"Stories We Tell Ourselves About Ourselves" reading

I truly enjoyed reading Margaret Carlisle Duncan’s 1998 article entitled “Stories We Tell Ourselves About Ourselves”.  It was a wonderful combination of stories filled with thick description and explanations of the important elements of these stories.  I found the method of Duncan’s (1998) writing particularly effective, as it captured my attention and spread the analytical and narrative throughout the paper.

There were two things within Duncan’s (1998) paper that struck me personally.  The first was her story about Steven.  Steven was a new student in her class, joining in the middle of her sixth grade fall term.  He was short, skinny, had brown eyes and hair, and looked very average (Duncan, 1998, p. 95).  What struck me so much about this story was the fact that, in some ways, I was Steven.  I too was a new student in the middle of my sixth grade fall semester.  I too was short, skinny, had brown eyes and hair, and looked very average.  While I did not have a particular problem with dodge ball performance, I did have a slight accent and dress funny.  I was moving from rural Missouri to sub-urban Ohio.  Ohio kids listened to rock and rap, while I listened to country music.  I wore a belt and tucked in my shirt, a point that was particularly the focus of ridicule until I finally caved to the pressure and changed.

Her description of the cafeteria line and lunchroom particularly disturbed me.  While, thankfully, no one was grabbing at my crotch, I was tortured for being new and different.  I ate lunch alone for my first several weeks.  One particularly viscous group of children would throw food at me and ask me vulgar questions those first months.  While Duncan was on the outside looking in, I believe she captured Steven’s experience and created a true story (Duncan, 1998).

I also found Duncan’s (1998) approach of a hierarchy of voices to be an interesting technique.  I have never considered the importance of taking the role of the “Other” in a narrative (Duncan, 1998).  It emphasizes that most important ability, empathy.  Without the ability to share the feelings of others, it is difficult or impossible to move to a higher level of thought.  It reminds me of the important developmental step of children, when they realize that their actions have consequences on other feelings. 

"The Flight of the Millennials in Higher Education" Reading

Michele Monaco and Malissa Martin's 2009 article, "The Flight of the Millennials in Higher Education", is an interesting interpretation on the impact of the parent’s generation on Millennial’s college experience.  The main discussion focuses on the differences between Millennials whose parents are from the Boomer generation or from Generation X.  While Boomer parents are involved in their child’s education, Generation X parents have taken it to the next step.  Monaco and Martin (2009) state that “They want immediate access to all the data to ensure that the institution is a sound investment of time and money.” (p. 25).  I disagree with the level of involvement that Generation X has in their child’s college education.  For many young adults, this is their first step into independence.  It is important for them to learn to achieve on their own and to make their own decision without parental influence. 

Personally I did not agree with the choices for societal influence for the Millennial generation.  I have never seen Prince William as a popular icon.  I don’t even know the movie “Three Men and a Baby” (Monaco and Martin, 2009).  Personally, the entire classification of an entire generation into a single neat category has always bothered me.  While each generation does share certain experiences, I see very little that is productive about labeling everyone born from 1981 – 2000 with the same characteristics.  As a Millennial, I feel that we have started to move past the need to stereotype.  While it is important to realize that there are an increasing number of parents who demand access to their young adult’s personal records, I believe that the educational experience should continue to focus on meeting the needs of the students rather than the demands of the parents.

"The Promise of Sociology" Reading

The article “The Promise of Sociology” by C. Wright Mills (1959) is filled with insight on how sociology can explain the experiences of both the individual and the organization.  I believe that his article can best be summed up with his statement that “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both” (Mills, 1959, p. 1).  Prior to reading this, I don’t believe I have considered how my life has been affected by the history of my society, seeing nearly everything in terms of ‘troubles’ rather than ‘issues’.  Mills’ (1959) example of war as being both a ‘trouble’ and an ‘issue’ is particularly relevant to my life.  Were it not for the Iraq War, my life would be drastically different.   I may have not met my wife, joined the military, had the financial means to make many of the decisions that I have, or even had the same values that my experiences have instilled in me.

Perhaps Mills (1959) most disturbing statement is that “’Man’s chief danger’ today lies in the unruly forces of contemporary society itself, with its alienating methods of production, its enveloping techniques of political domination, its international anarchy – in a word, its pervasive transformations of the very ‘nature’ of man and the conditions and aims of his life.” (p. 8).  It can be overwhelming to think of the ways in which the uncontrollable force of the organization can assert itself on the individual.  It seems to me that the organization pushes success, achievement, production and consumption above those things which are truly important, such as morality.  I think you can also see the push of contemporary society in the actions within sports today.  From the prevalence of illegal performance enhancers, the lack of loyalty in college football coaches, and NFL sideline tripping, sport seems to mirror our society with the approval of success at any cost that is, in light words, disappointing.

Introduction - Welcome to Anthony's Sport and Society Blog!

Hello and welcome to Anthony's Sport and Society Blog!  This blog was created for the Sport and Society course that I am currently participating in.  Before I share my opinions and reflections on the various articles we will be discussing throughout the course, I would like to introduce myself and give a bit of my background so that you, the reader, can better understand my viewpoint.

My name is Anthony.  The title of this blog has probably given that away.  I am a kinesiology student in my first year of graduate school.  I am currently running head first through my program and will finish at the end of the summer.  Due to the fast pace I have set for my Master's program, I plan on doing a project rather than a thesis.  My specialization within kinesiology is motor development and my current project subject is the change in Fitts' law due to aging, though I am just in the planning phase of my project.

While my academic life has been very demanding, there are many things that define me as a person and have a great impact on how I see the world around me.  I have been married to my wife for 2 1/2 years and we now have a beautiful 4 1/2 month old daughter.  While many people today do not agree with marrying at a young age, it was definitely the right decision for me and my family is my life.  I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and work with the young men in the youth program at our church, as well as serving as their Scoutmaster in their Scouting program.

I also have a 20 hour graduate assistantship doing administrative, teaching, and research work.  I work part-time at the library on campus as a graduate supervisor of the circulation desk.  I've worked at least part-time since I was fifteen and can't imagine not being busy all the time.  I joined the Army Reserves when I was a senior in high school, spent a year in Iraq, and am currently a Sergeant with my unit.

While I do love sports, they have taken a backseat to my busy life.  While in middle and high school I was a competitive fencer.  For those that do not know, fencing is a form of sport sword fighting.  My weapon was the foil, which requires both extreme speed and accuracy.  I was nationally competitive in my sport and competed in over a dozen North American Cups and multiple National Championships.  I traveled to California, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and many other states to compete.  While many people think that only rich people fence, that was not my case.  In return for the fees for my instruction, flights, and registration, I helped to clean and maintain the club I fenced at.  The costs that were not covered by this were paid using the money I made working part-time at a pizza joint.  Fencing was a way for me to escape from the pressure of school and I miss not only the thrill of competition, but also the friendships that I made.

To be perfectly honest, I am not sure how this course will related to my research interests.  My research interests in motor development are more related to the ergonomic side, as well as the fringe of the sports world.  The research that I have considered that involve sport are related to the less popular sporting events such as fencing and crew.  While I do not think that this course will directly help me in my research, I believe that the main benefits I will receive in this course are in the realm of improving my academic reading skills, academic writing skills, and analyzing society through sport and other means.  I enjoy looking at life through many different lenses and if this course helps me to see issues from another's perspective and to realize how sport is a reflection of the greater issues in society, it will achieve my goals.