids that I tutor are around the same age as Nahomi and in the midst of my frustration I realized "man I really need to calm down, and if she weren't my sister I probably wouldn't react this way." Then another thought popped into my head, "hmmm so this is what moms feel like" throughout my days going to school I have met some really crazy moms that expect so much from the kids and I always thought, why can't they just be happy with what their kids can do what more do they want from them. And during my time with my sister I realized they want perfection. The closer you are to someone the more you expect from them. Although this seems like a good thing it can actually be harmful for kids like the article we read in class about how parents who want genius babies actually cause harm to their children's learning development by sitting them in front of those "interactive" videos.

Culture Shock

When I went to Honduras two years ago I experienced culture shock because here in the United States I am used to seeing all the guys fully dressed and for them to treat women with respect. When I went to Honduras I found that a lot of the guys over there liked to walk around half naked and were very open with making rude remarks to the women they came across. The most surprising example of this that I went through was when a little old man started hitting on me and my sister. Of course we were more than a little shocked but when I asked my cousins over there they said it was normal and not to put too much stock into it. I thought it was both shocking and interesting how the mannerisms can be so different between to cultures.

Culture

On Wednesday I went to see my uncle and I said hi to him and everything, but as I was saying hi to him I realized that this is not how I would greet anyone from here and it was more of a hispanic thing to do. Usually when I go to Mexico everyone greets each other with a single kiss on the cheek and since I am so used to doing this, I really did not see anything strange in doing it. Although it is a part of my culture, I don't go around greeting everyone like that because I know that that is not usually a welcome way of saying hello here in the United States. I guess things like this happen all the time, its just part of everyone adapting to fit into the society that they live in.

What Represents America?

   
I chose the picture of the Holly wood sign becaue the Holly Wood sign is one of the best known landmarks in the United States. People view the Holly Wood sign as a chance for fame and fortune, which goes back to the American dream where the streets are paved with gold and everyone can become rich and famous. Then I chose School House Rock because it is something that most children have seen and they are basically educational videos about America. I chose the next picture because as a society we eat way to much fast food and it has affected the size and health of people everywhere including children. Then I decided to pick the marvel super heroes because they are a major part of our pop culture and are very popular among both kids and adults. And lastly I picked a picture of a girl who won a beauty pagent because here in America we put a lot of stock in aesthtic beauty and beauty pagents are a perfect example of that way of thinking.

Culture

Being of hispanic decent, I often times notice the difference of how people act here in the United States and how they act in Mexico or Honduras. The biggest difference I have noticed is that in hispanic countries everyone seems to know everyone else. Everyone says hi to each other and actually know each others names, unlike here where I couldn't tell you the guys name that lives two houses down from me. Also here in the U.S. we put a huge emphasis on education, while in rural towns in Honduras the kids are expected to grow up and do exactly what their parents did.

Groups again!

My favorite interest group just started, badminton. Badminton is an interest group because the girls on the team come together for the purpose of playing together on the team. A lot of the girls on the team also form part of my secondary group. Meaning that I am pretty close friends with them. Two years ago when my sister still went to High School part of my primary group was part of the team as well. On the team my status is that of a varsity athlete and I am expected to be competitive, demonstrate good sportsmanship, and be a team player.

Groups

Since we are talking about groups in class I'll mention two groups that are very important to me. My interest group, badminton, is important to me because it has allowed me to make new friends because we are all brought together because we all enjoy playing badminton. The thing I like the best about interest groups is that you don't necessarily have to be best friends with everyone on the team or group, but since we are all brought together by the common interest, we form a sort of family/community. Another group that is important to me is my family which is a primary group. I spend a lot of time with my family and they have helped shape me into the person that I am. There are other groups that I am involved in but these are some of the most important ones to me at this point in my life.

Conflict theory

Today I had a field trip and everything was fine because I didn't have real school and I also had an extra day to work on homework for my other classes. On the bus ride home, I was talking to some of my friends about how a seemingly good thing, like a decision to go on a field trip, could cause a lot of conflicts. Our bus home was about two hours late in total so we didn't get back home until six and because of the delay, a lot of us felt the pressure of not doing the home work we were assigned the day it was assigned. The conflict in this situation was that a field trip that is supposed to be fun caused conflicts with people's scheduals and stress levels depending on how prepared they were for the trip.

Babysitting

While babysitting, I noticed that whenever the kids' parents would call to check up on the kids, they would automatically calm down. When I saw this it made me think, "hmmm... these kids were ready to tear down the house a second ago why did they suddenly just stop?" I connected this experience back to sociology because that is how it is with most everyone. When a person is by themselves with no "governing' power to make them stop, people do whatever they want, but once an authority figure steps in, everything goes back to order. Another example of this is recess at elementary schools. Kids are given about half an hour to go crazy and let of energy but once the teacher calls everyone back in, the kids lose their freedom to do whatever they want, but they just accept it because that is what society has trained them to do. Society has trained people to do as the governing power says whether it be a parent, a teacher, or even the U.S. government.

Me!

I am a senior this year. I am one of five kids and am the second oldest. I have three sisters and one brother. I am a pretty quiet person and don't talk that much. I don't really watch a lot of t.v. so I am not very involved with what is going on in the world today. I like older music like from the eighties. I also play badminton in the Spring. The biggest influences in my life are my family members, especially my parents. They influence me because they struggled to get to where they are today and I want to do something good in my life so their efforts to give us, their kids, a better future won't be wasted. My life goals are to finish college and become a lawyer. And thats basically a quick summary of who I am!