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.