Volunteer Alert!

Stolen directly from Wednesday's Chicago Tribune.......
What: Bridge Communities will host an outdoor rally for "Sleep Out Saturday" in Glen Ellyn
What It's About: The free rally features live performances fromlocal band Flipside, DJ "Koz" and the crew from The Mix 101.9, an interactive game show, and testimonials from formerly homeless families who are graduates of and/or participants in the Bridge Communities program. After the rally, groups of teens, individuals and families will sleep outdoors in tents, boxes or cars to raise funds for Bridge Communities. The all-night sleepover to raise awareness about homelessness will be held in backyards, parking lots and parks across DuPage County. Last year's event raised more than $100,000.
When and Where: 6:30-8pm, November 6, outside at Bridge Communities, 505 Crescent Blvd, Glen Ellyn
The Charity: Bridge Communities is a non profit agency that serves more than 100 needy families annually in programs that include a two-year transitional housing program for families, life-skills mentoring, an auto program, financial counseling and employment training.
How You Can Help: To participate, sponsor a sleeper or donate funds, call 630-545-0610 or visit sleepoutsaturday.org

Everybody Needs Somebody....

We're watching Secrets of the Wild Child in class right now. The story of Genie (as well as those of Anna and Isabelle) are all heartbreaking examples of what happens when socialization goes wrong....or doesn't go at all. Taking a look at the video below of footage of Genie, stop back and think of the uphill struggle Genie has had in her life to try and fit into mainstream society (as far as I know, she's living in a nursing home-type facility in California and is in her 50s....she has never been able to catch up to her peers in terms of speech, behaviors and motor skills).

What was the main difference between all 3 of these girls? Isabelle had her mom. Even though she was not able to communicate with her daughter, the non-verbals of nurturing motherly behavior did a lot to point Isabelle in the right direction and she was able to "make it" in society, whereas those without that contact never made it, and in Anna's case, she died. If you're thinking that these 3 girls are isolated cases, think again. If you go to the website www.feralchildren.com you'll see many other examples of children who have found themselves in Genie, Anna, or Isabelle's shoes.

Who Helps You Become YOU?

Your agents of socialization, that's who! We've spent the first few days of our socialization unit examining how we learn about the norms of society and who teaches us those things so that we can be well mannered, positive, functioning members of society, and your agents of socialization (see the comprehensive list below) help you to reach this lofty goal at all points of your life. Remember, as pointed out in class, you never stop being socialized.....you all socialize me every day, which is why I can use words like "beast" in a sentence.....such as "Patrick Sharp is a beast on the ice this season!" Did I do that right? :) Anyway, here is a list of those who socialize you....feel free to comment if I forgot anybody!

*Family--Mom & Dad have first crack at teaching you how to be a good member of society. They not only teach you language and help you with motor skills, they teach you useful things like how to tie your shoes, when to say please and thank you, and give you a sense of right and wrong that you can use to interpret the world around you. To take a page out of Cooley's socialization textbook, you may see yourself as your parents see you......hopefully your parents have been your biggest fans and you see yourself positively as well.

*Friends/Peers--You enter school and all of a sudden the good manners and values your parents instilled in you may be erased by some of your peers who have no problems teaching you swear words, or that sharing may not indeed be caring :) You join clubs and sports and hang out with people that are just like you. Speaking of sports....

*Sports--Just as with Candyland, sports teaches you cooperation and teamwork, the value of hard work, and give you a competitive drive.

*Religion--Regardless of your religious affiliation, this is a major highway for values and morals to enter your brain. Golden Rule, anyone?

*Daycare--If your parents had to work, you might have been dropped off at KinderCare, or other places to keep your 3 year old self occupied and out of trouble. As I've seen in my family, this is a mixed bag. Daycare teaches you language skills and independence that you might not receive at home if you're with Mom 24/7, but you're not as connected to your parents.

*Work--If you have a job right now, that is part of your identity, and shapes your behaviors accordingly. As you get older, you are defined by your job....it's less about who you ARE but what you DO. I've found with family and friends who have retired that they have a real terrible time adjusting to their life without work because they don't have that anchor to guide their days.

*Media--Miss Katy Perry proved the point here, as does my gal pal Miley Cyrus. Little kids are very impressionable.....and heck, you teenagers are as well. You see all sorts of images on TV, on the Internet, and in movies and print media that tell you that you need to wear your hair "just like this" or dress "just like that" and life will be perfect for you. If you eat this or that, you'll be strong and popular. Clothing labels like Forever 21, Abercrombie and Fitch and Aeropostale are creating a line of their clothing for kids as young as 6 to hook them in to their brands at a young age. I see it with my nieces. Clothes from Kohls or Target are fine, but if it says Old Navy it's even better and means you're "cool" and "popular."

What do you think? Did I leave anything out?

Socialization and Katy Perry

So we started talking about socialization in class today.....HOW you learn about your culture and how to do the right things (and avoid the wrong ones). Many different factors come into play with your socialization process: parents, friends, teachers, even the media play a part in shaping you into the person that you are. In discussing the media and children's programming, Sesame Street came up. I have to admit, I'm a child of the Street. LOVED the show when I was a kid, and if I ever have my own children, they will be Street kids as well (no purple dinosaur for them!). Well, in launching their 40th season on the air, they leaked a few segments that would be shown and my, the uproar about the Katy Perry appearance caused Sesame Street producers to yank the segment. Is Katy sending a wrong message to 3 year old Street lovers, especially the girls, or is she just teaching them about opposites? I'll let you decide, then you can chime in with your thoughts.....

Does This Clash with My Culture? The Case of Cuy...

In discussing culture clash and culture shock in class, it has come to my attention that there is some amount of confusion as to what these terms mean. Let me clarify some of that for you with a visual. Take a look at the top picture. It is a traditional Ecuadorian meat dish called cuy. The meat has been been described as slightly chewy and salty, but delicious nonetheless. It has been prepared in Ecuador for hundreds of years by its indigenous citizens, who prepared cuy before beef cattle were introduced into their culture. Then take a look at the bottom picture. It's a guinea pig.....or what the top picture may have looked like before it was cooked. Yes, the people of Ecuador eat guinea pig (my best friend has done this on his travels to Quito, Ecuador when he was in college). A bit surprised? Grossed out? I have to admit I was too, especially when I looked at the other pictures of cuy on a website (this one is tame compared to the others). That sick feeling to your stomach is the culture SHOCK....it's that feeling that you have when you encounter something that is not part of your home culture. The CLASH here involves food. It's American menu items vs Ecuadorian menu items. Gotta think that Chili's or TGIFriday's is not going to be adding cuy to their menu anytime soon as the SHOCK of their patrons would make the item not a very big money maker.