Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Really interesting video from CBS called "Speaking Frankly: Raising Boys".
Boys are socialized differently from the moment they are born. So they learn to think one way about who they should be. So by the time they are old enough to be self-aware, addressing the issues related to masculinity makes boys feel like they are not being accepted for who they are. This video tries to bridge that divide.
I hope students realize that there's nothing wrong with being masculine. Masculinity becomes a negative life chance outcome when it is taken to extremes. Extreme masculinity is violence and toughness resulting in males more likely to express themselves violently and hurt either themselves or other people. This extreme form of masculinity is what some sociologists call "toxic masculinity."
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Sociology Conclusion Day 2: instruction
For the next lesson (Wed and Thu this week), the focus will be on evaluating instruction. Please take a few minutes to give your honest feedback about how the class was taught and evaluated.
Here is the Google form.
Here is the Google form.
Monday, May 11, 2020
Sociology Evaluation Day 1: Content
Please remember that these last 2 weeks we are on a special schedule. I want to wish good luck to anyone taking AP tests! For the last few classes, I would like to review our class and ask you to evaluate it.
For today, the focus will be on the content.
Here is the Google form for this lesson.
1. How much do you think our class helped you to understand how sociologists examine the world?
2. How much do you feel that you understand how sociologists conduct research?
3. How much do you feel that you learned about how individuals are influenced by their culture?
4. How much do you feel you learned about how individuals are influenced by family, school, friends and media?
5. How much do you feel you learned about social class and the inequalities that stem from it?
6. How much do you feel you learned about race and the inequalities that stem from it?
7. How much do you feel you learned about gender and the inequalities that stem from it?
8. What topics/content was most interesting or compelling that we learned?
9. What other topics would you like to have learned more about?
For today, the focus will be on the content.
Here is the Google form for this lesson.
1. How much do you think our class helped you to understand how sociologists examine the world?
2. How much do you feel that you understand how sociologists conduct research?
3. How much do you feel that you learned about how individuals are influenced by their culture?
4. How much do you feel you learned about how individuals are influenced by family, school, friends and media?
5. How much do you feel you learned about social class and the inequalities that stem from it?
6. How much do you feel you learned about race and the inequalities that stem from it?
7. How much do you feel you learned about gender and the inequalities that stem from it?
8. What topics/content was most interesting or compelling that we learned?
9. What other topics would you like to have learned more about?
Friday, May 1, 2020
Teaching About Socialism; Discourse in an Age of Polarization
Teaching About Socialism; Discourse in an Age of Polarization
As I began my unit on social class, I asked students what they would want to know about social class throughout the unit. Some students said they wanted to know if socialism would benefit the U.S. and how socialist countries compare to us. These student queries combined with the way our current President uses socialism made me want to address it. As I researched this topic I increasingly came to the belief that there is a problem in our discourse over socialism and this problem represents a larger issue that teachers need to address.
Capitalism is most closely associated with the 1776 publication of The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. The Adam Smith Institute explains that capitalism is rooted in free-market (no government control) and the accumulation of wealth.
From the OED, Socialism was being used in England as early as 1822 by Robert Owen as a response to the capitalism, individualism and the Industrial Revolution (also detailed at History.com). In the 1800s, a small group of industrialists was amassing extreme fortunes while the average citizen and worker was working longer and longer hours for less money and in dangerous working conditions often in sweatshop factories and including children as young as 5 years old! This inequality of labor/economy spilled over into private life as workers increasingly lived in unregulated conditions at home that resulted in diseases like smallpox, typhus, yellow fever and cholera, spread through overcrowded tenements that lacked running water, plumbing, waste removal. Jacob Riis detailed living conditions around 1900.
By the late 1800s, there was a call within the U.S. (and Europe) to address the growing issues associated with urban industrialism. As the US teachers will point out, many regulations and reforms of the Progressive Era were meant to address the problems that came out of unregulated 1800s urban industrialism. Because these reforms did not give government ownership of the industrial production of goods, the reforms were not technically socialist in the way that Marx referred to the term. In fact, there were other terms/parties such as the Populist Party of 1892 and the Progressive Party of 1912 that called for such reforms, but they are not equated with socialism. However, Eugene Debs did run as a Socialist in 1918 and his platform was more closely aligned with Marx's 1848 Communist Manifesto.
The meaning of 'Socialism'
The point is that the idea of socialism was the idea of using government to combat the effects of urban industrial capitalism. However, the idea of socialism was used variously depending on who's idea was being cited. There were numerous forms of "socialism" not all that unlike the numerous forms of "democracy".
The meaning of "socialism" grew even further amorphous when in 1917 the Russian Revolution created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) an authoritarian government run by a single party, the Communist Party. Lenin's socialism is very different than Marx's. As communism spread during the 20th century (China, Cuba, Korea, Vietnam) it took on various forms further confusing the idea of communism (which Americans still saw as connected to socialism via the USSR). In AP comparative government, China and Iran are labeled as "authoritarian" and China is also considered a "one-party state" with "state-managed markets." However, North Korea is considered Totalitarian. Venezuela might be considered socialist but also an authoritarian state.
Confused? Good. That's the point. So is the rest of America! This link to the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom ranks countries by how much economic freedom they have - the US ranks 17th! And "socialist" Denmark is 8th. Whatsmore, all but one country in the top ten have universal healthcare. All of this is to say that there is not really agreement about what socialism is anymore. Instead, it is just a buzzword used for fear mongering Americans. And it is easy to gin up fear because Americans have very different ideas about what socialism is.
Americans do not agree on what countries represent socialism today - this article from Forbes explains that,
"Among Republicans, the three most socialist countries are Venezuela (60%), China (57%) and Russia (57%) while among Democrats, Sweden (43%), Denmark (43%) and Norway (42%) come first."
Yougov.com explains the partisan gap in what "socialist" means in this 2020 article. Americans from different political parties have different ideas about what socialism is in terms of healthcare, gun safety laws, taxes etc... Furthermore, the article explains that there is a partisan divide over which countries in the world are considered socialist.
In addition to the Yougov article above, 2019 research from the PEW reveals that,
"Critics of socialism point to Venezuela as an example of a country where it has failed. People with positive views of socialism cite different countries, such as Finland and Denmark, as places where it has succeeded....[And many Americans] viewed socialism and capitalism in zero-sum terms. A large majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (68%) had both a positive impression of capitalism and a negative view of socialism."
This zero-sum definition fails to take into account the reality that in the US and most western countries there is a mix of socialism and capitalism."
It may be best for Americans to use the labels of progressive, liberal or conservative as this PEW study shows stark partisan divisions in Americans’ views of ‘socialism,’ ‘capitalism’.
Overall
Generally, I think that democrats and republicans both use the term socialism but when democrats use it, they really mean social democracies like Sweden, Canada and Denmark, and when republicans use "socialism" they really mean authoritarian communist government like that of China, North Korea, or Cuba. Just like much of our discourse in the current political climate there is stark differences in meaning when discussing the term "socialism." Without meaning, there is no shared reality. We might as well be speaking different languages to each other. So, it is my plan to not to respond to student questions about socialism without first asking a follow up question, "what do you mean by socialist?" I think all teachers would do well to do the same in their classes. I think our country is having problems because we can't discourse together, but we cannot discourse because we are using the same words with very different meanings.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Gendered Language and Professor Reviews
Below are some results that I found interesting. I find it really remarkable that so many terms are completely genderized. I would love to study this further to find out if the genderization is because our society uses different words to describe males and females even if the words are describing a similar trait, or if the genderization is because our society thinks about men and women differently. The truth is probably a combination of both.
Here are the words nice and friendly. Are female professors really nicer and friendlier than males? That seems unlikely since mean and annoying shows up as female as well!
And these are college professors, right? They all have more education than 93% of the United States. But male professors are cited as smart much more often in every single subject area!
However, we will also see in our lessons to come later that education is not masculine, so males are also cited consistently as geeky, nerdy and dorky.
Women are always labelled as nuts or crazy more than men.
A special shout-out to all those female sociology professors doing life changing work!
And sociology shows up as the most eye-opening subject too! Thanks to those fearless female professors!
Perhaps that is why sociology is so relevant!
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Social Class Day 3, Beyond Income: Other Elements of Social Class
Although income is usually what people think of first when they think of social class, there are many other elements that are a part of social class. All of these components both exemplify social class inequality and they exacerbate it. Please read about each element below. As you go through, think about what an average American looks like and how your family compares. I want you to have a better understanding of where your family fits compared to the average American when the lesson is finished.
Wealth
Wealth is tricky to understand. It is everything that a household owns, such as the home, vacation home, cars, 401K, savings, stocks, jewelry, etc...But, you must subtract what the household owes. So, if my house is $200,000 but I owe $160,000 then my wealth is only $40,000 on the house.
One way to examine wealth is through quintiles (20% increments). if you lined all the households up in the U.S. by wealth, what percentage would the top 20% own? And then the next 20% and so on...Another way to think about this is if you have 5 people who are sharing a pie, what percent of the pie does the first person get, and the second person and third, etc...
Try the following exercise on your own:
First, hypothesize, how much of the wealth (the pie) in the U.S. do you think each quintile (person) has:
Bottom 20%:______ 2nd 20%_______ 3rd 20%________ 4th 20%_______ 5th 20%_______Top
(least) (most)
Second, write how much you think each quintile should have?
Bottom 20%:______ 2nd 20%________ 3rd 20%________ 4th 20%_______ 5th 20%_______Top
After you have finished answering the questions above, watch this video:
What is the reality? How is the wealth actually divided?
1. How does your guess about wealth compare to how it is actually distributed? (Here is the Google form for this lesson - I recommend opening this in a new window and then answer each question after you read the info.)
The overall conclusion about wealth is that the disparity of wealth is greater than that of income (see the pie graph below). The top 1% of America owns 34% of everything. The top 10% owns 70%. And half of America owns 96% of everything. In other words the bottom half, 50% of America, owns almost nothing. They have no money saved - for retirement or otherwise. Once you deduct their debts, they have almost no equity - from their homes, or possessions or bank accounts.
The average wealth of Americans
DQYDJ (Don't Quit Your Day Job)
How does your family or community compare to the average American?
2. How does your family's wealth compare to the average American? Feel free to comment on any of the above stats, or a combination of them:
Education
In the US, here are the percentages of adults over the age of 23 who have attained each degree in 2012:
3. Did you realize that so few people have a bachelor's degree or higher? Where does your family fall in terms of educational level? The median American educational level is some college, but no degree. Is the educational level in your family higher or lower and by how much?
Not only is education level stratified, but the family's educational level determines, on average what the family's income will be (on average). In other words, the higher your education is, the more money one is likely to earn. Link to College Board research report here. The graph below shows how median income goes up for each level of education, even if you factor in income taxes (which also go up):
Here is a post from sociological images that has a lot of info showing the connection between your degree and your income.
So, not only does more education mean more income, the more income means higher scores on standardized tests (which could mean a better education). See the data below. This link shows that on average, the higher a family's income, the higher the ACT score.
Another way that data shows education impacting social class is that parents' educational level correlates with children's educational attainment. The graph below shows that the less education that parents have, the less education their children obtain. In other words, if parents don't have a college degree, the child is not likely to attain a college degree and visa-versa; parents with an advanced degree are more likely to have children who attain an advanced degree themselves.
Not only is educational level shaped by parents' social class, but also the major that a student chooses is too. This research from Natasha Quadlin shows that the major a student chooses at college is influenced by social class.
Lastly, people from different social classes are more likely to interact together at college. From The Upshot of NY Times, this interactive site allows you to see what percent of students from the top 1% and bottom 60% attend each school of higher education. The graph below shows where students from different social classes end up after high school:
from Clint Smith in the Atlantic.
How Admissions Really Work: If The College Admissions Scandal Shocked You, Read This from NPR.
Here is a map of the connection between location and education. Notice the greens and blues near the coasts and in cities and the other large areas that are only orange, red and yellow. Also, even within cities notice the distinct segregation by education. This article by Business Insider highlights the urban educational segregation.
Location
The price of a home depends on a lot more than the physical structure of the home. From FRED, the average home price in the United States in 2019 was about $380K. But the average home price varies considerably from state to state. For example, West VA was the lowest with an average home price of $108K and California was one of the highest at $554K. The average for Illinois was $202K.
4. How do you think your home's value compares to the average home price? (Remember from the wealth section above, the average American owns a home.)
Other location examples:
Click here to see some houses for sale in Lake County, IL in 2014. Which do you think are the most expensive? Which are the least? When you see the actual prices, why do you think that is?
This heat map from Trulia shows the median sales price for areas across Lake County.
Opportunity Insights provides data about how neighborhoods shape residents' life chances.
Here is a map from Time showing the most economically segregated cities in America. Can you find your town? How does this segregation affect the residents?
This research from Harvard shows that zipcode is a better predictor for health than genetic code.
Here you can find data by zipcode about the average home price ( as well as income and other data).
Location is also related to mobility:
This report from NPR's Planet Money details how where you grow up can affect your income later in life.
And here is a video and stats from CNN Money that show how where you grow up limits or benefits you.
An online data tool called Opportunity Atlas finds a strong correlation between where people are raised and their chances of achieving the American dream.
Here is an NPR piece explaining it.
Here is the NY Times Upshot explaining it.
ON FACEBOOK:
ORIGINAL STORY:
https://www.wsj.com/graphics/
5. How do you think where college grads move affect social class in the U.S.?
Prestige and power
People view different occupations with different levels of prestige. This prestige can translate to real power such as being appointed to boards or committees. It can also simply give you credibility or respect in social situations. Here is a chart of prestige ratings.
6. What is the median prestige job in this data? Where does your family's prestige rating fall compared to this?
Power, according to Max Weber, is the ability to impose one's will on others. One example is how the world's most powerful leaders gather in secret meetings annually to discuss how they can shape policy, economics and laws among other things. One such meeting is the American Enterprise Institute held every year on an island off the coast of Georgia where attendees can fly their jets on and off the island in private. Another meeting is the Bilderberg meeting.
Some examples of power are the abilities to keep yourself out of jail, influence politicians and enact laws that are you favor. Here is one example from The Daily Show comparing teachers and Wall Street Investors. Can you guess who has the power?
Here is a link to a Washington Post article explaining that wealthy Americans use their power to create favorable government policies.
And this article from the NY Times shows that an executive at United Airlines accused of corruption charges was forced to resign. Imagine if a teacher was accused of corruption and was forced to resign. That would be it - out of a job and no compensation. But,
Wealth
Wealth is tricky to understand. It is everything that a household owns, such as the home, vacation home, cars, 401K, savings, stocks, jewelry, etc...But, you must subtract what the household owes. So, if my house is $200,000 but I owe $160,000 then my wealth is only $40,000 on the house.
One way to examine wealth is through quintiles (20% increments). if you lined all the households up in the U.S. by wealth, what percentage would the top 20% own? And then the next 20% and so on...Another way to think about this is if you have 5 people who are sharing a pie, what percent of the pie does the first person get, and the second person and third, etc...
Try the following exercise on your own:
First, hypothesize, how much of the wealth (the pie) in the U.S. do you think each quintile (person) has:
Bottom 20%:______ 2nd 20%_______ 3rd 20%________ 4th 20%_______ 5th 20%_______Top
(least) (most)
Second, write how much you think each quintile should have?
Bottom 20%:______ 2nd 20%________ 3rd 20%________ 4th 20%_______ 5th 20%_______Top
After you have finished answering the questions above, watch this video:
What is the reality? How is the wealth actually divided?
1. How does your guess about wealth compare to how it is actually distributed? (Here is the Google form for this lesson - I recommend opening this in a new window and then answer each question after you read the info.)
The overall conclusion about wealth is that the disparity of wealth is greater than that of income (see the pie graph below). The top 1% of America owns 34% of everything. The top 10% owns 70%. And half of America owns 96% of everything. In other words the bottom half, 50% of America, owns almost nothing. They have no money saved - for retirement or otherwise. Once you deduct their debts, they have almost no equity - from their homes, or possessions or bank accounts.
The average wealth of Americans
DQYDJ (Don't Quit Your Day Job)
... is a finance and investing website founded in 2009. Wherever possible we like to add interactive features, tools, and calculators to our posts.
The DQYDJ 2020 analysis of wealth in America calculates the median net wealth for Americans at $121,000:
The median is up from this 2010 Huffington Post report which analyzed a Congressional Research Bulletin about wealth, "The median household net worth -- the level at which half the households have more and half have less -- was $77,300" For a much more detailed analysis of wealth, see this post from business insider.
How does your family or community compare to the average American?
Average American: 50% own 2 cars, 50% have a 401K, 66% own 1 home, (only 6% own a second home like a condo or lake house).
2. How does your family's wealth compare to the average American? Feel free to comment on any of the above stats, or a combination of them:
- how much the total household net worth is
- cars
- 401K
- owning a house or second home
Education
In the US, here are the percentages of adults over the age of 23 who have attained each degree in 2012:
| High school graduate | 87.65% |
| Some college | 57.28% |
| Associate's and/or Bachelor's degree | 40.58% |
| Bachelor's degree | 30.94% |
| Master's degree | 8.05% |
| Doctorate or professional degree | 3.07% |
Not only is education level stratified, but the family's educational level determines, on average what the family's income will be (on average). In other words, the higher your education is, the more money one is likely to earn. Link to College Board research report here. The graph below shows how median income goes up for each level of education, even if you factor in income taxes (which also go up):
Here is a post from sociological images that has a lot of info showing the connection between your degree and your income.
So, not only does more education mean more income, the more income means higher scores on standardized tests (which could mean a better education). See the data below. This link shows that on average, the higher a family's income, the higher the ACT score.
Another way that data shows education impacting social class is that parents' educational level correlates with children's educational attainment. The graph below shows that the less education that parents have, the less education their children obtain. In other words, if parents don't have a college degree, the child is not likely to attain a college degree and visa-versa; parents with an advanced degree are more likely to have children who attain an advanced degree themselves.
Not only is educational level shaped by parents' social class, but also the major that a student chooses is too. This research from Natasha Quadlin shows that the major a student chooses at college is influenced by social class.
Lastly, people from different social classes are more likely to interact together at college. From The Upshot of NY Times, this interactive site allows you to see what percent of students from the top 1% and bottom 60% attend each school of higher education. The graph below shows where students from different social classes end up after high school:
Much of these conclusions are supported by Hamilton, Roksa and Nielsen (2018)
Additionally, if you are interested:
Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Do Not Belongfrom Clint Smith in the Atlantic.
How Admissions Really Work: If The College Admissions Scandal Shocked You, Read This from NPR.
There are lots of ways that wealthy families get a boost in the college admissions process. Most are quite legal.
Here is a map of the connection between location and education. Notice the greens and blues near the coasts and in cities and the other large areas that are only orange, red and yellow. Also, even within cities notice the distinct segregation by education. This article by Business Insider highlights the urban educational segregation.
Location
The price of a home depends on a lot more than the physical structure of the home. From FRED, the average home price in the United States in 2019 was about $380K. But the average home price varies considerably from state to state. For example, West VA was the lowest with an average home price of $108K and California was one of the highest at $554K. The average for Illinois was $202K.
4. How do you think your home's value compares to the average home price? (Remember from the wealth section above, the average American owns a home.)
Other location examples:
Click here to see some houses for sale in Lake County, IL in 2014. Which do you think are the most expensive? Which are the least? When you see the actual prices, why do you think that is?
This heat map from Trulia shows the median sales price for areas across Lake County.
Opportunity Insights provides data about how neighborhoods shape residents' life chances.
Here is a map from Time showing the most economically segregated cities in America. Can you find your town? How does this segregation affect the residents?
This research from Harvard shows that zipcode is a better predictor for health than genetic code.
Here you can find data by zipcode about the average home price ( as well as income and other data).
Location is also related to mobility:
This report from NPR's Planet Money details how where you grow up can affect your income later in life.
And here is a video and stats from CNN Money that show how where you grow up limits or benefits you.
An online data tool called Opportunity Atlas finds a strong correlation between where people are raised and their chances of achieving the American dream.
Here is an NPR piece explaining it.
Here is the NY Times Upshot explaining it.
Location and where College Grads Move
WSJ data shows where college grads are likely to move after they graduate. Recall that only about 30% of Americans get a college degree, and out of that small group, notice where most of them move to after college.
Here is Indiana U and U of I:
Here is Indiana U and U of I:
Try Accessing the data through this link (sometimes you have to be on campus to get it to work):
Where Graduates Move After College
If the link above does not work, these might:
OFF CAMPUS ACCESS DURING PANDEMIC:
OFF CAMPUS ACCESS DURING PANDEMIC:
You will use the same link to access, then click the "sign in" link in the corner and use the username and password below:http://www.wsj.com/highschoolUsername: schoolaccess@wsj.comPassword: wsj123
ON FACEBOOK:
Accessible through this facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/486893378140308/?multi_permalinks=1004035523092755¬if_id=1532189664367938¬if_t=feedback_reaction_genericON CAMPUS:
For full access to the WSJ when you're on campus, you need to use the following special link: www.wsj.com/highschool
- Once there, the fastest way for you (and your students) to find the article you're looking for is to click the search icon and enter the words "grads database"
- The only result that pops up should be "Where Graduates Move After College" and you should all be able to access it.
https://www.wsj.com/graphics/
Try to make your own conclusions about the data:
What does this data say about your life after college?
On a less personal level, what does this data say about the U.S. in general?
5. How do you think where college grads move affect social class in the U.S.?
Prestige and power
People view different occupations with different levels of prestige. This prestige can translate to real power such as being appointed to boards or committees. It can also simply give you credibility or respect in social situations. Here is a chart of prestige ratings.
6. What is the median prestige job in this data? Where does your family's prestige rating fall compared to this?
Power, according to Max Weber, is the ability to impose one's will on others. One example is how the world's most powerful leaders gather in secret meetings annually to discuss how they can shape policy, economics and laws among other things. One such meeting is the American Enterprise Institute held every year on an island off the coast of Georgia where attendees can fly their jets on and off the island in private. Another meeting is the Bilderberg meeting.
Some examples of power are the abilities to keep yourself out of jail, influence politicians and enact laws that are you favor. Here is one example from The Daily Show comparing teachers and Wall Street Investors. Can you guess who has the power?
Here is a link to a Washington Post article explaining that wealthy Americans use their power to create favorable government policies.
And this article from the NY Times shows that an executive at United Airlines accused of corruption charges was forced to resign. Imagine if a teacher was accused of corruption and was forced to resign. That would be it - out of a job and no compensation. But,
United filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday indicating that Mr. Smisek would receive nearly $4.9 million in a separation payment, and 60,000 shares of stock, valued at over $3 million.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
e-learning day 2 - Quarantine Tips
Hi Everyone!
I am getting a lot of feedback from you all about the difficulty, uncertainty and boredom from quarantining. I think this can be a valuable learning opportunity and I also want to give you some suggestions.
First, we have been talking about social structure and how it creates stability and continuity for us. This structure leads to culture and shared meaning between people, even strangers. This quarantine is a great example of that. Think about how much you notice all of the structure that daily life used to provide: Going to school and jobs, meeting with friends, clubs and sports. We tend to go about our daily lives not noticing these patterns - like a fish swimming in water and not noticing the water. All of these groups provide both a structure and a "self" identity.
Hopefully, this quarantine helps you see all the ways that we take for granted our interaction with each other. Are there connections that you previously did not realize?
Second, here are some suggestions for weathering the quarantine. I would recommend making a schedule so that you make time to do these regularly:
1. Get outside. You are not quarantining from fresh air; you are quarantining from large groups of people, especially aggregates. Make this part of your regular schedule. Walk around the block. Or, go for a long walk. See how far you can go. Take a bike ride. Explore different routes and areas. Finally, drive to a hike. Buffalo Creek is a nice 3 mile loop. Independence Grove is beautiful. If you are willing to go farther - Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda is really nice too. Some things to do outside: look for signs of spring. I saw my first crocuses in the garden today. I also see lots of buds of flowers to come; a reminder of hope and of good things to come.
Crocuses are one of the first flowers around here to bloom. Hellebores are also blooming soon. I also heard robins and cardinals singing today and baby hawks sqwawking high up in their nests. What can you see and hear? One idea to focus your attention is to make a photo album of what you see each time you go out. Here are 19 ways to get outside. Do you have a favorite place outside? Tell us in the comments section.
2. Stimulate your mind. Don't use your classes as a task to get done. Instead, see them as an escape. Lose yourself in the learning. Explore, ask questions and then research and learn. You have so much at your fingertips. If you don't find your classes engaging, then look for topics/subjects you like. Feel inspired learning about something that you didn't know about. Some books that I have read lately that I have really enjoyed:
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson is an amazing but true story about a Harvard Law Grad who decided to work at a non-profit law firm defending people on death row who did not have enough money to defend themselves. It is really an amazing book that is now a movie starring Michael B. Jordan. I was planning to read this at the end of our semester. Many colleges are reading it as part of their curriculum.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg is a great book about how to change habits. Some of the book is sociological, like how societies can change habits of their people and how organizations like businesses or schools can change their habits. And it is also psychological, like how individuals can make changes in their own habits. It is a great book for you to change anything you want whether it is get heaty, or study better or anything like that. But it may also be a good resource if you are in a leadership position. It will help you think about how to make small changes in your organization that have a big impact.
The Years That Matter Most by Paul Tough. It's a sociological analysis of college and it is a scathing indictment of the college board (you might enjoy that part :-)
Mindset by Carol Dweck is a book we will talk about in our lessons to come, but the book is worth reading fully. It changed the way I think about myself learning but also it changed how I parent and how I teach. It would be a great book to read before college.
This Book Is Not Required by Inge Bell and Bernard McGrane is a sociology book written for freshmen in college. It covers a number of subjects that will confront you in college like: choosing a major, dating, moving away from home, returning back home, etc... The book has both sociological insights as well as practical advice for transitioning to college.
Are there books that you would recommend? Tell us in the comment section.
3. Be creative. Find some outlets for you to be creative. This might mean writing your own poetry, choreographing your own tik tok videos, making humorous videos (saw some great ones here), painting (I am painting my kid's bedroom), learn a musical instrument, make music playlists, take creative pics, start blogging, make a website that reviews something - movies/restaurants/books/sports teams/players. Shakespeare likely wrote King Lear and others while the London theater was shut down because of bubonic plague. Even if you are not into arts, be creative about making a new workout routine, rearrange your bedroom, re-organize something - closet/backpack/desk. Learn to cook something. Whatever you do, it doesn't have to be good - just stimulating. It can be an opportunity to learn something new.
4. Exercise. This can be built into some of the ideas above (1-3). Make time to get some exercise in. Whether it is cardio or weight training it relieves stress and sharpens your mind. It will help you sleep better, have more energy and boost your mood. You can be creative too - shoot hoops in your driveway, dribble and do ball handling in the basement, do yoga using youtube, or make up a crossfit routine like pushups, situps, burpees, lunges and then record your progress.
5. Socialize. The quarantine is about people being in groups, but not about communicating with each other. Call someone each day who you haven't talked to in a while - old friend/relative. Facetime friends. Talk to family members in a way that you haven't before - ask questions like what was your first job? What what was your favorite childhood memory? Humans are storytellers. I think technology has gotten us away from that a bit and made us more visual - instagram, tik toc, etc... But stories tell us who we are and where we came from. They help us connect and relate. Interview a grandparent, a parent, or someone else and have a deep, sustained meaningful conversation.
6. Occupy your hands. There are therapeutic reasons for using our fingers - like people who knit or crochet, (Rainbow Loom anyone?). You can also do puzzles, sudoku, or coloring books, stress balls, or fidget spinners. Here is a list things to do to help occupy your hands. From Psychology Today, Working With Your Hands Does Wonders For Your Brain and from CBS news, How Busy Hands Can Alter Your Brain Chemistry.
7. Find a way to help. Don't feel powerless or meaningless. You can help people. Find a friend that needs help on school work or even a younger sibling. Tutor them. Do a chore around the house - dishes, laundry, clean the bathroom, sweep, vacuum. Donate blood - there is a nationwide shortage of blood. It is safe to donate. Search Lifesource locations near you to donate blood. Clean out a closet and donate what you do not need. Go to the grocery store for an elderly neighbor or an at-risk person.
8. Make moments of peacefulness. Carve out moments - even just a minute or two to be peaceful. No media, no distractions. Try to focus on yourself - acknowledge your feelings then relax. Feel your tension loosen. If you pray, this is a good time to do that, or you can meditate. Do the bell meditations that we have done in class - even if only in your head. Ring the bell. Quiet the noise inside of you. Breath out your stress and worries. Listen for the constant change. Every moment is different. Every moment is a step closer to getting past this outbreak. Listen for how far the noise travels. There is no telling how far your noise travels; you influence the world and you matter. Create a home retreat.
Students - Comment and fill out form
Please comment at the bottom of this post about what you are doing from this list that has helped you get through the quarantine, or what do you plan to do? Then fill out the form embedded below.
If you can't see the questions below, try this link.
Students - don't forget to post your comment below.
NOTE: Some students are trying to post comments and they are not showing up. Not sure why. I will look into it. But if it does not work, don't worry about it - the last thing I want to do is stress you out!
I am getting a lot of feedback from you all about the difficulty, uncertainty and boredom from quarantining. I think this can be a valuable learning opportunity and I also want to give you some suggestions.
First, we have been talking about social structure and how it creates stability and continuity for us. This structure leads to culture and shared meaning between people, even strangers. This quarantine is a great example of that. Think about how much you notice all of the structure that daily life used to provide: Going to school and jobs, meeting with friends, clubs and sports. We tend to go about our daily lives not noticing these patterns - like a fish swimming in water and not noticing the water. All of these groups provide both a structure and a "self" identity.
Hopefully, this quarantine helps you see all the ways that we take for granted our interaction with each other. Are there connections that you previously did not realize?
Second, here are some suggestions for weathering the quarantine. I would recommend making a schedule so that you make time to do these regularly:
1. Get outside. You are not quarantining from fresh air; you are quarantining from large groups of people, especially aggregates. Make this part of your regular schedule. Walk around the block. Or, go for a long walk. See how far you can go. Take a bike ride. Explore different routes and areas. Finally, drive to a hike. Buffalo Creek is a nice 3 mile loop. Independence Grove is beautiful. If you are willing to go farther - Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda is really nice too. Some things to do outside: look for signs of spring. I saw my first crocuses in the garden today. I also see lots of buds of flowers to come; a reminder of hope and of good things to come.
 |
| Crocuses |
2. Stimulate your mind. Don't use your classes as a task to get done. Instead, see them as an escape. Lose yourself in the learning. Explore, ask questions and then research and learn. You have so much at your fingertips. If you don't find your classes engaging, then look for topics/subjects you like. Feel inspired learning about something that you didn't know about. Some books that I have read lately that I have really enjoyed:
Are there books that you would recommend? Tell us in the comment section.
3. Be creative. Find some outlets for you to be creative. This might mean writing your own poetry, choreographing your own tik tok videos, making humorous videos (saw some great ones here), painting (I am painting my kid's bedroom), learn a musical instrument, make music playlists, take creative pics, start blogging, make a website that reviews something - movies/restaurants/books/sports teams/players. Shakespeare likely wrote King Lear and others while the London theater was shut down because of bubonic plague. Even if you are not into arts, be creative about making a new workout routine, rearrange your bedroom, re-organize something - closet/backpack/desk. Learn to cook something. Whatever you do, it doesn't have to be good - just stimulating. It can be an opportunity to learn something new.
4. Exercise. This can be built into some of the ideas above (1-3). Make time to get some exercise in. Whether it is cardio or weight training it relieves stress and sharpens your mind. It will help you sleep better, have more energy and boost your mood. You can be creative too - shoot hoops in your driveway, dribble and do ball handling in the basement, do yoga using youtube, or make up a crossfit routine like pushups, situps, burpees, lunges and then record your progress.
5. Socialize. The quarantine is about people being in groups, but not about communicating with each other. Call someone each day who you haven't talked to in a while - old friend/relative. Facetime friends. Talk to family members in a way that you haven't before - ask questions like what was your first job? What what was your favorite childhood memory? Humans are storytellers. I think technology has gotten us away from that a bit and made us more visual - instagram, tik toc, etc... But stories tell us who we are and where we came from. They help us connect and relate. Interview a grandparent, a parent, or someone else and have a deep, sustained meaningful conversation.
6. Occupy your hands. There are therapeutic reasons for using our fingers - like people who knit or crochet, (Rainbow Loom anyone?). You can also do puzzles, sudoku, or coloring books, stress balls, or fidget spinners. Here is a list things to do to help occupy your hands. From Psychology Today, Working With Your Hands Does Wonders For Your Brain and from CBS news, How Busy Hands Can Alter Your Brain Chemistry.
7. Find a way to help. Don't feel powerless or meaningless. You can help people. Find a friend that needs help on school work or even a younger sibling. Tutor them. Do a chore around the house - dishes, laundry, clean the bathroom, sweep, vacuum. Donate blood - there is a nationwide shortage of blood. It is safe to donate. Search Lifesource locations near you to donate blood. Clean out a closet and donate what you do not need. Go to the grocery store for an elderly neighbor or an at-risk person.
8. Make moments of peacefulness. Carve out moments - even just a minute or two to be peaceful. No media, no distractions. Try to focus on yourself - acknowledge your feelings then relax. Feel your tension loosen. If you pray, this is a good time to do that, or you can meditate. Do the bell meditations that we have done in class - even if only in your head. Ring the bell. Quiet the noise inside of you. Breath out your stress and worries. Listen for the constant change. Every moment is different. Every moment is a step closer to getting past this outbreak. Listen for how far the noise travels. There is no telling how far your noise travels; you influence the world and you matter. Create a home retreat.
Students - Comment and fill out form
Please comment at the bottom of this post about what you are doing from this list that has helped you get through the quarantine, or what do you plan to do? Then fill out the form embedded below.
If you can't see the questions below, try this link.
Students - don't forget to post your comment below.
NOTE: Some students are trying to post comments and they are not showing up. Not sure why. I will look into it. But if it does not work, don't worry about it - the last thing I want to do is stress you out!
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Sociology and Coronavirus
General Information
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people, and others that circulate among animals, including camels, cats, and bats. Rarely animal coronaviruses can evolve and infect people and then spread between people.Human coronaviruses are common throughout the world and commonly cause mild to moderate illness in people worldwide. However, the emergence of novel (new) coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, have been associated with more severe respiratory illness. The current outbreak of coronavirus has specifically been named as SARS-CoV-2. The health condition resulting from the virus is known as Covid-19.
For the latest national information, see the CDC covid-19 page here. One link on that CDC page is specifically for families and schools, here.
For the latest local information, see the Illinois Department of Public Health here. IDPH also has a page specifically for families and schools here.
Sociology and Social Changes
From St. Louis Today,
The concepts of sociology, such as institutions, interdependence, deviance, roles and inequalities, can help us better understand what is happening and how we might best react to stresses in our communities and shifting social expectations ...A sociological perspective helps us see that institutions are made, maintained and reinforced by humans. Institutions can be edited, improved, degraded or destroyed by humans as well...Sociology helps us understand that institutions have manifest functions, the goals formally assigned by society, and latent functions, myriad other goals that are implicitly assigned...sociology helps us be attentive to inequality. Rash decisions can exacerbate disparities in power, health, opportunities and more...
Sociology of Public Health: Managing Disease Spread
The graph below shows the variable ways that the virus can spread in depending on the policies and structure of each country. Graphs are available here. Will the U.S. be able to mitigate the spread like Japan or will it spike like Italy? Note how South Korea had an initial spike but then was able to contain the spread.
Epidemiologists suggest a measured response to how widespread the virus is. Here is one chart illustrated in the San Jose Times:
With careful monitoring, the hope is that our country can minimize disruption while mitigating the spread of the virus. That is the purpose of the chart above. This is sometimes called "flattening the curve". The goal is to keep the peak of the curve below the maximum capability of the healthcare system. See this Vox article and the graph below:
Medium explains flattening the curve and shares this graphic:
via GIPHY
Unfortunately, it appears that the US has not handled the crisis well:
Structural Challenges facing the U.S.
From the Financial Times, Why the U.S. is So Vulnerable to Coronavirus Outbreak
As the number of coronavirus cases mount in the US, experts are warning that the country is unusually vulnerable to the spread of the disease.... Public health officials and academics are concerned that a mix of high numbers of uninsured people, a lack of paid sick leave and a political class that has downplayed the threat could mean it spreads more quickly than in other countries.
Sociology of pandemics from Society Pages
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/05/04/flu-pandemics/
Epidemiologists suggest a measured response to how widespread the virus is. Here is one chart illustrated in the San Jose Times:
With careful monitoring, the hope is that our country can minimize disruption while mitigating the spread of the virus. That is the purpose of the chart above. This is sometimes called "flattening the curve". The goal is to keep the peak of the curve below the maximum capability of the healthcare system. See this Vox article and the graph below:
via GIPHY
Unfortunately, it appears that the US has not handled the crisis well:
Singapore Wins Praise For Its COVID-19 Strategy. The U.S. Does Not
Structural Challenges facing the U.S.
From the Financial Times, Why the U.S. is So Vulnerable to Coronavirus Outbreak
As the number of coronavirus cases mount in the US, experts are warning that the country is unusually vulnerable to the spread of the disease.... Public health officials and academics are concerned that a mix of high numbers of uninsured people, a lack of paid sick leave and a political class that has downplayed the threat could mean it spreads more quickly than in other countries.
From PEW research center, the data below shows that paid leave varies substantially, but the lowest earning workers are most at risk.
Interactive Map for Covid-19
Sociology of pandemics from Society Pages
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/05/04/flu-pandemics/
Sociology of Media and Spread of Fear
Sociology shows how public health epidemics can become panic based on how news covers the story.
Sociology and Discrimination
Disease exposes discrimination
Fears about the current coronavirus, or COVID-19, have revealed rampant racism and xenophobia against Asians. Anti-Asian discrimination ranges from avoiding Chinese businesses to direct bullying and assaults of people perceived to be Asian. This discriminatory behavior is nothing new. The United States has a long history of blaming marginalized groups when it comes to infectious disease, from Irish immigrants blamed for carrying typhus to “promiscuous women” for spreading sexually transmitted infections.
If anyone can give you a disease, everyone is potentially a threat and your enemy. Crises such as coronavirus test social trust as well as science.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/03/01/coronavirus-fight-fear-racism-anti-chinese-sentiment-campus-column/4913481002/From Stacy Torres is an assistant professor of sociology in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UC San Francisco. Xuemei Cao is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Coronavirus fears show how 'model minority' Asian Americans become the 'yellow peril'
While viruses and other pathogens do not discriminate between hosts based on race, ethnicity, nationality or immigration status — stigma and misinformation certainly do.
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/02/811363404/when-xenophobia-spreads-like-a-virus?utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews
From Time Magazine, Trump's 'Chinese' Virus Is Part of a Long History of Blaming Other Countries for Disease (March 20, 2020)
Graffiti, handshakes and the “perpetual foreigner”: Asian Americans at Northwestern report alienation amid COVID-19.
From Time Magazine, Trump's 'Chinese' Virus Is Part of a Long History of Blaming Other Countries for Disease (March 20, 2020)
From Northwestern University's Daily Northwestern, Yunkyo Kim posted (2020)...one part of President Donald Trump’s reaction to coronavirus has remained consistent. More than a week after he prompted outcry by retweeting a supporter who called the novel coronavirus the “China virus,” photos from Trump’s Thursday press briefing about the virus showed that “corona” had been crossed out and replaced with “Chinese.” The President and his team have defended the use of that language—despite the World Health Organization making a point of not naming the disease after the place where the outbreak began, and despite advocates arguing that such terminology fuels the risk of hate crimes against people of Asian descent, who have already reported a surge in discrimination.While Trump may have his own political reasons for describing the virus as foreign, he’s also part of a long history of associating diseases with certain countries—a tradition that experts say has led to ethnic and racial discrimination, stymied efforts to effectively handle public health crises, and distorted public historical memory.
Graffiti, handshakes and the “perpetual foreigner”: Asian Americans at Northwestern report alienation amid COVID-19.
From a 2018 article in the American Journal of Public Health, “Spanish Flu”: When Infectious Disease Names Blur Origins and Stigmatize Those Infected" also available here.
Despite not originating in Spain, the 1918 influenza pandemic is commonly known as the “Spanish flu”—a name that reflects a tendency in public health history to associate new infectious diseases with foreign nationals and foreign countries. Intentional or not, an effect of this naming convention is to communicate a causal relationship between foreign populations and the spread of infectious disease, potentially promoting irrational fear and stigma. I address two relevant issues to help contextualize these naming practices. First is whether, in an age of global hyperinterconnectedness, fear of the other is truly irrational or has a rational basis. The empirical literature assessing whether restricting global airline travel can mitigate the global spread of modern epidemics suggests that the role of travel may be overemphasized. Second is the persistence of xenophobic responses to infectious disease in the face of contrary evidence. To help explain this, I turn to the health communication literature. Scholars argue that promoting an association between foreigners and a particular epidemic can be a rhetorical strategy for either promoting fear or, alternatively, imparting a sense of safety to the public. (Am J Public Health. 2018;108:1462–1464. doi:10. 2105/AJPH.2018.304645)
Irony and hypocrisy
GOP Representaive Matt Gaetz made fun of the virus by tweeting the picture below. In a turn of sweet justice, Gaetz had to self-quarantine because he himself was exposed to the virus. And shortly after that, Gaetz had to acknowledge the seriousness of the virus when someone from his own district died.
From NPR,
Reps. Mark Meadows, Doug Collins, and Matt Gaetz said Monday that they are self-quarantining after learning they came in contact with a person infected with coronavirus while attending a conservative conference in the Washington area last month.Bobby Rush v. Matt Gaetz
However, the disparate treatment of Bobby Rush reveals racial inequality and the institutionalized racism that prevents some Americans from seriously drawing attention to racial inequalities while allowing other Americans to freely joke around about deadly outcomes.
ABC News:
Asians facing discrimination, violence amid coronavirus outbreakWikipedia:
In the past, many diseases have been named after geographical locations, such as the Spanish flu (a misnomer, as it is generally agreed that the influenza did not begin in Spain[1]), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Zika virus, but in 2015 the World Health Organization introduced recommendations to avoid this practice, in order to reduce stigma. In accordance with this policy, the WHO recommended the official name "COVID-19" in February 2020.[2]
In early coverage of the outbreak, some news sources associated the virus with China in a way that contributed to stigma. The journal Nature later published an apology for this type of coverage.[2][3] However, even after the majority of politicians had switched to avoiding stigmatizing language when referring to the virus, a minority continued.[2]
List of racist incidents around the world here:
NY Times:
Spit On, Yelled At, Attacked: Chinese-Americans Fear for Their Safety
As bigots blame them for the coronavirus and President Trump labels it the “Chinese virus,” many Chinese-Americans say they are terrified of what could come next.
NPR:
New Site Collects Reports Of Racism Against Asian Americans Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Last week Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, started tracking these attacks on a new website he helped launch called Stop AAPI Hate. In the site's first eight days, it received more than 650 reports of discrimination — largely against the Asian American community.
The Hill:
Attacks on Asian Americans skyrocket to 100 per day during coronavirus pandemic.Representative Judy Chu said that reports of bigotry and hate crimes against Asian Americans have surged during the coronavirus crisis.
LA Times:
Op-Ed: Trump’s racist comments are fueling hate crimes against Asian Americans. Time for state leaders to step in
After news of the coronavirus broke in January, Asian Americans almost immediately experienced racial taunts on school campuses, shunning on public transit and cyber-bullying on social media. When President Trump insisted on labeling the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” in early March, these attacks became more virulent and common.
The FBI now warns of an increase of hate crimes against Asian Americans, but we’ve already experienced a surge. Since the Stop-AAPI-Hate website, a project of the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council and Chinese for Affirmative Action, launched on March 19 to track anti-Asian harassment, it has received more than 1,000 reports from people in 32 states detailing verbal abuse, denial of services, discrimination on the job or physical assaults.
A Man Who Allegedly Tried To Kill An Asian American Family Because Of The Coronavirus Could Face Hate Crime Charges.
The incident is just one in a surge of racist attacks that Asian-Americans have faced during the coronavirus pandemic.
Newsweek:
A 'CHINESE CORONAVIRUS'? OFFICIALS ACCUSE TRUMP OF STOKING XENOPHOBIA AND VIOLENCE AGAINST ASIAN-AMERICANS
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