Final Blog

My name is Adam and I am a senior at a well-known high school in the north shore suburbs. I am one of three children in my family. I enjoy watching and playing sports during my free time. My biggest influences in my life are my parents. Both my parents have given me great opportunities to succeed in life and have given me a great set of values. Due to my parents ability to give my life structure, I have many goals for my future. A few immediately goals are to maintain my grades at the level they are at, and to get accepted into a university of my choice. One of my long-term goals is to earn a degree in some sort of business profession.

I would change, in light of our sociological experiences, many parts of my original blog:

My name is Adam and I am a senior at a very large, and diverse high school in the north shore suburbs. I am one of three children, all of the same race and ethnicity, in my family. I enjoy helping others and working with people, whether through sports or volunteering. I watch and play sports in most of my free time. The role models in my life are my parents. Both my mother and father have raised my to strive for success and put forth all my effort. They have taught me to be accepting of everyone. One thing I enjoy doing is looking at the world in a different perspective. In this I mean that I like trying to do certain things and see the results that occur. Stereotypes have minimal influence in my life right now, yet in the future, i may encounter some interaction. My biggest goals for my future are to maintain my grades, and earn a degree in a respectable profession. I believe that these goals are, in a way, shaped by the culture I live in. In the culture i live in, the majority of the teens go to college, lead a middle-class lifestyle. Another way that my life is shaped is by the media. The media, whether television, newspaper or radio, affects everyone around me. Whether hearing about a bad things, or learning about some new medicine to cure a disease, we are all effected by the media. I would classify my major status, as of now, as a student. Everyday in my life, some part of school plays a role in my life. My future is shaped by the way I perform in school and the things I learn. Sociology and studying the people around you, has changed my life and views as a human. 

Race: Crash

While dicusssing race in class, we came across a video that helps me see and understnad the way it is perceived in our world, as a whole. In this video, a experiment was taken where they placed little girls and buys in a room, and asked them to slect which doll was associated with the such charactersitic. Out of about 20 children, about 10-15 chose the white doll over the black doll. I feel the point of this video is to explain and show the world how we are not changing and need to progress towards the better. A few things in this video made me think of the way I was taught and raised. In my family, we are never taught to disrespect anyone for any reason. In the case of race, I haven't had any problems with anyone of similar or different race. If I go back farther, I'm sure there was some interaction between races, within the lives of some relatives. These stereotypes and beliefs haven't really effects my lie widely. A great way for our class and everyone to learn from this, is by moving away from racism and preventing its negative effects on the next generation. By everyone participating, we can really have a strong effect. 

Another way that race has been brought into my life is through school. Going to Stevenson is a way to experience certain races first hand. Although there is some interaction, i wish there would be more diversity. i would like to see how everything would flow with different races and everything in our large academic environment. In terms of the people that I spend most of my time with, they are all white. There is for sure a lot of "clicking" between groups of the same race. 

One way I feel we can portray our opinions is through media. Many movies explain these views and how violence and negative things are the only results that come out of this. I cannot specifically think of a great movie, but there are many out there that do a great job.

Monopobility

During the previous week in sociology, we have been discussing social class, and the ability/lack of ability, to move up or down. I think the activity where w played Monopoly and each person represented a different social class, was a great idea. I thought it really help me understand how difficult it is to move up in a class, yet how easy it is to go down, because it is easy to spend money and not realize the long-term effects.
As for the questions brought forward on Sal's blog, my family's mobility has been gradual since my father became a professional in his field. Although my mother doesn't currently hold a job, she did attend U of I and did work for a business firm, prior to the birth of my older sister. I am growing up in a higher social class than my parents did when they were my age, due to the fact tat my father works his tail off for everything I have, and went to college, unlike his parents. On the other hand, my grandparents on my mom's side did attend college. My mother's parents both attended college and received respectable jobs. Her mother went to National College of Education, while her father attended Roosevelt University. As for me, due to the lifestyle I have grown up in, and the goals I have set toward striving toward, I feel I will live in the same social class that I do now, which is of my parents.

Tammy and the Family

During the last week in Sociology, we watched a film called People Like Us. This film showed a lot of ways people are stereotyped and given us an inside look at many family's economic situation. One specific family that caught my attention and made we want to act in a helping manner, was a family in Waverly, Ohio. Tammy, the mother, and her two sons live in poverty. Growing up, Tammy was one of 22 kids and lived in the same such environment as she does now. As Tammy starts explaining her boys, she tells us that one of them tries extremely hard, receives awards, yet thinks he is too good for their family, because he strives to become an architect or lawyer.
My opinion on this boys goals, are that he should keep trying. I would extremely encourage him to try his hardest and continue to push toward his goals. Although some people may say that, due to his financial state and role models, he doesn't have a chance at success, especially at the level he is striving for. The quote that I think sums up all the feelings and emotions that I felt when I heard this kids goals is, "Success is when preparation meets opportunity." To me, this quote says, that is you prepare and wait for your opportunity or are given a chance, you will find success.
One of the major goals for most people as they grow older and strove for what they want, is that of the American Dream. The American Dream is a very broad, yet great achievement for someone. I feel that Tammy's son's chances at succeed are at about 65-70 percent. I feel this way because he has the determination and it seems as though he is preparing himself. Although that can be said, I think that his chances are lowered due to the fact that he comes from a poverty-stricken family and really doesn't have anyone to help him get to where he wants to be. His mother is not a good role model and also, discourages him from everything he wants.

Rules in American Society

Throughout the previous week, wee have talked extensively regarding how certain events effect your future, whether trough income or profession. We discussed a topic regarding the fact that over the past 20 years, that based on the ACT you got, the higher your income was. Sal had statistic to back of his claim and ideas. Although there was all this evidence that it may be true, I still disagree with this idea. I feel that no matter what you ACT is, whether perfect or average, it doesn't necessarily have a direct effect on your future. Obviously there are those cases of terrible scores, but in this case., I feel if you get a reasonable score, it is what you do with the education you may receive, not so much, your future and professional income guidelines. Most people may argue that if one student goes to Harvard and another goes to Illinois, the student that went to Harvard has a better chance at success, due to their education received and the school they attended. I would disagree but in this case, where both institutions are respected and highly-praised, if the student at Illinois works his/her tail off and put forth 150 % effort, he/she has just a good chance at success and that ultimate goal, as the other student.
Also in class, we talked about the way that most people don't know some basic rules to American society and just say, "Anything can happen in America." I feel most people take this approach/belief, because they want to feel in such a way that they can achieve anything and crazy "stuff" happens all the time. Although there are those stories of a poor man getting a job and becoming a wealthy businessman, for the most part, the way you were influenced and effected as you grew to your adult age, leads you toward the correct path and future.

jUStice

Most humans in the world, are good people, mind their own business and go about their day as innocent citizens. But, as we look closer at the United States, as a whole, one percent of our adult population is locked up behind bars. This statistic, which we discussed in class, is not very astonishing to me. If you deconstruct our society, we are a very violent and thrill-seeking place. Consumption and purchase of drugs and weapons are at their highest. Bad people want to be noticed and put on TV. Everything wants to be heard and seen, just as much as everyone else.
Another statistics that most people don't now is that 1/4 of every prisoner IN THE WORLD is behind bars in the United States. I think this is true for the fact that all other countries are so calm and have different values. In the United States, it is all about fame and success, which leads to people striving to meet their needs through violence and drugs. In those other places, the families focus on values and have much respect for health and others. They don't need to resort to drugs and crime for fame, they just care about being great citizens and respectful to others.

In our society today, I feel that people think, due to the fact that drugs are used so often by everyone, they are acceptable. This is so wrong. Drugs such as alcohol, caffeine, marijuana, and weed, are all bad for you, in any dose. Everything you put in your body is harmful and should be thought of as serious and negative. Not only do people not understand the effect on their bodies, but they don't understand the effect on everyone else. Drugs led to stupid decisions, such as crime. Since the United States is tolerant of drug use, they look past what the effect are.
Bottom Line: Drugs can only be bad, and should be taken seriously.

This Historical Election

This week, as every watched, the United States of America elected a new President, Barack Obama. The historic impact of Tuesday's election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president was clearly reflected on front pages of popular magazines worldwide. Most newspapers, read the words, "Historic," "Change," and simply, "Obama" to magnify the important of this selection. The New York Times, one of the most bought/viewed papers worldwide, used 96-point font to proclaim this event and surprisingly, only three times in its history has this size font been used before. Previously, only the resignation of Richard Nixon, the first man on the moon, and the Sept. 11 attacks sparked such a large front-page font for the paper.
As you look at the impact closely, there is one thing that most people can say: They never expected a black man to be elected to the highest position in the United States. One reporter put the election result into her own word by saying, "Perhaps History itself demanded that we pass through the pain and humiliation of the Bush era in order to merit the relief granted by this election." I think this sums it up great. Most people saw the economy struggling and need "change we can believe in." Right when people were on the brink of breaking, the election hit, change came, and it brought belief to people's minds.

Another way that this win was historic was for the events leading up to it. As we saw, a woman and a black man were competing over who has more influence. We've got supporters, of an African-American man and a woman arguing over which is more qualified to be leader of the free world, and everyone, no matter what you previously thought, took it seriously. Finally, I think Obama's selection is historic because of the American voters. We could have followed what had happened in previous years or just sat home, but we didn't. We chose to hope and vote for who we thought was best for us, the people. While our country has fallen, while we have less confidence than ever, we still took a risk.