"Children often see things with amazing clarity because their minds are fresh and the world is new and wondorous to them. A child's mindfulness, however, is indescriminate, as if one kind of grasp
can get hold of everything. As adults we learn to be mindful in ways that suit the things we encounter" - Michael Schwalbe, "Sociological Mindfulness"
I know that we all just talked about this in class today, but do you actually believe that as we get older, that we become less sociologically mindful, less observant, or just think less deeply? When we were asked if we thought about things such as "why did this happen?" "Why/ how did we end up where we are now?" most of us had raised our hands. To me, that was not a big shocker. We are teenagers, that is a fact, we are young and always questioning almost all of the things about the world around us. What would've been a better way to "experiment" or test Schwalbe's theory would be to ask that question to some adults, are they sociologically mindful? Do they sometimes pose the same questions that we do? What is their definition of being socially observant? How deeply do they observe the others around them?
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I think it would be a great idea to ask every adult you know/meet this week some questions about how much they have analyzed the societal factors influencing their life or their world. Think about some of the common questions you and your friends reflect about as teenagers and see how many adults have done the same and if so how much.
ReplyDeleteI only stated my opinion in school that a lot of adults seem to do this sort of analysis or reflection LESS as adults, and I also believe everyone does it a different amount and probably in different ways. I know as a teacher of sociology, or just being a teacher in general, I have a job that almost forces me to do it daily. I have many friends who seem to have decreased their sociological analysis as they get consumed with their work, their hobbies, their families, paying the bills, etc. But I would really like to see what you can find out by just doing an informal little survey of adults you meet. I will try to do the same over the next week.
Ok, will do, when do you want it by?
ReplyDeleteShould have emailed or posted to my blot the response....I didn't see that til just now!!! Sorry....wanna still do it, then go for it for next Friday.
ReplyDeleteYes, sure
ReplyDelete