Thanksgiving Observations!

Soc Team,

I hope and pray you have enjoyed and you will continue to enjoy your Thanksgiving vacation!

And hopefully you have had your eyes open during this week off.

Helen Keller once said, "I have walked with people whose eyes are full of light but who see nothing in wood, sea, or sky, nothing in city streets, nothing in books. What a witless masquerade is this seeing! It were better far to sail forever in the night of blindness, with sense and feeling and mind, than to be thus content with the mere act of seeing." 

May we not be content with the mere act of seeing! To this end, finish your three observations for Monday. Be sure at least one of them is directly related to thanksgiving - either the holiday or the act of thanksgiving.

Society in 130 Seconds

Soc Team,

We are going to try something different this week.

Team up in order to speak quickly and intelligently on the topic of Society. See Classroom for details.

Weekend Reminder

Soc Team,

This weekend you are to continue to seeing - truly observing the world around you. In particular, notice the culture that surrounds you and shapes you. Don't just observe but also evaluate. What do you think about the elements of culture that are exerting social control over you?

This weekend you have the opportunity to respond to Soc Forum 05. Be sure to respond to the prompt and two peers.

Today's Plan

Soc Team,

Unfortunately I am not going to be able to join you today in class.

So here is the game plan:

 - In order to better understand cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, and Christocentrism, I thought some practice would be beneficial. Read the article on the Danish woman and run it through this tripartite grid. Then find your own article and try the same process. All details are on Classroom.

 - My encouragement is for you to do this initially on your own but then to get together with your peers to hash through your responses. Challenge one another's ideas until you all know why you landed where you landed - and so that you can articulate it well. You want to be sure you are understanding these concepts thoroughly.

 - This assignment is due tomorrow (though you should finish in class today).

 - If and when you finish, return to Classroom and open and complete the Culture Unit Terms. Be particularly careful to thoughtfully respond to the final four questions. This will be due on block day.

 - Tomorrow in class we will field questions and review for a quiz on block day.

If you have any questions, shoot me an email.

God bless you today!

Weekend Reminder

Soc Team,

We have had some really good discussions wrestling with cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. This weekend, you are to reflect on our conversations and your thoughts through the "Cultural Relativism, Ethnocentrism, or Tertium Quid" assignment on Classroom.

The "Observing Culture Project" was extended through this weekend if you needed more time to complete it.

Our typical Observations for this weekend have been extended to Wednesday to accommodate these other assignments.

There is a very good change that we will bring this unit on culture to an end at the conclusion of this week. Plan on a quiz for block day.

And don't just look, see. Truly see what is going on around you. Then may God give you wisdom as to how to live.