Week 10 Post (Final!)

*Singular Girl and the Social Change": Applying Sociological Mindfulness as a Sociologist

Through the Looking Class

Being in this class for the past 12 weeks of spring quater I will not only will be more prepared for my major with a foundation for the next four years, but have learned to be more conscious about my choices, perceptions, implications and causations both socially and morally. I have learned to not simply look at social structure and constructs such as race just as how they are, but how they are made in their origins, and how they are reinforced by societal constructs and cultural norms everyday.

I have learned to see the world in a new way from different sociological perspectives and can apply these tools of knowledge I have acquired to this class to a variety of settings, social groups and situations around me everyday to a Schwalble may suggest resist the power schemes embeded by others. I believe this sociological toolbox of knowledge will help me to navigate better and more sociologically mindful choices that are not harmful or simply perpetuating a cycle of negativity, but beneficial to others in both college life and the real world to see situations in the context they are made, and to not make generalizations about a particular instance or group, whether it is a political concept/ideal or an everyday average shopper.

I have learned to see the world more clearly and critically for the better with sociological mindfulness through the eyes of a sociologist, and hope to continue to question learn and grow in this process as I continue my studies for the next 4 years to question and analyze the world and environment around me in "How I know what I know" to live a "sociologically examined life".

I believe a sociologist work is undervalued but value should never be understimated as a sociologist work is never done. There will always be social, cultural and ethnic groups, polices, theorems, experiments, political and religions and educational events and of course people to study all interlinked by the common thread of humanity and what make us human. I believe it is fair to say that looking through the eye of a sociologists and applying the tools and wealth of knowledge that I have learned in this class as a foundation and will continue to explore, I will never look at my world and community in the same way again. And as long as there are people, their will always be a need for sociologists to study them and contemplate the interations and inclinations of daily life both ascribed and achieved, weather it be race, wealth, gender or class. Thank you for reading the thoughts and perspectives I've shared, as I hoped they have in some way enlightened you to an aspect of the world around us.

I would like to finish off this final chapter of this sociological journey with a quote from playwright Luis Valdez, that I feel personifies my experience and journey so far in learning the life long possess of being sociologically mindful: "Ultimately, he truest mirror of one's intelligence, is his or her value towards fellow human beings" (1992 SCU Commencement Ceremony).

Week 8 Posting

**Effect of Genderation and Perception**

First of all, I used to be quite the tomboy in my elementary school days, not only played with cars and Legos, but had a barbie dream house too.

So I suppose playing with both hot wheels and barbies as a kid would not be seen as much deviant for a female child as it would for a male child, which reveals a double standard in male and female interests, prevalent in many aspects of our societal culture. Another more obvious example of this is the fact that women are free to wear either pants or skirts while men, generally are limited to the latter. I still love and admire cars, shopping, and accessories too, but still believe as with many, that my life would be different if I were a member of the opposite gender.

I guess as a female I would say I am pretty attached to my gender, but also have many diverse interests that could be considered gender neutral such as music, dance, reading etc. Most people define being attached to their gender in terms of interest assigned as either masculine or feminine (fashion vs. sports etc.) while many interests can be gender neutral (music, dance, movies). It terms of interest though, I believe females have an advantage due to the double standard held in culture that allows women to have a wider variety or range of interests that are not seen as deviant with the treat of emasculating one's persona. For example, a female interested in both "chick flicks" and action films may not be seen as deviant as say a male who simply enjoys romantic comedies due to the risk of appearing effeminate by both peers and cultural standards.

This may be in part a result of the fact a women's identification with her gender i.e. femininity does not have to be proven or is not threatened by other women as the case with masculinity. As a part of the assumption "all women must be inherently feminine" while sharing similar characteristics has a wider range for definition than the male assumption or in other words what is defined as masculine (with a long list of "dont's" in order not to appear feminine). Basically women are not pressured to be feminine so much as fitting into the role of an ideal female.

Another advantage is that women are typically allowed more outlets for emotional and self expression than men, without the pressure or treat to their gender identity(masculinity/femininity). Women are generally more free to express and/or display their emotions in society (although this privilege is overtly looked down upon an perceived or characterized as weakness for further justification of oppression).

Although, I think I would be taken more seriously by others in I were a member or the opposite gender, I do notice that others are more willing to make concessions for my requests than a male. (may be due to others being more sympathetic to needs of female since they are considered "dependant" whereas males "independent"). In the matter of being taken more seriously, in some situations I feel my abilities are underestimated or less recognized as a female, than they would be as a male (which may be effected by other factors such as body type, which in my case is relatively small, and ascribed status as a minority). For example, I noticed in some of my classes when hands are raised , males are picked more frequently and more quickly than female students, particularly if the instructor is a male, and their replies are taken more strongly into consideration. In addition to this, many times I have witnessed and experienced the instance of male students putting down or dismissing the ideas of female students in class mostly to assert one idea over another or to object to a statement entirely in a condescending manner.

Also in terms of conflicts, and solving problematic interactions, I believe women have an advantage in being slightly more rational in approach than males who are more likely to be physically confrontational in problem solving. Although female conflict and interaction in general is more indirect (through minced words, gossip, sarcasm etc. ) than with males who are more direct (which does prevent the prolonging of the conflict), so is the approach to solving (mostly through talking out the solution). Another factor as a decent of Latino heritage with parents who have grown up in the Latin culture, gender has a more structured meaning in the sense of privileges and responsibilities. My brother for instance, is inherently held to different Rapunzel's than my older sister ( I am also the youngest), so this would also be a factor in differing treatment if I were a male.

Overall, I enjoy being a female and the range of opportunities is provides despite the disadvantages though society and culture, because I believe a as a modern society we will continue to progress a past these gender barriers, towards inequality and transcend double standards over time.

Honors Community Volunteer Project: Day 3 (Final)

Looking Back: A Lasting Experience

My third and final time at my elementary Alma-mater was a bitter-sweet experience. I was sad that it would be over and would miss the kids and the reminiscence of vicariously reliving my elementary days.

The first class I went to was back to the kindergarten class I had volunteered the previous week, and got to meet the teacher who was out sick after the field trip.


The kids had greeted me with fond recognition (especially the one girl who asked me about her hair), much to the teacher's surprise as she realized the class already met me, with no need for introduction. I introduced myself to her and sat down at a table text to a teachers aid who also was helping out and observing the class. The teacher was going over grammar and sentence structure with a story about a mouse in a house (occurring theme) on the board, while the kids sat on the rug and participated by raising their hands to complete the story and identify the phonetic spelling errors .

I was surprise the same boy didn't suggest the mouse was on "we'd", but probably had earlier. After the grammar lesson was done, it was "writing time" where each of the kids had their own journal in which they wrote a story of their choice along with an illustration or drawing. I went around to each table once again helping with spelling and grammar, as one boy (their were more boys than girls again 15 boys and 6 girls) asked me how to spell "monster truck" to go along with the drawing of one for his story. I also helped the same girl with the ponytail to spell "bicycle" (afterward she asked me if I liked Hannah Montana, to which I have no comment), and others correct punctuation and grammar as well.

Once writing time was over, it was time to color behavior charts and be dismissed for lunch, as one of the boys gave the other a "pound of approval/handshake" for his behavior color changing from yellow to green. (Which I thought was a particularly touching display of positive peer encouragement).

After the kindergartners headed for lunch, I was off to the 5th grade class I had visited the first day to assist with their research for their " Important Figure from American History" project. The fifth graders had remembered me as well, greeting me with a "Good Afternoon" after an energy-burning lunch. They began with a review of the history of the 13-colonies and Declaration of Independence. Mostly males had participated in the discussion once again as the ratio of males to females was 18:8 (when I attended it there were more females). As a class they read aloud, took notes, and practiced reading comprehension while reading their history textbooks and reciting facts about the colonies and British rule. As we were heading out one of the as the teacher designated more "popular" male student was greeted by the class as well when he entered, as one of the other boys stated to the teacher "he's taller than you!" to which she replied "he's taller than you too!" Demonstrating a (friendly) challenge of comparison between older students and their teachers/authority figures, with in this case, appearance but later may shift to intellectual comparison as students become older and more adept to challenging authority figures.

They lined up to head our to the computer lab for research of their assigned historical figure. Most boys had George Washington, while many girls had Betsy Ross. Google was a popular starting point, but they were encouraged to use other sites (not Wikipedia) that were most historically accurate and fact based as possible. I visited each student at their computer to help them with the printer configurations/options in printing only the pages with info they needed as requested to conserve paper. I also picked up each paper printed and called out the titles or the pages for students to identify as theirs and handed it to them (some still ended up with over 20 pages.) Afterward I helped them staple the large stacks of paper with info they researched as they lined up, then leading them back to the classroom.

They dropped off their research packets and went to the blacktop to rehearse for the annual multicultural dance show, in which each grade at the end of the year is assigned a cultural dance to perform in front of parents, teachers, and faculty. I have fond memories of this tradition as I watched them rehearse a salsa/meringue inspired dance as a group (the younger kids usually get a variation of the hula or slower simpler dances). The girls and boys were separated into two groups for the dance and watch had a specific set of moves to be performed one after the other. Some kids were enthusiastic (mostly the boys and some girls) while others were less than excited, but came to enjoy after warming up with a few steps. There teachers were watching encouragingly as well as several other 5th grade classes were to perform the dance together as well. I spotted my 3rd grade teacher and said hello as she greeted me amiably, asking where I would be attending school in the fall, which was coincidentally the very same school here daughter went to, and had graduated a couple of years ago. She wished me luck as I said goodbye inviting me to watch the muti-cultual dance later in the month, and farewell my 5th grade teacher as well, thanking me for the help.

Overall, this was a great experience of returning to where my love of learning and educational roots began in my final quarter of high school. I loved this school and really appreciated the foundation it provided me with great teachers and environment. As I left to check out for the last time I thanked the principal for all of her help and hospitality in letting me visit and volunteer in the classrooms. I learned so much from this experience as I love working with kids having volunteered at summer camps for 3 years, now provided with the tools to see the world and aid my community through the eyes of a sociologist.

Honors Community Volunteer Project: Day 2

**Student-Teacher**

The second day of my volunteer project, I spent the entire day (a Kindergarten school day) in a kindergarten classroom where I assisted a substitute teacher with keeping the kids on task and engaged. The regular teacher called in sick, as it was a day after a field trip and must have been pretty tired after a day of head-counting, noisy bus rides, and buddy-system bathroom trips.

As I entered the classroom, curious eyes followed and perked up at the site of a newcomer/potential new friend. The substitute introduced me by asking my age and grade I was in, inspiring an awe from the kids once again as she proclaimed I was "almost a grown-up".

Today they were making 4 page story books they had colored about a rooster and his house, which I helped to fold and staple correctly, while complementing nice coloring and staying inside the lines.

Several, mostly boys, were squirmy and had to be told to sit in their chairs several times while others sat quietly coloring their book pages. At the end of the day based on behavior, their were "color cards" in which different colors indicated levels of behavior such (blue: very good, green: good, yellow: ok, orange: bad, red:very bad etc.) These cards were placed in plastic slots on one of the walls next to their names, and colored correspondingly on a day-of-the-week sheet to keep track.

Although most had behaved, and one girl in particular became particularly fond of me, giving me a hug before the class was even over, and asking what I thought of her hair (as an attempt to bond with an elder female figure?) Some of the kids reactions to me were particularly memorable, as one boys asked why I was wearing the type of shoes I had on (which were sneakers), possibly due to the fact that maybe he thought only boys should wear them, and also questioned about my necklace and name tag, which I found quite interesting that he would take such notice in my appeal/and personal appearance (particularly of a a female) at such a young age. He later got a red behavior card for touching the ponytail one one of the girls in class.

Also, when the sub asked what high school I went to, one of the other boys responded excitedly stating: "My older brother goes there too!" as I noticed they looked alike and had the same last name from his desk tag. His brother was also a senior, had gone to that elementary school as me, and were in several classes together.

After helping all of the kids staple and finish their books, it was time for daily lesson of numbers a pronouns in which I held up flash cards on numbers/pronouns for the kids as they repeated in in synonymously. As they each sat "criss-cross apple sauce" on their rug square (as Indian style now un-PC), I sat in the chair in front of them all saying the pronounce/numbers as they repeated them afterward. When I held up the word "we", one of the boys had added a "d" at the end of repeating the the word several times, making others giggle.

After I had gone through all of the cards, the substitute put on a CD about numbers and nouns which the kids sang along with, while using hand gestures for the song. Then it was time for bingo and each child was given a blanks sheet of squares to fill out using the digits 0-9 for the grand prize of several gummy bears. I went around to each table to make sure everyone had filled out their cards, helping to come up with numbers and how to "spell" the number 11.

Once every was finished with their cards, I repeated the numbers called out after the substitute, made sure everyone had marked them if they had it, and checking "Bingo's". Following the game and the explicit trading of gummy bears and pleading from those who won, I passed out papers about parent info night for "Take-Home folders", and made sure everyone sat quietly to be called out for lunch. The sub had thanked me for helping to keep everyone under control, and the kids shouted "THANK YOU!" in unison before I left.

Kindergarten: And fun and tiring (void of nap-time) experience.

Week 7 Blog Post Response

What's in a Race?: Standardized Culture

Growing up in the Silicon Valley, I found that I was the only African-American student, or one of few others, in most of my classes and grades since elementary school.

But this simple realization didn't come until I was slightly older, in about third grade when I noticed a difference between myself and my fellow classmates. However, being the youngest in the family surrounded by adults, I did have the wisdom, of knowledge in hearing about "race" and identifying as African-American or black (of Hispanic origin), at a young age.

Identifying myself with a multi-ethnic background became a an increasingly difficult concept to grasp for some and to explain (especially as a third grader), as my parents both migrated from Latin America, and spoke Spanish fluently as their first language. This came as a shock to many, having not seen or often heard of African-Americans of Latin decent or origin speaking Spanish in other regions of the world.

Nonetheless, this had always been a norm to me, to which I realized was not common knowledge and regarded somewhat as an anomaly to some, one day while taking the S.T.A.R. test in my 3rd grade class. We had to fill in the bubble for the section of "ethnic background" indicating our race, when I found that the bubble next to "Black (not of Hispanic origin)" had already been bubbled in for me. So, being the young advocate for cultural representation, I decided to fill in the "Latino" bubble as well.

The next day, I found it had been erased, and when I attempted to fill it in again, my teacher spotted me stating "You can only fill in the one bubble that pertains to you".

To which I retorted "But I am Latino too, my parents talk Spanish".

The whole class listening in, had heard this statement as well, to which one of my peers shouted out "Your Mexican?!"

"No Panamanian."I corrected. My teacher with a surprised expression resolved "Lets just leave it as is shall we, it's simpler."

This was one of the first experiences I remember becoming explicitly conscious of race. The duality of other cultures and origins denied because of a "Primary Status" of being an African-American. It is simply easier to lump everyone together (like a melting pot) under one label regardless of other origins, disregarding cultural heritage. [This is the equivalent to Arizona banning all ethnic indication bubbles and adding one labeled "American Citizen".] My origins were being questioned as well as assumed to be that of another close by country, but not quite, solidifying the ideal at a young age than only those of Mexican heritage speak Spanish, forsaking other regions and cultural variations around the world. Also, standardization assumes that one cannot be Black or White or any racial background and of Hispanic descent as well, adding the limiting after thought and confusion in parenthesis of "not of Hispanic origin" for those that are. So this system of classification initially encourages one to choose their primary status, based on appearances (or different cultural factors in the case of others), forsaking other ethic backgrounds as "secondary", limiting identification and acknowledgement to simplistic acceptable choices.

So what does this say for those children of Hispanic origin or who are multi-racial, who must then choose a primary cultural identification as a means of conforming to societal classes for simplicity? That functionality serves a higher importance than identifying one's individuality and embracing a unique multi-cultural heritage, in a nation promoting the equality of those from all backgrounds of race,color, or creed.

Honors Community Volunteer Project: Day 1

**Back in the Day: Tales of the 5th Grade Nothing**

On my first day of volunteering for the Honors Volunteer Project as a classroom volunteer at a local elementary school in my neighborhood, I had arrived in time to find that the kindergarten class I was to volunteer for was out on a field trip. Therefore, I waited for about 2o minutes for the office make as schedule to fit the time I was to help out with that day and check in to receive my visitor's pass.

My first destination was the class of my former kindergarten teacher, who now teaches 5th grade. The time I spent in this class for the first day was mostly observation, due to the fact the students were working in groups filling out a work sheet on a reading about "How Electricity Works", practicing reading comprehension and study skills. Two students had greeted me with "Hi stranger", as I walked in the classroom towards the teacher. I introduced my self as a sociology student working on a project for class, pausing for the comments and gasps about how old I am and what grade I am in. Not surprised at their curiosity, I answered their questions about whether I had my work permit, my favorite subject (sociology of course!) and if I was a "good student".

I observed a class of about 35 students, more boys than girls as they articulated answers in their groups. The girls seemed more engaged in communicating answers and participating with their group members than the boys, while the boys preferred to looking the textbooks for their answers.

The second class I visited was the 3rd grade class of another teacher who's class I had not been, in but was acquainted with. They were working on an art project for Mother's Day in which they had to write a short "poem" about there moms, and place their hands in paint to press upon paper hearts to decorate them with. I went around to each table to keep the kids on task and assist with spelling and various inquires while the teacher called up each child one-by-one to do their hand prints.

I helped one student spell "Sunnyvale" in a line of their poem about where their mom lived, and another think of a title for their poem. Curious glances followed me (I seemed to towered over the small desks) as I went around I complemented their work and commented on neat handwriting and cute sentiments in their poems. Meanwhile, one girl who was a primarily Spanish speaker asked me how to spell a word in Spanish. Having taken Spanish two, I had some ideal of how the phonetics of spelling worked and helped her to spell the word.

When this class went off to lunch, I decided to observe the playground and cafeteria for interactions of kids outside of the classroom. I was greeted by the jury duty as I watched, and noticed the older kids participating in more organized games (in gender separated groups) while the younger ones engaged in simple freeplay.

I approached the cafeteria and sat down for a time, taking in the familiar smell of formerly frozen chicken patties and government mac & cheese. Meanwhile, most kids simply carried on eating (mostly less interested in food and lunchables in general) , talking, or socializing while a few pretended to gasp and point at me playfully saying "stranger" (a learned appropriate response) then would giggle and turn away. I presume playfully do to my non-threatning stature as a 5 ft 1" female. There were a few stragglers and some early birds who rushed out to play eating 1/4 of their lunches (which was me back in the day).

Overall, the first day went pretty well and was a nostalgic experience being reintroduced into the simple world that is childhood, a nice break from the fast pace stress of a high school senior.

Week 6 Blog Post Response

**The Social Shopper**

In my visit to the shopping center this weekend, I chose to primarily observe the inhabitants of Target, a store that is common place in which many visit or shop at one time of another, for various needs from cleaners, to clothes, to food goods and electronics, better known as the conventional super store. Less limiting than the department store, yet less personal than the specialty mom-and pop-shop, and its high end-neighbor: Macy's.

Both of these stores represent two ends of a spectrum according to consumers: Target regarded as mid-price range depending of the variety of items offered as sold, considered more high end than its competitors Wal-Mart and K-Mart. One the other end Macy's of course represents the more luxury of the two, more expensive than Kohl's but less illusive than Nordstrom.

The environment of the Target varies considerably from the boutique style setting of Macy's as expected. Shoppers who may feel more independent, feel confident in strolling the isles with red shopping carts prowling through shelves of frozen food and and canned goods to office supplies, all organized by high hanging signs indicating isle placement of products punctuated by price checkers, between side displays of bulk sale items with bid red SALE letters and prices, visible to all for up to a mile away (saves the hassle). Designed to "target" (pun semi-intended) sensible shoppers ready and willing to navigate for bargains and shrewd weekly sales.

In another realm, Macy's offers a more costumer service-oriented atmosphere, a offering to the consumer a possible attempt to justify price with quality service and products. The glistening cosmetic counters with wafting fragrances lined with black clad employees waiting, ready and willing to help with your needs from a 5 minute makeover to the perfect fragrance or matte concealer. These shoppers enjoy being waited upon, pampered, and catered to, expecting to receive quality service and goods for their money's worth, designed to target those for "high end tastes for style". Price tags either hidden or need a magnifying glass, suggesting it may not be the first thing on the consumers mind.

The Target I visited was pretty crowded in with Saturday afternoon shoppers, which was expected, with plenty to observe and take note of. Most shoppers were dressed pretty casually and going about their business. The three "representatives" I chose were two females and a male, two of whom, (1 male/female) dressed moderately casually, the male more casual than the female, while the third representative shopper (2nd female) was dressed less casually almost semi business or suburban like. The male shopper sporting sneakers and a baseball cap blue tooth in his ear with a relatively unkempt appearance appeared to be lower-middle class according to his attire carrying items in his hand toothpaste toiletries etc, after later making the wise decision of picking up a hand basket(which may or may not be an accurate index due to the fact that is was a Saturday and most males dress more casually than women in general). The first more casually dressed female appeared to be middle class with a shopping cart with bulk sized toilet paper, wearing sneakers and a knit sweater over a t-shirt. The third more formally dressed female entered the store with large sunglasses, was wearing flats, leggings and a large hobo bag, and animal print blouse. An index of a fashonista who didn't bother to push around a cart, or look up from her cell phone in hand texting away almost running into the price check-out stand, probably looking for a bargain on hair care of facial products, to go with some new shoes purchased at the Macy's next door.

I used these indexes specifically to describe the representatives I observed because I felt it cover the spectrum or shopper in this particular center as predominantly middle-class females from ages 20-35 shopping for families or for fashion, and personal items and/or necessities. These indexes reveal consumer preferences and possible shopping habits as well as choices or items and social class statuses, but can be misleading as in the case with the male shopper, (who could be a scruffy casually dressed businessman coming from a workout or who just likes to be comfortable shopping on weekends.) Also, as I have learned from personal experiences and advise of others, in shopping at a high-end store like Macy's, "dressing the part" may ensure a slightly more friendly demeanor in costumer service as opposed to the baseball cap clad shopper wearing baggy sweatpants at a cosmetics counter.

After observing the center as a whole, I would say their are predominantly mixed class shopping center with working to lower and upper middle class shoppers, mostly female from the ages 20-45.