Culture

a few weeks ago we discussed how different societies and schools have different cultures and how those cultures affect their ways of living and learning. a few values that fall into the same category are honesty, trust and respect. In the school environment all three of these values come into play in the classroom. The students have to trust the teachers on grading fairly and teaching in a way for students to catch on. If there is no respect in a classroom then students will not feel comfortable participating in class and its difficult to learn without feeling comfortable. Also there needs to be honesty in a classroom. Students have to know that no one is cheating of off them or using them for projects to get off easy with a good grade. All three of these values are highly looked upon at Stevenson because they want to give us a community that we will be able to learn freely in without any worries. Stevenson wants kids to feel respected, trustworthy and honest so that they can get the best education possible. Other values that are related to Stevenson are laziness and breaking the law. When students decide not to work and try hard in school, school officials get involved. Stevenson wants people to succeed so they try to get students help and mandatory tutoring. When students get in trouble with the law outside of school they still get punished for it someway in school. Stevenson does not lets kids off easy when they do something wrong. These values are the ones that Stevenson is not proud of, but they much be taken care of because students need to learn that education is important and even though it might seem boring now, it will be worth it in the end.

A Bronx Tale

In the movie A Bronx Tale the social constructs of reality play an important role in forming the way the people in the Bronx live and treat people. Their neighborhood is constructed so that certain people take control, know what’s going on at all times and keep people safe. The main group that takes the initiative is Sonny and his crew. They are the head of the neighborhood and everyone knows it. Most people even fear them. Sonny and his crew have their unwritten rules that everyone abides by. No one would dare do something out of line that would eventually get back to Sonny. This reality is comforting for some people because they know that if those crazy teenagers do something stupid, they wont get away with it. Sonny always gets his way and no one can disrespect him. Even though he and his crew sound intimidating they do have some good qualities. Since they always know what’s going on they are able to keep kids safe and off of the streets. When the bikers came into their neighborhood and into Sonny’s bar, they were not wanted, so instead of waiting for police, Sonny was able to take care of the men by himself. He has a lot of power, but that’s reality. People accept it and sometimes even like it.
Another construct of reality is racism. The whites in the neighborhood are clearly not getting over the fact that blacks should be equal. The white teenagers torture or offend any black person that comes through their side of town. The blacks are always minding their own business just trying to get through their rough days, when they get beaten up for no reason. Sonny is the only one who doesn’t accept this, because he knows that its wrong. Everyone else in the neighborhood sees what’s going on, but they are used to it so they don’t do anything about it. The reality of their neighborhood is that racism is going to exist. Its sad, but that’s what people are comfortable with.

9/11

Last Friday in class we remembered the 9/11 attacks that happened 8 years ago. We remembered the tragedies that occurred and the people that were willing to risk their lives to save the people of our country. This was weird to think about because it felt like yesterday when I was sitting in my fourth grade class room hearing about what happened. So much has happened since then that we probably never thought would happen in our country. The American people are stronger and closer then ever and the American army is constantly fighting for our safety. The safety precautions have changed so much to the point where we cant even bring liquids onto a plane. Another huge change is the stereotypes that people have created for the Muslim people. Now when we are in an airport or just walking on the street and we see a man with a turban, we think the worst. It has come to the point where it is sad that we are scared of some people that didn't even have anything to do with the terrorist attacks. Our natural instinct has taught us how to judge people way to quickly.

Freaks and Geeks

Last week we watched a t.v. show called freaks and geeks, which accurately portrayed how some high schools can be. There are definitely many different groups in high school, but the way these groups interact is a little different. At Stevenson there are not a lot of fights between different groups, because people don't care as much. I think that if people consider themselves popular they just wont talk to the geeks. They wouldn't make it their business to torture a kid. A lot of what was in this show about teens skipping class and smoking is not a whole lot different these days. There are tons of kids who skip class and smoke weed just because they think they are cool. This show really related to sociology because we have such a clear vision of what high school should be like because of movies like this, and it really gives of the wrong impression. We are fully aware of the fact that there are kids/groups of friends that might not be as cool or as liked as other groups, but we just ignore it. I dont think that one person or a few people really have the power in our school because everyone has their own friends and people try to stay away from causing drama and being in control. Ya there might be a few people who have the power in certain groups of friends, but its not power over everyone in school.