Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Experiencing Sociology...(Community Service)


Hopefully you are willing to try community service with an open mind. I think that most students who have done service experiences before will say that it was rewarding and an overall good experience. Maybe if you have done a service experience before, you can blog about it. Do you see how doing community service might make you sociologically mindful?  What was it like? What went well? What advice would you have for those who have never done it? If you have never done something like that, what do you think about it? What are your concerns and questions?

I think the most challenging aspect of this is to get students to begin thinking about what experience they might want to do without constantly hounding them. I hope you are up for it. This is your homework - find some places that you might be interested and call them! Have at least 2 places in mind by the end of the third week of the semester. Here is the assignment that I call Step 1. Please turn this in by the first progress report.

Some advice that I want to emphasize:
When you call places to volunteer, do NOT say "I have to do community service..." That makes a bad first impression. It sounds like you are being forced. Instead, say "I want to volunteer..." or "I heard it was a really cool experience so I want..." or you can even say, "My teacher told me about this experience so I wanted to try it..."

Be open minded and willing to feel a little uncomfortable. The best learning experiences of my life were when I was willing to put myself in that position.

Some of the more rewarding experiences have been PADS, the Uptown Cafe, and Clearbrook. Try to do these if you are interested, but you may have to do it with a parent or another adult.

Do not wait until the second half of the semester. These experiences take some time to setup. Sometimes the opportunities are filled, so don't wait! The sooner you set this up, the better chance you will have of finding something that is worthwhile and meaningful. If you wait, you will be rushing and you will only find some last-minute, not-so-great opportunity.

Finally, be patient but persistent when contacting these organizations. Many of the organizations are run by unpaid volunteers. Sometimes they do not work regular hours. If they don't get back to you right away, try calling at a different time of day or a different day of the week or try a different number, etc...

Friday, January 13, 2017

Soc mindfulness and the service project

As you enter today, look over you answers from yesterday's questions:
How is a sociological imagination different from being sociologically mindful?
How can the Touchscreen video be an example of a sociological imagination? 
How can the Touchscreen video be used by YOU to be more sociologically mindful?


Bell & Notes for Next Week:
Post 1 - be sure it is up and be sure your blog is on my feedly and my blogpage.
Hand in the movie permission slip.
Reading for next week

Explanation of The Service Project - turn to page 21 of your packet.


Examine the following videoes.  How are they an example of sociological mindfulness?


Here is a Thai commercial that promotes the idea of sociological mindfulness.




"Fired up? Ready to go!" This is a phrase I like to use with my class. It is a way that I like to check in with students and remind them that they are in my class and I want them to feel fired up about it. Sometimes, if you are not feeling fired up, all it takes is repeating this and it can make you fired up. But the phrase is also a fleeting reminder that we all have an influence on our world. Maybe that influence is just the room we are in, but that influence ripples out. So that phrase is a reminder to be sociologically mindful. It is a reminder that we are a participant in society. Society doesn't just happen to us; we are participants in the process. That awareness is what Schwalbe talks about as sociological mindfulness. It can change how we think and act and therefore how we influence the world. "One voice can change a room. And if it can change a room, it can change a city; and if it can change a city it can change a state and if it can change a state, it can change a nation and if it can change a nation, it can change the world." (see the whole story by clicking on this link) Regardless of your political affiliation, I think the sentiment here is true. You can change a room and that can change a much larger group. There's no telling where your influence stops. So, what do you want your voice to be? How do you you want to change the world? Think with sociological mindfulness about the impact you have on the world even though it is small.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Extending your sociological imagination

As you enter class today, please answer these questions:

1. What is a sociological imagination?



2.  Why is the reading Outliers an example of having a sociological imagination?




Here is a moving and inspiring slam poetry performance by Marshall Soulful Jones called Touchscreen:
 
Here is some interesting research to follow up with Marshall Jones' poem:

From Psychology Today:
...the emergence of reading encouraged our brains to be focused and imaginative. In contrast, the rise of the Internet is strengthening our ability to scan information rapidly and efficiently ...
From The Independent:
A Wisconsin paediatrician, Dr Sharon Rink, told local news channel WBAY2 she has seen a surge of teenagers coming to see her for treatment [because of selfies], something which was unheard of five years ago.
Please Answer:

3)How is Marshall Jones' poem an example of having a sociological imagination?


4)What are some ways you are influenced by when and where you live?



Finally, for a bit of humor, watch this Louis CK video called Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy.    He provides a funny look at how not having a sociological imagination can makes us really annoyed with our problems but really we should be thankful. Also the twitter feed #FirstWorldPains is a humorous example of this.

Fired up and ready to go!

"Fired up? Ready to go!"

This is a phrase I like to use with my class.  It is a way that I like to check in with students and remind them that they are in my class and I want them to feel fired up about it.  Sometimes, if you are not feeling fired up, all it takes is repeating this and it can make you fired up.

But the phrase is also a fleeting reminder that we all have an influence on our world.  Maybe that influence is just the room we are in, but that influence ripples out.  So that phrase is a reminder to be sociologically mindful.  It is a reminder that we are a participant in society.  Society doesn't just happen to us; we are participants in the process.  That awareness is what Schwalbe talks about as sociological mindfulness.  It can change how we think and act and therefore how we influence the world.

"One voice can change a room. And if it can change a room, it can change a city; and if it can change a city it can change a state and if it can change a state, it can change a nation and if it can change a nation, it can change the world." (see the whole story by clicking on this link)
Regardless of your political affiliation, I think the sentiment here is true. You can change a room and that can change a much larger group. There's no telling where your influence stops. So, what do you want your voice to be? How do you you want to change the world? Think with sociological mindfulness about the impact you have on the world even though it is small.