en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3074093 Comments by jll5270 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170075519 I thought the Oprah Winfrey segment was shocking too. I agree that i do not believe that every child has an equal opportunity for education. It clearly showed in that clip. The suburban students had so many more opportunities than that of the inner city high school. They had new and advanced supplies and places to work out, do work, and the use of computers. Almost everything was just "better" than Harper High School. I thought it was interesting to see that the Harper High school students said that they felt "cheated" by this. I can see where they come from, as i would also feel cheated if i saw the drastic differences between my school and another. Tue, 5 Jul 2011 21:27:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170075519 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170072925 Dr. Richards was right. This lecture was definitely the best one yet. I learned so much from this lecture. There were so many things that really caught my attention. The first thing was the Oprah Winfrey video. The percentage differences on the test scores were so eye opening. I could probably have assumed hey would be different, but I never would have guessed such a drastic difference between the 2. Like it almost seems utterly impossible to me that things could be so different. In high school I never took advantage of the different classes I could take and the different things I could learn about and I feel like I really took for granted the opportunities I had in high school. I was not the type of student that felt the need to excel in academics, and seeing the stuff that the Harper High school students did not have, that I did, really makes me regret that I did not take advantage of those things. I think that this is probably the case for a lot of people too, and I just do not think that many of us know exactly just how different our lives could have been, or could be if put in a different atmosphere. Next I can see what Dr Richards was talking about Nepotism and affirmative action. I know a few people who have gotten a job solely because they know someone who knows another person that owns a restaurant. This person who knows the owner got the other person hired as a waitresses, even though these people were never waitresses. This restaurant usually only considers taking people who have years of experience because it is a highly rated restaurant. Stuff like that annoys me. Some one else could be perfectly qualified, but not hired because they do not know the owner, or know someone that knows the owner. I too am guilty of this. I currently have a job where I work for the company my dad owns. The only reason I ever got this job is because the person that owns it is my father. So, although it annoys me, I am too benefitting from this. I think it is something that is inevitable because people always want to first help out the people that they know, then maybe after all of the people that they know, others that they do not know. I think that this whole lecture had a lot to do with certain opportunities that people get just because of who they are. Dr Richards named many different reasons for why people get scholarships (American-Italian Scholarship, scholarships for a person with a disability, ect.). I think that no matter what any one says or does about inequality in USA, there will always be instances where things just are not equal, and there is nothing any one can do about it. Tue, 5 Jul 2011 21:17:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/30/week-8-%e2%80%93-lesson-14-affirmative-action/#IDComment170072925 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168750907 I too was touched by the Jorge Munoz story. I could not believe the nice things this man does for these people just from the good of his heart. It was touching to hear him not even know how much money he spends on average on them and that he gets paid by seeing the smiles on their faces. This lecture really showed me the hard things some of these people go through and that they really are not "lazy" at all, and are here every single day, from morning till night, looking for a job to support the family that they left. Fri, 1 Jul 2011 17:51:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168750907 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168749877 I have to admit that I did not know very much about illegal immigration before this lecture, and probably still don’t even after. I think illegal immigration is a hard topic to discuss at times. Its hard to tell where I stand on illegal immigration. As Dr. Richards explained, it is affecting our economy. These illegal immigrants will do jobs that many Americans will and do not want to perform. They will also do a job for less of a pay than many Americans. In some cases, for us, it is positive (like the jobs that many of us do not want to do). In other cases it is negative (the jobs that we want but they get because they will take less pay). What I don’t get about the whole “illegal immigrants” phrase is that everyone living here “legally” right now came form some body who migrated from some where else. So doesn’t that make us all illegal immigrants then? I do not see how there could ever be a stop to illegal immigration either. Just because some thing is drawn out on paper does not mean people will follow by it. I think that it is inevitable that it is going to happen, and will continue to happen no matter what barriers are put in. The part of these 2 lectures that stood out the most was the video of Jorge Munoz. What he does for those people is very kind. I was truly touched when I watched that video. It makes me think about what I could do to help out people who are in situations like that. He really is an “angel”. The way that he did not even know how much money he was spending to buy and cook food for these people, and how he said that he gets paid by seeing those people smile, is amazing. Most of these people are here to make money to support heir family that they left behind. They take coming here, as an opportunity to have a better life and some of us are ignorant enough to think that these people are lazy. It is sad to see that some of these people are living on the streets and homeless, and do not even eat their first meal until 9 at night because they are out looking for a job all day. That is not lazy what so ever. I could not believe that the lady had the Hispanics keep out sign on her door. It was unreal to me. It was shocking to learn that it is mostly about business rather than a political issue. I do not know where I stand on this topic and I don’t think I will ever know where I stand on it, but watching this lecture helped explain a lot of the questions I’ve once had regarding why people do it, and why people have problems with it. Fri, 1 Jul 2011 17:47:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-13-immigration/#IDComment168749877 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167335765 I was too happy that Dr Richards did a lecture on LGBT, as you can see in my comment. Im glad that you explained that parallel between sexual orientation and race. It pointed out a lot of the similarities i now notice between the two. I also support gay rights. through high school I had a friend who was gay. Up until that point i regretfully admit that I did not fully support them but I just did not care for them. Now after becoming friends with her I can see that homosexual relationships are just like heterosexual relationships. I think that having this friend that was gay helped me discover that there are no differences. Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:49:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167335765 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167333935 Again, another very interesting lecture. For part one of the lecture I wanted to talk about how I though it was kind of cool to see that by 2050 the US is predicting to be almost half of non-European immigrants. I can see how that could be true. It was interesting to see the different encounters most of us have had with people of other races with the statistics that Dr. Richards showed during lecture. The statistic that was most surprising to me was the one where it asked “How familiar are you with a language (besides English) that is native to one or some of your ancestors?” and 13.5 percent are fluent. I thought that more than half of the people would only be able to speak English. For part 2 of the lecture I could not believe the first information slide; the one with the different laws about homosexuals. Like homosexuals are put in prison for doing sexual acts, and in some places it is just illegal altogether to be homosexual. I do not see why people care if other people are homosexual. I feel that anyone should be free to love who they want when they want. When Dr. Richards gave the statistics of the soc 119 class of fall 2009’s answers on opinions on gay marriage, I was delightfully surprised that 59 percent supported marital rights for gays and lesbians. I think that the society is becoming more open to same sex acts and marriage. I see homosexuality expressed in many different parts of the media lately, which I think is helping the issues. To me people fear what they do not know about and that is why I believe people, in a sense, fear homosexuals. At some degree I can see why some people who are religious do not agree with homosexuality, and that is because they were raised to believe their religion and follow it. When Dr. Richards had the three groups of 2 people walking across the front, and 2 groups were “gay” and the one was “straight” and explained how maybe people are just paying more attention to the gay groups made a lot of sense. I never double take or even stare at a heterosexual couple, but I will admit that I do look longer or even double take on a homosexual couple. I do not have any problem with people being gay but it just is not something I see every day. The part I like about this lecture was how Dr Richards talked about whether or not being gay was a choice. I personally do not think that it is a choice. I think that a person is born either gay or straight and cannot help how they feel towards a specific sex. What really surprised me is the study done on the prisoners. I was shocked with the results that some men who were categorized as homophobes got erections watching gay male sex. Im glad that there was a lecture on LGBT. I think that it needs to become talked about much more. Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:43:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/26/week-7-%e2%80%93-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt/#IDComment167333935 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165936139 I never looked at the experiment with the baby dolls as showing majority and minority and symbolizing "good". Reading your explanation on that really helped me realize what that experiment really was trying to prove, and did prove. I too have always grown up having white baby dolls and white barbies. When I was younger, but not too young to know the differences between black and white, I asked my mom why there was only one black barbie in the aisle, and why there was only one colored disney character at the time. Its interesting to see that things like this occur at such a young age and people may not even realize it. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:28:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165936139 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165892783 4 When Dr. Richards said how it turns into paranoia I could tell exactly what he was talking about. Its crazy to see that stuff like this can cause someone to become mentally ill. Lastly, I wanted to talk about the video of the 101 year old female being beaten and mugged. The response video of the white male was insane to me. How does he know that it was a black male, and why is a he making an assumption like that. They did not say it was by a BLACK 30 year old man, because they do not know if it was done by a black 30 year old man. In all this was a very interesting lecture! Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:57:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165892783 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165892627 3 ”. As the video went on and they showed a few colored children picking up the white dolls when they asked which doll looks good and then the black dolls when asked which one looks bad was shocking. I could not believe the results that they revealed. I can not believe that we are exposed to differences in race, and what is stereotyped as good and bad, when we are so young. Its interesting to see how people feel about other races. The Asian supremacist and black supremacists was really interesting to me. The one with Kamau Kambon was unreal. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:56:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165892627 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165892432 2 It shows the stereotypes we have. Then he explained that they are behind much of the computer programs and internet and all the things like that, and it made me realize how stereotypical I am. Next when they showed the video of the teenage girls talking about a standard that we have about what is good hair and what is bad hair was not so shocking. I am white female and I grew up with brown curly hair that I constantly had to put mousse or gel in just to keep it under control. I always though the “good hair” was long blonde straight hair, and manageable hair. Pretty much hair that you did not have to do anything to and it looks nice. I used to have this nice, thick, long, curly, brown hair, and I have dyed it bright blonde and straighten it almost everyday just so that I can look like the “standard”. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:56:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165892432 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165892291 1 The first part of this lecture really opened my eyes to the different stereotypes “whites” have of other races. When Dr. Richards explained that a church was taking young boys of color and teaching them what to say and do if they are pulled over by cops was such a surprise. Like, why just the black children? Why not whites too? I just do not get why today’s society is like this where black people are put under more of a microscope. I do not know of statistics or anything like that but I just do not get it. Then when he played the Asian Evasion clip it made me laugh. I do have to admit that my first thought is those Jackie Chan movies and the karate movies, which is horrible. (the rest of my entry is after jackjones5024) Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:55:37 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/22/week-6-%e2%80%93-lesson-10-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-people-of-color-stages-1-4/#IDComment165892291 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164323017 The first thing I wanted to talk about was when Dr. Richards explained that white people do not talk about race. Where did white people learn to not talk about it? I know that I personally do not talk about it or even really like to talk about it, but where, and at what age did we learn to not talk about it? I think that it has a lot to do with the many issues that we have today, just because we, white people, just do not talk about it at all. We do have the fear that we are going to say the wrong thing, but what exactly is the “wrong thing” to say? I just do not understand that. And, those two girls, unbelievable. I was speechless when I saw that. This lecture, when Dr. Richards got into detail about the final stages, was really interesting to me. First, I wanted to bring up how I always find myself questioning if I should write certain things on the blog responses so that I do get labeled as being racist. I guess it does go along the lines of what Dr. Richards explained as being the wrong or right thing to say in a situation. I have never thought much of race and the color of peoples skin and I definitely do not want to be called a racist. When he brought up feel guilty, at first I was one of those people that said I do not feel guilty. Then when he started explaining it I realized I do feel guilty sometimes, and have in the past. One example, which was the most recent, was while watching one of Dr. Richards lecture. It was the lecture on how we all have most of the materialistic things, and that we are supporting slavery by having them. I started feeling guilty after that, but then I realized that because of them I am able to take this class online, and type this response on my computer. I guess slavery started from racism of people who were “different”. I do see how white people are kept in that stage because I have witnessed people of color saying the exact line on the slide “its about time you struggled”. When the reversal stage was explained I can see why it happens. Why would people was to feel any discomfort. Being comfortable is something that everyone wants to feel. Discomfort is an unwanted feeling. I am a person that runs from confrontation because it is not a comfortable situation to me, so I try to stay away from anything that would make me feel that way. This lecture really opened my eyes to a lot of the issues we go through today. A lot of events that have happened through out my life are starting to make a lot of sense. Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:10:53 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164323017 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164322935 I have never ever used a washcloth when taking a shower. I use either a bar of soap or body wash, depending on what I have in the shower. So count me in the dark on this one. I have never heard of the “white people smell like wet dogs” either. As a white, female, I do not smell like a wet dog nor do I ever think I have smelled like a wet dog, and I have never had anyone tell me I smell like that, so that one was pretty shocking to hear! Its weird, no one in my family has ever used a washcloth, so I guess I was just raised that way? Haha, who knows! Sometimes it’s funny to hear thing random things people come up with. Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:10:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-3-4/#IDComment164322935 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163004396 Like you i have found myself going back and forth the first 2 stages of identifying my culture. Sometimes I am really aware of the differences between cultures and other times it does not even cross my mind. Also, I had pretty much the same reaction to the Dave Chapelle skit, and the music video. I never thought that white people could or even would be stereotyped as being nerdy/geeky. I never tried putting myself in another persons shoes to even think about the way other people see white people. Being white this lecture really helped open my eyes to the many things that I did not even know about my own culture. Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:43:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163004396 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163003548 This lecture really opened my eyes to a lot of things. When Dr. Richards first started to discuss how we identify ourselves. He said a bunch of groups he could identify with, for example, “Pennsylvanian”. I thought about a class I took last spring semester where you have to write down ten groups that you could identify your self with. I think back now and I never wrote down that I identified as white. I wrote down things like athlete, Christian, female, and student, but nothing with race. I never thought to identify myself as part of a group called “white people”. I always identified myself with things I was involved in, never really any physical features. When he went on to talk about the racial identity stages I was really surprised that there are stages like that. Like certain questions you ask yourself while seeing something could mean that you are in a specific stage. Also, that different actions you take could mean you are in a specific stage. It really shocked me. I must say I was, prior to this lecture, in the “Pre-Awakening” stage. I never really put much thought to race and “whiteness”. I thought about the differences in race but never thought about “what it means to be white”. I never thought that it shaped who I was in this world compared to others. Like Dr. Richards said, after this lecture I think I am transitioning into the “awakening” stage. I have always known that there is obviously a difference but I never thought about a “white culture” and how it has shaped me to be the person I am today. I have never been in a minority situation so it is hard to tell how I feel about the white culture and other cultures. I do think that we need to learn more, and also be open to learn more about other cultures. I feel like, since this class started, I have learned a lot about different cultures and races and I am glad because I never would have gotten to learn the good things about other cultures. One last thing that interested me in this lecture was, the many clips Dr. Richards showed us. The comedians had so many jokes about race and the white comedian even said “crackers”. I have watched those comedians on the TV and I know I have listened to them saying stuff like that and just joking a lot about races, but I never really thought much of it. I always laughed at those jokes. I will admit I do still think it is funny but now that I know more about cultures I am more aware of what they are talking about and how sometimes comedians do put down people of other races and different cultures. In all great lecture!! I learned a lot of things about myself, and my culture! Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:38:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/07/week-5-%e2%80%93-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-%e2%80%93-white-people-stages-1-2/#IDComment163003548 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160715251 Along the same lines as you, since this class has started i have really been thinking about the many difference that i do witness on a daily basis. I have to say that it is unbelievable. i do agree that people are different all over the world, and every each individual is different from one another even if they are of the same race. I just do not understand why people have to be treated unfair and unequal because of the way they look or the religion they are or how much money they have. Last week I also stated how there are people in the world who are living off of practically nothing and that I realized that after the one lecture. I just wish everyone else in the country, or even the world, could unserstand and learn that. Wed, 8 Jun 2011 19:03:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160715251 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160713675 Like every other week, this was a very interesting lecture. I think it was one of the most interesting ones I have seen since this class started. The first thing I wanted to discuss was when Dr. Richards played king of the mountain. It just showed me the many reasons as to why there was inequality and why there still is inequality today, where ever you go. How he got up on the table and said well now since your black, and your Jewish I am going to make you step farther away from the table, but since you are a part of my family, or white then you can stand closer to the table or even come up on the table with me. I feel like it just showed that when ever any one could come close to having more power than the whites will just “push” them back farther. It has always been like that since the beginning with slavery of blacks. Whites put restrictions on what other races could do, where they could go, and if they could vote or not. It was interesting when Dr. Richards pointed out that when black people from the south migrated north, white people did not give them the same things that they had and received. I could not believe that it actually was like that. Also how the white people moved out of the city into the suburbs and basically took all of the money with them so the city fell apart when the black people came. I just don’t think that it is fair at all and I can not believe that is how it really was. It made me so mad to read on the one slide that 67,000 GI Bills were given and only 100 of them were to people of color. That’s unbelievable. When the question came up about why some people go to college and the two options of free will where people choose the majority of their actions and thoughts, or 
determinism, where, people’s actions & thoughts are shaped by factors and forces largely outside of their control. I think that it is a little of both. I think that sometimes it is factors that are uncontrollable to the individual and other times I think a person chooses to not work to his or her full potential and that was makes his or her life not as successful as he/she would like. It was surprising to me that in part 2 of the lecture for this week, that the percentages for the statement “success is mostly a result of hard work”, were similar between the different races. Then when it got into college grads and then to post college grads it shocked me that the percentage went down. The percentages were also very interesting about racism in prisons, and that mainly the highest percentage was whites. Great lecture!!! It was very interesting this week and kept my attention. Wed, 8 Jun 2011 18:57:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/06/02/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality/#IDComment160713675 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159188268 After reading your response it helped me to realize the difference between races and sports. Like how you said the soccer players spend more of their time on playing soccer outside rather than being in school. It brought up an experience I have because I play field hockey. When you see “foreigners” playing for an American college team they are usually the best player on the team. Well, in the areas that they come from, they sleep, eat, and live to play field hockey. They go to school together, but devote most of their time to sports. That’s why when they come over seas to play field hockey they take much easier classes, and sometimes don’t even major in anything, they will play one year and go back to their country. That is just in most cases though, there are people who stay and go to school and graduate. Sat, 4 Jun 2011 16:23:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159188268 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159187053 I thought that this lecture was very interesting. The first thing was the differences in family income between races and how Hispanics, Native Americans, and Blacks and far less than Asians and Whites. The thing I do not really get is, Why? Why are incomes that way? Why do Whites and Asians have better income, and more money to provide for their families? It seems like no matter how much people talk about everyone being equal in America. I think that shows that everyone and everything is not equal here. Along with that topic, I did not get the “worth” of each race. Why are certain people worth more just because they look differently, or are from a different part of the world? I get that other places do not have as much money as USA but if these people are living here, it should all be the same. I just don’t understand that stuff. Another thing that was really interesting to me was the different sports each race is dominant in and not dominant in. I always wondered why “colored” people did not play ice hockey. Then when Dr. Richards explained the money aspect and how you can play basket ball for free made a lot of sense to me. I remembered the beginning of the lecture when he explained the incomes. Also, how black people live in warmer areas, and hockey is played on ice in colder areas, by kids learning how to play on ponds and lakes that are frozen over. I think its cool to see how climate can change the race of people that play the sport. I thought it was funny that Dr. Richards pointed out that there is a myth about black people having an extra bone or muscle which makes them able to jump higher and run faster because I always believed that. I was told one time when I was younger that, that was the case, and have always thought that. I thought it was crazy that 99.99% of genome is the same in everyone. When Dr. Richards talked about the socio-psycho cognitive explanation I do not completely agree. I do not think that our cause of inequality is because of the choices we make. I think it partly has something to do with the decisions we make but a lot to do with the expectations many of us have of one another. For example, Asians are not expected to drop out of school as much as what, lets say, a Hispanic or black individual. If we held everyone up to the expectation to stay in school graduate, go off to college, then I think more people of those races would do that. I think it has a lot to do with the socio-structural explanation. You see more people living in poverty dropping out of school, and making “bad” decisions. Teacher who teach in an area of poverty aren’t being paid as much as teachers in a wealthy area, so they probably have less motivations for the students. That’s just my opinion. Sat, 4 Jun 2011 16:18:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality/#IDComment159187053 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment157954392 I also do not know very much about other peoples culture. Like you, I too have not been exposed to it. I went to a school that was predominantly white, and majority are jewish. I have grown up mainly around 2 religions, christianity and judaism, and I am "christian" but do not considered faithful to the religion because I do not attend church or anything like that, so I really have no exposure to anything. In your example about getting on a plane and seeing a middle eastern man getting on to, I can completely relate. My first flight after 9/11, happened to have a middle eastern man boarding and I got really nervous. Not thinking that this man could have even been born in America with the same beliefs as I have, and doesn't "hate" all Americans. Tue, 31 May 2011 20:58:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/05/25/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism/#IDComment157954392