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.