1) Many of the text we've read discuss the idea of status. Think about the communities you belong to - your family, groups of friends, neighborhoods, and/or ethnic communities. What gives someone status in each of these communities or groups? What do you think this suggests about the values of your community? Are they the same as yours? Do you aspire to status in your community - or to something else.
2) Terkel's book was first published in 1972. In the sections we've read so far, what struck you as aspects of working life that have changed the most? What surprised you? In what ways do you think some of jobs described and working life in general have gotten better? Worse? What has stayed the same?
I look at my family members and friends around me to see who has accomplished anything in their life as far as finishing college and coming out with an good career. So far I'm the frist in my family to go to college and finish now am continuing my educating to be more sucessful in life so my kids know how you get status by working hard to get some where in life.
ReplyDeleteHi - Can you expand on your post and put it on your own blog? Let me know if you have questions about how to do this. Thanks!
ReplyDeletehey i dont kno if im doing this right. I made a blog, i blogged. now how does it show up on the side where it says "my blog list"? do you have to do that? also, I cant log onto my live account right now for some reason, so im ganna just send you the site here... http://ijoinedtheworkingclass.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeletethank you
tatiana mota
Hi Tatiana -
ReplyDeleteI love your blog title! Now that you've sent it to me, I can add it to the list. It is a part of the class to share your writing, so you want to write entries you'd be willing to share. You can also change your user name if you don't want things to show up under your actual name.
To work on your blog, you don't need to log into live, just into the google account you set up when making your blog. Let me know if you have any questions. - thanks - prof. T.
some times money can give you status
ReplyDeletewhat status for me ??
i think this is a big question depending how you think about it
People has status depending where are you from or what kind of job you do for living
or what kind if education you have or if you are rich
There are many ways to determinate your status
one example is my father is a well know man because he has many houses everywhere and most of the mortgage offices know him because he always bring business to their people
some times i have heard my father call this mortgage offices to meet them because he is interesting on buying houses from them so when we get there these people are nice with us the owner of this office make a reservation just for us so he can take care us on his own time
because this guy knows that if this can make a good presentation on his houses thats offering my father my invest money on his business
so I think money gives people status ,,,, the more money you have the more respect you will get when it comes to make a good deal......
Prof. T. said...
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Do you think there's a tension when leaders of a community want to serve the people but also end up achieving status for themselves in a more personal way?
Actually yes, tension has and still does exist. Examples of tension in history would be the argument between Marcus Garvey and W.E.B Du Bois, both pioneers in the racial-conflict struggle for the rights of people of color, but also clashed in viewpoints. Du Bois felt that Garvey was quite possibly the biggest threat to the negro race due to his ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Ever since, Garvey was considered a traitor, and even was incarcerated for such actions, although it has never discredited his amazing influential contribution to the civil rights movement for future generations--.
Another example would be the contraversy that lies behind the assassination of MLK. In particular, Jesse Jackson's possible role in the murder. Although never proven, the evidence that links him to the death justifies the point in the sense of tension that comes with wanting to selfishly acheive an individual status(even if it means eliminating your right hand man to get it). As far as today, tension is evident in the politics surrounding the presidency. Each candidate wants to bring about a desired change, and each displays that tension towards each other in order to acquire the status necessary to begin attaining their goals. The perfect examples being the race between President Barack Hussein Obama (Barry Soetoro) and Former Presidential Canditate John McCain. It is no doubt that the role of presidency is not always in favor of the people. Sometimes, they have to execute orders that would help them personally grow in their career, but at the same time agitate the people. Alot of this is unforunately due to financial gain.
So in retrospect, yes! I 100% do believe that tension does exist between leaders of communities, regardless of their interest in the people, for personal gain.
In my community, your status depends on what type of job you have, your educational level, and even the name brands you wear. I myself began to develop this mentallity based on my environment, and tried to fit in. But now I've learned to ignore these perceptions I make of people and realized that people will always judge you based on the choices you make in life whether good or bad.
ReplyDeletewell in groups of friends, I think what gives you status is the people (friends)you hang out with. What they think of you, like she's quite or always smiling. Your friends look at who you are your personality, who you are and how you live your life. Sometimes if people did not like you, you have change your personality in order to be apart of the group, it is all about fiting in.
ReplyDeleteHey - folks who added the last two comments - these are great - be sure to also put them on your own blogs, and flesh them out.
ReplyDeleteWhat gives me status? I believe status comes from what progess you have made in life. Where i live there isn't much people my age that finish high school or continue on to college. some people in my neigborhood think being able to hang outside doing nothing gives them status. When i see people outside doing nothing i say to my self they can go to school and do something with their time that they are wasting. I see status as having an profession a good focus on life and living your life in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteI believe what gives people real status is their friends and accomplishments in life. But majority of people think status is how much money they can generate in the shorts amount of time. The problem with money is it doesn't stick around for long. Money always come and goes but true friends are always around when you need them. And your accomplishments are yours to keep and claim. so to me status is what makes you generally happy when things go sour. that why I want to finish school and find a job I am proud of.
ReplyDeleteWhat shock me the most while reading Terkel's book is how important status was to women back then. Even being married to a man with high staus was taken very seriously. Not to say status isn't important in today times ... it's just that not everyone can reach their dream job(if hey have one). Now it's more like find any job to pay your bills and most women are not happy with what they do but do it just to get by. Even in 1972 the women with high status jobs found out that their jobs was over rated and wasn't to happy with that. I think thats the only thing that stayed the same.
ReplyDeleteWell, i guess it depends on the kind of person and how they were brought up on the status that fits them. For istance, from the clothing they wear, the ethic back ground and if they share anything in common i guess.The status of people I spend time with must be doing something productive such as going to college making effort to being great because thats what i am trying to do for myself. Also, I look for things we may have in common that we well relate better. So it's alot but i like to set priyer goals for myself. Majority of my friends are doing the same or ready have there degree or have a career. Thats what i like to keep around me so i wont get steard the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteIn my family and Community we based status on many different things such as:
ReplyDelete1. how many people you know?
2. how smart are you?
3. who you hang out with?
4. what you do in life? (meaning work, or activities, volunteer, drugs, gang bang etc.)
5. how far along in school a person had gotten.(if you graduated highschool without getting pregnant or getting a women pregnant you are at the top of the list)
6. who you are married to or go out with?
there are more but then itll just be an on going list of things. therefore a person can gain status easily or lose it easily. yes people will know you but what exactly would they know you for is the question you can be the talk of the block in a good way or a bad way either way people are going to know you for something. but this is among those who live in the neighborhood.
what gives status between neighboring neighborhoods is those who live there. take my grandmothers neighborhood in Crown Hieghts next to my neighborhood in East New York. my neighborhood is known more by other people than my grandmothers because of its violence and publicity. it is known for nothing good and only bad. giving it a bad status. the only thing people think about when speaking about East New York is the shoot outs projects and low incomed crazy dangerous animals reside there. which is sad because i am not like that nor do i participate in any sort of violence that takes place there. My neighborhood makes my grandmothers neighborhood look like a white rich sophisticated neighborhood and trust me its not. but hoepfully im not losing you.
so status can be won either way you put it. it jus depends on whether its in a good way or a bad and if your basing it on how many people know your name and who you are.