Interested in politics? Want to serve your 10 hours helping out a political campaign? I got this information in an email.... Here are the deets for you:
Needed: volunteers to help with phone calls, door knocking, and various other tasks for Bill Foster's election campaign
Contact info: Josie Mace (josie.mace@ilvictory2010.org) or (804)513-4693
I have no affiliation with this guy. Just wanted to present the opportunity....
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Community Service!
Happy Monday, ladies and gents! Today's class focused on the 
different sociologists that shaped the field of Sociology into what we are studying this semester. The last half of class centered around the teachings of Jane Addams....she was not just a thinker, she was a DO-ER, which is why you are all going to be doing Sociology through your service learning project this semester. I have a few tips and tricks that have been picked up along the way:
1. Call early to set up your opportunity. Don't just show up.....let them know you're coming. Some places have age requirements to volunteer....make sure that you're old enough to help (or if you need to bring an adult with you). Which leads to....
2. Be polite when you call. Even if you've called, and called, and called and no one has gotten back to you, be patient. Some organizations don't have someone manning the phones all the time. Call different times of day if you can to see if you'll have greater success. Speaking of success...
3. Have more than one place in mind to volunteer with. You might strike out at one place, and I don't want you to have all your service eggs in one basket. One last thing...
4. Don't procrastinate and wait until the last minute to complete your service requirements. Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law? It essentially says that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Applied to this scenario, you'll put the hours off until the last minute, then your organization won't need help and you'll be up a creek without hours and needing to write a paper for your final about your experiences.....which you didn't have because you waited too long.
There were a lot of "don'ts" up there. I DO want you to enjoy yourself in this experience. Find something you enjoy and throw yourself into it. I have had students continue their hours well past the end of the semester because they really enjoyed the experience...maybe that will be you!
Can't wait to see what you all will be up to! Due date for the project preview is on SEPTEMBER 17th.
different sociologists that shaped the field of Sociology into what we are studying this semester. The last half of class centered around the teachings of Jane Addams....she was not just a thinker, she was a DO-ER, which is why you are all going to be doing Sociology through your service learning project this semester. I have a few tips and tricks that have been picked up along the way:1. Call early to set up your opportunity. Don't just show up.....let them know you're coming. Some places have age requirements to volunteer....make sure that you're old enough to help (or if you need to bring an adult with you). Which leads to....
2. Be polite when you call. Even if you've called, and called, and called and no one has gotten back to you, be patient. Some organizations don't have someone manning the phones all the time. Call different times of day if you can to see if you'll have greater success. Speaking of success...
3. Have more than one place in mind to volunteer with. You might strike out at one place, and I don't want you to have all your service eggs in one basket. One last thing...
4. Don't procrastinate and wait until the last minute to complete your service requirements. Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law? It essentially says that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Applied to this scenario, you'll put the hours off until the last minute, then your organization won't need help and you'll be up a creek without hours and needing to write a paper for your final about your experiences.....which you didn't have because you waited too long.
There were a lot of "don'ts" up there. I DO want you to enjoy yourself in this experience. Find something you enjoy and throw yourself into it. I have had students continue their hours well past the end of the semester because they really enjoyed the experience...maybe that will be you!
Can't wait to see what you all will be up to! Due date for the project preview is on SEPTEMBER 17th.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Use Your Sociological Imagination
We have spent plenty of time talking about C. Wright Mills' concept of the sociological imagination....taking what is in the world around us and looking at it through the lens of Sociology. I have to say that this actually came up over the weekend in my own life. I went to Sycamore Speedway to watch some dirt track demo derby type races and I was looking at the cars as they went by....because....well, that is what you do when you are at a car race. I was thinking back to the discussion we had in class last week about how cars serve a primary (manifest) function of getting you from place to place and many secondary (latent) functions, such as showing status (you are "cooler" if you have a car) and wealth (you have a "cool" car). As I watched junkers like this go around the track (and slam into each other), I thought of another latent function of cars: pure entertainment. Any of you watch car races? Yes, those cars get you from point A to point B, but they do it in circle, 200 times in a race, really fast, and point A and B are the same (start and finish line). Did I mention fast? :) Think about the different experiences you have on a daily basis. Can you figure out the manifest and latent functions of those experiences? Hmmmmm..... :)
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