Portfolio Reflection 1
Three classes that I have taken at Longwood University that have dealt with the institutions of sociology are:
SOCL 205- Deviance- institution of Law/Government
SOCL 320-Sociology of Education- institution of Education
SOCL 241-Sociology of Marriage and Family- institution of Family
- The took Sociology 205 (Deviance) with Professor McDonald in Fall of 2019. This course dealt with defining deviance in society, why people commit deviant acts how our criminal justice system handles the offenders. Some key terms and ideas that were the focus in this course were deterrence, influence, alibis, the death penalty, homicides, and many more. The main idea of the course was to explain deviance in a broader aspect ranging from the reasons deviant crimes are committed to how our legal system processes these offenders.
- Sociology of Education with Professor Bidwell was completed in the Fall of 2020. This course taught the history of public education and how a person’s socioeconomic background and living location can greatly affect their access to quality education. Some key terms and ideas that were focused on were educational inequality, public and private schooling, academic performance, reallocation, and many others. The inequality between the education some receive was the focus of this course and how it affects adolescents and students.
- A third class dealing with sociological institutions was Marriage and Family taught by Professor Grether in Spring of 2020. This class had a semester long main project where we had to create a marriage contract with another person by completing all the steps you would need to take from proposal to death. Some key terms and ideas from this class were children, marriage, divorce, financial stability, and weddings. This course focused on how to function positively in relationships and why marriages fail overtime as well.
Writing
Over the course of the past four years, my writing has improved tremendously. I have reviewed papers from the above-mentioned sociology classes and I recognize improvements and areas that need continued focus. My vocabulary has broadened enormously since the beginning of my writing and I think that has to do with repetition. With repetition, writing becomes better, longer, and much more thought out than if you say only write one paper a year. I also use a more varied and enriched vocabulary. One of my weaknesses that has improved, but is still an improvement goal, is adding details and fully answering questions. I do have a slight problem with not reading the entire question when answering say a discussion post or written portion on an exam. My proofreading skills are better, and my writing reads more smoothly. I also have started to re-read over papers I write, and I usually catch grammar mistakes, repeated information, and sentences that just do not make a lot of sense. I probably can write a long paper more quickly now as writing has become a more developed skill and ideas flow more easily. Do I learn more about a subject when writing about it? Yes- when re-reading these papers for this reflection, I had the memories of the people I had the class with and knowledge of the subject flood back into my mind. The information may be lost at some point but as soon as it is reintroduced, the information comes back, and it is like I am right back in that class.
In addition, all of the sociology courses have similar concepts and themes that are present in all of the courses. These themes allow you to understand new information about society with a sociological background.
Personal Reflection of Concepts
The sociological institutions that these classes focused on have really changed the way I think about life, the people around me, and how I act according to the law and as a productive member of society. The Deviance course taught me that no matter what, people will still commit crimes and act against the norms that society deems normal. For example, in an elevator, you will normally see people facing towards the door and towards each other. If somebody were to face the wall and have there back to people, this would be against the social norm and technically deviant behavior. The death penalty was also a very hot topic for this course, and it is actually what my paper was on. It explains how the death penalty is not an effective method of deterrence to crime because the crime rates have actually gone up in past years in states with the death penalty. After taking this class, I make mental notes in social situations on whether or not I am participating in a social norm or if I am straying away from what society deems normal. It has helped me realize aspects of social communication as well as helping me stay away from deviant behavior because I am deterred to commit crimes because of the methods our criminal justice system presents.
The second course was Sociology of Education. Upon reflection, this course outlined how fortunate I was to be in a decent, well- funded area for public schooling. The less a public school is funded, the more they struggle to find and keep qualified teachers and often do not have the necessary funds for appropriate services and supplies for students. This class made me realize how much the academic performance of a student, and often their success after school, is linked to their geographical location. My understanding and beliefs have changed because of this class. For instance, I was not aware that if a high school did not score a high enough average GPA and graduation rates, their funding would be partially or completely cut by the government. We should be trying to increase funding in struggling schools, not cutting it. They are already fighting to keep students in school and increase graduation rates, cutting the schools’ funding is only going to make things worse. I firmly believe that we should start to fund these schools appropriately and before this class I did not have an opinion on the situation.
The third course was Sociology of Marriage and Family. This class showed me how family can be defined in different ways by different people. Some people only define “family” as blood relatives and people who have married into the family. Others also include pets, close friends, coworkers, and even the mailman in some cases. This course also highlighted stressors that affect families, such as poverty, single parent homes, access to quality food, transportation, communication skills and many more. Another concept was marriage and divorce. I was aware of the divorce rates nowadays, which is around 50%, but I now understand why after taking this class and after completing the marriage contract. The contract brought to my attention that you really have to pick your wife or husband carefully and not too fast. You really have to know a person completely, share similar values, and know what they want from you as a partner.