Monthly Archives: July 2012

Videographic: Migration

Resocialization is the process in which a particular person of a society has to leave his old role in order to take a new one and readjusting with different norms, values or expectations accordingly. There are many prime examples of resocialization. For example, when a person gets married or become a parent, his or her role in the society changes significantly. New set of responsibilities or duties and expectations might arise as well as moral values. However, to me, a fascinating story of resocialization might be the story of migration. As an immigrant in US, this story of migration is even more fascinating for me.

By migrating from one country to another, one person might have to readjust his life style in accordance to his or her new country’s norm and culture. How come it changes somebody’s lifestyle? I would use my story as an example. I came to United States from Bangladesh back in October, 2009. Back in my country and in most of the South Asian countries in general, life style is hugely different. I completed my high school education back in my country. As a student, all I have to do back then is study and study. I don’t really have to worry about my earnings and all of those financial stuffs, as my father was ensuring that particular sector. However, since my whole family migrated to New York, things have been very different. My parents find it very hard to find a work, and I have to take a lot of financial responsibilities on my shoulders. The tuition fee and the cost of living are astronomically high in this country. Moreover, most of the middle class families from my homeland have to come in this country and start a humble beginning. Their financial situation is not necessarily good at the beginning. So far, I have taken my responsibilities well; I am doing a job and also attending Baruch College. Thus, I am becoming the driving force of my family and I am supporting my parents financially as well. If somebody compares the current situations with my previous one, it has drastically changed.  I used to be a very irresponsible, lazy person who only used to take care of his homework and now here I am, becoming one of the most responsible persons among my family members. There are thousands of other examples like that, one have to look at those in order to study those.

The video that I posted from the magazine called ‘The Economist’, gives us a glimpse about the migration statistics and how it is changing the demographics in different continents. It also talks about a very important aspect, the remittance that people are sending in their countries. Since I came to this country, I have sent some remittance once in my country. I would probably look at myself and I can’t deny how migration has played its part in resocialzing me.

Some people are very touchy. Literally. Some others preferred to keep at least an arms-length distance from everyone at all times, and may freak out if hugged or even tapped on the shoulder. Most babies are born with the desire for touch, to be held and comforted, and if the parent(s) is/are not completely sadistic, will oblige to the child’s wants. As one gets older though, he/she is weaned off from getting everything he/she wants, and picked up less, etc. We eventually learn about “personal space” and what kind of physical touch is acceptable between strangers, acquaintances, friends, and family.

In the U.S., with a general individualistic culture, we take our personal space very personally. Whenever possible, we try to keep as much distance from the next person (ex. not sitting next to the only person on an otherwise empty subway car, or male restroom etiquette for using urinals).  It’s interesting to actively think about something that seems so innate or common sense, when it is in fact not. I had a bit of culture shock, when I visited China a few years back, and found that people will pass right next to you on the sidewalk when there is so much space around. At first I was nervous that they were pickpocket-ers, then I realized that that’s just how people in China are socialized. It may be due to the large population that is usually packed like sardines, or possibly influenced by their communal culture which doesn’t quite have the ideal of personal space (since most stuff is shared).

In the two videos above, Andrew and Jacqueline Hales (siblings) conduct a social experiment of walking close to random people and holding their hands to see their reactions. The results are hilarious. First you think, “Man, that’s ballsy” and see most people react instinctively by flinching or retracting their hands with a “WTH?!” face. Then there are the few that go along with it. The conversations and puzzled faces that follow are most fascinating!

Imagine the relations we could have with people if we didn’t have so many learned social inhibitions.

Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony

I watched London Olympic Opening Ceremony yesterday. It was very exciting. And at that time, I also see the reveal of British cultures.

Someone said :” The nationalism at the heart of the Olympic “ideal” is part of its nature ,Its DNA.”  and we can not forget how the culture play the important role in the Olympic games.

Recall the previously Olympic Opening Ceremony, such as BeiJing 2008 , Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000.They all have the similar thing including London Olympic  which is they want to show their  Cultures to the world.

What is the culture?  Culture provides members of a society with a common sense to the certain facts which people may see it in the same way.  It includes material culture and non-material culture.

Material culture is the artifacts of a society , which represent adaptations to the social and physical environment. In addition, Non-material culture including knowledge, belief ,customs, values, morals, and symbols that are shared by members of a society and that distinguish the society from others.

Olympic games can be consider the non-material culture and also it can be see as a global cultures. Athlete joins the “sports party”  for their dreams, and also people involved and enjoy the Olympic games. People from different countries with different cultures come together will share and transfer the culture to each other.

Now, it is London, in its Opening Ceremony, it shows its history,culture  and society. For the later game days, we will see, know, and understand the British more and more.

Therefore, we can see not only British show its culture to the world, at the same times, but also the world bring their cultures to the British. Olympic is the way the make exchange global cultures.

Growing up in America we are taught that in order to be successful we must go to school, do well, pursue a higher education and then we will find a great job. The video presented above questions this idea. How can a person fulfill their potential if their abilities are not being exercised. In this video the idea that the public education system is not educating students to fulfill their full potential due to funding and statistics is introduce. In the video, there are three stories of three different students from different ethnic and social backgrounds. They all have to ability to be great contributors to our society but due to the lack of programs they are limited.

In the case of Bryan, he is an honor student, in many extracurricular activities but is not able to take AP classes because his school does not provide them. This will put Bryan at a disadvantage when he starts applying to college. In order to get a higher education at an Ivy League school, AP classes are very important. Although Bryan has the ability to excel in a AP class he does not have the access to them, in turn may not get in to the school of his choice.

In Maria’s case, due to the percentage of students that fail the standardized tests in her school, she is in a high school class that teaches English at a fourth grade level. Because Maria is in a neighborhood with many children that speak predominantly spanish, she must learn at their level.

This video surrounds the program FIRST,  which was created in order to engage students further than what school provides. It is a robotics program that uses science, engineering and technology skills in order to inspire innovation.

I believe that students all over the country should have access to this subject in school. Robotics is a very important subject for students of the 21st century and should be accessible for 100% of students in the United States. As for our education system as a whole students should not be limited by those around them. There should be programs geared for every type of student in order to exercise everyone’s full potential.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bzFhrkqE8g

In the chapter 5, the book shows about education. In contemportrary industrial societies, the most powerful institutional agent of socalization, after the family, is education. we will think about teachers’ quality when we talk about education. Everyone knows teachers play an important role in the quality of education. Great teachers help create great students. However, students who have good teachers not only learn more but also become successful in their education careers. Unfortunately, most teachers fail to imube in students basic values of life.

In today’s society, a lot of schools lack of good teachers because teacher’s licenses become easier to pass. However, students achievement has become a big problem. Most teachers lack training and experience, so they cannot explain their couses very clearly to their students. This causes students to get low grades in their studies. Schools do not choose higher quality teachers; instead, they just settle for licenced teachers. There is no doubt that bad teachers teach professional. Howevcr, schools need teacher, so bad teachers do not get fired. For example, the movie” waiting for superman”, showed a teacher sitting in  chair and putting his feet on the table and also reading the newspaper, but the school did not fire the teacher caught on video not doing his job. Students cannnot participate in their classes if they have unqualified teachers.

From the information about the education and move which is ” waiting for superman” , I think the government should raise licensing standers by giving different kinds of skill tests and also developing a test system, includes questions to understand teachers’ attitude about teaching students and future plans to helo them become an excellent educator and students can gain real knowledge that help them become success in their life.

Chilrden Do What They See

One of the most captivating topics we’ve discussed this week is the controversial concept of “Nature vs. Nurture. “ Which one is it? Has the society in which we live in molded us into the individuals we have grown to be? Or have we develop into who we are today due the upbringing of our parents? Some may argue behind the concept of “Nurture;” those who have raised us have had a significant impact on our personalities, traits and characteristics. Nevertheless, some may feel strongly about the idea of “Nature;” the “culture” in which we are a part of has influenced our perspective on life. In other words, the things we wear, what we eat, how we interact with one another, in sum, our everyday norms are due to the society we live in. First and foremost, I must say I was mainly in the midst of both theories. Though the world around us does have a vital impact on what we’ll become in the future, our perspective of the world depends on the perception we’ve received has a child.  Moreover, “Nature” is more so the dependent variable whereas “Nurture” is the independent variable as to what I’ll lives will shape into.  But more profoundly, after viewing the video above, which shows the outcomes an adult can have on a child, I am leaning more towards the ideas surrounding “Nurture.”

We’ve all heard the phrase “a child’s brain is like a sponge.” Hence as the video shows, children truly do absorb a vast amount of what is taken place around them.  The video, intensely, captures the awareness of children to in fact act out what they see by those closest to them. For instance, the scenes show a child abusing their mother after seeing what appears to be their father performing the same act, or a child smoking a cigarette along with their parent, interestingly enough they even throw some slight humor by showing a child flipping the bird to a driving after road rage between the driver and the child’s mother.  Nevertheless, the way children are nurtured truly does have a strong influence on who they’ll become, regardless the societal factors they’re placed in and culture they live. This video is a true testament to that..

Rich People With No College Degree – Forbes List

Freedom of choice is a good thing and in same time is very difficult for some people. Billions of high-school seniors thinking about what they want to do after graduation. Everybody wants to be successful with their life: to have a job that they like and a good salary. There is a choice: spend money and time to get a college education or not waste time and money and start a career.  Many high school students think, Should I get a college degree?, and what can be gained from it. “After all, college education is not something that comes cheap and it does take a few years before an individual can start earning his/her own income. But this is where thinking about the future career education becomes important. One should know that a college degree opens up many newer doors of employment in the future, even though it takes a bit longer to get there. The purpose of college education is therefore, to live a better life.”(http://www.buzzle.com/articles/college-education-benefits-of-college-education.html)

But let’s compare people with college degree and non-degree holders. My purpose is to find out what’s the difference between two.

Income is first difference between two. People who have college education are more knowledgeable in their field. This makes them higher earning professionals in comparison to the non-degree holders. Depends on graduated college and GPA salary may vary. People without college degree usually have lower income. They are less knowledgeable in the job compared to person with a college degree.

Another difference between people with college education and non-degree holders is knowledge.  “Education (as a social institution) teach young people what it is mean to be a member of the society  and how to survive in it.”(Sociology, David M. Newman) People with college degree better equipped.They are competent in many aspects of their job. College prepares a person to meet competition head on. People without degree learn a lot of things during the work. Fulfilling work tasks help person to learn nuances of his job, which made him knowledge too, but not as much as person with college diploma. Also, person with no degree could study at home, but it is a small chance that he will be better equipped than person with a college degree. Which is meant that individual without degree could not compete with real professionals on a job market. Progress in career is one more difference between two. College degree holders are much more likely to get promotions and makes strides in their chosen field of work in comparison to the non-degree holders. People without college degree could get a promotion too, but less on a leadership position. They are less knowledgeable, which means that they can’t lead better than people with college education.

In my opinion, Education  as a social institution is important. College is the place, where you learn a lot of new things. Students could take different classes and see what they like more. There are a lot of examples when students changed their majors during the semesters. Occasionally, students chose majors, which they never thought about. Thus, college helps students better understand themselves, open new verges of their personalities. Also, not all the people very talented and could built their career without college degree. And college diploma is a first step to their future. Students believe if they could graduate from college than they could build a perfect career. They feel themselves knowledgeable, well prepared and confident for the future job. That is meant that they could compete on labor-market, therefore be effective workers. Also, college diploma gave status to the person not only in “employer’s eyes”, but also in “eyes of” person’s relatives and friends.

Online Now

This week we discussed the sociological imagination as the “ability to see the impact of massive cultural and historical processes on our private lives,” and that we are not merely the product of our own decisions, but that everything we are – beliefs, behavior, fashion-sense, etc., is influenced by society. Traditionally, society is defined as a people with a common identity, shared culture, under the same political authority, and in the same geographic location. However, with the internet and the explosion of social media (at least in the developed world) this definition of society can pretty much be thrown out the window. Well, of course, we can always talk about ‘pockets of society,’ but it’s undeniable that the world is “shrinking” as we become more interconnected.

The video above shows a spectrum of how social media and technology is changing society. Some people say that this generation is doomed because we are addicted to our “phones” (I put phones in quotations because many of them functioned more than just a hearing-speaking device), and that our social skills are going down the drain because we favor media communication over face-to-face interaction. This is evident in the scenes with the girl waiting for her phone to beep, the boy hiding in his jacket in the middle of the playground, the women at the bar, the alienated young lady in the elevator without a smartphone/tablet, the guy on his computer at a party, and the kids on their separate devices during what appears to be “family time.” We even see a woman committing the social faux pas of breaking up via e-mail, but I guess that’s acceptable now (considering the circumstances).

The video goes on to show how society is seemingly “losing its values” and ends with a final scene of a girl contemplating suicide. You almost lose hope, but then you see a glimmer of light (aside from those of the oncoming train) as the girl’s phone is bombarded with encouraging words.

Anyway, tying this back to “The Sociological Imagination,” it is amazing how Mills’ writing is still applicable today. Even though he wrote about the sociological imagination decades before the computer and internet, etc., it seems like he is referencing it just the same. He talks about the “Age of Fact” as we are now living in the age of information and how almost everything we want to know is at our fingertips. Yet, as much as we want to consume all this information about the world and people in our immediate circles, we are severely concerned with privacy. It’s interesting to think about how we are to reconcile our want to know everything about everyone else, but limit everyone else’s knowledge of us.

That last scene with the girl was especially moving because, although the audience doesn’t know exactly what is causing her to feel so alone and want to give up, it seems to be something universally understood. We have all heard the stories of how internet bullying was the cause (or a cause) of suicide for many youths, but in this video narrative, we see how the internet community came together and saved her life in the nick of time. With the world getting smaller and people realizing that they have more in common than differences, the sociological imagination for the masses is expanding.

Obviously, there will always be those who are informed yet closed-minded, but if we are to look at this expanding sociological imagination with optimism, we might achieve world peace in our lifetime  (insert A LOT of optimism here).