Going to the movies anytime soon?
Do you ever think about what you are watching? Why you are watching it? What makes it entertainment? Where are the lines between entertainment and what is not?
There are social and cultural constraints on what "society" views as acceptable for entertainment.
Who creates these boundaries? By whose authority do these boundaries persist?
What is acceptable in one community or culture is different from another. For example, what is viewed on TV in your neighbor's place may be more gruesome or sexually orientated than what you may view at home. Likewise, what Canadians view on TV may be very different or even seen as wrong in the eyes of someone from Iran.
I went to the movies the other night thinking I was going for entertainment. Instead, I came out with my head exploding from sociological questions.
Gamer. On the one hand, it was seemly entertaining. On the other, what message about desensitization is it sending about our own society and the direction its headed in? Going into the film I remember thinking this would be a good discussion topic for graphic media. I thought it would be a good way to portray how "loose" media has become. Some have said that it won't be long before we are back to gladiator days watching real people fight and die. As I watched I felt my body and mind sway with the entertaining effects. I caught myself thinking "Whoa! Crazy! That was awesome!" Then thinking "No, if that was real as the film is portraying it to be, then it is demented and gruesome. Why is this okay to be viewing? What is it teaching our youth?"
It fights fire with fire aka just as gory and desensitizing as any other action film.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Critical Thinkers - Shifty
On a side note in class critical thinking was brought up.
Is critical thinking in its pure unbiased form? Or is it taught in schools according to the political influence of the time?
In the last few years educators have had to push critical thinking. Textbooks have texts that support this idea in order to get students to solve problems on their own and to reflect on the circumstances presented by society. The first question is, why is teaching critical thinking important? Maybe it will create a "society" of highly innovative and independent thinkers that can sail through problems. Students may be better in mathematics, sciences and be able to be an asset to the job sector.
On the other hand, critical thinking according to who? Schools buy brand new textbooks to help teach the concept. Problems in society such as poverty, media influence, opposing political standpoints, etc. are presented in the textbooks. However, every ten years or so there's an updated textbook needing to be bought. Is it because the problems are outdated or because the points of view in power have changed?
It's something to think about. I'm thinking the latter just because as far as history goes, the general problems of society don't change very often. However, government control and influence changes like the wind.
Is critical thinking in its pure unbiased form? Or is it taught in schools according to the political influence of the time?
In the last few years educators have had to push critical thinking. Textbooks have texts that support this idea in order to get students to solve problems on their own and to reflect on the circumstances presented by society. The first question is, why is teaching critical thinking important? Maybe it will create a "society" of highly innovative and independent thinkers that can sail through problems. Students may be better in mathematics, sciences and be able to be an asset to the job sector.
On the other hand, critical thinking according to who? Schools buy brand new textbooks to help teach the concept. Problems in society such as poverty, media influence, opposing political standpoints, etc. are presented in the textbooks. However, every ten years or so there's an updated textbook needing to be bought. Is it because the problems are outdated or because the points of view in power have changed?
It's something to think about. I'm thinking the latter just because as far as history goes, the general problems of society don't change very often. However, government control and influence changes like the wind.
October Isn't September
During one of our classes last week we were talking about Ethnographic Research. A few characteristics of this research method are that it stems from the anthropological discipline. It is a study of culture, and in some contexts looking at your own culture. Most of the research is simply observation. The researcher comes up with a picture and then records it, instead of writing a hypothesis beforehand. It is to be bias-free and contextual.
However, as we were examining the positives and negatives of this method I came across an idea that I found to be of interest.
The one advantage in particular that caught my attention was that you must look at the complete picture of the environment, the complete cycle of it. The example given was that in a classroom September is very different from October so you cannot observe one month and make assumptions about the other.
We are taught that September is the most important month of the school year. This is when the teacher establishes the tone. Rules and routines are set and practiced in order to create a sense of the environment that says manageable yet comfortable. Isn't it interesting that students going into their first professional semester are taught how crucial this is to their career as well as to their practicum coming up. In order to be successful you must create a positive environment. We read all about it but never get to see it in the making. Students are put into their placements late in the year and never get to properly observe how a teacher establishes such an environment. We learn very quickly that observation and experience are far more superior to our learning to be educators than the studies beforehand.
Wouldn't it make sense to send students out to observe the first part of the year at least just to observe before sending them out to experiment on their own on what doesn't work and what might work?
However, as we were examining the positives and negatives of this method I came across an idea that I found to be of interest.
The one advantage in particular that caught my attention was that you must look at the complete picture of the environment, the complete cycle of it. The example given was that in a classroom September is very different from October so you cannot observe one month and make assumptions about the other.
We are taught that September is the most important month of the school year. This is when the teacher establishes the tone. Rules and routines are set and practiced in order to create a sense of the environment that says manageable yet comfortable. Isn't it interesting that students going into their first professional semester are taught how crucial this is to their career as well as to their practicum coming up. In order to be successful you must create a positive environment. We read all about it but never get to see it in the making. Students are put into their placements late in the year and never get to properly observe how a teacher establishes such an environment. We learn very quickly that observation and experience are far more superior to our learning to be educators than the studies beforehand.
Wouldn't it make sense to send students out to observe the first part of the year at least just to observe before sending them out to experiment on their own on what doesn't work and what might work?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
ULSU Fashion & Food Drive
I thought it very worth while to talk about the upcoming ULSU Fashion & Food Drive at the University of Lethbridge.
With a group of friends and a very innovative executive member of the EUS we are working towards putting together a scholarship for education students that show a strong interest in volunteering and being involved in the Education Faculty.
At the moment we are putting together the materials needed to get the show on the road.
Basically, once we've done our job of setting up, all the rest of the public need to do to help out and get involved is to donate and go shopping!
Collection runs from October 26 - November 6.
There will be 3 boxes around campus : beside the Security Services office on the 9th Floor, in the 1st Choice Savings Centre by the Fitness Center Stairs, 6th level Atrium of University Hall for clothing drop offs. There will also be drop off points at St. Mary’s School at 422-20th Street S. and Nicholas Sheran Community School at 380 Laval Blvd. W. Just bag up those old clothes that you don't wear anymore and we will do the rest! If you don't have clothing to donate but would still like to help, the Students Union (SU180) is taking food and cash donations.
On November 9th, 10th, 12th & 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Students’ Union Ballroom on Level 3 of the SU building is where the sale will be found! Entry will cost $2 or one non-perishable food item. All clothing items that are received will be racked, sorted and marked $2-5.
The hope is to raise around $3000 for the scholarship and all other donations to the food bank will go directly to the ULSU Food Bank (into the hands and mouths of students).
It's a great opportunity to get involved with helping our student body community and to have a great time shopping!
With a group of friends and a very innovative executive member of the EUS we are working towards putting together a scholarship for education students that show a strong interest in volunteering and being involved in the Education Faculty.
At the moment we are putting together the materials needed to get the show on the road.
Basically, once we've done our job of setting up, all the rest of the public need to do to help out and get involved is to donate and go shopping!
Collection runs from October 26 - November 6.
There will be 3 boxes around campus : beside the Security Services office on the 9th Floor, in the 1st Choice Savings Centre by the Fitness Center Stairs, 6th level Atrium of University Hall for clothing drop offs. There will also be drop off points at St. Mary’s School at 422-20th Street S. and Nicholas Sheran Community School at 380 Laval Blvd. W. Just bag up those old clothes that you don't wear anymore and we will do the rest! If you don't have clothing to donate but would still like to help, the Students Union (SU180) is taking food and cash donations.
On November 9th, 10th, 12th & 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Students’ Union Ballroom on Level 3 of the SU building is where the sale will be found! Entry will cost $2 or one non-perishable food item. All clothing items that are received will be racked, sorted and marked $2-5.
The hope is to raise around $3000 for the scholarship and all other donations to the food bank will go directly to the ULSU Food Bank (into the hands and mouths of students).
It's a great opportunity to get involved with helping our student body community and to have a great time shopping!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
WWW
On the World Wide Web there are also different search engines which I was not aware of until my professor let us in on a few best kept secrets this week.
Have a look at:
Google Scholar
- Lets you use resources that are actually scholarly and helps sift through the popular information such as wikipedia
Clusty.com
- Not necessarily scholarly but it is organized by relevance instead of popularity
Bing
- Much like google but gives you access to perhaps a different 15% of the web sources available
Grokker
KartOO
- These two are very neat because they offer different format styles, so if you are can organize thoughts better with graphic organizers you can switch to that format instead of lists of sites
Way Back Machine
- This is a new personal favorite! It allows you to look up stills/photographs of websites prior to their current updates
Have a look at:
Google Scholar
- Lets you use resources that are actually scholarly and helps sift through the popular information such as wikipedia
Clusty.com
- Not necessarily scholarly but it is organized by relevance instead of popularity
Bing
- Much like google but gives you access to perhaps a different 15% of the web sources available
Grokker
KartOO
- These two are very neat because they offer different format styles, so if you are can organize thoughts better with graphic organizers you can switch to that format instead of lists of sites
Way Back Machine
- This is a new personal favorite! It allows you to look up stills/photographs of websites prior to their current updates
Surfing
Thanks to some special help from the U of L staff regarding online research tools I am just going to add a few types of databases that I found to be the most useful.
I specifically use ERIC, EBSCO, and PSYCH regularly.
The ones which were new to me and I think I will find very useful are Credo Reference and World Sciences.
I would like to use more Canadian resources but unfortunately, they are not as numerous.
I specifically use ERIC, EBSCO, and PSYCH regularly.
The ones which were new to me and I think I will find very useful are Credo Reference and World Sciences.
I would like to use more Canadian resources but unfortunately, they are not as numerous.
Montessori
I have never heard of Montessori Methods until this past month. Apparently it is a form of education used quite a lot in Europe and has been in North America since 1912.
The method was designed by Maria Montessori, a doctor from Italy. Through a lot of research and observation Montessori wrote a book to explain her ideologies, philosophy and practices. Her popularity rose and fell during war times, but Europe was quite committed to the this particular style of teaching. North America rekindled its interest sometime in the 50's.
Montessori schools use methods that allow child autonomy in learning through personal goals and self guidance. Instead of children being passive learners in a teacher-centered environment, they are encouraged to be active participants. The environment is enriched by materials such as manipulatives, textured letters, geometric games and craft items for the child to develop their own understanding of the subjects presented to them through multiple-sensory methods. Children are encouraged to become independent learners while being interested in the topics chosen, for example choosing their own books to read or papers to write. Montessori also puts a lot of importance on community building and having the family involved in the child's education.
When I first encountered this idea I thought it sounded too much like a free-for-all, which is also what a lot of critics have thought too. I thought children would not be motivated to work. I had the opportunity to visit a grades 3, 4, 5 Montessori classroom last week and find myself being that much more intrigued by their methods. There are limits enforced by the teacher instead of the children being able to just go where ever and when ever they please. As I observed I saw that the teachers do have a very important role in the system, however this classroom was not a true Montessori classroom yet as the teachers were still learning themselves how to conduct it properly. They admitted that it was difficult to give autonomy. The classroom is set up in specific subject centers. For each class period the students, generally, would set goals for a subject they felt they needed to work a little extra on and then could go on to additional projects once they had fulfilled their goals. There was a variety of high quality, wooden manipulatives for the math center, globes and maps and books for the social studies center, experiment devices in the science center, and a large variety of reading in the language arts center. There was a small section for French as well. Students evaluated their progress regularly on their own and had reading conferences with their teacher. When I visited the teachers did a mini lesson on grammar which later would allow the students to apply the skills in their own writing. The teachers at this school felt that more teacher guidance was needed in this area as the children seemed weakest in their writing abilities. There was a large focus on child interest. For example students could choose a topic of their own interest to write on so long as it was somehow related to the unit theme. The children seemed quite motivated and disciplined despite the fact that they were not continuously being instructed by the teachers. Teachers are trained to guide child learning in a different fashion so that the children become their own problem solver.
I would like to observe a class like this again but preferably one that has been up and running for longer with more experienced teachers. I agree with the enriched environment and the use of multiple-sensory or multiple intelligence focused activities. I like the idea of children being their own problem solvers and successful.
Montessori, Maria, and June Goodrich. Maria Montessori with an introduction by June Goodrich. 1912. N.p.: Barnes & Nobles Publishing, 2003. 9-18. Web. Google Scholar. 14 Oct. 2009.
The method was designed by Maria Montessori, a doctor from Italy. Through a lot of research and observation Montessori wrote a book to explain her ideologies, philosophy and practices. Her popularity rose and fell during war times, but Europe was quite committed to the this particular style of teaching. North America rekindled its interest sometime in the 50's.
Montessori schools use methods that allow child autonomy in learning through personal goals and self guidance. Instead of children being passive learners in a teacher-centered environment, they are encouraged to be active participants. The environment is enriched by materials such as manipulatives, textured letters, geometric games and craft items for the child to develop their own understanding of the subjects presented to them through multiple-sensory methods. Children are encouraged to become independent learners while being interested in the topics chosen, for example choosing their own books to read or papers to write. Montessori also puts a lot of importance on community building and having the family involved in the child's education.
When I first encountered this idea I thought it sounded too much like a free-for-all, which is also what a lot of critics have thought too. I thought children would not be motivated to work. I had the opportunity to visit a grades 3, 4, 5 Montessori classroom last week and find myself being that much more intrigued by their methods. There are limits enforced by the teacher instead of the children being able to just go where ever and when ever they please. As I observed I saw that the teachers do have a very important role in the system, however this classroom was not a true Montessori classroom yet as the teachers were still learning themselves how to conduct it properly. They admitted that it was difficult to give autonomy. The classroom is set up in specific subject centers. For each class period the students, generally, would set goals for a subject they felt they needed to work a little extra on and then could go on to additional projects once they had fulfilled their goals. There was a variety of high quality, wooden manipulatives for the math center, globes and maps and books for the social studies center, experiment devices in the science center, and a large variety of reading in the language arts center. There was a small section for French as well. Students evaluated their progress regularly on their own and had reading conferences with their teacher. When I visited the teachers did a mini lesson on grammar which later would allow the students to apply the skills in their own writing. The teachers at this school felt that more teacher guidance was needed in this area as the children seemed weakest in their writing abilities. There was a large focus on child interest. For example students could choose a topic of their own interest to write on so long as it was somehow related to the unit theme. The children seemed quite motivated and disciplined despite the fact that they were not continuously being instructed by the teachers. Teachers are trained to guide child learning in a different fashion so that the children become their own problem solver.
I would like to observe a class like this again but preferably one that has been up and running for longer with more experienced teachers. I agree with the enriched environment and the use of multiple-sensory or multiple intelligence focused activities. I like the idea of children being their own problem solvers and successful.
Montessori, Maria, and June Goodrich. Maria Montessori with an introduction by June Goodrich. 1912. N.p.: Barnes & Nobles Publishing, 2003. 9-18. Web. Google Scholar. 14 Oct. 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Comments on Oct. 1 Class Perception and Reality
We looked at a few different Sociological Perspectives, one in particular was Phenomenology. In our lecture we learned that a guy by the name of Alfred Schutz mixed philosophy and sociology to get phenomenology. Basically the idea is, what you see is what you get or what you THINK is real is REAL to you in your mind's creation of the world. This idea can actually explain a lot of differences between societies separated by national boundaries for example the USA and Canada.
An image that was presented to the class shows two bubbles divided by a line, above the line is the public's perception/ outrage and below the line is the reality of the situation. If you think about the the concept of terrorism. Where has it inflated the most? Canadians and Americans have taken on very different perceptions of national security since 9/11. The general public in the US was put on a fear chart. People were kept informed as to what the degree of fear and national security was at by a scale yellow-red on TV. Canadians on the other hand let the incident phase out. It was scary and people were outraged in the beginning. I remember being in junior high, in a specific desk, in my math class, staring blankly at the radio that we all listened to in silence and disbelief. We have had a fairly safe and uneventful past 8 years where there has been no attacks on our country and so we have not had the public focus on their fear of terrorism in the same manner.
I am aware that I am generalizing by saying "Canadians" and "Americans", obviously not all people share the same views. But what I am getting at is how the USA has put a lot of focus and energy into national security which has escalated fear of terrorism well over what the actual likelihood or reality of a similar attack would be. Canada on the other hand, did not put the same kind of national focus on terrorism and so our perception of terrorism and escalation is much less in comparison with the USA.
An image that was presented to the class shows two bubbles divided by a line, above the line is the public's perception/ outrage and below the line is the reality of the situation. If you think about the the concept of terrorism. Where has it inflated the most? Canadians and Americans have taken on very different perceptions of national security since 9/11. The general public in the US was put on a fear chart. People were kept informed as to what the degree of fear and national security was at by a scale yellow-red on TV. Canadians on the other hand let the incident phase out. It was scary and people were outraged in the beginning. I remember being in junior high, in a specific desk, in my math class, staring blankly at the radio that we all listened to in silence and disbelief. We have had a fairly safe and uneventful past 8 years where there has been no attacks on our country and so we have not had the public focus on their fear of terrorism in the same manner.
I am aware that I am generalizing by saying "Canadians" and "Americans", obviously not all people share the same views. But what I am getting at is how the USA has put a lot of focus and energy into national security which has escalated fear of terrorism well over what the actual likelihood or reality of a similar attack would be. Canada on the other hand, did not put the same kind of national focus on terrorism and so our perception of terrorism and escalation is much less in comparison with the USA.
Comments on Sept. 29 Class Surplus Value
Value
- Worth, nothing is worth anything until value is put into it.
For example: A rock has no value, unless it is turned into ore than the work/ labor/ effort that has been put into the production of the product creates value.
Surplus Value
- Difference between what a product costs to produce and what it sells for
For example: Profit, which could be explained in some terms as cost needed for machinery, the amount the owner takes home or how much the workers get "ripped off".
These are a couple of terms that have come up in the course in the past week. They are important to our "society" because we are a capitalist country that puts a lot of importance on capital gain. Capitalism is the main ideology of the dominant class in Canada and therefore is seen as essential and important.
The dominant ideology is transmitted through institutions such as schools. Schools are a place of instilling loyalty, compliance, respect, work ethic, perhaps docility and tolerance for tedium? Why? To help students function in "society". Or in other words, to prepare kids going out into a workforce where there job is going to be tedious and they will be expected to comply to their employers desires. It is for the good of "society" and to maintain the needs of the means of production.
This view so far seems to be quite functionalist. It explains how capitalism "works" in our "society".
My question is, how early do children learn these values? I am beginning to think almost too soon. A couple of weeks ago I was at work, which is an after school program for primary schoolers, we had an incident with "value".
Were you aware that hazel nuts can have a value near to diamonds on the playground?
I noticed that a group of children were all gathered in a general area of the trees. When I went to investigate I found a child quite high in a tree retrieving nuts for the people on the ground. His plan was to get enough so that each child got one. Of course once he got back to the ground there was a surplus of nuts. That seemed all fine, until the children relocated and realized this. There was grabbing, raising of voices, complaints and stealing. All of a sudden when there was a surplus value, the demand rose above product availability. There were small groups supporting that everyone should get an equal share, then there were groups saying "we harvested the nuts we should get them", and finally, the oldest children of the group said "we are the oldest we deserve more than you little guys". The oldest children ended up stealing the majority and running off with them to hide them in what we will call the "bank". Once this area was discovered the oldest students relocated their lot to an area that was beyond anyone's reach, through a chain link fence which was out of bounds. They assumed that because they were of highest status that they could hoard the nuts and could also access them while no one else could.
By this time myself and the other staff had intervened and reinforced the boundaries of their play area and that no one was to touch the nuts any longer because they only caused chaos and "public unrest".
But isn't it interesting how the children have this concept of capitalism understood by the time they reach first grade? Even at this age there were minority groups which wanted what would be best for the group as a whole, yet the children with the highest status were the dominant group and were smallest in numbers.
- Worth, nothing is worth anything until value is put into it.
For example: A rock has no value, unless it is turned into ore than the work/ labor/ effort that has been put into the production of the product creates value.
Surplus Value
- Difference between what a product costs to produce and what it sells for
For example: Profit, which could be explained in some terms as cost needed for machinery, the amount the owner takes home or how much the workers get "ripped off".
These are a couple of terms that have come up in the course in the past week. They are important to our "society" because we are a capitalist country that puts a lot of importance on capital gain. Capitalism is the main ideology of the dominant class in Canada and therefore is seen as essential and important.
The dominant ideology is transmitted through institutions such as schools. Schools are a place of instilling loyalty, compliance, respect, work ethic, perhaps docility and tolerance for tedium? Why? To help students function in "society". Or in other words, to prepare kids going out into a workforce where there job is going to be tedious and they will be expected to comply to their employers desires. It is for the good of "society" and to maintain the needs of the means of production.
This view so far seems to be quite functionalist. It explains how capitalism "works" in our "society".
My question is, how early do children learn these values? I am beginning to think almost too soon. A couple of weeks ago I was at work, which is an after school program for primary schoolers, we had an incident with "value".
Were you aware that hazel nuts can have a value near to diamonds on the playground?
I noticed that a group of children were all gathered in a general area of the trees. When I went to investigate I found a child quite high in a tree retrieving nuts for the people on the ground. His plan was to get enough so that each child got one. Of course once he got back to the ground there was a surplus of nuts. That seemed all fine, until the children relocated and realized this. There was grabbing, raising of voices, complaints and stealing. All of a sudden when there was a surplus value, the demand rose above product availability. There were small groups supporting that everyone should get an equal share, then there were groups saying "we harvested the nuts we should get them", and finally, the oldest children of the group said "we are the oldest we deserve more than you little guys". The oldest children ended up stealing the majority and running off with them to hide them in what we will call the "bank". Once this area was discovered the oldest students relocated their lot to an area that was beyond anyone's reach, through a chain link fence which was out of bounds. They assumed that because they were of highest status that they could hoard the nuts and could also access them while no one else could.
By this time myself and the other staff had intervened and reinforced the boundaries of their play area and that no one was to touch the nuts any longer because they only caused chaos and "public unrest".
But isn't it interesting how the children have this concept of capitalism understood by the time they reach first grade? Even at this age there were minority groups which wanted what would be best for the group as a whole, yet the children with the highest status were the dominant group and were smallest in numbers.
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