Posting #7

I feel that by doing my fieldwork on teens in Joliet, I am giving people a better outlook on them other than the typical stereotypes. I think I will give Joliet as a city a better name all together. Although some of the negatives will be brought out, it helps to show that its not perfect, but its also not as bad as people think it is. I know a lot of people in my class have probably never even heard of Joliet and if they have, it might mot have been good. Im giving the class both the good and bad outlooks on the city, instead of the usual bad that is heard. By doing this fieldwork I have also lean more things about Joliet and i have lived in the city for 18 yrs.

survey

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=iul3qvtp6tccqxy550105

groundwork activity

The first time I actually visited my subculture would be when I became a teenager I guess. In 8th grade I started to tell the differences in some teens. There were some that were into school and sports and then there were those who were caught up in gangs and were troublemakers. At this time was when I was finally understanding what gangs really were and who claimed what. A lot of people even as young as 8th grader were caught up in these gangs because of where they live. It was just hard to believe that come people were involved in this type of stuff because as friends they were all really nice people. I felt sort of confused as to why people would get involved with the things that were going on. A lot of these people were good people, some of them used to be on sports teams and so on. I didn't really like how people outside of joliet looked down upon all of the teens and kids from Joliet because of the situation that some of the teens were involved in. If there was a Joliet teen with braids arrested for something now other people are looking down on all Joliet teens with braids and making assumptions. I am very much an insider because I have lived in Joliet since birth until now. I have been to school with both kinds of teens, the good and the bad. I have been friends with both kinds. I have been in situations where one kind affected another. The way I will be considered an outsider is for the simple fact that I havent been living there the last few months

Posting #6 Annotation Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography
“Teens Held In Shooting Of Three In Joliet”. Jun 06, 2008. SJ-R.com. Feb 18, 2009.
< http://www.sj-r.com/archive/x120333499/Teens-held-in-shooting-of-three-in-Joliet >

In this article it talks about how a 3 million dollar bond was set for two teens charged in a shooting. In this shooting a 7 yr-old and his two uncles were wounded. The two teens, 19 yr old Justin Campbell and 18 yr-old Mark Bew were charged with three counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. The shooting took place May 21 in a Joliet housing complex. The two men appeared before Will County circuit judge Sarah Jones. Four gang members were seen by witnesses getting into an argument with the two brothers, at least 7 rounds from a handgun was fired by one of the men. The 7 yr-old was striked in the chest while on the couch sitting with his mother.

I think this article helps my argument that not all the teens follow down the good path. Some of the teens do get caught up in their surrounds and follow down the wrong path. Both of the boys that were involved in this went to my school. This leads me to more questions to ask teens that have followed down their paths and whom live in the neighborhood that came from. “How did you get in the position that you’re in now?” and “Do you think the neighborhood you lived in shaped you into who you are today?” are two questions that come to mind when reading this article.

Velasco, Catherine Ann. “Teens Strive To Get People To The Polls” Oct. 02, 2008. Icirr.org. Feb. 18, 2009
< http://icirr.org/en/node/3176 >

The article talks about how two Joliet teens, Arley Castillo and Alejandra Meidna, both 14 yrs-old, stood outside at Joliet’s Union Station asking one question “Are you registered to vote?” The goal was for them to get people registered to vote. The girls were two of twenty-eight volunteers at Joliet West and Joliet Central High Schools. They went to stores, festivals, parades, the train station and door-to-door to get people to register. They didn’t take sides or give their opinion on who should win, they just wanted people to register. The project reached its goal to register 20,000 new voters and hoped to get 50,ooo immigrants to voters to the polls. Another goal was to get teens like these to girls into politics at an early age.

This article helps with my argument that some Joliet teens are doing things with their lives to stay out of trouble. This shows the opposite of the stereotypes that Joliet teens are troublemakers or that they aren’t doing anything with their lives. These teens are only fourteen and are already getting involved in politics. They are not letting their surroundings determine who they are and what path they go down. I think this definitely helps my argument that Joliet shouldn’t be judged based on where they come from.

Box #18

My none physical focal points are the ideas that joliet teens arent as bad as everyone thinks they are and the fact that they shouldnt be judged based on the neighborhoods they come from. my physical focal points will be the actual neighborhoods they come from. The good and bad neighborhoods are both good focal points in my fieldsite. Im hoping that while focusing on the bad neighborhood, I find out that the teens there arent as bad.

visting a place in my past

When I first came to Muncie Indiana is was afraid of having to live here. On the four hour drive here from Joliet Illinois all I saw were fields, grass, and trees. There was never any point where we passed big buildings or anything that looked like where I came from. I had been told before that Muncie was basically in the middle of nowhere, but I was shocked when I actually traveled through the town and found a mall and a lot of similar stores and restaurants that we had in Illinois. But there were also some stores or places that are big here, that I have never heard of. Cheeseburger in Paradise for example is a very well known and loved restaurant in Indiana and I have never heard of it until now. Even since living in Muncie for months now, I still have not seen any big buildings or anything that would compare to Chicago. Although I live on campus and not in the neighborhoods of Muncie, it seems as though there aren't many oppurtunities  for people here in Muncie as there would be in big cities , such as Chicago.

Posting #5

I plan to spend time interviewing and hanging out with the teens in Joliet. I really dont need to spend more time in the actual fieldsite, but more time with the actual people from the fieldsite. I do need to do more academic research on my subculture. But overall I feel that I have spent enough time in my fieldsite. Interviews and academic research are the aspects that I must spend most of my time on.

I feel that it is both a enthography and for entertainment. I feel that the interviews were very effective because they were people who were actually involved and lived through this and they were very passionate about it. The interviews really help the story move along better and they give a better insight about their subculture. I feel like their passion about what they did made them a subculture. At first it was surfing, then it was skate boarding, but it was a big part of their life, and they did it no matter what. Even when people looked down on skateboarding they continued to do it, and they did it wherever they could. I feel like their love a passion for skateboarding made them into a subculture They were very serious about what they did, it was their life.

Posting #3

I cant make any conclusions about my subculture at the moment but I do feel that the beliefs, rituals, and language and so on is something that is only among Joliet teens. Other cities may have the same problems and their teens may have their own slang, but i'm sure its different from Joliet. I do feel that if some joliet teens were placed in a different area then their behaviors would be different, but thats the whole reason of researching them is to show how the city shapes the behaviors and decisions of these teens.

Box #12

Privileges through my own efforts:
Having a car
Getting into college
Having a lot of friends
Drive


Privileges w/out effort:
Go party
Hang with friends
Shop
Wear nice things
Have expensive jewelry
Get education
living in a nice home
Say what I want
Go where I want
Having a close family
Get tattoos & piercings
Get into rated R movies
Work

I dont feel that my privileges will affect my field research because of the fact that I am an insider and most of the people in my fieldsite have the same privileges as I do.