Mittwoch! (Wednesday)

Because of complications with both my wife and daughter, I am sorry that I will not be able to make it into the classroom tomorrow. The plan is to return Thursday.

I looked through the work you have done thus far, and it has been wildly inconsistent. Some have done great work and are done with "The Sociological Perspective Unit Study Guide" and others appear to have done nothing whatsoever. Obviously this latter category is concerning.

[I realize this is Homecoming week and that I am not present, however, I do expect you use your time wisely. You can do this! Work done in class will serve you well later in the week.]

You will be given today (Mittwoch) in class to complete what you have yet to finish in class on Monday and Tuesday. If you have finished, please help others understand what they are missing.

Wednesday night I will give you a grade based on completion.

Thursday we will field questions.

Friday and Monday will be a two-part quiz. You will be able to work with a partner on this quiz. Your partner will be assigned to you.

If you have questions, please send me an email.

Homecoming Week

This week is Homecoming!

It is also the homecoming of my new daughter Nora Ingrid Davis!

I will not be in the classroom for the next two days as I stay home to serve and be with my family.

While I am gone, I want you to review all we have done thus far and be in a place where you could not only recount the material but speak thoughtfully about it. You should be able to make connections and see the relationship between different elements we have studied.

On Google Classroom you will find an assignment/document ("The Sociological Perspective Unit Study Guide") of which you should know all of its elements. Fill out this document collaboratively (you will all have your own doc but you can work together to come up with the answers) with groups of two to three. If you delegate, be sure you know and understand the terms you did not personally work to define/identify.

The hardest portion of this study guide will be the application of the paradigms. Basically, you should be able to run any element in society through the lens of the three sociological paradigms (e.g. automobiles and education). For any topic be able to articulate what a structural-functionalist, social-conflict theorist, and a symbolic-interactionist would see in that topic. If you understand how to do this, come up with random topics and try it. Also, serve your neighbors by helping them run different elements through the paradigms.

When I return Wednesday, I expect that you will have filled out the review sheet. Together, we will tackle any elements that are unclear. On Friday and Monday of next week, we should be able to take a two-part quiz.

If you have questions, please contact me.

Joy!

Soc Team (3rd period especially),

This morning my wife and I had a baby girl - Nora! Praise God that Nora and my bride are healthy! (Obviously this means I am not coming to class.)

Here is what I need you to do:

 - Pray for rest and continued health.

 - Have any final dialogue about what we should do as Soc classes to change the culture at MVC positively.

 - When you have said what you desire to say, go to Google Classroom and fill out the form "Soc - Loving One Another Decision". Choose your top three preferences.

 - Next, explore the three sociological paradigms - structural-functional, social-conflict, and symbolic-interationist (here, here, and here)

           - Know the basics of each of these paradigms; take notes.

           - Know their weaknesses (think about the contrast between other paradigms) of each; take notes on this as well.

          - Do research into who are the most influential sociologists in each paradigm; again take notes

 - Next week we will have a quiz over this material.

 - This weekend is an observation weekend. I created a doc for each of you in GClassroom that you can write your observations in. Be sure to write three substantial and thoughtful observations by Monday.

Blessings!

Weekend Reminder

Soc Team,

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. We have a weekend! God is good!

This is a forum weekend so be sure to Soc Forum III. In order to thoughtfully respond to the prompt, review the ideas on "The Global Village Applied to MV" doc. You are not limited to the ideas expressed therein, but be thinking about them to spur your imagination.

Response to Relativism and Grasp of Plausibility Structures

Team Soc,

This block day, I want you to be able to articulate a basic and reasoned response to:

 - a relativist argument. You should be able to show the weaknesses of the relativists arguments.

 - a positivist plausibility structure. You should be able to articulate the positivist's plausibility structure and its fundamental weaknesses. [A plausibility structure is the structure of practices and beliefs which in any society determines whether a belief is plausible or not.]

As mentioned in class, preferably, this quiz will be oral.

If you have questions, seek me out.

I am excited for you to be able to understand and respond to this.

Weekend Reminder

Soc Team,

This weekend be sure to do your three observations and post them on Google Classroom.

Other things to consider:

 - If you want to do a rewrite of your quiz, submit your rewrite by Tuesday.

 - Keep in the back of your mind how we can collectively change MVC culture for the good

 - Think about the plausibility structures in our culture

Social Movement: We Bring the Change

Soc Team,

We have been wrestling with the implications of “The Global Village” and have recognized that we are profoundly privileged. We have a great deal in part because of our labor, but all of it is ultimately because of God’s grace on our lives and on our families. We were born here and now. This fact alone sets us apart.

Though we might not be the “one” who has the wealth of bottom 200 (20% of the population), we are decidedly at the top. We cannot compel the action of the one but we can control our own behavior. Individual action often has a limited scope and we do not need to go to the state to compel change; we can initiate the change ourselves - in ourselves - and hope to sweep others along with us.

Instead of trying to change the world at this point, let’s start local and close to where we are. Let’s try to change something at Monte Vista Christian. Let's love our neighbors as ourselves. And again, let’s not try to change the rules or go at this alone; let’s act together in influence others around us to bring change to make MVC better.

I asked you to brainstorm around this. The doors are wide open as to what we can do. Let’s be creative and potent in our social action.

The Global Village and Forum

Soc Team,

Read "The Global Village" and be sure to respond to the forum on Focus. Remember to thoughtfully respond to the prompt and then respond (after 60 sec) to two of your peers.

The Sociological Perspective - Again

Soc Team,

Here is the definition of the Sociological Perspective once again:

The sociological perspective sees general patterns in the lives of particular people and sees the strange in the familiar.

Our First Quiz

Soc team,

I am excited for our first quiz. Excited.

This excites me because this will open the doors for you to articulate what you been learning. Once you have a good grasp of the terms "sociology" and the "sociological perspective", and understand the historical origins of sociology, you will be push your learning further through analysis and synthesis.

As questions as they arise.