Reflective essay.

I must say that I am a different person from when I began this class.   SOCI 1125 – Introduction to Society has been an eye opener for me in so many ways.  I think and see things from a different perspective unlike before when I took some issues for granted and never really though affect us in our daily lives.

Initially if someone called me “ignorant” I would have been very offended, but  I have  learnt that being ignorant does not mean I am stupid or dumb as we many of us perceive it . From the class notes ignorant is defined as simply not knowing or having an idea about something.  As the class continued I realised how ignorant I was, and that there was so much that I did not know and still do not know, but that through education that we continue to learn, expand and develop our knowledge.

Bracketing is another term that was very important in this course, by using bracketing I understood better what was taught and discussed in class. Bracketing means holding off or suspending information that you know to allow new ideas get in.  For example I had to hold off all information that I had read or knew about racism. Initially I thought racism was only about discrimination of black people due to their skin colour. But I learnt that racism is not just discrimination due to skin colour but there are other issues that are considered; someone’s ethnicity, religious beliefs, background, physical features etc.

In addition, have learnt to view the society in a diverse manner like a sociologist as a result,  I can relate and understand myself, matters affecting me and the world better since   I now view issue from  many angles without taking anything for granted like before.

I believe that have acquired some very educative and valuable knowledge during this course.  I will forever view society and life in a different way.  I am glad that I had the chance to take this course; I feel that I have turn into a better person.  This course will also help me understand  other courses and life in general.

Racism

“Although all people are prejudiced and often stereotype others, not all can be or are racist”.

we learnt that all people  prejudice or stereotype towards   an Individual or groups of people that are different from them   for a number of various  reasons,  but this does not make or mean that we are all  racist.  Regardless of these statement we learnt there  are  individuals among us who are very  racist and discriminate people due to their race, background  religious believes,  ethnicity or skin color. We also learnt some of the reason why  Racism happens.    Many times people who are racist ,  were  brought up racist by parent or relatives  and they know no other way.  Some are just plain ignorant and  that It’s human nature  to oppose something different from us. We distinguish those that aren’t in our “group ” by their appearance but human are more biased against anyone that does not look like them or our family , this tendency just tends to manifest itself more  vividly with skin color. For Racism to stop we have to start by educating children from a very young age.

Ghana Field school.

The Ghana school colloquium was an eye opener for me. listening  to the student who went to Ghana share and talk about  their experiences ,  I learnt the importance of leaving class environment and going to another country is better since it enhances what we learn from our a class setting.  The  students got a  chance to not only put  and  apply what they had learnt in class into practice,  but they also got an opportunity to experience and understand another county’s culture  and way of living.

I learnt from their experience In Africa,  that  the way the media portrays a situation is not necessary the same as experiencing  them  1st hand.  All  the student reported  that they had a different experience of an African country  different from what the media  has represented. One student said that she noted that  African people  in general  seemed to be more happier regardless of their way of life.

In addition, watching  all the video clips and photos both from the student who went Ghana and those From Bonnie – of Rotary Club,  I realized  that there is so much to be done to change someone’s life and it’s upon each one of us to take a step and do something positive.

lastly, I learnt  that  it takes courage to leave our  comfort zone for us to appreciate  what we have but  take it   for granted. Majority of the student who went to Ghana said that, they had  some difficulties adjusting to the way of life in Ghana.

Society

” man is born free, but is everywhere with chain”

Last weeks class we talked about society and its characteristics we found out that society is unusual and it is not possible for human beings  to use their  five senses;  touch, see, taste, or feel .  We learnt that though we create society we are in, it control much of our lives  for example though our parents  have raised us they have no control over what happens in the future . Regardless of them putting us through education there is no 100% surety that we will end up in high paying job and became rich  or  working  three jobs to make ends met.   We realized that we need each other to create  society and we are all dependent  on each other.  But there are consequences in the society  depending on how we behave or act .  Wrong actions can get us into trouble, for example if you kill you will be put in jail.

background informataion

Hi

My name is Rose Linda, but i prefer to use Linda . I am the first born in my family of six,  I was born and raised in Kenya .  I have a 2 year diploma course in social work .  I have worked in various organization in Kenya  and I gained valuable experience in the social work field for seven years.

I moved to Canada two years ago, this is the  first time that I have moved  so far away from my Kenyan family. And though have travelled to Thailand and Tanzania it was only for a short period of time and I knew when I was going back.  Adjusting to Canadian way of life has been not easy. Culture shock was huge but with time I am learning to adjust and to cope with Canadian way of  life.

This is my first year in kwantlen I want to major in psychology; I hope after my degree I will continue working for the community  by  dedicating  my life to making a difference in someone’s life, if just by listening, sharing or helping in whatever way possible.

I took this course because it is a requirement towards my degree. But regardless I am curious about the course and what it is all about. I am hoping to gain knowledge about how the society works, what are our contributions towards what happens in the society and how the society shapes human being.

I am really looking forward to what this course has to offer.

Thanks for reading.

Linda

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