H- Harris, India's Sacred Cow (461-469)

The sacred cow of India is a big thing for the people that live in India. It is one of the most sacred animals that live amongst the people. A photographer visiting India captured pictures of bony people that were starving nearly to death while they saw cows around them eating fruits and vegetables being sold by people in the market place. This shows how much their religion means to them. They would rather starve to death than to kill a cow and feed themselves. The cows will rummage through the city, eating all of the fresh fruits and vegetables in the market place while the people living on the street have to starve because of lack of money to buy food or clothing. I think this says a lot about how much we as humans take for granted. We take being fed every day and having clothes to wear for granted while other people in different countries do not have clothes, let alone food to feed themselves or their hungry families. This chapter has made me realize how much I take for granted, the things that I have or use in my everyday life. It makes me realize how blessed I am to to have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a loving family.

H- Gracey, Kindergarten As Academic Boot Camp (446-460)

In this article, a question was posed. “How do you react to the idea that the essence of the educational institution is training into conformity?” What can I say about that, well I guess it would be to an extent because it does mirror the real world. In school you have to follow the rules set by the administrator vice versa in real life, you have to follow the rules set by the law of the land (Constitution) and those set by the State you live in. There are consequences for breaking either although I think there are more rewards for good behavior in school than there are in the real world. There is also the uniforms, which are very military like. The school lunches very much to what you can get in the galley on base. There is a set schedule for everything as we go to school and boot camp in the military is the same. You rest when you are told and children have recess when they are told. In school we are expected to do our homework and learn certain subjects without questioning our figure of authority, which is the same as conducting drills without questioning your COC or Sgt. These, are examples of how schools train kids to conform; it’s there to help them get ready for the real world.

KW Exercise 11.4

1.Do you agree with this opinion?

If its the one made by the courts then yes. “The government may not coerce anyone to support or participate in religion or its exercise or otherwise act in a way that establishes a state religion or religious faith or tends to do so.” It is better off to stay on the opposite end or neutral side to show that government will follow the principles laid by the law of the land.

2. To put it plainly, a Symbolic Interactionist would say that the prayers said before each
class and in other school activities is a way that school officials of that particular school promote their religious beliefs on the students. I never saw that saying prayers before a football game as a bad thing but one might observe a team doing so and say, “…..So..does that mean they believe that a higher being is supposed to or is going to help them win this game? I thought this was a sport where individuals with a different set of skills come together as a team to compete and possibly win?”. Throwback to the Crusaders of the past.

3. Conflict Theorists would say that the courts decision was right in the fact that it holds steadfast to their core theory. That the social order is maintained by domination and power, rather than consensus and conformity