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.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
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