Subculture Essay/Youtube blog

Deafness Subculture

           Deafness is the inability to hear. Becoming deaf can occur for different people at different times and to different degrees, depending on people's circumstances. Within our society exists a community for the deaf with its attendant culture. The deaf culture is a subculture in our society. The deaf community does not necessarily include only the deaf; it is a group of people who consider themselves a part of the culture. Many in the deaf community want to demonstrate that although the deaf are different, they are also a part of mainstream society, not a divergence from it. They cannot stand discrimination against deaf people and want to encourage a positive attitude towards deafness, deaf people and deaf culture. The deaf community believes the essence of its subculture and ideology is to promote deafness as a difference, rather than a disability, though its exhibition of distinct communication, diversity, and behavior.

Communication

            Sign languages are the predominant means of  communication among the deaf. The ability to use and understand these language are central to deaf cultural identity in the community. With such languages, deaf people can form their own community, create their own subculture and show mainstream society that deaf people have their own unique languages and linguistic systems. Over 200 distinct sign languages are used worldwide. Sign language has its own grammatical structure distinct from written language. Even though sign language is primarily a way for deaf people to communicate with each other, it is also an universal language that can be understood by those who speak different spoken languages, such as English, French, Spanish, etc. In today’s society, sign languages are taught at many schools for deaf people, and courses in sign languages are offered at many public and private institutions as well. Students who wish to learn sign language will easily find it offered at many community centers, churches or other local organizations. To show the essence of the deaf subculture, the deaf utilize sign languages to reinforce the idea that deafness is not a disability, but a different way of expressing themselves.  

Inclass Essay: Sociology

Society is a group of people involved with each other. People interact and create a society where changes peoples’ choices on their future pathways. The ways we do things are based on the society we live in. Going to school, doing homework, living with parents, and making friends are influenced by the society. Nowadays, society plays a role in shaping our individual lives, which gives people sociological perspective, thinking about society differently.  An individual cannot change the society, but a group of individuals can create a society. Studying sociology, people have social imaginations. Because of sociological imagination, people see things socially and how they interact and influence each other. The Sociological Imagination article and Louise M. Rosenblatt article impact my perspective on literacy, education, learning, as well as college.

Literacy is about people read and write. Most people think that reading and writing are completely different, but in reality, they are interrelated. Before reading the article, I thought  reading and writing were not parallel. We do not need to read in order to write and write in order to read. But according to The Transactional Theory article, the interconnectedness of writing and reading helps us to become a better reader and writer. Writer “starts with a blank page” and reader “starts with written or printed text”.  People should know “the relationship between reading and writing signals an already-widespread recognition that these two kinds of linguistic activity are closely linked" (Rosenblatt). After reading the article and applying sociological imagination, I realized that writers discover the need to read in order to enlarge knowledge and experience. Readers write to record, express, and clarify ideas and feelings. In order to become a better reader or writer, one needs to do both at the same time.

Introduction

My name is Jonathan Kuo. I was born in Taiwan. I am 18 years old and I have a twin brother, Kenny. We went to Gunn High School in Palo Alto. We came to the US when we were 13. I had made a lot of friends since then. I had been living with my mom when I came here. We lived in Los Altos Hills. Once I graduated from high school, I moved to my grand aunt's house. She has a small apartment in Mountain View. My mom left for Taiwan afterwards.
I am in college because I want to follow my dream, to become a doctor. To make the dream come true, I need to earn a degrees in college and graduate school. After two years, I hope I can transfer to UCLA or UC Berkeley. My major at Foothill is Biology. I love biology since I was a little kid. Biology keeps me asking questions. My goal in college is to do well in all my classes and try to follow my future career. Although the path may be difficult, I still want to overcome the difficulties and get close to my dream career. Seeing doctors helping their patients and making their health better, I want to do what they can and help the people who are suffering.
The purpose of the blog is to share stories or other things you want to share with other people. People can get to know each other better by reading the blog. Also, the blog can keep track of your life. Post a story every day, read peoples' comments, and read other peoples' stories, can help you to live better.