Response to "The American Dream"

Each person's view on the American Dream is unique to their own upbringing and perspective.  Jennings grew up in poverty, with a family that placed the blame for all their problems on individuals of other races.  This environment taught him that the American Dream is about success and wealth.  The views on masculinity that he was brought up with were of great pressure to him in his journey to find himself.  Pushing ahead in his academic career, he realized that he was becoming someone he was unhappy with. 

It is these moments, where we step away from ourselves and take a hard look at who we are, that permit us to make necessary changes in our lives.  Jennings's view on "real freedom" reflects this sentiment, stating that we must step away from societal views and accept that each individual, as varied as we may be, is a "real American."  Once we become content with who we are or who we are becoming, we hold the power to redefine what our American Dream consists of.

Response to "Moving Beyond White Guilt"

The following are some of opinions on how one might relieve white guilt and put some of their stereotypes to rest.

Get Info: Learn.  If we spent more time immersing ourselves in other cultures we would be guaranteed to end up with a more informed and sympathetic point of view.

Do Something: Look inward.  If we take the time to be introspective and work on our inner ignorances, we would be a great deal more comfortable with the world around us, and our place in the whole.  It's all about taking the time to do it.

Listen: Take a moment to hear others' points of view and their experiences with multiculturalism, prejudice and stereotypes.  Many of our fears are bound to be the same, even if the person we are talking to is different than us.

Talk: Open the dialogue with friends and family about prejudice. This allows us to see where our cultural viewpoints originate, and better permit us to relate with those we love.  We can all help each other do the interior work necessary.

Back to the Past: Look throughout history at all the people who simply accepted that their opinions and beliefs were the correct ones.  Then look at how far this mentality got them, and how far it progressed us as a society.  Wars, genocides, minority segregation - all led by individuals who thought their way was the only way.  What use is this way of life?

Finding Heroes and Sheroes: Keeping on the subject of history, we can also look at the most dynamic changes made throughout our nation's progression.  Each one was stimulated by at least one person questioning the status quo, and stating that it, and we, can be better.

Paraphrase Activity

According Writing Research Papers, a common error for student writers is to utilize quotations from their sources superfluously.  90% of a research paper should be original thoughts and assertions, leaving a small percentage for quotations.  Learning to paraphrase well is a useful way to assert one's points without using excessive quotations. (Lester, 1976)

Reflections on "Breaking the Code" Activity

This activity was valuable for a few reasons.  Through analyzing the structure of the article our group discussed, I was able to see a very organized, well-done skeletal structure for a research article.  I plan to utilize a similar framework in my own academic writing.

Also, reading and analyzing scholarly articles is a learned skill that takes practice, such as these in-class activities, to master.  Once we began analyzing, the task didn't seem so daunting, which I believe will assist in my own future research.

Summary Practice (Exercise 3.4)

Frith's piece on the sociological worth of popular music creates an opposite to the musical genre, calling it "serious music," and discusses the differences in their analytical values.  Frith argues that popular music is reflective of the societal environment of it's time, but that the worth of serious music is "transcendent" of this condition.  The article states that the analyses of these two vastly different worlds of music must themselves be vastly different.

Response to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

I will discuss the aforementioned article, and it's relevance to contemporary academia.  I believe education is a living entity.  It has to progress with the times, or it is not worth having.  The core question is, "What are the goals of education in America today?"  It is my belief that the main goal is to assist each individual person in their journey towards a well-rounded, self-sufficient, well-informed, successful adulthood.  Google can be highly beneficial in all of these regards.

The speed and efficiency of search engines such as Google is exciting and fresh.  We have never had this much knowledge and life at our fingertips before.  A young person can investigate any interest or whim they may have.  Some of us remember the times before this convenience was created, when failing to remember the name of the actor in a particular film would bother us for an entire day until we would finally "phone a friend" to get the answer.  Now all we do is pull out our Blackberries or iPhones and we have the answer in seconds.

I will agree that our society is becoming more and more "efficient."  But Google is only one symptom of a much broader issue.  If we are to blame Google for making us "stupid," we also must blame the internet as a whole, McDonald's, Chase Bank ATMs, General Motors, American Airlines and 8-Minute Abs.  These are all signs that America is moving faster than ever.  Where are we rushing to?  Our careers? Our next promotion? Or are these all ways to try and have more time to spend with the people we love, doing what we love?  These questions have no concrete answers.  Each person must answer these questions themselves.  Perhaps we can start by "googling it."

Research Sources

The following are some starter sources to begin researching my topic:



Ratings of Self and Peers on Sex Role Attributes and Their Relation to Self-Esteem and Conceptions of Masculinity and Femininity

http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com/sp-3.2.2/ovidweb.cgi?WebLinkFrameset=1&S=IOIKFPBJNODDJHGFNCDLIHJCLBBGAA00&returnUrl=http%3a%2f%2fovidsp.tx.ovid.com%2fsp-3.2.2%2fovidweb.cgi%3fMain%2bSearch%2bPage%3d1%26S%3dIOIKFPBJNODDJHGFNCDLIHJCLBBGAA00&directlink=http%3a%2f%2fgraphics.tx.ovid.com%2fovftpdfs%2fFPDDNCJCIHGFNO00%2ffs046%2fovft%2flive%2fgv023%2f00005205%2f00005205-197507000-00004.pdf&filename=Ratings+of+self+and+peers+on+sex+role+attributes+and+their+relation+to+self-esteem+and+conceptions+of+masculinity+and+femininity.&navigation_links=NavLinks.S.sh.15.1&link_from=S.sh.15%7c1&pdf_key=FPDDNCJCIHGFNO00&pdf_index=/fs046/ovft/live/gv023/00005205/00005205-197507000-00004&link_set=S.sh.15
1
sl_10
resultSet
S.sh.15.17
0



Peter J. Burke (Various Articles)

http://burke.socialpsychology.org/



Socialization to Gender Roles: Popularity among Elementary School Boys and Girls

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2112807

Exercise 1.5

QUESTION:
How are gender roles taught by curriculum and teachers in American elementary schools today, and what effect do these societal viewpoints have on self-worth, academic performance and LGBT youth?

SUB-QUESTIONS:
What are the truths to these gender roles, and which does scientific research show us are nature as opposed to nurture?
What gender roles are being taught, purposely or inadvertently, to children in the elementary setting?
How have these views evolved, in a general sense, from the 1980s to today?
How is this affecting subjects of interest among our youth?
Is there a noticeable difference in the views of Americans from rural areas as opposed to those residing in urban locales?
What effect does being a sexual minority have on education and professional success in the US? Why?

IDEA:
I want to explore this issue, and relate it back to the field of education and how we inadvertently teach children our own biases and cultural viewpoints.   I hope to find how this can be both beneficial and detrimental.

Exercise 1.1

INTEREST INVENTORY

PLACES:
-Mexico
-Ireland
TRENDS:
- Fashion
- Teaching Techniques
THINGS:
- iPad
- Droid Phones
TECHNOLOGIES:
- Video Chatting in the Classroom
- Online Learning
PEOPLE:
- David Sedaris
CONTROVERSIES:
- Gay Marriage Equality
- US/Mexico Border Issues
HISTORY:
- Civil Rights Movements in the US
JOBS:
- ELL Teachers
- Lobbyists
HABITS:
- Study Habits
- Smoking Addiction
- Alcoholism
HOBBIES:
- Theatre
- Singing

CHOSEN ITEM:  David Sedaris

QUESTIONS:
How did Sedaris decide being an "essayist" was his dream?
Has David's style of writing and popularity influenced young writers and altered our view of the modern essay?
How has Sedaris's unconventional writing made its way onto National Public Radio, and does this denote a wave of change in the mood of NPR?
How do contemporary literary professionals feel about Sedaris's writing?
Are essays the new novels?
Is there a correlation between the rapidly growing business of Americans and the popularity of short personal essay collections?
What impact, if any, has Sedaris's openness about his sexuality had on the movement towards GLBT equality in the US?