Blog 7

Privatization of Prisons (Due Wed May 1st)
In a response to a hardened economy and rising incarceration rates, there has been a great deal of growth in the privatization of prisons. After reading the NY Times "Prisons, Privatization, Patronage" article and watching the two YouTube clips, discuss at length the pros and cons of privatization of prisons. In addition, discuss whether you support or oppose this privatization and why.

Although I was not in class to read this article or watch the clips, I believe that the privatization of prisons could be a bad idea.

The major point in arguing for private prisons is the money issue; many Americans do not want their tax dollars going towards housing criminal deviants. And I agree, prisons are extremely expensive and the money to maintain them should not come from taxes. This being said, I also do not believe that prisons should be private.

Let's compare state and private prisons to public school and Catholic school. To be a teacher in a public school, the state issues guidelines on the level of education you have, what to teach in the classroom and when, how to handle emergency situations, how many days students must attend school, etc. Catholic school, however, does not have to follow these guidelines. Their teachers do not need to be certified, the number of days in a year are not as restricted, and the material that they cover does not have a state-mandated order and depth.

If prisons went private, I fear that the rules and guidelines that keep prisoners in check will began to slip. The state regulations would not be as present, so corrections officers may not have as much structure as they do now. There is also always the chance of a deviant purchasing a prison and running It like his/her own little country, where that person is the overall ruler.

In conclusion, I do not believe that prisons should be privately owned. I believe that, though privatization has its benefits, the negative possibilities outweigh the positive ones. Although I did not view the YouTube videos or news article, I still believe that prisons should be owned by the government.

Blog #5, RADIO

RADIO & Socialization- Blog #5 (due Friday 3/29)

In studying socialization we have discussed the importance of acquiring culture, language and thought.  There are a variety of factors that influence our own behavior as well as a number that demonstrate how we impact others.  While watching "Radio" we see a number of relationships and social interactions that occur as a result of our influences from agents of socialization such as family, peer group and school.

Throughout the course of the film, Radio (Cuba Gooding Jr) is a prime example of someone who benefits from the process of socialization.  Discuss in detail how his character's life is affected by both lack of socialization (beginning) and emergence of socialization (middle) and as a product of socialization (end).  Describe scenes and interactions from the movie that highlight Radio's interaction and socialization process. Lastly, write a reaction to your feelings throughout the film. How did you feel about Radio, Coach Jones, the people of Hanna, and the football team?

- In the beginning, RADIO's best friend seems to be his shopping cart. 

- People give him strange looks as he walks down the street

- The coach reaches out to him after he is tormented and tells him he will give him a job if he stops by practice

- the assistant coach gives him a water bottle

- the coach offers him a burger, takes him into his office and makes him feel welcomed

- coach gives Radio a ride hime

- Coach lets Radio work on some small tasks with the football team, like helping with practices

- Jones takes Radio out to breakfast and encourages him asking for his own order, even though he wants both kinds of pie

- Coach lets him lead the team running out through a banner before the football games

- On the last game, Coach gives Radio the game ball

- Coach defends Radio being a part of school, and encourages him to socialize in the hall way (make sure people do not run) 

- Radio gets comfortable enough to begin making the morning announcments

- Radio doesn't rat out the boys for telling him to go into the girls locker room, even though he gets in trouble for doing so
- Gains the confidence to attempt learning how to write, even though it is merely scribbles
- Writes Jonny a letter
- Radio made such an impact in peoples lives that Coach quit his job as head coach to protect him.

Throughout this film, my heart went out to Radio. The way that the football team treated him in the beginning, tying him up in a closet and throwing footballs at the door was horrifying to imagine actually transpiring. As the movie went on, and Coach coaxed words and comfort out of Radio, you couldn't help but fall in love with the character's kindness and genuine urge to please everyone. Towards the end of the story, when Radio's mother passed away, you felt as heartbroken as Radio did when he was crying on the floor of his house. When Coach quit his job in support of Radio spending as much time as possible at school learning and becoming a more and more functional member of society, you couldn't help but smile for Radio. The fact that this movie was based off of a true story makes it that much more interesting and impressionable. Overall, I really loved this movie and, honestly, it was one of the best movies that I have watched while in high school. 

Blog #4

Having discussed how men and women socialize differently, as well as demonstrating our competitive nature, I would like you to observe how men and women socialize and are socialized differently. Within the next few days, as you go about your daily routine of life, observe and explain 5 examples of how women and men are socialized differently.  These examples may include field observation in school, at home, in the workplace, while at the mall, a restaurant, or running errands, etc. In addition to field observation, also take note of how women and men are socialized through the media and maybe in perhaps in your own life experiences.

1. Men are harsher on each other than women are. Girls are harsh on each other in "catty" ways, they will exclude people from social groups and do small things that offend others. Boys, on the other hand, are more physically abusive and judgmental of each other. For example, when girls have issues with one another, they will often subtweet about what is bothering them, but when boys are picked on they will be given cruel names, and ridiculed constantly.
2. Women are taught to be ladies and sit when they are told to, behave with some level of social class, and, possibly, be a little bit dainty. boys, however, are allowed to go out more, come home later, and play with the mud in the woods with less prevention. 
3. At my old job, you could only let someone take out a puppy if they were 18 or older. We tended to card men more often then females, i think because when girls came in the store, they seemed more sincere with their interest. 
4. Stereotypically, men are taught more about sports and know more sports fastfacts, and women know more about makeup and cosmetics.
5. Men and women are expected to watch different forms of television. For example, women are expected to know about Pretty Little Liars, while men are expected to watch shows like Guy Code.

Blog 4

1) After listening to each group's presentation of their sociological research, which of the research assignments did you find most interesting, effective, measurable or significant and why? Explain in some detail your thoughts/ feedback on this(these). Which of the following did you think was most difficult to measure or understand?

I thought that Abby and Vince had a very interesting presentation. Their presentation, on how people view tattoos and body piercings, took a survey on if people thought that tattoos and body piercings affected the way that people think of and treat you. I thought that the stories that they shared, in particular the couple whose wedding was put off, were very interesting. I think that it was most difficult to process open ended questions, because many people say different answers.

2) As we begin our next unit on Socialization, discuss your personality and your socialization process. What type of person are you?
I used to think that I was a very very outgoing and bubbly person, but now I am not as sure. My socialization is mostly with people older or younger than me, not so much my peers. My peers tend to do immature things that bother me, so I have my small group of friends but I don't go out of my way to socialize with my peers. My family and peers call me a "old soul".

How does your personality define or effect you? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
My personality defines me because I am very good with handling myself alone and I don't always need another person to help me. I am very controlling and a perfectionist. I'm also extremely trustworthy.
Do you consider yourself a introverted or extroverted person, quiet or shy, reserved, loud or talkative, calm or aggressive, patient or impatient? What are the biggest factors that influence your personality?
I think I am both introverted and extroverted. I am extremely patient when it comes to dealing with children or with people I respect, but not at all with other people or tasks. I'm loud most of the time but I consider myself a reserved-ish person. I have a anger problem towards some things.

3) Lastly, choose a quote and discuss how it influences or motivates your life and why.

"True friends are like angels, you don't need to see them to know they are there".

This quote is one I believe originally came from my grandma, but it is embroidered into a fabric that has been hanging in my bedroom my entire life. This quote comforts me because it reminds me that even though we may be alone sometimes, we are always protected and that always makes me feel better.

Blog #3

In Blog # 3 you will focus on three things: 1) Your outlook on sociological theory, 2)Your feelings on authority, 3) Experimentation as a lesson.  

1) Thinking about the three theories of sociological perspective, discuss in length which theory best applies to your way of thinking about human behavior and our society. Think about how you view events that happen, conversations that occur between friends and enemies, authority figures, etc. 

I believe that i follow the functionalist theory of perspective. I believe this because, given a situation, I try to give everyone a job and purpose. When i see a situation, be it one in government or at a more community level, i believe that everything that everyone does some way affects the way that everything else works. I think that all members of society, legal or not, have a crucial job to maintaining social order. 
 
2) React to the Milgram Experiment. Do you feel that people will obey authority under any circumstances  if it is indeed legal authority or do people's consciences override their ability to follows authoritative demands. Please explain. 

I do NOT believe that Milgram's experiment was just because I feel that it is wrong to cause psychiatric damage to people unwillingly and unknowingly to the people performing in the experiment. That being said, I do believe that people will obey authority under circumstances because we are raised to. From the time we are born, people are taught to obey authority figures: respect your elders, obey your parents, teachers, police officers, etc. Children don't always know why they are following certain laws or attending specific events, but they still do it. This nature of blind obedience is driven into us at a young age so much that we continue to abide by the same structure in the real world. I think that, even if our consciences tell us otherwise, we would abide to an authority figure telling us to do crazy things. The only exception may be people who never listen to authority figures, even as a child. 

3) After watching Jane Elliott's "Eye of the Storm", do you feel that this experiment would be successful today? Why or why not? Could you make a suggestion as to what type of experiment we might be able to conduct in order to teach and or raise awareness about prejudice and bias, bullying and intimidation?

I believe that Jane Elliott's experiment was extremely successful. i believe that teaching children in a manner that gives them the concepts and the root meanings behind something before sharing the real topic is extremely helpful. Putting racism into a form that young children could understand, like eye color, teaches them the concept that having bias is wrong so that they can understand and learn this concept themselves. If you immediately start with how racism is wrong, the words that you use could associate a child with the opinions that their parents have, and they would be less susceptible to understanding the point of the experiment. 

Intro Blog

My name is Angela Rose Diekhaus. I am a senior in New Milford High School, with college hopes, and I can't wait to move on to college. In this class, I'm expecting some really interesting conversations that make me think about society and how people work. I think I'll be minoring in psych in college, so learning on the first day of class that Sociology is completely different than Psychology intrigued me a lot. I want to own a chain of day cares near train stations when I grow up.

Blog #1 - The Nature vs Nurture Debate

Each person's behavior is influenced by nature, one's DNA or biological makeup (psychology), and nurture, all of one's continual external influences (sociology). Thinking about the following aspects of a person, decide whether each is better influenced by nature or nurture and why.After considering each of these factors, discuss whether you think nature or nurture is a bigger factor in influencing one's personality and behavior and why? What factors weigh so heavily on this debate and how do you think we could possibly learn more from it?

-Eye color is created by genetics. You can't change your actual eye color from "nurture," but people can get colored contacts.

-Height is also genetics. It's not up to you how tall you are unless you want to go through crazy amounts of leg surgeries.

-Intelligence is both nature and nurture. I believe that, while you are born with the skills to grasp and retain information, what you do with these abilities is completely up to you.

-Weight- Is both nature and nurture. Some things, like a thyroid problem, can't be helped while other things, like what you eat and how often you exercise, is up to you. 

-Risk taking is one of those weird things that some people claim is a nature issue and some believe is a nurture problem.

-Profession: What your profession is is sometimes a nature issue (born athletically "gifted), but it is also a combination of what you have learned about in life and what interests you. 

-Athletic Ability is a skill that you can have running in your family, like a height advantage for basketball, but can also be taught, like learning how to throw a curve ball. It depends on the person and situation.

-Smoking is nurture. It is something that society tells you is okay to do. Whether that be your parents smoking, friends, or something on TV, it's not something in your DNA.

-Music Ability like Athletic Ability, can be both nature and nurture. Learning to play an instrument takes an extreme amout of time and concentration, but you can be born with a good singing voice or with, for example, long thin fingers to play the piano.

-Violent Behavior is really debatable. I think that it is more affected by nurture, or the environment a person is raised in, what they watch on TV, and who they associate themselves with. Some people, however, can be "born bad", or just be born horrible people. 

-Heart Disease is something that can be a genetic condition, or that can be caused by ingesting bad foods.

-Mental Illness is both nature and nurture because you can be born with a mental illness or you can cause a mental illness by abuse to drugs.

-Humor  is something that is nurture because you learn jokes and certain behaviors that are more positive or negative.

-Interest in Math & Science OR Arts & Humanities is nature.

-Skilled ability to perform in Math/Science OR Art/Humanities NATURE

I think that Nurture affects how people behave more than Nature because, when you are born with a certain condition, deficiency, mental illness, physical illness, or personality trait, certain steps can be made to teach you how to behave differently, cut an addiction, heal an illness, or live comfortably. I think that in modern society, nurture can change the way that people are much more then it used to in the past. Technology, the large amount of people in the Psychology field, and access to cutting edge drugs change how people behave. In my opinion, people used to be much more affected by how they were born, their genetic deformities, and their families then they are now. Our easy access to the rest of the world changes what we believe, what we think, and how we think it.