Volunteer Op: Habitat for Humanity Elgin

Hello Habitat Volunteers! The following is a list of tasks we will be working on Saturday at the Habitat House and the tools needed to complete the job. (Don't worry if you don't have the tool but if you do, bring it along) If you are interested in helping out, just let me know. Questions? Call me at 847-922-8276 We could use some strong teens as well. Over 16 only with parental consent. 1. Remove gutters and clean off dirt. 2. Bring gravel into basements - bucket provided 3. Remove woodwork and trim - crow bars, hammers 4. Dig post holes got signs - Digger provided 5. Create 2 post holes in basement for posts 6. Remove siding from entire house (timing not yet determined.). 7. Other items to be identified. THANK YOU!!! --- Laureen Reidelberger lreidelb@comcast.net

Gratitude and happiness

Close your eyes.  Think of someone influential in your life.  Now write down who thought about and why you thought about that person.


Next, check out this video from Upworthy on how this creates happiness:





Now it's your turn, call that person and read what you wrote aloud! Why not?  I think for many of us, this is difficult to do, and at the very least, it is unusual to do because we don't like the vulnerability that comes with gratitude.  Gratitude forces us to admit that we need other people; we are not just individuals in control of our own achievements.  But, that is the message we get over and over again from our culture.  And the sad part (literally) is that the resistance to vulnerability makes us feel less connected to others and less open to feelings of love and belonging.  That is exactly what Brene Brown is talking about in her TED talk.  Click on the following link to return to the post about Tuesdays with Morrie and scroll to the bottom to finish reading it and watch the Brene Brown Video.  Click here to return.

Volunteer Op: Painting at Feed My Starving Children

Hi All!  Feed My Starving Children is opening a new office in Libertyville.  Normally, volunteers there make meals to send to malnourished children around the world, but this time, they need help setting up their new warehouse.  One of my student's moms is organizing about 10 students to volunteer to paint the new warehouse on Saturday, November 3rd at 9:30 A.M.  It is preferred if students bring brushes,rollers and painting pans. Because painting is dependent on the construction schedule, this could possibly get moved back, but otherwise this seems like a great way to get some hours and have fun and really do something that will help show respect to those living with very dire conditions in other parts of our world.  If interested, check to be sure that you are available and committed then please email Mrs. Jeanne Lapp at jlchiro@aol.com Tell her you are from my class and you wish to volunteer.

Sending a message about symbolic interaction...

This American Life episode 475: Send a Message had three stories that can help understand symbolic interaction.  Act 1 (about 8min into the show) is about a family that sees special meaning in a pair of knitted pants and a knitted dress.  Everyone in the family is affected by these items both physically and emotionally.  Are there items or actions that hold significance to you or your family?  Maybe it's who gets to carve the Turkey or who sits in a special chair or who gets to choose a show on tv?  This is just one family, but can you think about how certain items might might affect larger groups of people?  That is symbolic interaction.

Act 2 is about the symbolism of New York and what that means to those who live there and how that might influence them to act and think.  How might the place where you live affect the way you act and think? While this is an example of the sociological imagination, it is also an example of symbolic interaction - people from New York act and think symbolically based on their expectations of NYC.  This might also serve as an example of a subculture.  New Yorkers think of themselves differently.  They also have different norms: understanding the subway, walking, talking differently than the rest of America.  They are a subculture.

Lastly, the most powerful Act on the show was act 3 called soul sister (34 minutes into the show).  This segment not only speaks to symbolic interaction but it does so in regards to race.  This is a great example of the power of symbols in how they affect people and people's own image of themselves. 

Community Service

Last night I went to St. Thomas of Canterbury, 4827 N. Kenmore Avenue Chicago, IL 60640. (Church: (773) 878-5507) It is in Uptown in Chicago. It is managed by Jim Eder. This was my 4 fourth time volunteering there, so I had some idea of what to expect. Nonetheless, it was still a great experience and it feel refreshing each time I do it. We left school at about 3:15 and returned at 8:15. On the ride down, I was busy thinking about all the stuff I have to do: grading, house projects, school stuff. But then as we exited the expressway and entered the city we started talking with our bus driver who was from that area. He was a retired CTA bus driver who grew up on the northside. He pointed out lots of historic places and told stories about the ares we were driving through. When we arrived at the Soup Kitchen, we jumped right into the service. First, I showed the students where to put their coats and bags and to get an apron. Then we setup the room for the dinner by placing bread in each bowl and salad on the table. Once the room was setup. Jim called us over and talked to us about the soup kitchen and the guests that they serve and what is required of us. He said there are only two rules: Keep yourself safe and act out of the goodness of your heart. After that, the guests started streaming in and he gave us each a job. I tried to help out when needed but otherwise stay out of the way so that students could do most of the service. I encouraged students to smile and be good waiters and waitresses. I washed dishes. I helped open milk. I bused the tables.

Analyzing A Bronx Tale for Sociological Themes

Analyzing A Bronx Tale for Sociological Themes Today we did the following lesson in pairs. I want students to be sure they understand and can apply the sociological themes from the movie. These are themes that will be thread throughout our semester so this is the chance to sharpen your understanding of them. Here is the lesson: If you posted about A Bronx Tale, find a partner who also posted about A Bronx Tale. If you did not post about it yet, find someone else who did not post yet. Part I: 1. Go to my blog. Tell your partner which prompt(s) you responded to. 2. Verbally, share your post with your partner. 3. Partner – Ask follow up questions. Do you need to clarify anything in the post? 4. Partner – Give feed back to partner: What parts of the post answered the prompt? What Sociological concept or topic was explained well? What should s/he clarify in the post? Switch. Reverse roles for Part I. Part II: Two partners find another post online that addresses a prompt that you two did not. 1. Discuss whether s/he answered the prompt and explained sociology. 2. Decide whether this is a good answer to explain that sociological topic. 3. Together write a constructive comment for the post. What did the author do well? What would you like clarified? What should the author be careful to not misunderstand? Continue on to another prompt together and repeat Part II when you have finished.

A Good Night's Sleep (Lake County PADS)

For many residents in Lake county, IL, a good night's sleep simply means having a roof over their head. There are hundreds of homeless people living in Lake County. This may be surprising because most of us know Lake county as the home of Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Glencoe, Deerfield making the county the 31st richest county in the country by per-capita income, according to the 2000 United States Census. Being "sociologically mindful" as Schwalbe says, might make us think how the 31st richest county in the wealthiest country in the world can have homeless people living in it. Furthermore, Schwalbe might call us to think about how we can react to this. What could be done to help those who have no place to sleep at night? What small acts can you do that might make a difference? Look at the video posted here. Before this, were you aware of the homeless in Lake county? One of my service experiences is PADS which serves the homeless. It starts in October and usually goes until April. They are sometimes reluctant to have minors do the service alone, but maybe if you are 18 and you are mature and responsible over the phone, you can convince them to let you do it, or maybe you can convince a parent to do it with you.
Last fall I did PADS and I worked the clothes closet where all of the guests can get a new outfit or long underwear or socks, whatever. I met this guy who said he needed khaki pants. I thought to myself that's kind of picky for a homeless guy. I found a pair of brownish pants and he said "They're not right - it has to be khaki." He went on to tell me that he works at Kohl's and they demand khaki for the uniform. I was so surprised that he had a regular job but was homeless. I didn't ask about why he might be in this situation (substance abuse, divorce, an accident, it could be anything) but I did think with a sociological imagination that I had been wrong in my thoughts about homeless people and I was really glad that I was doing something to help him. And I slept better knowing that. Here is the link to Lake County PADS.

Real Utopias: ASA Denver 2012

The theme of this year's annual ASA conference is "Real Utopias". I try to get students to open their imagination to what the possible future is 1) for themselves and 2)for the community around them. I use three themes throughout my units to develop and grow their analysis of these questions. The themes are: Sociological Imagination, Social Construction of Reality, and Sociological Mindfulness. Here is the outline of my presentation.

Human Trafficking

Many people don't realize that human trafficking or modern-day slavery is still an issue that affects tens of thousands of people. And it is much closer to home than you might imagine. The United States is the leading country of the importation of humans against their will. This is briefly touched on in the movie Crash. Here is an article written by Daniel Smith, an author and speaker. The article is called Punishing the Perps.

The Dynamics of Social Class and the 99%

The 99% and Sociological Imagination….. WI Thomas, an early sociologist, wrote that each person has 4 needs or "wishes" in 4 Wishes of Man. According to Thomas, all men have four core wishes: 1) The desire for response. (love and friendship) 2) The desire for security. (economic, social, emotional, etc.) 3) The desire for recognition. (respect, position) 4) The desire for new experience. This is an interesting point of entry for a sociological analysis of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Clearly, the protesters feel their needs are not being met. While one might argue that all four wishes apply, I am going to ask you to focus on the desire for economic security. Go to http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/ Click on archives. Go to the month that your birthday is in. Select any 3 of these photos. Paste them into a new post on your blog, and below the photo explain why their desire for economic security is not being met. Use your sociological imagination to write about how the US social class system is creating obstacles to their economic security.