1.5 Founding Paradigms of Sociology

Sensitive Subject Warning:

Sociology examines all aspects of society - including those that can be emotional.  Today's lesson briefly involves the topic of suicide.

Students will find just about any topic that interests them has sociological research about it.  However, some topics of everyday life can be emotional.  Just watching the evening news reveals many topics in everyday life that might create a visceral response: murder, environmental pollution, racism, sexual assault and sexism are just to name a few.  All of these are an emotional part of everyday American society.  Sociology as a discipline examines all of these areas.  The researchers studying these topics do not want to be morbid or grotesquely critical of our society out of spite.  Instead, they want to shed light on aspects of society that we might not like to talk about;  with proper academic attention, we can understand these emotional events better and perhaps even improve our society.  I know that talking about suicide or racism or sexual assault all can be emotionally wrought experiences.  But in the end, sociology will help us all understand these and other social ills better and hopefully, help us to strengthen society against them so that we all may live in a more peaceful and content society and be true to ourselves. 

HW: Read Chapter 1: How Does It Feel to Be Black and Poor from Venkatesh's Gang Leader for a Day here. (For background info, see this post about Chicago Housing Projects Leader for a Day.)

This is the introductory chapter of Venkatesh’s book, Gang Leader for a Day. As you read the chapter, look for all of the ways that Venkatesh gathers data and attempts to study race and poverty. NOTE: there is offensive language in the chapter which Venkatesh included in order to preserve the authenticity of his interactions with the people he meets. Please do not take the use of this language as making light of the offensivesness of this language.

Background:  The Creation of Sociology as an Academic Discipline

The Social Construction of Reality and the Sociological Imagination are two ways of understanding how sociologists view the world, both created during the twentieth century.  But, to understand sociology as an academic discipline, it is necessary to look back to the 1800s.

During the Industrial Revolution, Western Europe and the United States rapidly industrialized. The disruption to society was swift, vast, and noticeable.  The industrial revolution changed the way people lived and thought about themselves.  

The industrial revolution brought about changes from:

At the time, scholars noticed the tremendous changes and the effects that they had on individuals living n these societies.  These scholars used the scientific method that was being used to study physical sciences and applied it to the study of society.  Their findings began to challenge the Enlightenment Era thinking that individuals are all simply a product of their own choices.  And so, the term sociology was first used in French (sociologie) by Auguste Comte in 1830. It comes from the combination of the Latin words socius which means "friendship, neighborliness and companionship and -ology which means the "study, science."  And so sociology is the scientific study of how people are influenced by their social groups. Three scholars of the 19th century laid the foundations for how sociology would develop.

Here is a graphic organizer to help you think about the sociological perspective. Think of it as a prism through which sociologists look at the world. In the middle are the Social Construction of Reality and the Sociological Imagination and at each point are the paradigms below. All of these are connected and although they all have a unique nuance in how they approach the world, they are all part of how I want you to have a sociological perspective.

The Founding Paradigms of Sociology

Emile Durkheim's Structural-Functional Paradigm

The first paradigm we will consider is called Structural-functional.  This paradigm was created by Emile Durkheim.  Durkheim studied suicide and found that within industrial Europe, the rate of suicide varied from country to country but it also stayed stable within each country.   So, something that seemed like an individual choice, such as suicide, was really a product of the country a person lived in.  Someone living in Britain was much more likely to commit suicide than someone living in Italy.  In other words, something was happening in British society that was creating a problem for the individuals living there.  Suicide was not an individual problem, it was a social one.  Durkheim called these social problems dysfunctions.  

Durkheim said that societies have a structure made up of different systems that function to keep order in society.  Just like a body has different systems such as a respiratory, circulatory, digestive and nervous system, a society has different systems like family, education, economy, religion and government etc…  These systems serve a function of keeping order in society by creating a structure for stability and continuity.  Therefore, Durkheim's paradigm becomes known as structural-functional.  Durkheim says that when the structures help to make life healthy for individuals, the structures are functional, whereas structures that are not healthy for individuals are called dysfunctional.

In sum, The institutions/structures provide stability and continuity for individuals - like helping individuals survive and thrive. The structures help us understand what is expected of us and provide an identity and a purpose. This is functional.

Dysfunctions are when aspects of these institutions do not meet those needs and instead individuals are harmed by the dynamics of society. 

Any questions so far about the beginnings of sociology and Durkheim and his Structural-Functional Paradigm?  

Applying the Structural Functional Paradigm

A Structural Functionalist might analyze the picture above by asking:

Is this scene dysfunctional? Why?  What systems are contributing to this?

For the Lifeboat Activity that we did, a sociologist using the the Structural-Functional paradigm might ask, "How were the decisions on the boat a result of the influence of education, government policies, family influence, the economy?"  "Are these decisions functional or working together to create a productive and sustainable society?"

Small Group Discussion: 

Reminder -

One of the best ways to learn something is to have to teach it to someone or explain it.  This is the philosophy behind small group discussion.  Please try to explain your example to each other.  Ask questions about each other's ideas and how to apply them.  If you have trouble, call me over.

If you are absent, here is today's Google Form.

1b. How might a Structural-Functionalist view covid and school shut downs through a Structural-Functional lens.

1c.  How might the paradigm apply to college?  In other words, what might a Structural-Functionalist study about college?

How is the choice to attend college influenced by schools and families?

What role does government policy and public college/loans play in college attendance/success?

Karl Marx's Conflict Paradigm

The second paradigm that emerged from a scholar studying the changes of the industrial revolution is called Conflict Paradigm which developed out of the influence of Karl Marx.  He studied the inequalities in industrial Europe and how those inequalities affected individuals.  For example, Marx found that a working-class person lived an average of 25 years less than a wealthy person.  Like Durkheim, Marx concluded that his findings were not just the result of individual choices.  Instead, people were forced to work in unhealthy conditions and forced to yield to the demands of the wealthy owners of the factories.  They had less access to healthcare, less access to healthy food and living conditions and had to do more dangerous jobs.  Simply put, they had less power to affect their own life expectancy.  Marx's focus led sociologists to examine who had power in society and who did not.  The natural extension of that became the effects of power on groups of individuals and how those in power gained and maintained that power.  Initially, Marx's focus was on social class, especially in Europe, but early sociologists in the U.S. Applied Marx's paradigm to other inequalities in the US:

W.E.B. Dubois: Conflict Paradigm and Race

Dubois (pronounced "Do Boys") applied the conflict paradigm to race.  He was the first black scholar to be allowed to earn a PhD. from Harvard U. and a sociology student.

Alice Paul: Conflict Paradigm and Gender

Alice Paul was a sociology scholar who applied it to gender in the U.S. as she fought for women's rights to vote and she worked for women and poor immigrants at Jane Addams' Hull House in Chicago.

 

Jane Addams:  Intersection of Gender and Social Class

Oftentimes, the study of inequality and the fight for equal rights led to overlapping movements such as social class and gender led by Chicago's Jane Addams.  Addams was an influential leader in Chicago who used her sociology degree to improve the lives of Chicago's women, poor, and immigrants

Ida B. Wells: Intersection of Race and Gender

Wells applied Marx's theory to race and gender.  She was born into slavery in Mississippi but made her way to Chicago as continued to document lynchings and fight against racism and sexism.  The Association of Black Sociologists established an award in her honor (2020).

Applying the Conflict Paradigm:

A sociologist using the Conflict paradigm might analyze the image of industrial Chicago and ask:

What groups of people are forced to navigate that congested mess?

Who is put in danger because of that mess?

Who profits from that congestion?

A sociologist using Marx's Conflict paradigm might examine the Lifeboat simulation by asking,

Who is always treated unequally?  Why?

Who has power on the boat and Why?  And, how do they use that power?

Small Group Discussion:

2a.  Think about how you might view covid and school shut downs through a conflict perspective.  What questions would you ask? What would you study/research?

2b. How can you apply Marx's Conflict paradigm to college?  What questions might you ask?  What would you study/research?

Max Weber and Symbolic Interaction Paradigm

Max Weber's contribution to the development of sociology during the Industrial Revolution

Max Weber (pronounced VAY-ber) studied the development of capitalism in European countries.  He found that countries that became more Protestant also became more capitalist.  This is peculiar because religion and economics seem to be separate.  But Protestants held shared meaning with each other about their wealth and finance.  They saw living within their means and investing their money as signs that they were living righteously within their Christian beliefs.  This created an economy that was based on investment.  It led to the creation and expansion of capitalism, investing profit to make even more profit.   It might seem strange for religion to be connected to the economy, but in their interaction with each other, it was real for them.  


The development of the Symbolic Interactionist paradigm 

Building off of Weber's work, two sociologists created a third paradigm for which sociologists view the world.   Weber showed symbolic meaning in the Protestants' lives and in their everyday interaction with other people.  Stemming from Weber's work, George Herbert Mead, W. I. Thomas and Herbert Blumer all worked at the University of Chicago and focused on the shared meaning in everyday life between people.  This paradigm became known as Symbolic Interaction.  It is more focused on face-to-face interaction, or small groups, as opposed to large-scale institutions.  Much of our interaction with each other holds symbolic meaning to us.  The words we use, our body language, our clothes all hold symbolic meaning for us.  They convey an identity we have to the world. 

Examining the picture of industrial Chicago, a Symbolic Interactionist might analyze the image by asking,

Why do people stand on certain spots on the street?  Is there meaning behind who stands where?

How does this intersection stay orderly?  Who has right of way and how do they learn this?

What is everyone wearing? What does that symbolize to them?

How can you use Weber's Symbolic Interaction paradigm to analyze our lifeboat simulation?

How did the words people used affect the decisions?

What is the meaning of being labeled "elderly?" What labels/values resonated with people on the boat?

3a.  Think about how you might view covid and school shut downs through a Symbolic Interactionist paradigm.

3b.  How can you apply Weber's Symbolic Interaction paradigm to college?  Identify some questions that a Weberian might ask about college.

Applying the paradigms to your life

Revisit the demographic survey that you filled out at the beginning of the semester. 

Structural-Functional Paradigm

Look at the structures of society that you wrote about (especially family, school, work)

4.  How do the institutions in your life provide stability or structure in your life?  What institutions are most prominent in shaping you?  What function do the structures provide - in other words, what purposes do they serve in your life?  What are some ways that these structures interact or depend on each other?

PLEASE NOTE: you may be influenced uniquely by one of the social structures/institutions, but if it only applies to you then that is ore psychology than sociology.  Sociology would be the ways that these structures shape people within our society similarly.

Conflict Paradigm

Look at your responses that might result in opportunities or obstacles (esp. social class, race, sex, gender, sexuality, 

5.  Using the demographic survey, what are some of the social groups that have led to you either having advantages or facing obstacles in your life? Can you cite specific examples?

Symbolic Interaction

Look. at your responses to what your plans are after college, what you are passionate about, what you are proud of and think about what meaning these hold to you and how that meaning relates to other people. Also, think about the meaning that your clothes, hair style, favorite music, hobbies, etc... creates for you and your interaction with other people.

6.  What are some ways that you create/display meaning with others around you?  

If you are having trouble with Symbolic Interaction, here is another example.

Chicago and the Foundation of Sociology

Chicago was a central player in the early establishment of sociology. Chicago was the fastest growing city in the USA during the late 1800s/early 1900s.  The city was an incredible mix of industrial growth, urbanization and immigration.  And so, the University of Chicago was the first sociology department in North America (1892) and Chicago was a leader in sociology for the next 50 years leading to what became known as "the Chicago School" of sociology.

Loyola University Chicago

Loyola followed shortly behind U of C in sociology.  The School of Sociology was one of LUC's earliest departments established in 1914.  This was a 2 year program that allowed women to earn a degree at a time when they were still not permitted in other areas of the university such as the College of Arts and Sciences. Jesuit Frederic Siedenburg was influenced about the importance of sociology's role in the progress of society and he not only established the School of Sociology, but he also became 

"... one of Chicago's most significant civic leaders over the next two decades...and he routinely crossed denominational, ethnic, and racial boundaries in his dealings, and he never wavered from his belief that religion could be a progressive force in urban life. In 1915, the Chicago Tribune commented on Siedenburg's role with the American Peace Federation, his appearance with Rabbi Emil Hirsch at Sinai Temple, and his visit to Tuskegee Institute as the guest of philanthropist Julius Rosenwald along with Jane Addams of Hull-House and the Reverend Jenkin Lloyd Jones, a Unitarian minister ... He also found time to publish ground-breaking articles in the American Journal of Sociology, including 'The Recreational Value of Religion (1922), 'The Religious Value of Social Work (1922), and 'War and the Catholic Church' (1925)." 

- Ellen Skerrett (2008). Born in Chicago. Loyola Press, Chicago

HW: Read Chapter 1: How Does It Feel to Be Black and Poor from Venkatesh's Gang Leader for a Day here. (For background info, see this post about Chicago Housing Projects Leader for a Day.)

This is the introductory chapter of Venkatesh’s book, Gang Leader for a Day. As you read the chapter, look for all of the ways that Venkatesh gathers data and attempts to study race and poverty. NOTE: there is offensive language in the chapter which Venkatesh included in order to preserve the authenticity of his interactions with the people he meets. Please do not take the use of this language as making light of the offensivesness of this language.

1.4 Lifeboat Lessons Big (Macro) and Small (Micro)

If you are in class today, please sign the seat chart.

If you are absent, please be sure to read through the whole lesson and fill out the Google Form embedded within.

Who did our class set adrift in the activity?  How do you think this compares to other classes that have done this?  

Who do you think has never been set adrift?

1.Able-Bodied Sailor Jones:                                  

2.Ship’s Officer O’Maley:  Mr./Ms. O’Malley:             

3.Quarter Master MacDonald:                              

4.Self-Made Millionaire Douglas:                          

5.College Student Mr/Ms Parsons:                        

6.Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, Dr. Lightfoot     

7.Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, Dr. Singleton         

8.Football Player Mr. Small:                                 

9.Cheerleader Mrs. Small:                                     

10.Army Captain Thomas:                                   

11.Draft Evader Samuels:                                    

12.Peace Corps Volunteer Mr./Ms. Davidson:           

13.Med Student Mr./Ms. Ryan:                               

14.Elderly man Mr. Eldridge:                                

15.Elderly woman Mrs. Eldridge:                          

16.Travelling Poet Mr/Ms Carpenter:                     

Here are the results of 20 years of doing this activity:

Out of 71 times, here are the totals:

1.Able-Bodied Sailor Jones:                                  22

2.Ship’s Officer O’Maley:  Mr./Ms. O’Malley:             2

3.Quarter Master MacDonald:                               56

4.Self-Made Millionaire Douglas:                           54

5.College Student Mr/Ms Parsons:                         60

6.Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, Dr. Lightfoot      35

7.Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, Dr. Singleton          0

8.Football Player Mr. Small:                                  15

9.Cheerleader Mrs. Small:                                      6

10.Army Captain Thomas:                                    15

11.Draft Evader Samuels:                                     59

12.Peace Corps Volunteer Mr./Ms. Davidson:            5

13.Med Student Mr./Ms. Ryan:                                0

14.Elderly man Mr. Eldridge:                                 65

15.Elderly woman Mrs. Eldridge:                           62

16.Travelling Poet Mr/Ms Carpenter:                      41

Macrosociological perspective
On the macro level, sociologists look for the influences of large-scale forces on groups or individuals.  So, for the simulation, let's examine the similarities for who your class kicked off the boat compared to the other classes that I have taught.  

Our class is made up of different people than any other class that has done this activity.  In fact, this class is so different, that students are from a different generation!  For example, I have been doing this activity long enough that two of my students married!  They met in my class as the football player and cheerleader in 2002, and then after continuing to date after college, they got engaged in 2012 and asked me to be the officiant at their wedding!  Here is my sociological sermon that I wrote for their wedding.  The point is that even though they are old enough to be a different generation than my current class, similarities still exist between their class and yours.  

What are the choices that your class made that is similar to the choices above by other classes?

Why do these patterns emerge across generations?  There are social forces that lead to/construct similar results.  Think about the larger groups that you share with the other students that have done this over the years:

What did you have in common?

What commonalities might have played a role in shaping the same decisions?

Despite all of the individual differences among students who have done this, what does our class share in common with all of the other classes that I have done this with?  All the people who have done this in my class over the years have been a part of these large (macro) groups:  students, teens, people studying sociology, people living in Chicagoland, and, Americans. These large groups are on a microsociological level - they have so many members in them that you can't know all the members or interact with them all. 

The most important macrosociological group in this exercise, in my opinion, is Americans, our cultural group.  As people living in America, we have cultural values that we all are influenced by.  For example, Americans value pragmatism/practicality and students consistently save the characters who they believe are useful, especially the medical student and the Nobel prize winner in Physics.  And, Americans value youth and strength and students consistently reject the elderly and the sick (quartermaster, college student).  Finally, Americans love to believe that they are personally in charge of their own future so all of the students who have done this attempt to make choices that they believe are "correct" as opposed to simply choosing at random and leaving it up to fate or destiny. Macro-sociological forces influence people all over the country to value these traits and thus make these choices when on the boat.   

Google Form

Sociological Imagination

1.  How might this activity play out in a different place?  How might different cultures approach the decision of who to set adrift?  

2.  How might this play out in a different time?  How might Americans from a different time, such as the 1920s or 1820s, approach the decision?

Perhaps in another culture, different cultural values might lead to different choices:

• some cultures that value the elderly might save the oldest people first.
• some cultures that value education might save the most educated people.
• some cultures that believe in fate/destiny might pick numbers out of a hat.
• some cultures that value equity might save the weakest/those with the most obstacles.

Perhaps in another time, Americans may have chosen to save:

• women and children first
• people by race
• people by social class

Microsociological Perspective
On the microsociological level, sociologists study how groups interact in face-to-face conversation. In face-to-face interaction the words we use matter - they hold shared meaning and values.  Additionally, how we use the words matters, such as: who makes eye contact, how loud people speak, where they sit, who is the leader, etc... So, the microsociological data from each time that the activity is done, might be different based on the interaction.  This includes the words students use.  For example, if the poet focuses on being a poet, people might see that as undesirable and kick him off.  But if the poet reinforces that he is useful because of his sailing skills, that might save him because usefulness is a shared value in our culture. 

3.  Think about what choices, if any, do not line up with my classes' previous choices.  

What was the dynamic that affected why that person was voted overboard?  

What did the group say or do that affect their decision?

What did the person say or do that affected their decision?

Social Construction of Reality 

4.  How are the experiences of those on the boat shaped by the larger society? What are the meanings that each person's status holds on the boat?  

Each person's status(es), or social positions, on the boat create a very real experience for the people in the simulation.  Some statuses become master statuses.

5. What were some master statuses that affected the simulation?

Applying this to your own life
This activity is a metaphor for any group that you are a part of; all of the groups that shape you are governed by both macro-sociological forces and micro-sociological forces.  For example, apply this to college.  If we examined these two levels in college, there are certain macro-sociological values that one would expect to find no matter where the school is located: grades, expectations of learning, homework, rules etc... So as you move from one class to the next, you will see these macro-sociological values present. On the other hand, each individual class is different because of the micro-sociological dynamics present within each class: some teachers are more casual, some teachers use rows vs. a horseshoe shape, some classes have a few loud boisterous individuals and other classes might be mostly girls or mostly guys etc...

6.  Can you see these two levels at play in your own life? Perhaps in your family, your classes or with a group of friends, or at your job?  

How is one of your groups shaped by larger forces such as the influence of culture?

How is the group shaped by the interaction of its' members?  For example, how do they treat each other based on the statuses each person has? 

1.3 Lifeboat Simulation

Reminder - If you haven't filled out the Demographic Form please scroll back to lesson one and click on it to fill it out.

The Bell:  Listen for the silence

Today's Lesson: Let's go on vacation!

For this simulation, we are going on an around-the-world cruise!  How fun, right?

That is, until the boat hits a mine leftover from WWII and the cruise ship sinks really fast.  

Luckily, you survived!  There was one life raft that was saved.  

You and 15 others climb aboard or cling to the outside of it.  

(Here is a printable copy of this activity.)  

Here are the people aboard the boat:

1.  Sailor Jones:  It is somewhat questionable how I was able to get from my assigned position below deck to the lifeboat when no other sailor assigned to the lower decks managed to escape from the ship.  I am in excellent health.  Not married, and no close relatives.

 

2.  Ship’s Officer O’Malley:  I was the only high ranking officer aboard the ship that was able to get to the lifeboat.  It is the boat that I was assigned to in all of the emergency practice drills.  I was a capable leader on the boat, has navigational skills, and was well-liked by passenger and crew members aboard the ship.  Excellent health.

 

3.  Quarter Master MacDonald:  Little is known about me. I did serve in the regular navy.  When the ship sank, I suffered injuries to both of my wrists.  At the present time, I cannot use either hand.  I am married and has four children in the U.S.

 

4.  Self-Made Millionaire Douglas:  I own and manage one of the U.S.’s largest garment industrial complexes, which employs hundreds of factory workers.  I have dedicated so much time to making the business successful that I am out of shape due to lack of exercise.

 

5.  College Student Parsons:  I am a college student who has been on a limited budget European vacation.  I am a grand mal epileptic.  Unfortunately, while abandoning the ship, all of my medication was left behind.  I am single—age 22.

 

6.  Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, Dr. Lightfoot:  I am a minority race and questions have been raised whether the Nobel Prize was awarded to me due to my race or my ability.  Dr. Lightfoot is 48 years old and is in good health.  I am married, with two daughters who have families of their own.

 

7.  Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, Dr. Singleton: It has been said that I am about to release information to the world that will essentially bring about the solution to the world’s ecology problem.  I am 62 years old and is in excellent health.  I was born and raised in a small town in Arkansas.  I come from a very wealthy family and have remained single.

 

8. Football Player, Mr Small  and  

 

9.Cheerleader,  Mrs. Small:  We are in our late twenties.  Mr Small was a star football player at Ohio State.  Mrs. Small, who also attended Ohio State, was the Homecoming Queen.  Mr. Small now a running back for a semi-pro football team in New York. Mrs. Small is eight and one-half months pregnant. The couple is interracial; Mr. Small is a minority race and Mrs, Small is not.

 

10.  Army Captain Thomas:  I was recently decorated for bravery and valor above and beyond the call of duty.  I am on the way to the U.S. to personally receive the Medal of Honor from the President.  I am married, with two children, and am about 35yrs old.  While engaged in the action, which resulted in receiving the Medal of Honor, Captain Thomas lost a right leg.  Other than this condition which I recovered from, I am in good health.  

 

11.  Draft Evader Samuels:  I left the United States two years ago in order to avoid the military draft.  I then spent two years in Sweden, from which I was recently deported for dealing in illegal drugs.  I am in my early twenties and in good health. Single.  

 

12.  Peace Corps Volunteer Davidson:  I am a Peace Corps Volunteer who has recently completed 2 years of work in India.  I have a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering and am on the way back to Boston where Davidson is to be married in two months.  I am 27yrs old and in excellent health.

 

13.  Med Student Ryan: I am a medical student who has been vacationing in France.  I am 26 years old, single, and in excellent health.

 

14. Elderly man, Mr. Eldridge and 

 

15.Elderly woman, Mrs. Eldridge:  We are an elderly couple, both in our late 60’s and on our way back to our native New Jersey after a one month tour of Spain.  Mr. Eldridge is suffering severely from arthritis and is not capable of walking without the aid of a cane.  We will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary next week.  We have 8 children and 29 grandchildren and are all living in New Jersey.  

 

16. Traveling Poet Carpenter:  I am a 30-year-old traveling poet in excellent health.  I have never had a permanent home since running away from a New York orphanage 15 years ago.  I spent 4 years in the Navy and acquired a taste for sailing and since leaving the Navy has made several solo sailing voyages in the Caribbean.  I have been divorced three times and am currently separated from my 4th spouse who resides in Paris.

The boat is crowded :-(  but This should be sufficient as long as a storm does not develop. 

 

Uh-oh! Guess what? [THUNDER!  LIGHTNING!]  Yep - a storm.  

Part 1:
This overcrowded lifeboat will not survive unless 7 people get life preservers and are set adrift from the lifeboat.  Your job is to choose who stays and who goes.  You must choose 7 people to be set adrift and save the other 9 people.  Mark your choices on the packet.

Part 2:
If you are not on the boat, you should read part 2 of the handout.

Part 3:

After the simulation is over, answer part 3 on the handout: (Google Form)

What really happened

This activity is based on the real-life events that were portrayed in the movie Abandon Ship! (1957).

The real story of what happened was based on the movie Abandon Ship, also known as Seven Waves Away.  Here is the full movie on youtube.

In the real-life incident, all of those aboard turned to the highest-ranking person (ship’s officer) to take command.  He had a sidearm on him.  When the sea got too rough, he called everyone’s attention and he chose who would go/stay.  He kept only the strong, able-bodied who were strong enough to survive a long row.  On the last day, they were rescued and the captain was put on trial for murder.  He was declared guilty, but received a minimum sentence of only 6 months in prison because of the unique circumstances.

Individual Reflection: 

I have been doing this activity since 1999, which means students have done this more than 70 times. 

4. Who do you think has never been kicked off the boat ever?  Why?

5.  Who do you think has been kicked off the boat the most?  Why?

6.  Were your individual choices different than who you answered in questions 1 and 2 above?  If so, how and why? What criteria did you use to make the choices that were different?

Once you have finished, click on the data analysis of this lesson here.