Chapter 13 & 14

I do identify myself as a Christian and with this being said, there are certain standards that I follow and that I set for myself. Some of them which are just in trying to be a good person and others to be a good Christian. I try to lead by a good example for people I meet and may not even meet, and for me most importantly my family (my children).  I try to be nice to others and I try to mindful of others feelings, thats the way I was raised (in a Christian household) and the way I choose to be. I choose to identify myself as a Christian (among other things) and I thus (try to) behave like one.

For others who believe in different religions they behave accordingly to their beliefs. For example, those who follow Judaism eat kosher foods have pray and study daily.  Male children are circumcised on the eighth day after being born.  When Jewish boys become of age they go through a bar mitzvah that signifies the coming into manhood. Those who believe in Judaism and practice it show it in their behavior and their everyday lives.

Muslims believe in a God as well, and just like Christians, their God is perceived the one and only God.  Muslims believe that women are to be subordinate to their husbands and their husbands may have more than one wife.  With that said, Muslim men are able to divorce their wives by a simple pronouncement and dowry repayment.  Women seem to have less rights and less ability to do the things that men are able and allowed to do.  Women don't have a fair chance at education, work, or money.  For someone outside the Muslim religion it seems that women are treated unfairly, of course majority for this feeling is because I was raised differently under a different religion. If I was brought up under the Muslim religion I am sure that I would have no problem submitting to men and having less money and ability to get a higher education. I am by no means saying that how they are treated is wrong or that they shouldn't subject themselves to that kind of treatment, if that's the way they were raised and they don't mind it then to each his own.  So specifically the Muslim women have a more subjective behavior to men than do other women of different religion.

Hinduism and Buddhism have similar beliefs, in the sense that when one dies the soul/spirit will be moved into another form, reincarnation.  This specific belief affects the way one lives their current life, in your current life you do good and abide by the rules of the religion in order to be put into a better or equal form of your current. An example of this could be, if in your current life you're a bad person and don't abide by the rules of the religion your next form of life may be as a roach.

I attended a public high school for freshmen and sophomore years of high school and then a private school for my junior and senior year of high school.  I believe that it truly depends on the student themselves, if they fit right in with a public or private school setting. My class size at the public school I attended was very large, my graduating class was probably some where around 300+ students, while the private school I later attended only had 23 people in our entire senior graduating class. The one-on-one attention is much better at a private school, even without tutoring you get more attention (student-teacher ratio). With a public school I feel (and saw for myself) that teachers were stretched out thin over a lot of students, with a lot of the students having a serious lack of interest in school. I know there's something to be said about the teen years as well, but it was hard for me to get by in the public school system and I honestly wasn't going to graduate on time either. I made the decision to switch schools, public to private, and was lucky that my family could afford it.  The private school I switched too had a whole different set of standards and they consisted of me taking a bunch of extra classes; and because it was a private religious school I had to also take religion courses in order to pass and graduate. I was making up for credits I didn't have and ones I needed as if I went to public school. But even with that heavy school load, sports, music, work and disabilities I graduated on time with great grades.  I tend to see that a lot of times, students that come from families that don't have a lot of money go to public schools, while those that can afford it go to private school. But in my school there were a mixture of students, ones that came from a lot of wealth, to those that simply only had enough to get by.  My private school consisted of different races and ethnicities and different religions, but all there for one purpose...to learn and get a great education.  So having gone to both public and private school, I have to say for this individual, myself, the private school system is what worked for me. But of course on the other hand you have my husband who went to a public school (that isn't the greatest now) and went to school with folded folder paper and a pencil in his large pockets of his cargo pants, sometimes would skip out on a class or two, but senior year had all extra curricular activities and graded with a 3.4 GPA. So again, it depends on the individual student themselves.

Chapter 11 & 12

Chapter 11 & 12

Age norms for teens and early twenty I would say would consist of trying new things and discovering the world, almost in a naive sense. At these ages you are primarily concerned with things involving only oneself, self centered. As a teen I didn't always listen to my parents and I had to try things out for myself no matter how much it would hurt me later, I wanted to make my own mistakes and learn "my" way. My mothers motto when I was a teen and even a young adult was "been there, done that." If only I had really listened I would've saved myself so much heartache and unnecessary hardship. When I was a teen I tried things like smoking cigarets and pot to drinking and sneaking out.  Then when I was in my twenties I had gotten all those things out of my system and I would remember in the back of my mind e things my mother told me and d experiences that I had discovered and I had learned from them. I was growing up. When you're younger your idea of how things are and work in the world are so innocent and naive, then as you get into the teens and twenties it's naive and self centered, then as you get older you tend to me more experienced in life (gaining more experiences we get older and learning from others mistakes rather making our own). We value what other people have experienced more than just trying to fit in.

When the younger generation think about getting old they think about possible ailments and problems they'll encounter and some even dread getting old so much so they'd rather just live a full life (hard or go home) in the young adult lives and then have no desire to live to get any older. I think a lot of people have issues with not only dying but dying or being alone. I have seen first hand from my grandmother that when my grandfather passed she was lonely, but who wouldn't be when you've had a spouse for 50+ years? It's only natural.  But after a while so got back out there end started hanging out with her friends more often and making a ton of new ones. I took her to a group that have lost loved ones and they're now her close friends she sees once a week. Instead of depending on the spouse or loved one they have lost they depend on one another. Sure not the same way of course but when my grandmother or someone doesn't show up they immediately try to get a hold of one another. They have a system and it works. They have get together and parties, it's not how I would party but it's according to age. For myself, I have so many ailments and things that generally happen to older people that I am not worried about getting older and being physically disabled. I am working on myself now and taking care of it now so that I won't have to worry as much when I get older. I am more aware of myself now that I was in my teens or twenties.

I feel as though divorces should be harder to get but only in the sense that more steps are put into place to get one.  In Hawaii during a divorce if children are involved then you have to attend a mediation, then a class where both parents go with the children and then at last a hearing/court date for the final say regarding custody.  Marriage isn't something that should be taken lightly and it seems as though a lot of the younger generation don't hold it sacred.  My brother married a young girl, they got married a year after she graduated high school. She didn't have a chance to go through her fun phase of carelessness and she had to be a mom, a wife, and still grow up. She wanted to do all these things that she would've been able to do if she didn't have a child and some things even married. She always said she wanted to be independent and didn't want anyone's help but she always had it, she never turned it down. She always blamed others instead of holding herself accountable. No two people are perfect but I understand that it takes two to make any relationship work.  To get a divorce because of "irreconcilable differences" is not a reason at all, it is an excuse. I do believe that people should try different things to make their marriage work and thus allowing people to see that marriage is not something you simply do for fun. At the same time I do feel that depending on the marriage conditions and if children are involved it may call for a quick and easy process.  For myself, my biological father and mother got a divorce and it was because after I was born he "decided" that he wasn't ready and didn't want to be a father so they got a divorce. For a child to stay in kind of situation I believe it warrants a quick and swift divorce, that and he was a cheater >:0( I strongly believe that children are our future and we need to raise them in such a way where our investment in our children will show as the fruit of our labor. If we are to have a happy future we must invest in our future, our children. So in an ugly marriage where there is children involved we must act quickly, but if it something that can be managed and worked on then pele must give it a try. Even though people say they tried I feel that there maybe something that wasn't tried yet and a look from a different pair of eyes or hearing it from someone else can make that difference.  

Chapter 9 & 10

Chapter 9 & 10

A racial group is defined by peoples distinguished physical features and characteristics. As humans we have defined ourselves by our physical features and Carolus Linneaus has helped with that. A botanist, Linneaus classified plants and animals later doing the same to human species. In the mid 1600's the Caucasian mans fear brought about laws against Caucasian marrying a minority. 

Susan Guillory Phipps was affected by the one-drop rule, when she went to get her birth certificate she noticed her race was checked off "Black" instead of "White". Phipps went to Supreme Court only to find out 11 generations before there was found to be a Black slave included in her family tree.  So no matter Phipps' social identity, she was identified as "Black". Phipps social identity remained "White" because of how society saw her. Social definition overrules biological definition, society sees physician traits of a "White" person then they associate that individual as a "White" person. A good example of this would be when we see a "wangsta,"a white person acting like a "Black" gangster. Society sees this individual as "White" even though that individual socially sees himself as a "Black" gangster.

I believe that racial identity is based on all three factors: biological, legal and social. They all play some sort of role in defining ones racial identity.  When defining different species biologically, you are defining by physical characteristics.  Defining by characteristics has lead to legal factors coming from the fear of the "White" man. When a new race came into town they were threatened and so they created a divide and an unfairness to the minority group. Slavery, the one-drop rule, and Caucasians cannot marry a "Black"person are a few legal factors. I believe this assisted segregation between races and racism. 

When defining ourselves in society as either masculine or feminine it starts off in our sex, our anatomy, chromosomes and hormones. I was born with female parts and my husband was born with male parts; X and Y chromosomes.  What society expects from a man or a woman, gender roles, is how we act gender wise, social status. An example for this is how my gender role as a wife is to make food for my husband and as a wife take care of he children's needs  and making sure they are cared for and nurtured. And how society expects us to be is how we generally act, feminine as a wife and mother versus masculine. We also associate a stay at home dad who takes care of the kids as a mother would or household chores like wife would as maybe being feminine in comparison to a man who works outside the home, seeing him as more masculine being the breadwinner. And our sex, being born as a man or woman, identifying ourselves into these roles that our society expects us to be.

A consequence caused by gender inequality is marital problems or even divorce and depression for women.  A lot of women feel, and speaking from experience, that the work load in the household isn't equal.When my husband and I first got married I was pregnant right away and eventually had early leave due to my pregnancy. So my in-laws would come over and bring dinner for us and when I had our son they would come more frequently. One night my mother-in-law told me, why don't you have dinner for your husband when he comes home? How come it's not already made and ready for him? I looked at her and thought boy are you nuts?! For one, I will not treat my husband as the prince/king like you did when he lived with you, taking care of a newborn as a first time mom was crazy enough for me doing other household chores and what I was physically limited to. And second, in my household that I grew up in, my dad always cooked unless it was a certain dish that my mom then made, a specialty. So we grew up so very differently and my husband agrees that it's supposed to be shared equally, and for the most part it is. Sometimes he forgets himself and complains and we have a talk and he mentions that I'm not pulling my share and he brings up cooking, bathing the children, helping with homework, laundry, cleaning the house and etc. I have to remind him that I too have a full time job now and we both are the same kind of busy after when we get home. Whoever the kids ask for is whoever is on kiddy duty.  I suffer from depression and it used to come from the home and my marriage and how not only my husband but how my mother-in-law insisted how I had to be for her son. I've heard from friends that get divorced over this sort of thing, and depending what speaks to a person it could put such a heavy enough strain on ones marriage and it will just snap and break apart. 

Chapter 8

Social stratification in America is a ranking system that has influences to different aspects of our life: where we live, education, jobs, what we eat, voting and who we marry.  And there are other things that are affecting by our rank in society.  An example of dysfunction cause by social stratification would be how American so strives to abolish inequality but in reality there is inequality every where but of course it is not addressed like it should because the rich are rich and most times stay rich.  The rich have access to more and better things while the poor don't.

I have been blessed with being able to go to public school but graduate from a private school, go to community college (for other than financial reasons) as well as Hawaii Pacific University, private college. I have been able to have these educations because of my family having the financial ability to do so but also because my husband works for Hawaii Pacific University so we get the tuition waiver which helps tremendously.  My husband still has to work in order for us to get the tuition waiver, and it would be different if we were rich and able to just afford it without having to work; but it is also different for those who have to take out loans in order to pay for their education at the full price. So both quality and my husband striving for a better job and education has helped us get better quality education.

Chapter 6 & 7

Just like values in chapter 4, socialization is a lifelong process through which people are taught and where they learn about society.  All throughout out lives we learn socialization at every level: individual, interpersonal, group, organizational and institutional. Socializing helps shape who we are, our skills and values and beliefs and what we gauge is right and wrong.

The great nature versus nurture debate, in which people are arguing if our behaviors are learnt biologically or through socialization.  Role-taking (Mead) is a process in which we are concerned about how others will act.   Charles Cooley describes the process of the looking-glass self in which it is the "I" versus "me".  When using "I" you are simply seeing yourself as only one person.  The "me" represents the part of oneself that sees themselves as an object and is concerned with societies expectations.  Kohlber's stages of moral development stuck out to me because my children are young and these are different stages that I would be looking at.  In the first stage, pre-conventional, a child acts according to what is expected from him/her, what they learned as right and wrong, Second stage, conventional stage is where children see what they learned as right and wrong and compare is to what is socially acceptable (or cool with their friends of the week).  Lastly there is the post-conventional stage where children/people are concerned with others more than the law.

Sigmund Freud believed that there were three elements that made the personality: id, ego and superego.   When we're born we develop our id (inborn drives) (i.e.: communicating through crying when baby is hungry).  The ego's job is to prevent the id and the superego from becoming dominant. The superego is our conscience, it is not inherent it is learned through social interactions.  Family is considered the primary of socialization and also determines the child's social class.  Families also teach the child values that they will hold for the rest of their lives.  Schools are another place where children interact and socialize.  Schools set expectations for children to test their achievements through competition, to self-descipline, to cooperate with others, and obey rules.  Peer groups are very influential to young people.  They spend more time together outside school as well. Religion can also be a very influential part on a child's life, learning what is right and wrong and acceptable.  The mass media also influences children in numerous ways, through shows and ads.  Some researchers believe that mass media shapes not only what we think but how we think.

The section of the chapter on socialization of gender roles was a bit difficult for me, only because I treat my son and daughter the same. I try my best not to be boys are more active and can do more for themselves and girls are dainty and just supposed to be cute.  I grew up with my father telling me that he didn't want his daughter riding a dirt bike or doing BMX because I'm a girl and I'm not supposed to. I always told myself that I wouldn't do that to my kids.

Deviance is a variation from the norm or social expectations.  The opposite of deviance is conformity.  Durkheim even stated that deviance is a normal part of society.  It helps define limits of social tolerance, defining how much you can violate something without going over the boundaries of the social norms.  I think that deviance is socially defined because societies create what the norms and expectations are.  There is only so much deviance a society will allow, so really the society is trying to conform its members.  

Chapter 4 & 5

Culture is defined as a group of people who share the same heritage, ideas, values, beliefs, knowledge, norms, customs, and technology; the most important being language and values.  Language is essential for human interaction and we have taken it for granted.  There are similarities between different languages from all over the world that indicate some universal part.  Values are learned at an early stage in life from family, friends, and media.  Values teach us what is proper and improper, what is right and what is wrong versus norms which are rules of conduct. 

From chapter 4, I'd like to answer one of the questions that it ask at the end of this chapter: the significance or accuracy of the statement, "Societies with different languages actually see or perceive the world differently." My boss is really into Hawaiian culture and language, in fact he teaches it at night school and he occasionally goes over a few things here and there as they come up in our discussions. He always mentions how the Hawaiians have different meanings in their language and how they speak of different things. For one, to me (Japanese-American) thinks of a computer as just an electronic that process things for us and makes our lives a little easier, something of convenience.  While for Hawaiians they take literal meanings, computer is something that thinks and processes, stress on the thinking part.  Lolo uila literally meaning electric brain or kamepiula which would be the Americanized version of computer.

Within a social structure there are different parts that make it up: status, ascribed and achieved status, social roles, groups, organizations, and institutions. When we think of status we think of someone who hold a high title or high prestige, but it could be anyone doing anything.  For example I am a student, mother, wife, daughter, granddaughter, etc., I do not hold a high title or someone of great accomplished importance. I have achieved status, things that I have earned and have strived for. I don't have ascribed status, things that were just handed to me; I do not have a huge trust and will not inherit a big company with a huge name attached to it. There are different roles that we play, the way we are expected to behave. A mother expected role is different than that of a father. Social groups interact with one another and there are five different types of social interactions: exchange, cooperation, competition, conflict and coercion.  When people interact they do with expectations of a reward and in a group the people in it share a common goal and strive for that goal together, there are and will always be where someone doesn't agree with what the other person is doing and this creates tension, coercion is when you want to use force or violence to control others. There are non-social groups that share things in common but do not talk or sometimes even know that they belong to this group (i.e.: red heads, they share the same color hair but all the red heads may never met one another).  Limited social groups are those who have limited time together but still share some/a common interest.  Social groups require: interaction, sense of belonging/members, shared interests, and structure.  Primary and secondary groups differ in such a way that one involves face-to-face interaction and the secondary group still has face-to-face interactions but are more formal.

Discussion: What is meant by the statement, "Society is socially structured?"  I think it simply means what the book has already to obviously stated for us.  Each and every single one of us holds some kind of status, whether the president of a fortune 500 company or the data entry clerk at a small company and within that status we either are given that status as a birth right or we have strived for and earned it.  Social roles is something that helps define us and helps give us structure.  Different people hold different expectations of each other. Then it is broken down into prescribed roles or role perception.  Prescribed roles are those that society itself suggests is right and what/how we should do what we do.