I have always felt that first impressions are everything. After this reading I still believe and care about first impressions, but my view has changed. It is important to know that the first impression somebody gives you and who you perceive them to be at that moment is most likely completely different to who they really are and what they don’t want you to see. As stated by Goffman, there is a difference in the expression that the person gives, which is an impression through symbols, and the expression he gives off through actions.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I am very expressive without saying a word. I encourage positivity and good energy, I therefore release exactly that. I smile a lot. I always make eye contact. I am a bit shy so I’m not expressive through communication as much as I’d like, but my point comes across. My intent comes across as interested. My worst experience is being taken advantage for my softness or as they say assuming my kindness for weakness. I choose to appear soft in front of others. That doesn’t mean I don’t have the other side that I don’t like or want people to see. I mean c’mon, I’m Latina for god’s sake. Of course, I have encountered those who because I give off a quiet vibe, they want to walk all over me or I’m out and about in places and people try to punk me in social settings. Just because I’m a peacekeeper and choose to present myself that way doesn’t mean I won’t express the other side.  I know that their behavior is unacceptable, and I always try to be mindful of other things they may be angry for yet taking it out on me.

My presentation in my everyday life will not change. I am in school because I want to be a counselor. I just received my AA in Psychology and am now here taking Spring CSU classes before I transfer in the fall. I know what I want and just because others are ugly in the way they present themselves will not change or alter the way that I do.

When it comes to my sense of self, I find myself secure with who I am. It has taken some time to feel this way, but society forces you to either find yourself or get left in the dust. Symbolic interactionism says that we develop our sense of self through our interactions with others. We communicate through various different forms.

When I’m in class, I can communicate with my professor through eye contact, nodding yes or no, smiling, paying close attention and I don’t have to say a word for him to know that I am interested in what he is saying. I don’t need to use actual words or language to allow him to know he has my full attention. I literally, okay, not literally but, I feel like taking the phone away from this incredibly rude girl in my Anthropology class that sits with her knees on the desk swiping through her phone during the whole class lecture. I could never imagine being so disrespectful.

Who I am and how I handle myself gives me pride that I was raised to respect myself and to respect others as well. Maybe it’s my culture and my upbringing that has taught me these things but especially our elders and our authority demands and deserves our respect. Different cultures demand different things. My sense of self has always been kind, nurturing, compassionate. I have never found my sense of self through posessions. I mean, who doesn’t like nice things? I get that, I just don’t need that $300 bag or those $200 shoes. I don’t pride myself on material items but instead I pride myself on being a good person and a good student.

As I sat at Starbucks drinking my $5.00 Vente White Mocha, it was interesting to observe all of the different walks of life walking through the door. I sat with my laptop against the window, watching the diverse group of people, young and old purchasing this high priced delicious cup of coffee. It was funny to watch how many little kids also walked out holding their tiny little cup of what I assumed was a hot chocolate and their little piece of experiencing this social phenomenon.

I have always taken great pleasure in drinking my coffee, specifically Starbucks. I begin to asess all of the different types of people. I watched the business type women come in and they all seemed so alike. It was a brisk walk to the coffee line, every single woman was on her phone either talking on it, texting on it, or on social media. They would all impatiently wait and I found it odd that most of the woman I am classifying as businesswoman were alone. They were in and out. They weren’t too friendly at all and all seemed in a rush.

Now, moving on to what I classified as the housewives. There were 2 separate types of moms. There were the ones I classified as the hot, workout, yogapants and makeup, type of mom and the other mom that was just trying to keep it together. The type of moms that had their hair in buns, they looked like they barely had time to brush their teeth or get ready in the morning. They had big bags under their eyes, they looked like they were doing all they could to hold it together. It made me wonder what the difference was between these 2 “types” of individuals. It made me wonder why one mom that looked the same age and had the same amount of children looked so well kept when the other mom was barely holding it together. It made me wonder if there was a difference with their finances or maybe partnership differeed, one had help the other didn’t. Unfortunately, I will never know but it was interesting to come up with my own conclusions.

My favorite observation was a family there, which I didn’t find very many of. It was this group of girls, and you could tell they were with their mother. Every girl that walked in hugged every single member of that group, every single time, along with the woman. It was so heartwarming as they pulled together different couch chairs and cornered themselves, huddling each other in a very personal, loving manner. You could see the joy of the mother, surrounded by her 4 daughters and the laugh lines being earned through visits together such as these. They took photos and it was absolutely endearing.

Mostly, my visit at Starbucks was either moms with their children, single dads, or just different people of all ages socially hanging out “friendminiscing.” I loved sitting back, people watching and finding ways to come up with ideas to this social norm that is drinking an expensive cup of coffee.

It is sad that we live in America, but yet still, racism defines our country. It is incredible that we knowingly have over 2 million people that are incarcerated, and yet we are doing nothing to help out that quarter of a million that gets out annually. We have a quarter of a million individuals that are set free every year and they have nowhere to go. They have no means of employment opportunities, especially if they are black. Why have we not came up with an organization that specializes in finding these individuals, which some just come from poverty and are non-violent offenders with no means to an end, except for criminal work? Why are we not finding organizations that offer work to individuals under these circumstances?

Obviously, we are not going to put sex offenders in a school system or violent offenders anywhere near children but how about finding other work in businesses where adults need janitors, waiters, busboys, dishwashers and don’t look into criminal records in order to guarantee employement? We want these people off the streets but we don’t give them an opportunity to do better. We won’t employ them. We judge them based on their criminal past. How about organizing a center that allows for a criminal record in order to help these people do better for themselves instead of just going back into the system because doing criminal things is the only way they can survive to make money?

This is America. We are the land of the brave and the free. We are strong and we know that helping underpriviledged adults and allowing them to enter out workforce, even if it means starting from the bottom up gives everybody an equal opportunity to succeed.

Kim Kardashian recently spoke out about this. She is now trying to include employment opportunities for felons, or just people with criminal records to allow them to work for her in order for them to stand an equal chance. We don’t all come from the same environment. We definitely don’t all come from Kim’s privilege, I know I don’t. However, I had parents who guided me whether I liked it or not (because they were terribly strict), but they guided me in a direction that was non-criminal. If we actually took the time to get to know the individuals and show a form of compassion and empathy, possibly something they have never experienced, it could change a life…One life at a time. See attached tag for Kim and her advocating for incarcerated felons. https://www.celebitchy.com/609226/kim_kardashian_announced_plans_to_begin_hiring_formerly_incarcerated_felons/

It is very interesting to consider the many ways that sociologists can research the social aspects of life. It is also fascinating to learn their different methods they use in order to unlock those doors to a better understanding of their research question. It seems to be a difficult task to ask uncomfortable questions and hope that the responses are true in order to get empirical evidence. It also seems a hard task to try to have everybody included in the research to answer the question in the same way. For example, if we wanted to know if students who have low stress levels, moderate stress levels, or high stress levels differed significantly on how well they do on exams at school, the problem I can then forsee is that everybody handles stress differently and something that stresses one person out a lot may not stress the next person out in the same way.

Empirical research is important because although people perceive things in different ways, all a researcher has is their observation information of their participant which goes a long way. It is their perspective that is measured to be reliable and valid whether it is through aquestionnaire, survey, an interview, or possibly participant observation (fieldwork). It is cool to actually learn the many things sociologists do and how they do it.

Empirically collecting data has to be one of the most reliable aspects of measurements. However, we need to remember that reliability does not imply validity. To be able to emperically measure something we have to be concerned with 2 aspects of measurement: Those aspects are reliability and valid measures. Today, we spoke about 3 ways to measure reliability, Test/Retest, Split-Half Reliability, and Inter- Radar Reliability. In my stats class with Dr. Topping, we spoke about research methods with an emphasis on research design and methodology. We were taught ways to analyze research concepts, designs and analysis. We were taught ways to test experimental and nonexperimental research based on ethical treatment plans. Also, we were taught to analyze statistical analysis through a a 2way Anova which means we analyzed the average based off the means; correlated groups which meant a relationship between the people.

Today, we learned how to analyze a difference between the mode, the median, and the mean. We were taught how as a researcher we need to know the difference between the 3 and also to know how one can be persuaded between all of these to believe different things. For example, if someone was taking the grades of a student and comparing them between a class average based on how connected the student felt regarding a professor this could all be different things. Unfortunately, if you only read the mean as opposed to the mode or the median there can be a huge outliar which would mean that the numbers being read are not correct. Also, it is difficult to differentiate between what would be empirical research (what you can test) and normative research (what one believes how the world should be.)

Operationalization would be a way to record potential ways we are interested in. My Anthropology professor mentioned this will be an extrememly important term in Anthropology as well as Sociology. I am looking forward to understanding more.

It is difficult to assess quantitatively if good teaching leads to better learning. My instinct is to say yes, but as I have learned there are many questions that remain to be asked. What is good teaching? Who qualifies as a good teacher? Why is that teacher better than the next? Since every subject is different, what makes one teacher in one subject prioritize over another subject? As far as the learning, there are also many questions to be asked. What if one student comes from poverty and didn’t engage in preschool or anything prior to kindergarten but another did, does that mean he is smarter? Or what if they both did, but one can spell write his first name and last name but the other can’t. Does that mean the one that can’t is slower and not as equally smart? Taking a questionnaire and measuring through surveys would be one way of producing a quantitative answer but that still wouldn’t provide anything valuable. I believe all professors have a difference in their personal styles of teaching. When a student is able to connect with a professor it aids in our learning experience. Also, student achievement can sometimes lack if there is not a connection, since different students require different things. There are many personal elements to take into consideration to enhance a better learning environment. Additionally, I feel that there should be an asessment and I just don’t believe it should be at the college level but our children should be assessed individually upon entrance each year so that their year is not just being wasted on things they already know. They should test for competency but also remember it’s not all about the tests. Lastly, if teachers, professors and all those in the field of education who have invested their time in education and their heart and soul into teaching were actually paid a decent salary, that could also possibly guarantee better results in regards to good teaching because they would feel grateful to do what they love and be happy they are being compensated properly for it. I believe a happy teacher equals a happy student which would then lead to better learning and an awesome learning environment.

I am attaching a link to something I saw on Youtube that brought tears to my eyes. It is supporting my theory that a good teacher leads to better learning but you have to watch it until the end. There has to be some sort of connection, sometimes it’s not a one on one, but there has to be something you like. https://youtu.be/TiZ8iWqEvKE

Yesterday, in class I was surprised to listen to the many ways that you (Dr. Mersmann) manipulated the question: Does more education mean more income? I assume that we all thought we could answer this question easily but every time we thought we knew the answer to your next question, you came up with a different scenario and proved us wrong. Sociology class is teaching me to open my mind and really think differently about how I see things or even what I believe. It is making me slow down my thought process to allow me to take things in, at a much slower pace than usual, so I can think about what I see or hear and think about what it’s making me believe. It is interesting to find myself slowing down my thoughts and taking more time to analyze different things in regards to our society, the people and the environment around me. It was also fascinating to learn that there is a point where more education does NOT mean more money, instead it means longer education yet a lot less money, such as in a college professor. I actually want to be a counselor, not sure yet if with kids or a counselor in higher education but my goal is to get my Bachelor’s degree. I just got my AA-T in Psychology so I’m taking all of these classes to not take time off and because they are CSU transferrable which I begin in the fall. I always thought I need my Masters, but I’m hoping I can be just as successful with less education yet a fair amount of income and a proud degree. I am glad to be taking this class and am hoping to benefit from what I will learn.

This chapter reminds me of a girlfriend I have. For a very long time, I had so much sympathy for her and I was empathic about her situations and always willing to accomodate and help. It took me along time to realize that all she was doing was tugging at my heart strings and manipulating my sympathy flow forcing all loss of sympathy margin. Now she has little to none. She broke all sympathy etiquette by using false claims to make me feel sorry for her to lend her money, or to give her rides to and from wherever she needed to go. She went as far as saying her grandma died and she needed help with rent because she used the money to help her family pay for the funeral. She told me she would be losing her apartment if I didn’t lend her the money and her daughter and herself would be out on the streets. Another time she told me she needed a place to stay because her boyfriend hit her, but yet I later found out the truth that she cheated and he found out so she needed a place to stay until he could move out. I invested a lot of time into a friendship that was manipulated by lie after lie and I have never been able to understand the reasons behind why a person would behave in this manner. I can say now, she cashed in all her sympathy chips and she’s got nothing left. If her current boyfriend “hits her again,” she’ll be sleeping in her car with her daughter.

I had never put that much thought into nonverbal communication but this chapter brought to my attention many things I had never even thought about. It’s obious one knows that a smile from across the room, a stare longer than normal or a glance is an invitation that there could possibly be a form of attraction and connection. It is easy to demonstrate warmth without verbally using words. The same goes for a scowl or a frown, it sends a negative vibe without saying anything with your mouth. However, it is also true that you must be careful how you send these messages in many different cultures because the messages are received differently. Being Mexican, I can completely speak for my dad and the jealousy and “machismo” he carried around with him. There was never anybody getting to close to my mom, or hovering over her, or one on one conversations such as small talk where flirting was a possibility. Oh no, no, no that was never an option for her or for any man. I was raised seeing so much machismo where the man does what he wants but the woman stays home, cooks, cleans and doesn’t speak up. They did not need need to verbally communicate for us as children to understand that she was always mad, yet didn’t argue.