Education In America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7ob1AfM1Dg

This link I believe gives us hope for what we've been talking about in class concerning education in America. I think that if we can find a way to accomodate each social class reasonably, the financial backing into our educational system should be able to produce capable individuals who are ready for the work force. What do you think?

Another

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK0xkkiBDYI

Teacher Evaluations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoaidrMJ6wk

Interesting protocol that is being followed regarding teacher evaluations. Especially the evaluation by an external observer.

Shaima Alawadi

Shaima Alawadi, a resident of California, who was recently found beaten in her home with a note telling her to return to her country has died. Sociologically this certainly seems as though it was a hate crime because there were multiple notes left referring to Alawadi and her family as terrorists. Also, the fact that nothing was stolen from the home adds to the belief that this was a hate crime. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/iraqi-woman-beaten-to-death-in-california-hate-crime-suspected/

Trayvon Martin

There is a link below to the a video of Trayvon Martin's parents being interviewed by Matt Lauer. They discuss a phone call that Trayvon had with a girl no more than five minutes before he was killed. The neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, may have used racial slurs just prior to the shooting. From a sociological perspective there appears to be some racism involved. What do you think?


Trayvon Martin Parents Interview

Buffalo, the Birth Place of the Electric Chair

This somewhat morbid article discusses how our very own Buffalo, NY was the birthplace of the Electric Chair (Seen Below).  Invented by the dentist, Alfred Southwick, he felt that civilization had come far enough in technological advancements for there to be change in the punishment for criminals.  Little did William Kemmler know  that he would suffer through much more than he intended.  Kemmler from Buffalo, was the first ever to be electrocuted for punishment via the death sentence. Unfortunately, he was somewhat of a guinea pig when it came down to finding out how long it takes to death to occur.  Initially he was shocked for only 17 seconds until they killed the power.  Kemmler,  not yet dead was burning in agony as he had to wait for the chair to re-power.  He was then shocked for over a minute, in a much disgusting manor.

After studying the debates amongst harsh punishment for what could be wrongful convictions, do feel that our society has gone about reprimanding criminals in a just manor?

Certainly, Kemmler had somewhat of a disadvantage in that he had to endure much suffering.  Do you feel that all the states should follow suite as New York State did and get rid of the death penalty? 

  Article Link: http://www.examiner.com/true-crime-in-buffalo/buffalo-dentist-makes-electric-chair-a-reality

Urban Arabic.. Poem by Quadir Lateef

This is a poem from Quadir Lateef, a rapper/poet from Buffalo, NY. The poem has more of an Islamic theme but a great strong message overall.  He addresses social ills relating to: starvation, diseases, and war in foreign countries, ignorance about world affairs, slavery, obsession of material gain, and drugs in our urban communities. Sorry, I was not able to locate the lyrics but please just watch and listen. Al-Hamdu Allah (All Praises to Allah)

Some Islamic terms:

Salat = prayer

Salamu alaikum = Peace be upon you

Da'wah = outreach

Allah = God

Prophet Muhammad = The last messenger of Allah

Quran = the holy book

Shahadah = Testimony to Islam faith

First post - Kony

Kony

Here is a link to this video that is viral, about a campaign to arrest Kony, head of the Lord's Resistance Army in Central Africa. Many of you may have already seen it, butif you haven't, it is worth watching. But after watching it, is is also worth doing some research to find out a little more about the issue.  Kony

Some of the interesting sociological issues this raises, to me, are

• definition of a social problem. The LRA has been around for a long time, as has the problem of invisible children, so why now? Why Kony instead of something else? The filmmaker is very skillful in drawing us in. How does he do this? The shots of happy, cheering, earnest college students and of his incredibly cute son make this a very upbeat video - it is not sad or depressing, which is strange, considering its subject matter - child soldiers and the worst side effects of war.
• use of social media, how powerful it can be to mobilize people, especially perhaps young people. The inverted pyramid graphic, showing how people can be more powerful than money, if they organize, was very compelling - and inspiring. I want to believe that we can make the world a better place using facebook and twitter, although I am somewhat cynical about the possibility... I conect it to Power Theory, covered in the chapter on crime, but related to everything in sociology, basically.

I am interested in hearing your responses to the film and the whole Kony 2012 issue.