Thursday, September 15, 2011

Unit One Post!

    The sociological imagination has to do with personal problems being connected to the public into a greater good and history. For example, currently, I am stressed about keeping up my grades and still finding time to apply to colleges. Though I'm still in my senior year of high school, Competition for colleges has been increasing so it's imperative I keep up my good grades. I think students around the nation are feeling more and more stress and pressure about applying and getting accepted into that dream college. Not only do I feel like i have to spend countless hours finishing schoolwork and balancing activities, but all my other friends, who live right by me or across the country, also complain about not always being able to handle the pressure of keeping up in school. I think that compared to a century ago or even a decade ago, the requirements for getting into a good college and well paying job have been increasing, making everyone feel like they have to work harder, especially in this economy and bad job market.
    The social constructionism of reality is a general idea that is maintained by a society that all agree that it exists. This idea relates to the concept we did at the beginning of Sociology, when we had a classmate spit into a cup. The class recognized spit as much grosser than saliva. By using this general concept of social constructionism i can apply it to my understanding of the world. I think that generally everyone wants to work to be the best that they can be and their motivated by their chance of success. By using social construction, you can see how everyone accepts the idea that certain schools like Yale or Harvard are considered to be more "respected" or the "ultimate school to go to" since they are Ivy League. I think people recognize these types of schools exist and thats why people try so hard in school. We want to better ourselves, and are motivated by the idea that we can reach our highest potential at these colleges. The generally accepted idea that everyone should work for a "bright future"pushes everyone to be the best that they can be whether it's students working for college or just a person working to improve their future conditions.
     Social Mindfulness is tuning in to see how our social world works. It's being able to learn and accept our society and just paying attention. I think to be truly socially mindful people need to contribute to society by volunteer work. In helping their community, volunteers are exposed to how others live. community service prevents ignorance because it shows all different aspects of society, not only the glamours parts. For me, community service has made me so much more aware of my own society and how thankful I am for my values, family, and health.

1 comment:

  1. excellent examples for sociological imagination, social construction of reality, and being mindful. Very insightful

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