Monopoly Wealth Game

In class last week we were given the opportunity to see how managing money depends on your background. No matter how hard you work and how much you get paid, in the end it comes down to what you started with and your luck. We played Real life American style monopoly. In this game, each person started out with a different amount of money and had different advantages to what they were starting with. The wealthiest person had more than enough money and more than enough "stuff" worth in investments and ownerships. While the person at the bottom had barley enough money to keep going throughout the game until they were put into debt. From monopoly, I realized that wealth comes with a lot of advantages that we don't notice until we experience it. If you start off with more money, it doesn't hurt as much if you make a bad choice or bad investment. But if you start off with little amount of money, one little mistake can make a huge difference and make a big set back compared to what you really should be at. Not only did this game prove the wealthy succeeds, but in the penny toss game, it was noticed that if you had more you were able to bet more. Meaning that if you lost anything, it wouldn't affect you as much. While this all relates to real life, it can easily be determined that the wealthy stay rich because they start off with more money, and the poor may have more difficulty to beat the odds.

Class and Social Status

"What a man is depends on his character; but what he does, and what we think of what he does, depends on his circumstances. The characteristics that ruin a man in one class made him eminent in another." We may be quick to assume why some one does something and we may be quick to come up with a reason if we like it or not, but in reality the different social classes say different things. People are always trying their best to their wanting. If some one is content with the way they do things or the way they live, they may not necessarily want to earn more money and devote more of their time to something. To them, their best is what they have. To others, they may have the aspiration to keep achieving. That no matter what they will work harder and harder to achieve more and to make more money. When we look back on everything and think about why people do what they do. We realize that social class and status has a big part in it. If you grow up in a wasp culture, chances are you will not see eye to eye with some one who grew up on a farm. You may even have a totally different outlook on how you are supposed to life and how you are supposed to earn your money. But what you don't realize is that the opposite person may be looking down upon your choices too. People will do whatever they want depending on their circumstances. We can't be too quick to judge why some one is doing something, other than knowing why they did it. Some people choose to work on low income jobs and heavy duty work, while others are given the opportunities that people that are poorer will have to work up to. The characteristics that make up who we are depend on our upbringing and our beliefs. Our class and social status provide us with the opportunities and starting points for life.

Deviance

I believe that punishable deviance is a societal construct. Deviance means that some one is going against the norms. They are contributing either positively or negatively. People that are showing deviant behavior may be randomly helping some one just for the act of kindness. The past week in class we watched "30 Days". This was about a man who spends 3o days in jail to see what it is like and how it feels. Our punishment system takes away the people that are out of the norm. People that are in jail go against the rules and against the norms of our society. People think that sending the men and women to jail with fix the problems that go on, but in reality it doesn't change anything. Because jails do not provide much of a support system for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, the people that end up in jail are most likely to go back. In our jail system, men are free to walk around, but the daily routines are different than they are use to, so once they get out of jail the possibility they go back is very high.

Socialization/Adolescence Reflection

1. Today I happen to be wearing the necklace my family got me for my birthday last year. To me it is very special because my family started a tradition of getting me a new charm for my necklace at special events in my life. To me, family is very important. Not only is family where I come from, but it is how I raised. Every person is affected by how they are raised. Our nature is our habits and our nurture is how we are raised and how it affects us. My necklace says a lot about me. I love dance and in dance you must set goals to accomplish. No matter what you can accomplish anything but have fun too. It says all my different accomplishments and values, along with my family and how I am raised. In the future I don't know exactly what I want to do, but would like to go into education. A lot of this is from my nature and nurture. My family is very proud of accomplishments and working toward goals, along with helping each other. Being in education I would be able to help other grow too.

2. As an Adolescent, it is very easy to fall into the trap of social status. Because we are constantly changing out minds and working towards different goals, we are unable to establish a social standard. Adolescents are constantly changing their minds of what they are doing. The only thing they can control is their social status and how well the fit in with society. Or if they are able to keep up with the social levels of society.

3. The socialization process is way different in this generation than any other generation. Teens and kids are constantly trying to keep up with technology and social changes. Between computers, texting, and cell phones, socializing is always available. Concerns about this are the how it will affect kids socially. If they are constantly talking through different technology's will teens be able to communication well in person or on the phone? Also, will it make socializing completely different than the past? In the past teens talked in person and saw each other more. With the different technology's adolescents social patterns are changing each day.

4. Gender differences start right away. As babies, when we are born boys are determined by the color blue and girls are determined by the color pink. Generally, girls are supposed to be more girly and sensitive and boys are supposed to be more manly and not as emotional. But in reality, things aren't always that way. People just set different standards for boys and girls. Boys tend to play more sports like baseball, football, and basketball from the time they are young and girls tend to dance, skate, and do gymnastics. By seperating the different sports in the very beginning girls and boys start right away having different socialization. When I was in 3rd grade I did Ice Skating and Hockey. Being a girl doing both of those sports was very different. In ice skating I had a class of all girls and in hockey I had a team of all boys. Because of this pattern, I switched over to skating because of the gender differences.

Child or Adult?

Normal phases of growing up: Infant, toddler, child, adolescent "teenager", adult.

In our society we are unable to put our middle years into a specific category. Us as teenagers are

expected to know what we want when we get older and are expected to be able to make choices.

But while telling us all of that we are unable to put ourselves into a specific category in society.

Up until we turn 18, we are still under all the guardianship of our parents. Yet, once we turn 18 we

are considered as an adult. Even though we don't have all our opportunities we are still considered

as an adult in trial and law. As we reach our middle years of adolescence we are given rights as we

move up the spectrum. At 16 we can drive, at 17 we can see an "R" rated movie, and at 18 we are

considered as adults and are able to vote. Yet it's not until we are 21 that we begin to have more

privledges. In my point of view us as adolescents are consistently being confused as to where we

fit into society. We are expected to make decisions after high school, yet we still don't have all the

laws and abilities as an adult would have.

Nature or Nurture?

The way we act and the way we communicate with others is defined by the way we were raised and by what environment we were raised in. In class we watched the Oprah show. A young girl named Danielle was 8 or 9 years old and barely had the maturity of a 2 year old. The facts behind her actions were how she was raised. She was raised in an environment where she was neglected and barely nurtured. She was taken away from her mother and adopted by a new family. In her case, her nature and nurture was unstable. She didn't have a proper safe home to grow up. Danielle also wasn't cared for as a baby properly. Our nature is what we are born into. The only way it may change is from our caretakers. Our nurture is how we are raised and how we emotionally develop from the way we were raised. Studies have shown that the better balance of nature and nurture in our life as a young child, will affect us the rest of our life. I am just like my family. Emotionally I am very similar to my brother and sister and I have the same mannerisms. My parents noticed my unique personality at a young age. The best way to measure the personality level is by the different social skills. By the time I went to preschool, I was able to socially attribute to the other kids. Nature and Nurture influenced my life entirely.

Water..

My life is full of water. I may not realize it, but it affects my decisions and behaviors. What this means is that people are affected by certain things our society offers. One thing in our society may also very much differ from any other society's "water particles". In my life, I am affected by television shows. Our culture consists of many fast pace things that other cultures may not care for. For Example, every week I watch Gossip Girl and I see what they wear and how they act on the show. Even though it's not exactly realistic, it still is a show that is supposed to manipulate the upper east side of New York. To me, I am influenced by the different clothes and styles that are appeared. I tend to think that in the show their styles are what is "in" and what looks good. I also recognize that a show like that can make an "outsider" of our culture become very unaware. An outsider may get in impression that that's what our culture is all about. But for me, television shows can influence my likes in styles.

I am able to maintain my stability as the "water" around me is going around and around. At school we are encouraged to always try our hardest and to succeed later in life. Although, for other cultures they might just be wondering where they may be sleeping at night. I know that school is really hard and can be a lot of work, So I take the initiative by always trying my hardest so that I can get to go to the college I want to go to. This way later in life I may be set more qualified for a specific degree. I adjust by giving into the culture by still staying intact with my own personality and beliefs.

American values can be unique but can also be very simplistic. For me, I try to do what is good for me by keeping my own Individual personality. I find it very important to do the right thing but doing it the right way. I value in keeping true to myself and not worrying what others think. Although, I think it is important to know your limits. Knowing when to adjust to society is important, because going completely of the ordinary is bad. I also value education because it can bring greater things in the future. In order to start a future, you much create your background to back up where you come from. In our culture it is important to keep going. To me, it is important to achieve my potential. In my future, I value my education.

Our Culture

This week in class we talked about how each culture is different. Each culture has different values that may differ from a larger concept or a smaller one. Not only that but the different cultures can conflict with one another. For example, one normal gesture in our culture may be an obscene one in another. The way people act may be okay in on society but not in another. In our culture at Stevenson we have subcultural values that may conflict in our school's society.

Freedom is a big part of our society. At school we should have the freedom to do whatever we want, but in reality that isn't really true. For instance, if I were to blurt out in class, chance are I would get in trouble and I didn't really have the freedom I though I had. Another important part of our culture is education. The goal of school is to encourage students to work hard, go to college, then get a job. But in reality the goals as a school won't work for every one. People may think that everything is the fair but in reality it may not appear to be so. Our culture has a way of changing a larger concept into different subcultures.

Do nothing Activity

Last week we were given the assignment to do nothing. At first it seemed like it would be a really easy assignment because it was to "do nothing". But as I started, I realized it is very hard to do nothing. No matter what we are doing at anytime, we're either talking, watching something, looking at something, sitting, walking, but we are never actually doing nothing. In our society, if some one isn't doing something it will appear odd. For example, when I went to my family dinner, I just stood in the middle of the room not doing anything. My cousins kept coming up to me asking if something was wrong and why I wasn't doing anything. Afterwards, I thought to myself, Why would doing nothing be out of the norm in our society? People in our society are always active. No matter what we're doing we are staying active as if to achieve something and to succeed. By doing nothing, we are doing something. Because nothing is something and nothing comes along with how we're sitting or even where we're looking at.

A Bronx Tale

Collogero is a young boy just like any other young boy in the suburbs. Except that for the fact that he witnessed a shooting by Sunny, the neighborhood tough guy. What Collogero had witnessed was not only hard for a young boy to handle and see, but is also hard for any one not living in an inner city area to even understand. People do that that we don't always realize. Different groups may have different values that we don't understand. Those different groups may also believe what's right and wrong may be different than what any other person in the suburbs might believe.

Groups are what make up our lives. They are what define our values and how we fit in to the society that we are in. Even if we don't think we are a part of a group within a society, some way we always are. In the movie, Collogero becomes very close with Sunny, together they are a part of a society of fear. Every one is afraid of Sunny, so whoever is associated with him they will also fear.

Just like how they fear Collogero as he is growing up.

Sunny and Collogero are grouped together in a more specific place. They know that all the killings and bad things that Sunny does are bad, but for some reason they can't resist leaving it. They both know that it's better to just keep things the way they are. But as the movie goes on, Collogero changes and he starts forming his own groups and thinking his own way. As his dad always told him to stay away from Sunny, eventually Collogero realizes that everything Sunny does is hurtfully wrong. Especially when he almost went to attack the African Americans with his friends.

Even though groups are what can define ourselves and our status, eventually things can change. Collogero went from a little boy to Sunny's high top master status just from the group of fear.

Lost Ship

Last week we did an activity that gave students in the class an opportunity to take on a role as a character. 16 people were given a character that they would portray on a "lost" ship. In order to do this, some people would have to be kicked off.

I thought it was very interesting to see what every one would do. Because not only did people have to leave, but every one had to decide who was going to leave. Based on the characters descripitions people then decided.

I specifically noticed that some people took more leadership than others and the people that stayed were people that every one thought would be beneficial for the boats survival. In other words, it was a first hand insight into seeing how people would react in a situation like the lost ship..

Freaks and Geeks and more

So last week we watched the TV shows about a spinoff from the 80s, Freaks and Geeks.

For me, watching this was very funny because I felt like everything was a cliche. Like every one in the TV show is the stereotypical high school. Also, What I found extra interesting was how the freaks automatically picked on the geeks, and that the tv show was very specific on who the geeks would be like. Also, I saw how Stevenson was actually a lot different because of the size and 20 years later.

What I also like about the class, is that we are given the opportunity to figure out how we would handle a situation, then find out how other people handle a situation. When I was observing the boat that needed to pick survivors, I realized who teamed up with who and who was left out. It was very funny to see that no matter what we do, people can make decisions that we don't really understand until we analyze them.

After looking back on Friday, I understand that they logistically tried to kick the people off the survival boat that wouldn't be beneficial in the outcome.

Who am I? Ask the Bean

Hi!! My name is Kyle and Who am I? 

This year I am a Senior, which is pretty cool being the oldest at school.

In my life I am mostly influenced my family and friends. I believe that it is really important to be close with my family. Because no matter what we are always there for each other.

In life I like to complete goals. If I start something I always like to finish it instead of quitting even if I don't like it. I think that it is very important to always follow through because in the bigger picture you will never regret finishing what you have started.

I always like to have fun, no matter what I'm doing I think it's really important to remember to have a good time but be serious what you have to be.

Outside of school, I love to dance! This summer I did Joffrey Chicago's summer intensive for 5 weeks. I though the experience was amazing because not only did i get to work on dance all day, but I got to reach out of my comfort zone and do a program on my own.

First Day

On our first day of class we were each greeted with a handshake. So pretty much I felt awkward at first because we were all pretty much quiet. In order to make the class awkward, every one became very quiet. This created an interesting classroom. After sitting for a while people started to talk, and I knew a few people in class including Buck so I was trying to figure out what was going on. Finally I'm a senior which is pretty exciting :)

We also discussed if we would ever electrocute some one. Right away I said no because not only do I not know the person I'm electrocuting, but I don't like to hurt people.