Assignment 7

1. Briefly describe the family described in the book. Who are the members, what are their family roles i.e. mother, father, brother, sister etc.
Based on chapter 2 of There are No Children, LaJoe Rivers and her family Live in the Governor Henry Horner Homes, which her children often call it the projects. LaJoe has 8 children the oldest being LaShawn who works as a prostitute so she can support her own drug addiction. Paul is the oldest of the boys and is named after his father. Terrence was the closets to Lajoe. Lafeyette which is the most dependable and watches over his three younger siblings(Triplets), Timothy, Tammie, and Tiffanie. Lastly Pharoah who is the most knowledge one. Paul there father is not really in the picture and his only income goes towards his drug and alcohol addiction. LaJoe is a very caring mother who worries for her children.


2. Describe the housing project in which the family lives. Do you think it is conducive to a positive childhood for the children, why or why not? Give one example of how the project/neighborhood has either a positive or a negative effect on the children portrayed in the book.
Crime and violence is fill the Governor Henry Horner Homes. Rivalry between gangs and drugs are present within what Pharoah calls the "Graveyard". The location where the River's family live in is extremely poor. Trying to access to healthcare and basic food needs is nearly impossible.
To Lajoe, it has become a “black hole.” There are no banks, no public libraries, no movie theaters, no skating rinks, no bowling alleys. The infant mortality rate exceeds that of Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Turkey. There is also no rehabilitation center even though drug use is rampant. These aspects of their living conditions are definitely not positive. During Lafeyette’s twelfth birthday, gunfire breaks out. As the eldest, he makes the children hold their heads down until the shooting subsides, and then they crawl back to their homes.

3. Describe how the neighborhood surrounding the housing project has changed in terms of employment opportunities and the race/ethnicity of the inhabitants over time. What is the current state of the neighborhood?  LaJoes's  neighborhood has slowly been decaying. Businesses moved to the suburbs and the city lost a third of its manufacturing jobs. The first people to leave the suburbs were the middle-class whites then the middle-class blacks. Horner had once been among the city's wealthiest areas now it turned to what looked like a black hole. The residents felt isolated and felt there was little sense of community in Horner. 

4.If you were asked to improve one or two aspects of the housing project or neighborhood to create better opportunities for this family, what social policy might you implement to enact positive change(s)?
If I were to improve two aspects of the neighborhood. I would create a Recreation center were children can go play and enjoy themselves. This can help young children steer away from bad influences such as drugs and gangs. Also I would establish more business such clinics and banks, restaurants and a learning center where children can go if they are having trouble with their homework. 

Assignment 6

According to the reading by Arlie Hochschild, from her book The Second Shift:

1. What is the “Second Shift?”

- The second shit is typically referred to the work that needs to be done around the house(Ex: taking care of children, cleaning, cooking, etc...) after they come back from their First shift(paying job). In this generation, families with 2 working parents are suffering from a speed-up of work and family life, which working mothers are being the primary victim. (Hochschild, 10)

2. Hochschild argues that families create “myths” about their division of household labor. Name and describe the family MYTH created by Nancy and Evan Holt.

- The family myth was a version of reality that hid the core truth in order to avoid family tension. Nancy and Evan Holt's myth was that they shared the the work at home equally but this was not the actual case.

3. According to Hochschild, what is the purpose of family myths?

- In reference to Hochschild (1989), the purpose of the upstairs-downstairs agreement for Nancy and Evan holt was “an attempt to agree that there was no conflict over the second shift, no tension between their versions of manhood and womanhood, and that the powerful crisis that had arisen was temporary and minor” (Hochschild, 1989). Family myths are created in order to allow couples to believe that there are no problems or conflicts in their family All though this myth doesn't permanently erase problems with in the household it provides a temporary solution and allows them to believe thet are a "happy" family.

4. How do you expect to divide household labor and child care when you start a family? Please note whether you intend to work full-time, part-time, or stay at home when married and/or when you have young children. 
-  I would definitely want to divide the household labor equally or something close to it. I do plan on working full-time but if I ever have children i would want to be a stay at home mom until my child/ren start becoming a little independent.

Assignment 5

1) There are many individuals in the world today who are living under the definition of single. Give two of the examples of types of singles and briefly describe them in your own words. Why are more people single today? 

- Two types of singles are Voluntary temporary singles, these singles want  to get married but not in the near further, marriage is not their top priority. they rather focus on their careers and other activities. Also there is Involuntary temporary singles who are actively seeking a partner and want to get married. People who fall into this group is either a single parent, widowed or divorced.

2) Go to http://www.census.gov/hhes/fertility/files/cps/Monte_Ellis_PAA_April-11-13-2013.pdf (Links to an external site.)
and describe three ways that data collection has changed according to this report.

-The data collection shows that it has changed by the age range expanding. It now asks questions about timing of the first birth and about the women's relationship at the time of the first birth

3) According to your textbook, there are four types of cohabitation. Please list and describe two of these using your own words.

- Dating cohabitation - more commonly in young adults fresh out of college who are seeking companionship, may or may not want to get married  

-Premarital Cohabitation-  Planning on getting married, way of testing relationship before getting married.
4) Would you ever consider cohabitation? Why or why not? If you would consider cohabiting, which of these meanings coincides with how you might view your own cohabiting relationship?
- I do consider cohabitation leaning more toward dating cohabitation. Still in college, and Cohabitation is a way to move out of my parents(convenience), and also for companionship. I want to get married but not in the near future. 

5) Do you believe that cohabiting heterosexual couples should have the same rights as married couples? Why or why not? What if the couple are the same-sex and cannot marry in their state, should they receive the same benefits of married people. Why or why not? 

- I believe that heterosexual couples should not have the same rights as married people. If you wants the rights of a marred couple then you should get married. On June  26 same-sex marriage became legal in all 50 states and they should receive the same rights as a heterosexual married couple. 

Assignment 4

1. According to the slides how do we define power, prestige, and privilege and give an example of each.
- According to the slides on Social Class and Families, Power is defined as the ability to force another person to do something even against will. An example of power would be The president, Barrack Obama. He has power over our country, thought i doubt he would use that power unjustly. Prestige is defined as respect and status in society. An example of prestige would be Ellen Dengeneres. She is well known and very respected in our society, And uses her prestige to help others. Nonetheless privilege is defined as special advantage or benefit enjoyed by individuals, but not all. An Example of privilege would Kylie and kendall Jenner. They gained popularity over the years because of their  family name Jenner their father was a gold medal winner in the Olympics back in the day. 

2. Also, what three variables do Sociologists use to define social class. 
- 3 factors sociologists use to define social class is Income, Occupation, Education.

3. After reading the textbook and reviewing the lecture slides, how would you define your social class (using terms from the lecture and textbook) and why? 
- I would define my social class as the working class. Both my parents did not finish high school. My mom works cleaning houses and my father works in construction. Both of these jobs are not secure jobs. In the winter my dad finds it is difficult to work because of the snow and cold and now with the economy dropping people are finding it hard to afford house cleaning and rather spend that money somewhere else.

5. Briefly describe what is happening to the upper class (the rich), the middle class, and the working and lower classes according to Chapter 13 in the Benokraitis textbook. 
- According to Chap. 13 in the Benokratis textbook, The Rich are getting richer, The middle class is shrinking and Working and Lower Classes are barely surviving. 

5. Lastly, your importance in U.S. society is often linked to race/ethnicity, education, age, income, and gender. Think about how your race/ethnicity or gender or age has blocked your from an opportunity or given you an advantage. Please identify your age, education, gender of race/ethnicity and then tell me your story of an opportunity or disadvantage you have experienced in your life.

 - I am 19 years young,  female and I have graduated high school in the top 25 percent tile, I am currently a sophomore here in Montclair. I am Ecuadorian and i have had the opportunity to go to college.  Most of my relatives in Ecuador did not have the same opportunities as i did and most drop out of high school and go to work with a low paying job.

Assignment 3

1) In your blog, please write about your race and or ethnicity briefly. For example, how would you answer question 8 and question 9 on the census short form attached below? Where were you born, where were your parents born and where were your grandparents born, if you know.

I was born in the united states however my parents and my grandparents weren't, they were born in Ecuador. I consider myself a Hispanic or a Latina. I never paid to much attention to the Census before, on question 8 of the census I would mark off yes Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin and write Ecuadorian on the box. As for question 9 since they don't consider Hispanic origins a race i would mark off white because I don't fit in, in any other category. 

2) Is your race/ethnicity important to you or not something you think about and WHY or WHY NOT.  I never really put much thought to it. I am Hispanic American and I have been Hispanic American all my life. I've never really encountered a situation where my race/ethnicity was an issue. But I would say my race/ethnicity is important to only because no one can tell me that i am just Latina or I'm just American, i am both. 

3) What crossed your mind when you filled out the Census questionnaire? Are you of mixed race? To be honest filling out the census is just another thing that I HAVE to fill out. For question 9 on the census I check off white because there's nothing else I identify myself with.  I would say yes Hispanic and White.


4) Next, give me your reaction to the video posted below  It was no surprise to me of some things the girls were saying about African American females.  I would hear these stereo types throughout my high school career even before than. I would also hear about how light skin male African Americans were more attractive. 

5) What struck you most about the video? What really struck out to me was the experiment with the dolls. I found it real sad how most picked the white doll and I am ashamed to say I  would also have picked the white doll as a kid. I found it even more heartbreaking when I actually heard them say why they picked the doll that they picked even.
6) Why - SOCIOLOGICALLY - do you think the children choose the dolls that they do. HINT what larger social factors influence the children's doll choice. 

I believe social media has plenty to do with my the way the children chose. Children merely imitate what they see. The television shows that they watch and what they see when they're surfing the web has a great impact on them. And its sad too see that society hasn't really changed throughout the years.

Assignment 1

1)     Please tell us about yourself. What makes you interesting or unique or tell us a funny story about you.

Hello my name Marilyn I am currently a sophomore. When having to talk about myself I always find it a bit difficult because I never know what to say. But I guess something interesting about is when I first meet new people I am very shy and quiet but once I get comfortable with someone I can sometimes be loud and very chatty. Just let me know when I’m too loud so I can tone it down a notch. (:

2)    Please tell us are you an FCST major or not. If so why did you choose this major? If you are not an FCST major, tell us about your own major and why you chose it. I am not an FCST major but I do plan on declaring it. I’ve always had an interest in teaching, I’ve always said that I was going to be a teacher because I love working with children.

3)    What are your current career plans or plans for graduate school? Or tell us if you plan to marry rich or travel the world!

I plan to marry rich … haha just kidding … well maybe not… idk who knows. Love is love. I don’t know what the future has in store for me but I do know that I work well with children and children work well with me. I would like to have a career where I get to interact with children on the daily bases.

4)    Next tell us about your family - for example - are your parents married or not, do you live with them, do you have siblings, pets etc? Or maybe you grew up in foster care, or you are cohabiting or married and live with your spouse and/or children.

 At first I thought my parents were never married because I never saw my mom wear her wedding ring but I have recently found out that I was wrong while sorting out the clutter in our living room desk i found their marriage certificate. At my age my parents were already married and have been married since. I have one older brother who’s a pain but still love him nonetheless.

5)    Please describe an activity you like to share with your family? etc.

 An activity that I like to share with my family is going to the park and setting up a volleyball net and just play for fun.

6)    Next choose 2 topics on the syllabus that interest you and tell us a few sentences WHY they interest you.

Two topics that interest me from the syllabus include the effect of divorce on children and division of household labor. My cousin who is like a brother to me, parents have been divorced for quite a while now but from time to time I see him acting out. I don’t know if his behavior has anything to do with him struggling to balance his relationship with both his parents but I would like to know if there’s anything I can do to help him.   Also a topic that interests me is division of household labor because back then it was split up by gender and sometimes I feel like my mom is still living in the past because while she tells me to help around the house she doesn’t feel the need to tell my brother to at least wash his own plate.

7)    Review quiz of syllabus:
A) What day and time does class meet?

-Thursdays from 1:00 to 2:15

B) How many blogs must you complete for full credit?

-6 out of 7 assignments

C) When are blogs assignments due?

-Originally the blog assignments were due on Fridays @ 4 p.m. but   it `has changed to Mondays at 4 p.m.

D) What should you do before EVERY face-to-face class?

-Check Montclair e-mail BEFORE every face-to-face class

E) What is a topic of a class during week 3?

-Methods of research on families

F) Which week do we focus on Marriage?

-Week 9