Community Service III

On April 12, I did more service at Congregation Beth Shalom with Anne. Anne, who is the youth director, was running an end of the year program for the younger age group. She was understaffed so I volunteered to help her run her program. That night she was running a 3 hour game night and BBQ for 3-6th graders. Specifically, while Anne ran the program I was in charge of making food. I got to fire up the grill and make about 3 dozen hamburgers and hot dogs (on a lousy grill).
After I finished cooking for the kids I got to take over on watching the game. I was then in charge of making sure nobody was cheating or got hurt. Everyone had a lot of fun and this service was a lot like my first one. Much like the service I did earlier in the year with the young kids at Beth Shalom, much of what I was doing was helping shape the community and providing them with a comfortable environment. I was playing a major role as one of the social influences in their lives.

Community Service II

On March 13 I ran a social action program which focused on hunger awareness. I volunteered to lead the program at Congregation Beth Shalom with Anne we organized it jointly with three other organizations from around the Chicagoland area. The 4 hour program itself was very interesting. We began dividing the group of participants into 3 social classes; wealthy, middle class, and poor. Each class was then served ice cream. The wealthy were served promptly with their choice of toppings. The middle class was given a reasonable bowl of ice cream, and the poor received a thimble of ice cream. As you may have guessed, there were a lot more poor people than middle class, and even less wealthy. We were careful to highlight the significance of how much income affects someone's ability to obtain something as basic as food, something that many of us living relatively comfortably can take for granted.
After the interactive part of our program, we invited a speaker to come and tell us her story. She was a woman that my youth group had been working with who had lost her job, her home, and was a single mother putting her kids through school. We all listened as she told us of how suddenly she found herself out of work and struggling to get food for her family. Luckily, after a difficult struggle she went to school to learn to be a chef and is currently employed. 
Finally, we concluded the program with having every participant make a few sandwiches which we then donated to P.A.D.S. It was a very successful day and we helped a lot of people become aware of a very serious problem and we provided food for some people in need of help.

Community Service

On February 22 I volunteered at Congregation Beth Shalom to help organize and run a calendar program for 3rd to 7th graders. On this particular Tuesday night I was helping Anne run a program with kids at the religious school that would help them learn about the Hebrew Calendar. During the 4 hours that I was there, I ran a station that taught the kids all about the month of Iyar and the holidays in that month. The children moved in groups from one station (month) to the next during the two hours of their class (there are two classes, one early and one after).
While looking back on the experience I realized that I was not feeling a profound impact on my life from the service I was doing, rather I was the influence on others' experience. The point of the program was to help educate young children about the Hebrew Calendar, a lunar cycle, and help them learn about their heritage. Additionally, the program was spread out around the synagogue to help the kids become comfortable in the congregation. The entire point of the activity was to help these kids feel safe and at home within their community. The work I was doing was helping form a comfortable and close knit community for a bunch of younger kids. Also, the experience of working with kids was special for me since I want to be a teacher one day. 

Race

Racism is something we learn about in school and experience constantly. From a young age kids are taught to treat other people with respect. Everyone gets a turn doing a job on the job chart and picking on others gets you a time out. So why is racism such a problem? People do not only feel uncomfortable around people of other races or cultures, but they have even been motivated to hate them. It is scary that people's hatred for others can be driven by something as arbitrary as physical appearance. Race is a heavy topic to deal with and people tend to avoid the seriousness of the issue itself by ignoring racism or even joking about it. This point only perpetuates the growth of racism.

Book Covers

Everyone always says, 'don't judge a book by it's cover'....but when you stop and look around you may notice; a lot of books hang out with books with similar covers. Is this just some strange phenomenon that people hang out with other people with similar outward appearances? Maybe one person influences another to care more or less about their appearance? Either way, another theory would suggest that a person's social class will influence the kind of people they associate with and most likely how they will look. Some people get 'preppy' clothes, other like black, and some are into jeans that never seem to fit at the waist. However, it is not often that you see the kids in black consorting with the kid who needs a belt. Unfortunately, people spend time with people who they interpret to be from the same social class as them. Sadly this does not foster healthy friendships with a lot of diverse people, but people tend to feel more comfortable with someone 'like them.' I like to think I don't give anyone the cold shoulder, but even looking at my own friends I can say that they are all alike. And not just in appearance, but in interests as well. In many ways we are very similar; I'm not saying that in order to be my good friend you need to share my opinions and look like you're in the same social class as me.....but I guess it wouldn't hurt our friendship either.

Correctional Facility or Just Jail?

In class we watched an episode of 30 Days in which Morgan went to Prison. Throughout his time there he was treated as an inmate and lived amongst other prisoners. During his month in prison he talked with a lot of people and there seemed to be a recurring pattern; most of the people he was talking with were repeat offenders. Even more of them seemed to be getting used to life in jail. It was as if the inmates knew that being there was not normal, but they were resigned to the idea that it was all they could reach in life. Rather than taking people who have made mistakes and helping them through their problems and rejoin society US prisons are teaching criminals to get used to bars, because odds are you will be back. The number of inmates in the US alone is appalling and our society is doing nothing to help the inmates who are in need of help. Granted, some people are in jail for good reason, but many, if not most, are there as a result of a bad decision, a drug problem, or even mental problems. These are not people who need to be shut away from society, they need society's help to get back onto the right path.

AAAHHH DRUGS......is this tylenol?

Last week in class we did an activity where we took a look at various descriptions of various drugs. We were not told what the drugs were, but we were told to decide if the drug should be legal or illegal, and to what degree, based on the descriptions. When the groups got together to discuss their rankings, nearly every drug got a variety of answers. How can two people read about one thing and claim that it should be illegal and legal? Shouldn't there be some commonality between people that allows us to tacitly agree on big issues? The simple answer; no. This exercise only highlighted the point that people all act and think based on their own perceptions. Our own experiences influence how we approach new events. In a way this helps us all approach new situations, but it also dooms us to make assumptions which are more often than not false. For example, if you see someone at school dressed differently than you, perhaps in a manner which you find shocking, you would probably avoid them. You may even go as far to assume that they are a trouble maker. You will completely skip on the opportunity to meet them because you just assume they are not good for you. Without ever giving them a chance, we all selectively isolate ourselves from others.

Deviance

From a young age we are all taught to respect our elders, listen to authority figures, and we seem to develop a sense of what our culture determines as "normal." However, when we all took a survey about what we think is deviant, everyone in our class had different answers. How is it that something that seems so important to our culture can be so subjective? If I don't agree with a majority of society, all of the sudden I'm deviant? This does not seem to support that there can ever truly be "normal," just more popular. Furthermore, deviance is only sometimes considered deviant in some cultures; there is no universal standard unit of measurement for deviance.
It seems funny how even the littlest things can be deviant. In my house, I was always taught that when I finished my meal I pick up my dishes and bring them to the sink. I ate at a friend's house this weekend and when I cleared my spot, his mother looked at me with shock. She then continued to look at my friend in a, 'how come you never do that?' kind of way. Even though this seemed like a normal, polite thing to do, it was deviant because it did not follow the accepted norm of the household I was in.

Oh my G-d, Masculinity Killed Kenny

As I sat down to reflect on the violent image of masculinity society has developed, I decided to turn on the TV. Admittedly, my work ethic could have been a bit stronger, but it all worked out for the best. After flipping through a few channels I found an old episode of South Park on. On top of being really funny, South Park is perhaps the perfect critique of society; it truly takes an interesting look at society and opens up various levels of sociological debate, but that's an issue for another blog. Today, I found myself watching the episode where all the boys began their shop class and all the girls went to home-ec.....except for Kenny. While in shop class, the boys supported classical stereotypes of men. Kenny was a wuss because he was not taking shop, and during class they found themselves planning a school yard fight to see which boy, Tweek or Clyde, was tougher. Meanwhile, Kenny, who is prone to dying, did not see home-ec as an attack on his masculinity, but rather a chance for survival. However, South Park Elementary's version of home-ec is not exactly politically correct; it, like shop class, serves to bring out the most negative stereotypes about the female gender. Obviously Kenny does not fit in. Eventually, Kenny is kicked out and sent to shop class. Simultaneously, the school yard fight bursts into the shop room and the result is Kenny getting flung into a box of rusty nails by a saw.
While it seems like a pointless cartoon, in actuality it highlights the need within society to redefine the image of masculinity. As shown by the children in South Park, the current image of masculinity only leads to violence and pain. Even in a satirical manner this cry for a new image of masculinity is apparent.

Un-TV

What is so appealing about coming home, sitting at the table, and wasting an hour or two in front of the TV? Have you ever really watched TV? It's the same thing over and over again! Opening credits, intro music, insert plot line here, creative camera angle, voice over, end credits. It's not a productive way to spend your day. Yet, the first thing I do every day when I get home is head for the television. It's not like I don't have more important things to be doing, but it's become cool to watch TV. Everyday we interact with other people and when we run out of real things to say to one another the go to is, "did you see what was on (insert mind numbing TV program name here) last night?!?!?!" We are compelled to watch TV by this false sense accomplishing something. As if now that I've watched Ted and Marshall have a sword fight in their apartment I'm somehow a more intelligent individual....? In actuality, all we do when we watch TV is enter a world that does not exist and remove ourselves from social interaction. You can't talk to someone while they're watching 'their show.' O QUIET; it's back! I want to hear this....ok sorry.

Shaping a Life

In class we've been discussing the metaphor of the growing man. Obviously, the physical growth of a baby into an adult is impressive, but it is an individual's capacity to develop beyond that which is impressive. Over the course of a lifetime, babies mature into functioning members of society. They take in their surroundings and learn from their environment, only to then develop their own unique personality and traits. These characteristics are largely influenced by the company we hold; through socialization, individuals do not necessarily develop new characteristics, but rather ones they have seen others exhibit. It's pretty easy to see this in younger children, but it's interesting to think of the effects of socialization on older individuals. For example, after spending a few hours with another person who laughs or talks in an interesting way, I have caught myself using their speech pattern or imitating their laugh. It's usually noticeable and does not effect my life very much, but it just goes to show that the people around us never stop influencing our lives.

Tuesdays with Maurie-Work

In Tuesdays with Mauri, Mitch's ideals about work are admirable. He is both dedicated and and driven. However, as the movie continues we see the adverse outcomes of his addiction to his work. While most people would agree that being interested in your work is healthy, it becomes apparent that Mitch is so involved in his work that it is ruining his social life. Whereas we begin the movie admiring Mitch, we soon come to realize that he deserves only our pity. Everything Mitch does is deadlines and individual work. Mitch is constantly short on time and seems indefinitely stressed. This seems a lot like the mentality many high schoolers exhibit. If we are so consumed with our studies, and worrying about our studies, what room do we leave ourselves to develop as healthy individuals? Won't our social interactions suffer? Do we want to give up a lifetime friendship for an A? What we really need is to be able to recognize the line; the very narrow division between caring too much and being lazy.

This would be safer blind folded

This past summer I spent 7 weeks in Israel. Aside from the obvious culture shock, one of the most difficult things to learn was that Israeli's are crazy drivers. Stop lights warn you before they turn green so you can prepare to floor it, stop signs are a suggestion, and the turnabout is used to make sure people slow down on turns. People blaze through intersections and mopeds drive in between traffic. Clearly this presents itself as an issue, especially if you need to get the the awesome Italian restaurant across the street. The key to crossing the road is timing. Lights change quickly and you need to cross the street with a sense of purpose. The question arises, would it be easier to just cross anywhere in the street, do I need an intersection? Interestingly, J-walking is severely punished. There's actually quite a large fine because it really is so dangerous to cross the street.

Why Are There Cats Everywhere?

The biggest culture shock I have ever experienced was when I spent a summer in Israel. Obviously, being that I spent seven weeks in a country half way around the globe, I was caught off guard many times by various things. However, I was most intrigued with what I saw on the street. Firstly, there are cats everywhere. And not 2 or 3 strays in a couple of alleys I passed; they are actually everywhere! Dumpsters, behind grocery stores, on army bases, in neighborhoods; you name it, there's probably a cat there (or digging through the trash out back). Nobody notices. My first thought was always, "how do people just let their pets run around? Aren't they worried they'll get lost?" Then I realized they were all wild. Even my Israeli cousins, who took in a cat as a pet, just picked one off the street (that was then checked for disease and whatnot). It's odd to think that such a domesticated animal here is like a squirrel there. On a more serious note, it's hard not to notice the soldiers on every street. On every hike, every street, every mall, each rest stop; armed soldiers. Here people would panic if the army suddenly took to the streets, but in such a conflicted zone the soldiers in Israel not only seem necessary but they almost blend in with the rest of society. They are no more bizarre to see than a stray cat.

Generally Speaking

Charon raises an interesting point; not only is generalizing useful, it's necessary. People want to believe that people are individuals and grouping them together is just wrong. There's no way an entire group can all portray the exact same characteristics, but at the same time it's impossible not to generalize. It is too easy to confuse stereotypes and generalizations. Generalizations are facts that allow individuals to take in the world around them more easily. It is a generalization to view people as either male or female, however it is not acceptable to assign specific roles to each gender. The individuals of either group may act as individuals, but the generalization should still apply. For example, I can be generalized as a senior. I am taking more classes than I ever have and I'm busier now than I have ever been. Obviously I am not a lazy senior who is just skating through second semester. It is fine to generalize as long as we are all open to accept exceptions to the generalization. Nobody should be put down for being generalized a specific way. There is no reason a young man in a wheel chair cannot do a back flip at a skate park; our assumption that a wheelchair bound child should not be at a skate park is ignorant. People are individuals and should not be defined by how we initially generalize them.

One of Us

The other day in class, Sal separated everybody into two groups. These groups were decided by whether we were wearing a colored or a black shirt that day. Even though this separation was completely meaningless when asked to analyze the other group, all us "black shirt" people felt united in a way. For some bizarre reason, we were right and they were wrong. Sal explained that this was because of the effects of Ingroups and Outgroups. Even if it was a meaningless group...it was my meaningless group. Each group that you can align yourself with instantly becomes more important to you than the groups to which you are not a member; the outgroups. In class we also took some time the other day to reflect on what groups we belong to. Between my family, my school friends, my camp friends, etc. I began to realize that I belonged to a lot more groups than even I thought. It is important not to get too caught up in "your" groups. When I think about everything I'm involved in it's quite easy for me to see my groups as the right way to be. Why would I want to think that something I'm a part of is wrong. However, in a world with so many different groups, it is crucial that we can recognize the merit outgroups have to offer.

SNOPOCOLYPSE!

First of all, I was shocked that the weather channel was so accurate. 3 pm on Tuesday the main event will begin. Ok so it was 2:46, but sure enough I was driving home right in the beginning of the blizzard.
As I woke up on Wednesday, at noon with killer bed head, I could not even imagine the day I was about to have. I had to leave my car in the driveway so now I had to dig it out of the snow, and I wasn't the only one walking outside with a shovel...actually, I wasn't the only one in my driveway with a shovel?!? The second my dad and I walked out the door one of our neighbors, who I've never said more than 3 words to, walked over and started suggesting ways to dig out my car. He helped us figure out a good place to move it once we got it out of the driveway and we even joked about how the second the roads were clear he was going up to 7-11 for Doritos. How could I live in a townhouse, literally surrounded by neighbors, and have this be the most contact I've ever had with someone who lives 3 doors down?
In about 20 minutes my car was moved across the street. We thanked our neighbor for the help and went inside for lunch. I haven't seen him since. It's amazing that it took a blizzard for me to get to know my neighbor. It just goes to show that as a society that can communicate with the opposite side of the world from our living room, we forget to step outside and interact with those closest to us.

Ditching

Today in Sal's class....well actually I can't say for sure. While everyone else was watching part of a movie (aka throwing a party...?) I was waiting on the side of the road for AAA to come pull my car out of a snow bank. After my car skidded of the road, my friend and I frantically began digging out the tires, putting wood under the wheels to try and get some traction, and did our best to get my car back on the road. Then, with half of the car back on the street, we learned it's really hard to get a front wheel drive car up onto the road from in a ditch. To say the least I was a bit frustrated.
When I took a moment to forget about how cold my hands were, I found myself thinking about sociology. All week we've been discussing sociological mindfulness and the sociological mind in class. Both of these concepts rely on understanding yourself as a member of a society. A sociological mind can understand the impact of a community on the individual, whereas sociological mindfulness is the action of consciously understanding the social implications of your actions. This morning, my car was stuck halfway in a ditch and halfway into the middle of a small neighborhood road...it was noticeable. For this very reason, I noticed a lot of people staring at my friends and me trying to back my car out of the snow bank. I wondered how these people all saw me; these strangers who I would never meet would have this idea of me for the rest of their lives. Was I, 'that idiot who drove into the snow', or, 'that poor kid who was going to be late to school.' At the same time, what did I think of all of them? "Ya lady, my car's in the snow...you can stop staring now; how can you just drive by without even looking if I'm okay?" It was very interesting to wonder why some people stopped to help and others drove right by.
Sociological mindfulness allowed me to have another interesting idea. After the tow truck arrived, my little incident was blocking the entire road. This wasn't that big of a problem, until a snow plow and a local resident became stuck behind the truck. Suddenly my problems were directly impacting the lives of these strangers. I was making them late for work. I was the reason the guy in the snow plow couldn't do his job. It's amazing how much complete strangers affect each other.

A Silent World

On the first day of Sal's class, he shook my hand, said, "Let's begin," and proceeded to sit in the back of the room silently, leaving all of us to ponder the meaning of life...and stare awkwardly at each other. In fact, I'm pretty sure my mind didn't wander any further than, "is this going to happen everyday...I need some coffee." After a few giggles, a single 'hello', and about 2 minutes, Sal addressed the awkward silence he had created. The class was able to determine that those 2 minutes were awkward because we all believed, 'let's begin' meant, 'sit down and be quiet, I'm going to teach now'. As it turns out, Sal is not a standard teacher; rather he wanted to show us that our expectations for a class already had us thinking sociologically.
However, is the awkward silence created in the classroom a product of the educational system, or the way the world has developed. I recently went to see Blue Man Group. The show begins with the Blue Men walking onto stage and standing there, silently. Much like in Sal's class, the crowd remained silent; everyone was waiting for them to start the show. One or two people cheered, but most of the crowd stared silently and awkwardly. In fact, the only time the crowd made any real noise was after one lost individual yelled, "GO PACKERS." The resounding gasp was quite audible. This silence results from the audiences' expectation for the Blue Men to entertain them. Nobody is getting their money's worth if we all sit there silently. In a private high school my friend attends, a teacher commented that the school needed to limit texting because the hallways were silent during passing periods. Students were interacting with other individuals and still silence prevailed. Even as I am sitting down to voice my opinions on silence I am blogging it silently with the world. In all these instances, silence seems to be logical. It really lets you analyze how awkward 3 blue performers are, it is unnecessary to talk to someone in the hall if someone you want to talk to more is sending you a text, and the world can read my blog. That doesn't mean they will.
Our society has become complacent to live in silence, but we all recognize that there is a need to fill the silence. In a classroom setting, blogging is a great idea. It truly does allow the student to reflect and share about a topic. However, in the real world something needs to be done about silence. I'm not suggesting we give every blogger a megaphone and tell them to 'get at it,' but we all need to recognize that a text message is not the same as a conversation over lunch, and not just because you don't get a sandwich with a text.

A Bit About Me

I'm a procrastinator who likes to plan ahead. Don't worry if that makes a bit of sense, I'm also an evening person who would like to wake up at 5 am. I'm a hard worker and I tend to stress over small details until a task is completed, but I like to think my time management skills are pretty good. These traits are constant between my educational and social lives. I am my own biggest enemy when it comes to school; I stress myself out over minute details, but hopefully that stress is keeping me from being a complete slacker. I just feel better when I know I'm doing my best. Outside of school, I'm usually with my Jewish youth group. On top of being a group of my closest friends, I have taken many active leadership roles within the group. In addition to being my chapter's President, I have planned major conventions and served on numerous committees.
My favorite classes have always been social studies. It almost scares me to say it, but I think I want to be some sort of History teacher later in life. However, I hate names and dates; the fascinating social studies classes are the ones pertaining to social interactions and the spread of ideals, like philosophy or sociology. How can math compete with ideals of society? (I'm not a fan of math)
My biggest influence in my life has been my family and my youth group. Both have served to provide me with a strong Jewish identity while teaching me how to be a productive member of society. At the moment, my life goals are pretty academically focused. My ambitions are directed towards going on a gap year program to Israel for the year while still receiving some college credit. Should be fun to sort out with an admissions office.

Step 6

Posting on my blog. Welcome to Sociology.