5,000 People 1 Culture

This week we talked about different cultures and their norms and mores and aspects of that culture.  I always thougth stevenson was unquic but i wouldnt have considered it its own culture.  Yet when we took a closer look the things we find "normal" are only normal to stevenson and not to other highschools. Our materials, mores, folkways, language, symbols and values were distinct to Stevenson.  The more examples i thought of the more it seemed that Stevenson was a culture that united 5000 very different students and teachers. Some examples of material culture would be our club tshirts, freshman backpack, green and gold spirit wear.  There are also certian mores at stevenson such as Parking on the line, messing with little pats. These things are seen as bad and unacceptable and will have big consiqunces at stevenson.  Some less severe things (folkways) are walking on the patriot, walking slow in the halways, being late to class.  These folkways wouldnt make sense to an outsider thus making them part of stevenson's culture.  The most unquic thing about our culture is the language we use. Certian slang would leave another highschooler clueless. THese are the patriot, the point, PAC, RC, FMP, LOP, 2400, second day of the week, BOSS. Some universal stevenson symbols would be the purple pass meaning a deans pass. Red symbolizing the freshman and the patriot as our mascot.  We have very high values at stevenson to get good grades and take AP classes and be involed in everything possible.  As a strict highschool we do still have a moral hoilday. This meaning an event were it is ok to break the norm and the more is ok.  This is senior ditch day. It is reconized that the day after prom as a senior you will most likely skip school and hangout with your friends.  Skipping school is usually very frowned upon at Stevenson but for this one day it is less sevrer for a senior to skip school.  It would be very interesting for another highschool student to come to stevenson and see its culture and compare if it is anything like the other school they went too. I bet there would be overlap in values and mores. However the symbols and language is unquic to us and gives us something common to talk and think about at this huge highschool. 

Creating Peace or War?

My family friend just came back from spending two years in the Peace Corps in South America.  I never really understood what she was doing. I knew she was teaching the members of the community health and hygiene practices along with running school programs for the children there. I have always wanted to teach in a school in Africa through the Peace Corps. When I saw her I asked her about her trip. I asked her what was the hardest part or working with the people there. She told me that when working with the community you had to be very patient. She said that most of the members wouldn’t try her new hygiene ways right away. She told me she taught them about teeth brushing and hand washing.  At the time I thought that was great! She is helping these people become healthier. I also thought it was weird that they would resist a practice that would help them live longer. Now however I have a different view.  Was she really helping these people? Or was she forcing American culture among the people in South America. Why should they need to follow the routines that Americans go through every day. Every society has their own culture and American’s need to learn how to respect that.  I can understand setting up new schools or enhancing programs that they all ready have step up in these third world countries but should we be placing American culture there?  The people there probably feel that their ways are being taken away and these new ways are foreign. That is probably why there are so hesitant to do these new hygiene ways. The real question is are we really creating peace through this program or causing a clash of cultures?

Where am I? A view from the camera men

The past 2 days we have been collecting data by means of observation for a soc. project. Or that's what the assignment is. Yet the past two days I think I’ve learned more about Stevenson and how I perceive society than I have in past years.  For this experiment my partner and I went to the point to observe students eating lunch. Were most of the tables co-ed? Did more people bring or buy their lunch? Did tables interact with each other? These questions we had to investigate. Before doing the project I never really thought about those things in my own lunch hour. I don’t think I ever looked around and observed if the tables were co-ed or not. I have been too busy with my own needs/ wants and those of the people who sit at my table. I have been like many Americans and have acted indivualist.  I have not applied the sociological mindfulness to my daily life. When we were observing we found that most tables were co-ed and there was a handful of all girl tables but even fewer all guys’ tables. We also found that the friends you sit with can influence if you buy or bring your lunch. We saw many friends in pairs going to buy lunch together. When we were observing we were sitting at one of my friend's lunch table. When we first arrived they asked what we were doing and we told them to ignore us and think of it as reality TV we are the camera men and just go about your regular activities.  After we told them that they did just that. They didn’t question what we were writing or what it was for. We saw the same thing for many other lunch tables, they were not disturbed by the movement and interactions of other people at different tables around them.  Once we left the observation we realized that the table belonging to my friend was unique. It had students from different grades, gender, and race sitting all together. I believe it was the only table out of 35 we saw at the point.  So why aren’t all the tables like this one?  What qualities do these people have that they were able to come together to make such a diverse table? It is hard to know for sure or maybe there is no correlation at all. All I know is next time at lunch I will look around me and take in the surroundings. We come from such a large school yet at times fail to recognize the people and their behaviors that make Stevenson, Stevenson. So next time you go to lunch look around and become that camera man and learn about the people around you. 

Give and Take

Our conversation about Starbucks this week to me was eye opening. I didn't realize how the sociological imagination works with in all of us.  Its hard to think that in our north shore society that getting an ice tea or frapocino at starbucks effects history and shapes the society around us. Yet at the same time society and history shape us to allow us to think it is ok to get one of these caffeine drinks every morning.  Society has come to accept that coffee is needed to get through the long stressful day of work. Yet we tend to forget our one cup of starbuck's coffee effects the economy and allows this big business to grow and leads to smaller family coffee shops to run out of bussines. So can we live with out a coffee every day? Or are the benefits to great to give up? I think people need to stop for a moment and use their sociological imagination.  Because what we give and take comes from the effects of our past history and will shape our society one day.