Eyeopening Semester!!

From: Jessica Casarez
Date: 04 May 2004
Time: 18:17:15 -0700
Remote Name: acd203pc05.csusm.edu

Comments

I enrolled in this course because I thought it would be interesting to learn about families and relationships. Before this class I had never really stopped and looked at families and the roles that each gender plays in the family. I saw that there was more divorce and it seemed to me that families were deteriorating, but I didn’t understand why. I am from the stereotypical “idealic” family (mom-home-, dad-work-, both- never divorced-, brother, dog, med-upper class income) and thought that this type of family is what everyone should have, but again, did not know why I thought that. This class really uncovered a lot of my own stereotypes and where they come from. When we learned about the monolithic family form, I thought it was funny that it described my family, and that it was an actual family myth. Now in my everyday life I really pay attention to the way people act and why they act a certain way. It is just so interesting to see how much we really are socialized by society and it exciting to break away from the stereotypes. One section that I found interesting was the section on courting and dating. I found that Whyte’s assessment of the “marketplace learning viewpoint” was so true. I also thought that Peplau and Cambells discussion of power in dating relationships was thought provoking. A lot of the concepts and ideas in the book and in the lectures really made me think about the way I act and helped me to pick apart things that I would normally overlook in everyday life. The section that I wanted to know more about was the topic of child abuse. Because I work at a job where I am surrounded by kids all day, this topic was really close to my heart. The website www.childhelpusa.org, is really helpful for people that may want to report child abuse or for those kids and teens that want help in their own situations. It gives step by step assistance on how to deal with the problem. Overall, I have taken a lot of the information given to me this semester and have opened my eyes to observing more of the world instead of sticking to the ideals that society feeds me. Thanks to Prof. Weigt for a wonderful semester!!!