A Jeanne Site
A Jeanne Site
California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Latest update: December 20, 1999
Curran or
Takata.
- 0914: The System Isn't Listening
- 3776: The Structure of Linking and Learning
- 4455: Plans to Work on Future Projects
- 4871: Politicalization of Agency Structures
- 5127: Establishing a Dialog by Asking Questions
- 6723: Shared Resources on Race Relations
- 6723: Authentication of Learning
- 7236: Establishing a Dialog by Responding to Affect
- 7236: Computer Literacy and Plans to Work with Support Group
"Every Wednesday at 9:00 pm at the World Stage, in Leimert Park, artists gather to share their life stories in the form of poetry. Currently PBS is creating a documentary on race relations, I've been told by one of the regular poets, a friend of mine Dee Black. Everyone is welcome and the cost of entry is $3.00. People usually meet there between 7:30 and 8:30 because the house gets filled quickly."
"jeanne, i'm looking forward to working with u"
4455 is going to work on the conivct criminology-founded support group next semester. Work was already begun this semester.
"Hello. I didn't mean to sound so harsh or bitter. I definitely think I have a lot to learn from this class and I thank you for being so honest with me. After reading your comments, I have decided that I will resubmit assignments 2-4."
"This reminds me, as I review it, of how difficult it was sometimes beginning these learning dialogs. It's so easy to scold instead of reaching out. We have to work at it."
0914: The System Isn't Listening
On September 27, 0914 wrote:
"I remember my first semester year at CSUDH. I enrolled in a class where the teacher was not very accommodating to my needs. After I received my grade for the class, I took it upon myself to file a petition for a grade change with the head of the department. To this day, no action has been taken for a change of grade and my grade remains what it was."jeanne's response:
A part of the Habermasian hope for public discourse is that conflict among the various interest groups can be resolved by active listening in good faith to all validity claims. The refusal of the system to hear your claim and those of other students is a mark of structural violence, which tends to build anger and resentment and to make peaceful solutions to our conflict more difficult to see and more difficult to enact. It is good that you expected the system to hear you in good faith, and we hope to see that it does so in the future.".
3776: The Structure of Linking and Learning
On December 20, 3776 wrote:
"Thank you for the opportunity and freedom to exercise self-discipline. This semester was truly one of learning, and I owe this to the structure of your class. As a direct result of formal and informal interaction, I was able to perceive the common thread that binds law, sociology, psychology and philosophy together. I was also able to see that structural violence can begin as theory."jeanne's response:
"Good observation. It is a good beginning to writing your report of learning. One of our emphases is finding common theoretical threads that link disciplines together in their search to explore the major social issues confronting us. Next step: provide a thread that we could see you follow that way. Also give us an example of the formal and the informa interactions that worked. We might have missed something, you know."
4871: Politicalization of Agency Structure
On November 23, 4871, 0592, 3776, and 6723 wrote:
Terry Moe is saying that government in general terms lays out a legislative framework for the good of the people. Interest groups "fill in the details" based on actual citizen consensus, providing specific ways in which imposed legislation be practiced. Government makes the rules (policy), while agencies make rules work (practice) so NO, agency decisions arent political."
"What about the informal structure and the special interest groups within the agency bureaucracy? Do you think the "attitude" of the welfare bureaucracy to those who need welfare benefits is "political"? I do. I think it's based on general attitudes towards individual achievement and competition for monetary success. How could we come up with such different answers to the question you posed, based on Moe's article. How about the difference in perspectives of different interest groups? Might this not be why Habermas insist that "legitimacy" requires that all validity claims be heard in good faith?"
"Measurement of learning must be interdependent (meaning there is a mutual exchange, reliability, and understanding of information between two parties) and interactive (two-way system (at least)of communication) or else there is little foundation on which to understand, assess, and criticize what and how a person is learning something. Eg. govt and citizen can be interdependent in that both support the other via income taxes, yet not actually be interactive if say tax hikes occur. "
"Good response. Interdependence means that the two remain open to each other's responses. Interactive means more direct working together. As in your example, our taxes are dependent upon tax hikes, but we don't get to have much to say about them."
"This is a question that I should have asked you last week, but it slipped my mind. I understood your discussion on planned obsolesence and I liked the way thatyou related your examples to purchasing products and then once the consumer has made a purchase the product is already outdated. I know that this goes with the topic of market failures, but how does planned obsolesence and perceived wants relate to agencies?"
"Good question. And I was gonna go watch a horror film with my husband. Fat chance! Nag me and I'll put it up. jeanneI don't remember exactly where we were at the time, but planned obsolescence and the engendering of perceived wants affect our normative expectations for success, and even for standard of living. Bombarded by this socially constructed network of needs, it's very hard for us to make out what our real wants and values are. Agency goals and policies are affected by this kind of identity crisis we are having as a society. Let me try to give you an example. In 1935, Robert K. Merton said that the three myths of American society are that : all the goodies are available to anybody, you can get the goodies by working hard, and the only thing you can do wrong is to stop working to get the goodies. He said they were MYTHS. And they are. Access isn't equal. Not even access to skill development. Some people will never be able to get some of those goodies no matter how hard they work. And maybe realizing that might be more productive than continual frustration and denial.
Yet today we have Welfare for Work which assumes that if these people really worked hard, and really kept trying they could have the goodies. Hogwash! That's one way such planned obsolescence affects agency work, through the values that are generally accepted in our society, even when they were called myths in 1935 by one of our greatest sociologists.
Does that help?? jeanne"
"Thanks, that example of the three myths and welfare to work really helped. It is true that not everyone will get the so called goods. I think that when I try to figure some of these concepts out, I should try to look for examples that may relate to my life or someone else's life and not things that are abstract. I would have probably understood the topic sooner."
Followed by same day message:
"Oh, yeah, this is just a reminder to put the question up. I forgot to tell you this in the previous message."
"Can't today. We have seven papers to submit tomorrow. But right after that. Your stuff goes up. jeanne"
I lied. It didn't go up until December 29, 1999. Sorry, 5127. I'll try to do better next semester. jeanne
"This class has definitely taught me computer literacy. I got my computer about two weeks before the semester started, and everything I've learned about navigation, sending e-mail has been a result of this class. Thanks for introducing me to a new method of learning. I'm looking forward to the support system you are helping us to build. Thanks for everything "
"We all learned a lot about using the new technology, didn't we? I hope we will make as much progress with our "support" groups. We'll make that a project for Love 1A. And you are very welcome."
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