People like us...Media Magic: Making class invisible

Eyeopening. In the article Media Magic i didn't know we had enough wealth to eliminate poverty. Here is the problem."If we CHOOSE to redistribute existing wealth or income." With the system that we have that separates "them from us",and the ruling class not caring about the poor thinking they do it to themselves, and the rich just furthering there own. Even if a bill like this was put on the table the people in high government who are mostly millionaires would get ride of that bill quick. People with money want to keep their money, and that usually means hurting the lesser then with exploiting cheaper labor in other countries, massive lay-offs, pension plan loss and bad and expensive health care. There is no room for social helpfulness.

I watched a documentary about Dr Bronners magic soap an organic healthy products company that i use, and i think they have the right idea, that other big business's should follow. They are centered in activism and Construction Capitalism-Where you share profit with the workers and earth and people.
Total compensation of executives is capped at 5 times that of the lowest worker.
The health plan is a no deductible ppo health insurance plan for them and family
15% paid into a retirement/profit sharing fund
They get bonuses
All profits not needed for business development or debt retirement go to supporting progressive causes and charities like fresh water wells in Ghana and orphanages in poor countries.
They have been doing this since 2003 and their business is still going strong!
Company's and people need to loss there individualism way of thinking!
In the People like us tear they say people are all members to a tribe. Big business would definitely not wan to be apart of this tribe and consider it not with the norm and probably say it was deviant, because they try to help people lesser then, help themselves and are social conscience. They have great health care, and as we see from the reading most people don't- and die early because of it. They don't exploit people from other countries but want fair trade and fair deals to help uplift them.

In Joe Queenan's tour and the Belles and Wasps they tell us that certain words and knowing what they mean or lack there of. Will separate you and show that you do or don't belong. The girl from NY had just moved there and didnt know what the belles where. She was immediately excluded and she felt horrible. Joe said people feel like i belong because i know what this is and what its properly used for. CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION says I'm a part of the cool crowd, i belong. We both can talk about our objects which are fancy, or something we don't know the meaning of but illicit "classiness"? This is brought home with the wasps were the woman says you cant say certain words. When heard she knows your lower class and the mere thought of the word makes her cringe. For 20 years she will never get it out of her head or forgives it. Which is ridicules people make mistakes(well i guess not rich people) Which is maybe why they want to get away from "their people" and their judgments when they slum it in Friends in low places. I felt they were looking at the blue collar people like animals at a zoo they visit but dont stay....or like a dog giving paw( when he kept giving high 5's) OMG its like me, they are like me im so amazed. With INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY in Trouble in paradise Scott is put in a higher class cause he is marrying Laura. In How to marry the rich, she is showing you how to marry higher then your standing, like she did and how to manuver in the circles and get a husband who will live longer because of his high standing-so says Cause of death: Inequality and you will both live a long privledged life and when you give to charity (a meager sum) to seem like you care but your only doing it cause others are, you will give not to a needy cause but to something that entertains or helps you like a mueseum or elite universite for your children, that you will send off to if they get in on ther own, or you buy them in.

Extra Credit TED Talks Education.... Hosted by John Legend

I really loved and enjoyed the Ted Talk, i intend to start really watching these more and telling everybody i know about them. From what i got from the video, Americans are at a drastic low when it comes to educating our youth. 1 in every 5 kids drop out, and that figure is more in other parts of the country. Even though we have facts and science that education is bad, like children losing what they lost over the summer, and from 56 years ago, we are still using the same method that doesn't work. We need more teacher review and feed back. They need to know specific things and how to convey them if students don't get it one way. They need to be sensitive to kids feelings of inadequacy. Standardized testing should be used, but not be the (be all end all.)

Now with all that i heard it could all be changed, and we could have an education system that rivals china if we could only be more effective teachers, induce their creativity, change the system we have been using and, connect with our students and really show we care about them and their future. 

Teachers making connections and showing they care is Melissa Perez math teacher. She pushed her and believed in her, made her feel special and now she is the first person in her family to graduate HS.

Or ms Rita Pierson, who said "no significant learning can happen without connection" the child needs to feel your invested and encouraging. I liked her idea of at least you got some of it right and we will get higher on the next one.

Bill gates says teachers need feed back to see if they are teaching as effectively as they could. I had this one teacher Professor Haber and i thought he was great teacher. He used metaphors and similes and current world knowledge even some pop culture to convey meanings to students. He made things simple then medium then large scale and used info from his on life. He felt open to where as you, wouldn't feel stupid for asking a question, and you could ask many and not feel rushed or feel you were exasperating him. He also wasn't to wordy and honed you on to the point. I think alot of teachers could learn from him and since he could translate knowledge to us he could definitely do it to his peers at a weekly study group, or by watching how others teach.

Sir Ken Robinson and Dr Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children Zone (who had a 100% HS graduation and 100% got into college. Another year 100% graduation from HS 93% going to college.)

I'm amazed I didn't think things like that happened. Anyway they think we need to change or education system, at least that parts that aren't working. People need to see what is working and duplicate it, like the charter schools or alternative education programs. We need a different way of thinking, we need to say this isn't working lets try something else, just like businesses. If 1/3rd of it worked lets us the 1 part and put it to something else. Keep trying and if people say its not working, show them that it wasn't before as well, but at least we arnt stagnant anymore. 

Pearl Arredondo said her staff put in work past what they got paid for and her system worked. I know some teachers don't want to do that though. They don't want to work pass what their paid. To some its not there passion, its just a job. For those that care I do feel they should get paid more. These people are making our leaders. Since we need a reboot for the system they should also reboot the pay. Understand you are now required to be better, and here are all your tools. If we want to revamp the kids so should you revamp yourself.

Dr Ramsey Masallam says creativity and questions are what kids need. We need more out of class experiences and Field trips, learning excursions. Being interactive, find something on the Internet you like we are going to replicate it, test theory's.Talk. Ask what do you want to learn be vast in your options. 

Tell them there are no limits, because you see none in them.

I guess the best way to say it is 

what Dr Duckworth said

we need to be grittier about our kids.

Deviance

A pretty big STIGMA is to be on the sex offender list. I LOOKED AT ANYBODY ON IT AS DISGUSTING, but i was just watching an MTV documentary show called True Life Im a sex offender. Now i don't think everybody should be on it and i have a little pity for them. I think of my life and how all my boyfriends were always 2 to 3 years older then me. My first love was 19 or 20 to my 15 or 16, he would joke and say i cant make you angry at me cause ill go to jail. I feel like in the teen-age's its OK. Not like 13 or a 19 year old together, but like in that age group together of H.S. Like a freshman to a senor. Also with the issue of public nudity, maybe streaking threw a public area. This is typical kid badness. They were being stupid. I don't think they should live their life with this STIGMA. Unless this is done more then once. I feel kids before 20 or 21 should be made to go to sex crime meetings for a while, be required to see the documentary and meet others who have done this, and who are on the list, listen to their stories and hopefully scare them straight.

OK so i make my friend do DEVIANT things. I tell him lets go out, After ALOT of grumbling and maybe a drive around the block and me saying, come on man your the law!! We park. We also go into after hour/or restricted areas just to look at the view when the sun comes up. I know my friend likes it because he is so straight laced and by the books. He gets a kick out of being "bad" and engaging in my many shades of grey outlook on life.Ha!

I guess I'm part of the DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY I see things everywhere like don't eat or drink here, but since in my life people didn't adhere to it or weren't badly reprimanded. I do it. I don't care if I want to eat or drink anywhere I will, the subway, the bus a museum, school. If I am caught I simply say I didn't know and put it away till they leave then start again, but I'm more aware.

This leads me to AGENTS OF SOCIAL CONTROL like the BMCC library security guards. I was with a study group me and another girl had our water bottles on the table. A security guard came up to us and said take them off and pointed to the "no eat or drink sign".  We put them in our bags, after i had one more drink. I was hungry tho, so i took a couple bites out my apple. My group looked at me and said wow your going all out huh?! They looked so surprised! I blamed it on being Deviant for class.

I saw a LONER DEVIANT, even though i didn't want to. He was one of those gross guys who do public masturbation. I was waiting for the train at chambers st.(i cant believe it was there BTW cause its so busy and we usually have alot of cops) i was at the front of the 3 downtown, across the way at the back of the uptown where no one could see unless across, was a guy jerking off. I was so taken aback, he proceeded to stare at me and jerk off harder. I was going to find someone but my train came at that moment so i just left.

An example of NORMALIZATION is the increasing support for queer rites and the wins for queer people that straights take for granted. More and more states and country's are allowing gay marriage and the benefits that come with marriage. Also being allowed to serve openly in the military, and more rights protecting us in general, especially at work. Being gay was one of the worst things you could be and we had to hide our selves and our venues. Now threw perseverance, understanding and maybe a sociological perspective we are becoming equals to straight people. Still along way to go thought.

The undeserving poor...

I thought the Positive Functions For The Undeserving Poor was interesting i think alot of us don't have sympathy for poor people. We think well if I'm not in that situation why are they? We think i work hard and go to school and pay my rent. Why not them?  People don't realize that some people don't have help. I cant tell you the amount of times iv been pulled out of a situation by my family or friends. Or by the govt when we had our economic crisis(which is still happening) and for the first time in my life i needed there services, food stamps, rent, medicaid. I felt bad about it cause iv been working since HS and I'm self sufficient. My friends made me feel a little better though, when they told me to relax its not going to be this way forever and its not like when i was working i wasn't paying for these services. I'm sure some rich people would have thought of me as undeserving, especially if i was on it for awhile.

I get the undeserving having a number of positive functions for the better off because when i had nothing i would have done anything for work(no sex) even the jobs i stubbed my nose at before. I thought it was intresting about the 3 economic functions especially job creation. These people help and are paid by helping the poor and i wonder if all of the poor people suddenly got a job or crazy people were just better. Would they now become our poor people? Will there never be a way to make it so that we all have firm footing and not worry? Also i hate how people think immagrants are taking our jobs they do what we dont want to, and we hold them back so much it would be hard for them to take whatever we thing we have.

Picture of boys and girls socialization

                                                                     

Comparing the readings

I really enjoyed both the readings. I consider myself really into woman's rights and woman gaining more power, rights and going higher and higher. That said i think that if a woman doesn't mind not working and if its financially feasible and she wont regret it later in life then I'm all about it. In the socialization of children reading, it said that the more hands on and involved and supportive you are of your kids the better of a human being they will be, and a more productive member of our society. Of course i would love it more if working class, and poor woman could do this, but unfortunately they don't have the support or resources like middle class or rich woman who don't need to work. A poorer mom may not have husband support, or he may not make enough for the family so they both must work which may take away from one on one time. So they are so tired from a week of work, that on weekends when they should be doing family outings they are home sleeping. When i think of all these things i think of my friend Ili. I think she is the best parent ever. She is an authoritative parent. She takes her kids on educational and fun outings, and the kids do very creative things, art groups, The Girls Club they go to visit the library and read aloud with each other. Her youngest is in the gifted and talented program. She can do all these things because she doesn't work. Flip side, she is a poor single mother who gets govt help. She is 30 and lives with her mom and dad in their 2 bedroom apartment where her and her kids share a room and everything is packed in disorder but she knows where everything is. She is smart and started school but then fell in love blah blah blah. She is paying off her loan to start school up again and get a good job maybe teaching? So she can give herself and her children better. I don't know if i want her to do this thought, because she is alone and school and ultimately work will take up a huge chunk of time. She will be more tired and she wont be able to do the things she does now. She also will not be paid as much as a man.  So the question is, not work and have awesome kids who will excel her or work and throw the dice in the air and see where it falls?

Relating

I think that with the videos and chapter 6 Melanie Wood, who has a PH.D in math and has won a silver metal for the U.S international Mathematical Olympiad team, was probably always pressured by media and society to do other things. Commercials don't say, go be a mathematician they say go to this website(spend daddy's money) and buy shoes that have heels in them that wont show. Instead of her girlfriends pushing for a math study group, I'm sure they were tying to go to the mall and do a rites of passage activity and get the new Victoria secret bra that gives a little "extra push" so boys notice you. When we see commercials with jobs like engineering, debate, govt, business, math we see men with there female secretary's, assistants, their wives. There are a plethora of housewives shows where they aren't even wives they are divorced single woman. Who's rich husbands left them for a younger woman pushing the truth that Americans are obsessed with youth, and when you get enough wealth you trade in old with new. This is our cultures values and beliefs. I think this media shows people that vows aren't that sacred and its ok cause everybody is doing it. Its ok to get a divorce cause woman loss value with age and if your rich enough it doesn't matter if she gets half, but this also makes men a target for hot gold diggers.

With chapter 6 they say alot of children's socialization is learned in the home, which is true. I feel that its really apparent when you look at a guy, who hits his babys mother, speaks badly to her and disrespects her. He probably puts his child in bad situations like maybe, hanging with him and his friends late on a street corner. Cat calling woman,  him and his friends talking about "hoes they bang" learning the child bad ways of being. Constant objectification of woman, hanging with peers groups with similar backgrounds. A mother who may be there but works alot will not be able to combat all the outside influence. So of course this child will be one of the guys that adhere to the man box and the foundation table of men.