New Shack

Hola!

SO I'm planning on blogging a lot more and I've been looking at some other blog sites to see how they stack up to Blogger and I'm thinking of moving over to WordPress. I have posted two entries there today and I really like it.

So basically, from now on, that's where I'll be writing. If I really hate it I'll transfer it back over here, but I'm hoping it will go well there, and that once I develop it to what I want it for, I will host it as megnorris.com (which I own but sadly has no home at the moment).

In any case, subscribe to me there if you'd like (it has a nice little e-mail notification feature. I love that about WordPress) or not, and let me know what you think :)

Peace.

a song about you and me : a draft.

there was a time when i

was so unknown

even within myself i felt

so alone

and you came into my world and you

made it my own

i have found myself in you

you gave me what i

needed more than you know

before you loved me i

was playing a role

and now that i've found me i

i'm so filled with hope

and i know what it's like to be me.

---------------------------------------

i didn't know who i was before i met you.

i didn't have the confidence to be who i could be.

because you encourage and love me i know who i am.

because you love me, i love myself.

thanks baby.

i love you.

Social Reproduction Theory FO RLZ!

This is an except from a paper I wrote that I've realized, since gaining a little bit of teaching experience, is very, very true and evident among kids in a classroom. Plus I felt the need to add something to my blog and am not feeling particularly creative today.

Social reproduction theory can be defined as the transmission of values, attitudes, and skill sets from one generation to the next through various cultural logics of and systems of child rearing. Middle class families interact frequently with central societal institutions such as schools so it is no wonder that their strategy for raising children is the concerted cultivation of the attitudes and skills needed to succeed within that society. This practice is valued by these social institutions whereas as the working class strategy of child rearing, the “accomplishment of natural growth” (Lareau 350) becomes devalued as it is out of sync with the standards of these institutions.

Middle class parents tend to expose their children to a wide variety of activities and situations so as not to miss out on opportunities for advancement within the culture. Through these varied experiences, as well as through imitation and direct training, middle class children learn the rules of society's game and how to make the rules work for them. This gives the children a sense of entitlement which allows them to negotiate with adults for special requests or accommodation. Working class children are often not raised in this way. In their view, authority figures have the final word and they tend to accept this without feeling entitled to negotiate for their personal benefit. This often leads to a sense of powerlessness or constraint.

Because working class children are often allowed to determine on their own how they will spend their leisure time, they have much less guidance in what is widely accepted within society and what skills and attitudes are valued. They also have much more free time. This likely plays a role in their choices of activities. While of course not all or even most working class children are involved in crime, as within every subculture, some are. Because they live in situations not seen as ideal by the dominant culture within society, this aspect becomes highlighted and plays a crucial role in the perception of, and identity development within, for example, the projects.

Middle class children’s activities are seen as much more valuable, as is the strategy of concerted cultivation which promises greater social and cultural capital (your personal social network and the familiarity and knowledge of the way a culture functions and the ability to make that system work to your advantage). Middle class parents also "try to stimulate their children’s development and foster their cognitive and social skills” (Lareau 352) and this, paired with these children’s frequent interaction with adults, makes them quite comfortable with adults. Bourdieu notes that children of the working class sometimes appear uncomfortable having an adult relate to them (Bourdieu 61).

Many of these children and teens have not had the opportunity to experience the way things work outside their culture, and also don’t have the social capital of middle class students. One implication of this is that they lack employment, and therefore the resources and support readily available to students of higer-income families.

Bourdieu, P. (et al.) (1999). With two young men from the north of France. In The Weight of the World: Social Suffering in Contemporary Societies. (pp. 61-76). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Lareau, A. (et al.) (2007). Unequal childhoods. In M. L. Andersen (Ed.), Race, Class, & Gender: An Anthology, Sixth Edition (pp. 348-358). Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth.

This is just an edited excerpt from somewhere in the middle of my paper, but I decided to reread it and was almost surprised at just how true my words turned out to be (we all know what it's like to do partial research/partial analysis papers... usually on subjects we've no direct experience with. Just for the record, later in the paper I address that stereotypes, lack of resources and support, development of identity, and perceived expectations for success playing a large role in these outcomes, among a large number of other factors, so don't read this thinking that these were my only points, they're just the ones that weren't referring specifically to the case study I used to analyse the theories of social reproduction theory and stigma :)

Speaking Against Homophobia

If there's going to be a shift in attitudes, it's going to be up to us to make it happen.

I love my English methods class.

So throughout the semester in my Secondary English Language Arts Curriculum Practices class, also known as English Methods, we did all sorts of writing exercises that we might wish to do with our students in the future. Our professor, Susan, whom I adore, got us each to choose one of our pieces to polish , peer edit, and submit for a class publication. Today we had our 'publication party' and we each received a copy. Much to our delight, Susan had written her own piece, "Introducing the Authors."

It was a poem comprised of 17 limericks. She starts off with,

There once was a group of sixteen.
About writing, they were quite keen.
It's easy to see
These teachers-to-be
Will bring talent and passion rare seen.

And continued with a limerick about each of my classmates. It was really sweet because she took the time to think about each of us and make them personal. About me she wrote:

Meg's talent with tech is well-known.
To producing on YouTube she's prone.
When she has a class
Each laddie and lass
Their cyber-predilections will hone.

Best professor ever?

Snapshot (another writing exercise)

Everyone was acting like it was a big deal or something. I didn't understand why, really. I mean this kind of thing happens all the time. I was really more concerned with whether any of those massive hats were going to topple off of those empty heads. That would be fun.

And then the really over-the-top one was all like, "This is a big day!" and I thought, "Oh, have we added hours? Is it bigger than yesterday? Or April 26, 1992?" But the sheep cheered anyway, and then it really started...

Skeletons. Sometimes I Fuck Up.

So today a friend of mine told me that she read my blog and was worried that my super pissy/annoyed/stupid first post was about her. It wasn't. And I told her that. But that got me thinking about why I posted it in the first place. I was going to take it down, but I decided not to. I was obviously still really pissed off when I wrote it. And it would have been more appropriate in a diary.

But it got me thinking, why did that anger me so much? If the friend who was concerned I was talking about her had done it, it wouldn't have bothered me at all. I wouldn't have even thought anything of it. I probably would have thought "Oh, sweet! She unlocked new songs for me! Yusss!" But it wasn't her. It was someone who already annoyed me in the first place.

Then I started thinking about how people that annoy me can do nothing right in my mind. Whether it's the clothes they're wearing, the music they listen to, the opinions the vocalize, the way the speak, they way they walk, the way their hair just looks so 2002. *sigh* And not only am I horrible for thinking this way, the worst part is that if it was me or someone that I like doing exactly the same thing, it wouldn't bother me at all. I would shrug it off as 'everyone has an off day". I. am. SUCH a hypocrite.

I know I'm not the only person like this, but it really bothers me that I am this way. I know I can't help if certain people just bother me, sometimes for good reason, sometimes for completely invalid and superficial reasons, but I CAN help how I think of those people.

I'm sorry for being awful sometimes. I am only human. I hope you'll all still be friends with me. I promise I don't think of YOU in that way. :)

xx

Omg omg yayy!!

My life is complete. Who wants to be my date?

Jan 22, 7:06 AM EST

`Mamma Mia!' producer plans Spice Girls musical

NEW YORK (AP) -- If it worked for ABBA, why not the Spice Girls?

Producer Judy Craymer says her company will create and produce a new stage musical based on the songs of the girl-power group whose recordings have sold more than 75 million copies. The show is tentatively titled, "Viva Forever." No production timetable was announced Thursday.

Craymer will produce "Viva Forever" with "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller, who hasmanaged Kelly Clarkson, Annie Lennox, Carrie Underwood and the Spice Girls.

Craymer produced both the stage and screen versions of "Mamma Mia!" The musicalfeaturing ABBA songs has been a mega-success, seen by more than 42 million people worldwide and grossing more than $2 billion since opening in London in 1999.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press

Feeling Nostalgic.

Today in one of my classes, we did a little 5 minute writing exercise where we had to let our minds wander to a happy place, and think about what we saw, felt, remembered, etc. All of the places I thought of were places specific to last year. I decided to write about a dirty old roof:

Billy's old apartment. We had so many wonderful times there. Lying on his make-shift couch, drinking coffee in tumblers and wine in mugs. Watching Disney movies despite all being in our twenties. Friends. True friends. The only ones that keep in touch.

The best part of this place was the roof. Dirty and covered in cigarette butts and frequented by pigeons, but small, cozy, and three storeys closer to the warmth of the sun.

I remember the smiles on our faces, the smells of my favorite restaurant just below, and the small bits of gravel that stuck on our elbows from lying there.

I don't know why this place means so much to me. There is just something about it, and the memories and people that go with it, that is so very wonderful.

I remember the last days of living in the last place I considered 'home'. We spent hours just lying on that rooftop. Reminiscing. Sad that it was almost over. In hindsight, those days were happy. Even though we were sad to have to leave, I have only the fondest memories.

I don't think I'll ever forget days on that roof. The ones I ever remembered in the first place, anyway. I may not have found another place to call home yet, but those memories have found a home in me.

Midnight Adventures

So last night I decided to film my latest Clive's Angels mission. The mission is to dance to Thriller in a public place. I spent an hour or so learning the choreography and I had it down, and it was awesome, so we decided to hop in the car, and find a graveyard to film it in. I should mention that shortly before leaving, I took a Benadryl because I am allergic to Randall's dog. I figured I'd get a little drowsy, but nothing major.
Ran and I drove around forever trying to find a graveyard into which we could point the headlights of the car. Finally after 3 failed attempts, we found one. I got out of the car, took off my jacket, plugged in my iPod, gave Randall my camera, and was about to start dancing to Thriller, when the priest showed up. I couldn't hear the conversation as I was out of earshot but apparently it went something like this:

Father Phil: Good evening, what's going on here? I'm not checking up on you, just came to check the doors."
Randall: Oh, uh, we're uh, making a film. It's got kind of a cemetery theme.
Father Phil: Oh, what's the film?
Randall: Actually, it's for YouTube. My girlfriend is going to dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Is that okay?
Father Phil: Oh my. Well, I don't have a problem but the local constabulary might take offense. (I walk within earshot) So, (to me) you're going to dance to Thriller?
Me: Er--yes?...? (while wearing tights, a minidress, and knee high boots, in the cemetary at night) *hesitation*
Father Phil: (Crosses himself orwhateveryoucallthatblessingthing) Oh dear, haha. (Starts to walk away, stops, turns around) Do you want a white glove?
Me: HAHAHA!!! Good idea!!
Father Phil: Have a good night, folks.

So he left, and all was well, except that by this point, the Benadryl had REALLY kicked in and was messing with my brain. I could not remember the dance I had memorized only an hour earlier. Also, wearing wedge boots and dancing on icy, crusty snow in the dark = not a good plan.

Needless to say, it sucked. I've yet to watch the footage but i know there is a lot of me just standing there, thinking. And yelling 'OH MY GOD EDITING THIS IS GOING TO FUCKING SUCK! Oh shit I just cursed at the church. FUCK I did it again! OH MY GOD! Oh shit that's even WORSE! GAHHH!"

So I was like, fuck it. Let's blow this popsicle stand. And drove the fuck home.

*sigh*