Assignment #3: Personal Billboards

     My main reason for using personal billboards was actually not really discussed in our textbook. I have most of these emblems on t-shirts and buttons and wear them pretty regularly, but not as an indication for other people in regards to my values and interests. I wear them to hold myself accountable to my actions and how I impact the world around me. With all of the distractions in day to day life I sometimes need a little reminder as to what is really important to me. I find it frustrating when people have slogans and opinions plastered all over themselves so I try to be fairly subtle with my personal billboards. In the end I feel like a lot more can be said through a person's actions than what they have written on their shirt.

     I tried numerous different ways to add my license plate and was unsuccessful, but it said KICK GAS. My choice in license plate design comes from the fact that I primarily take public transportation and have never owned a car, so it's a little bit irrelevant for me. I think the U.S. is in dire need to kick its fossil fuel habit and I am trying to do my part by keeping my gas-powered transportation to a minimum.

That's all for today,
Amanda

Building Reality in the Context of Global Development

Happy Friday!

     I wanted to mention an interesting connection to the text I discovered in a book for one of my other classes. We are studying colonialism and the spread of development throughout the world and our textbook made reference to the division between "underdeveloped," "developing," and "developed" in categorizing countries. This form of classification was brought about by President Truman in January of 1949 and with it came a slew of political and economic implications. It instantaneously solidified the superiority complex of the Western/First World at the top of the scale and made all other countries less than. It institutionalized a mindset of "lack" among the so-called developing and underdeveloped nations and placed them all on one continuum with the same endpoint- to reach the status of the developed countries.
     This directly relates to chapter three because it is a great example of how some people have more of a say in creating our realities than others and how language is a major component of how we view/interact with the world around us. It demonstrates how our realities are not constant, but constantly changing. A quote from the Mexican intellectual Gustavo Esteva sums up this scenario well: "Underdevelopment began, then, on January 20, 1949. On that day, two billion people became underdeveloped. In a real sense, from that time on, they ceased being what they were, in all their diversity, and were transmogrified into an inverted mirror of others' reality: a mirror that defines their identity...simply in the terms of a homogenizing and narrow minority."
     There are endless other connections between how people build reality together the history of colonialism, development, and globalization but this definitive categorization of countries stood out the most.

Amanda

Assignment #2: The Lasting Effects of 2002

     This week's assignment was to do some digging into the state of the world during the year when I turned twelve. The task at hand was to look into what stories were filling newspapers and other popular publications regarding politics, the economy, social and cultural trends, etc. and comment on how those events/factors have impacted and shaped my life. The year of focus for me was 2002.


     My first observation when beginning this assignment was that the events I was encountering most often were of a negative nature. I felt overwhelmed and surprised by the sheer number of accounts surrounding instances of attacks and bombings related to the war in Afghanistan, plane and train accidents, civil unrest resulting in violence, and other such devastating occurrences around the world. This quickly brought back memories of growing up and dreading every time my parents would turn on the news or recount something they had heard on the radio while driving home from work. 


     Thinking further about these circumstances and how they relate to my life today I am reminded of all the excuses I present to myself week after week as to why I don't keep up more with current events. Each time I make an attempt to educate myself on the happenings of the world I find myself fleeing immediately because of how staggering our problems can seem, always present and always growing. This feels like one of the ways in which society has the ability to train us into a particular habit. If I expect to be faced with stressful and intimidating information each time I turn on the news I will eventually stop doing it. Obviously it is important to be informed about what is going on in the world around me and I don't allow myself to be oblivious to reality, but growing up during a time in U.S. history when war is the constant makes that quite a bit more difficult. 


     A more specific event in 2002 that has continued to influence my life was the establishment of the No Child Left Behind Act. Although it was signed into existence in 2001, it didn't start having an impact on education until 2002. Since its creation I have gradually witnessed the downward slope in the effectiveness of our schools from a few different perspectives: from being a student myself, from having siblings eight and five years younger than me in the public school system, from having a father in politics working for the betterment of Minnesota, and from being a caregiver to a young school-aged girl with mental disabilities. 


                                    


      Since NCLB the grand majority of curriculum in public schools is now simply geared toward getting as many students as possible to do well on standardized testing. These tests are crucial for schools because their results determine the funding that the school receives. I felt all through high school that curriculum went way too fast for me to actually internalize the material and that by a year later I had already forgotten most of what I learned. It seemed like a constant pattern of binge and purge, doing whatever it took to pass the tests in each of my classes. 


     My younger siblings are having an even harder time now than I did because the results of this legislation have had ten years to develop. Almost all of the elective classes at their high school (the same one that I attended) are now gone because the curriculum has become so standardized and streamlined. They have a really hard time staying interested because they are now restricted to the "boring" subjects due to such drastic cutbacks. My dad has been in regular communication with faculty at that school and several others and has recounted conversations with numerous teachers who feel the same frustrations and lack of interest as the students. They worry about the preparedness of their students for the real world because the courses that had previously provided a well-rounded learning experience are now gone. 


    The last way in which the No Child Left Behind Act is still impacting my life comes from my experiences as a personal care attendant. The young girl I used to care for was unable to speak, write, read, or fulfill any other functions that would be required to execute standardized testing in a public school. Despite the school district being aware of this information and her constant enrollment in special education classes, she was still forced to take these tests that control the outcome of school funding distribution. Obviously her test was left blank and I can only imagine how many other families can recount this same situation for their disabled children. This is yet another example of the ineffectiveness of the NCLB legislation. 


     There were quite a number of other events I found really interesting to think about but I'm sure you've had enough of my thoughts for one day :) When first reading the assignment prompt for this week I did not expect for it to have such an impact on how I regard past events. After completing this really straightforward task I am left wondering how the happenings of today are going to influence my life ten years or so from now. 


Best, 
Amanda

     

Introduction

Hello Readers,

     I thought it would be helpful to start off with a little introduction about myself and why I am writing this blog. My name is Amanda and I am currently working toward a degree in Environmental Studies at Hamline University. I was born and raised here, in Minnesota, and love just about everything it has to offer. I try to spend as much time outside as possible and enjoy nature and outdoor activities no matter the season. I love being a student but am eager to finish my last year of school and move on to the next phase of my life.

     The creation of this blog was prompted by an online course I am taking this semester, Introduction to Sociological Thinking. My posts here will be in response to our weekly assignments, as well as my ponderings regarding aspects of life and how they relate to our class subject matter. My blog address and title were named with this theme of societal examination in mind. I hope you find it interesting and please feel free to comment and ask questions. I would love to hear your thoughts :)

Have a good Monday,
Amanda