Volunteer Op: Northern Illnois Foodbank in Park City

Guest Speaker Jen Lesh came to speak to us about opportunities to volunteer at the Northern Illinois Foodbank.

Here is their website.

To signup to volunteer, click on the following link and use the dropdown menu to select the "Park City" Location. Click on VOLUNTEER and there is a calendar with available dates and hours:

When you drive there, don't be confused - it is in an industrial park.  Also be sure to type in Keller Drive in PARK CITY (not Waukegan).
Wear close-toed shoes, comfortable clothes.  This is an active volunteer opportunity.

Implicit Racism

Each of your squad members will read one of the following short newspaper articles and report on the implicit bias in the article or that it addresses.

 Please choose an article and examine it for:
1.  What is the implicit bias that the article examines?
2.  Why is this bias "implicit"? 
3.  What person or group is being biased against whom?

A) Read this 2007 SHS basketball article that is full of implicit bias   We went downstate in 2007 despite not having any players of big time Division I overall talent as we did in 2014-2015.

B) Here is an article showing that traffic stops in Illinois have an implicit racial bias:

C) Here is a study showing that immigrants are treated differently based on skin color.

D) And another example of implicit bias is how people react in a split second when they confront someone with a weapon.  See here for that.

ALL OF YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!

E) And this video from What Would You Do showing how people are more quick to be suspicious and to call the police if they see a black man committing the same crime as a white man.

Social Mobility and Monopoly

Today we played monopoly with rules that more closely affect the real rules of the US class system. Players started with different amounts of income and different amounts of property; the upper-upper class started with the most, and the working class the least. They rolled the dice to see what class they were. I told them them not worry about who "wins" the game, instead just try moving up to the next level of class. Playing monopoly according to the rules of the U.S.'s class structure should have some revealing insight about the state of mobility within the U.S.'s class structure.
From the Brookings Institute:

Recent studies suggest that there is less economic mobility in the United States than has long been presumed. The last thirty years has seen a considerable drop-off in median household income growth compared to earlier generations. And, by some measurements, we are actually a less mobile society than many other nations, including Canada, France, Germany and most Scandinavian countries. This challenges the notion of America as the land of opportunity.

Mobility in America tends to be within the middle classes (from working class to uppermiddle class). The wealthy class tends to stay wealthy and the impoverished class tends to stay in poverty, especially in comparison to other most developed nations. Another trend is for intergenerational mobility. Which means that it is more likely that the children of one group will move up than the parents themselves.

How has your family's mobility been? Are you growing up in the same social class as your parents? How about from your grandparents? Where do you see your future in terms of social class?

A second way that we can look at this simulation is in how players react.  Below is a TED talk about how people react to playing the game.  Think about how that reaction might show up in everyday life.

Service Hours!!!

Service Ideas for 1 hour

If you need just one more hour for your community service requirement, here are some options:

Donating 
You can clean out your closet or help your parents clean out stuff around the house and then drive the donations to Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity Restore shop or another charitable organization.  Remember to take pictures of what you donate and where you drop it off at.

Giving Blood
You can stop into a Lifesource and donate blood.  I will count this as one hour.

Feed My Starving Children
They have lots of shifts and some of them are just 1.5 hours.

Media's Socialization Effect through Hip Hop

1.     What do you think Byron Hurt’s thesis (main argument) is?

2.     Do you agree with his thesis?

3.     Are the images/lyrics of masculinity in hip hop damaging to society or should it be viewed as purely entertainment?

4.     How do these images/lyrics of masculinity affect women?

5.     “Black death has been ‘pimped’ by corporations”.  What do you think Chuck D of Public Enemy meant by that?  Do you agree with his statement?

Here are some hip hop groups that are dang good (IMHO) but don’t fall into the trap of ultra masculine rap and at time rap about being more positive in hip hop.

Beastie Boys (albums Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2)

Jurassic 5 (albums Quality Control and Power in Numbers)

Talib Kweli (The Beautiful Struggle and Ear Drum)

Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star)

Deltron 3030

The Roots (any of there many many albums)

The Gender Spectrum

Hello class!

As I told you I am out of the building today.  I'm learning about one of my favorite things: Chicago!  Its more history based than sociology based but I'm sure I'll find something in the day that can apply to our class.  Sociology and History often inter lap.

Your assignment for the day is to read the following articles:

The Gender Spectrum and What is Gender?

The Gender Spectrum analyzes the socialization of gender and what happens when you don't feel like your fall under the "boxed" in gender of masculine or feminine.

What is Gender? will look at the various terminologies that are associated with gender issues.

You can find the two articles by clicking HERE!  and then click on the link for The Gender Spectrum.  You next blog post will have your directly respond to these articles.  Feel free to annotate.  What is the thesis?  How does the author try to prove their point?  What evidence do they use?

I'll be back Friday.  Don't forget we have members of your SHS community coming in to discuss their gender identities with you.  Feel free to think of questions to ask them.


If you finish reading the articles, please think about you lyrics you will be presenting next week and how it fits into socialization.  Look back a couple blog posts to refresh your memory on what you need to present on.

Socialization through Music: Music Helps Me Keep My Sanity

Part One

You will be choosing one of the music genres we listed on the board. Your task will be to research the history of the particular genre, focusing on the following:

1)   Early history of the genre (roots of the genre, important artists, events in society that influenced the development of the genre, early perceptions of the genre, ways the genre influenced society and allowed its artists to vocalize socio-political ideas and viewpoints

2)   Popular instruments and/or equipment

3)   Influential artists and composers

4)   Ways in which the genre evolved from its early history to today

5)   Ways in which the music relates to the culture in which it was created.  Effects the genre had on other “outside” cultures.

6)   What are ways that this genre is an agent of socialization?  In what ways does the music effect how people act or interact?

7)   How is the dress/style of the genre appropriate for the content of the music?  Does the content of lyrics affect the clothing style of the genre?

Your squad will create a one page PPT/Keynote or poster board billboard that somehow represents all of the previous questions.  Your group will give a brief explanation (3-5 minute) of your billboard.

Part Two:

You are going to choose a favorite song lyric and write it down. The lyric should be at least a line, and may be up to a whole verse. Lyrics which contain vulgar language are not be used for this assignment. Please reflect and answer the following questions relating to why you picked this lyric, and why it is important to you (SEE BELOW).

What does this lyric make you think of when you hear it?

How does it relate to you?

Does it relate to an event in your own life?

Do you like to listen to this song at specific times, and if so, when?

Do you think this lyric would appeal to adults?

How is this lyric/band/song an agent of socialization in your life? (How does/did it affect how you act in society?)

If the lyric is really long then put it on a PPT/Keynote slide so the class can see it as you discuss it, or just write it on the board if it is short.