Comments on: The Sociology of Status Hierarchy, and Why I think Chico State is a Better College than UC Berkeley http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley A group blog on a wide variety of topics realted to anthropology Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:50:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Max Smith http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/comment-page-1/#comment-5141 Max Smith Mon, 10 May 2010 04:03:22 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/#comment-5141 Tony, You're the man. Max Tony,

You’re the man.

Max

]]> By: Tony Waters http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/comment-page-1/#comment-2058 Tony Waters Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:47:57 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/#comment-2058 Hi Tommikani95: Thanks for the note. Sorry to hear about the GSI-run sections that could have been better. You are right that such disrespect is often part of the “real world.” But I suspect that you could have learned a similar lesson by working night shift at a AM-PM, or something. If you want to see a good sociology class, I would encourage you to come to Chico next semester; I can arrange for you to sit in on my Classical Social Theory class (the Marx, Weber, Durkheim course), or one of the other excellent courses taught by my colleagues. Even in these budget-strapped times, you will usually (not always) find a class of 35-45 students with an experienced teacher who reads student assignments themselves, and returns grade papers promptly. If coddling students means challenging to write better and more analytically, then I guess our sociology department is guilty of that, too. But my original essay is about the nature of status, not how hard exams are. To get into Berkeley, I assume that you were one of California’s best high school students. I suspect that you will continue to do well, irrespective of what Berkeley taught you, or did not teach you . Now, you have the status-derived advantage of a Berkeley degree, too. As for the Chico students, most did not have the benefits and skills you had as a college freshman. But maybe they do now! If they do, shouldn’t there be a way for them to demonstrate this to future employers? Good luck, Tony Waters Hi Tommikani95:
Thanks for the note. Sorry to hear about the GSI-run sections that could have been better. You are right that such disrespect is often part of the “real world.” But I suspect that you could have learned a similar lesson by working night shift at a AM-PM, or something.
If you want to see a good sociology class, I would encourage you to come to Chico next semester; I can arrange for you to sit in on my Classical Social Theory class (the Marx, Weber, Durkheim course), or one of the other excellent courses taught by my colleagues. Even in these budget-strapped times, you will usually (not always) find a class of 35-45 students with an experienced teacher who reads student assignments themselves, and returns grade papers promptly. If coddling students means challenging to write better and more analytically, then I guess our sociology department is guilty of that, too.
But my original essay is about the nature of status, not how hard exams are. To get into Berkeley, I assume that you were one of California’s best high school students. I suspect that you will continue to do well, irrespective of what Berkeley taught you, or did not teach you . Now, you have the status-derived advantage of a Berkeley degree, too. As for the Chico students, most did not have the benefits and skills you had as a college freshman. But maybe they do now! If they do, shouldn’t there be a way for them to demonstrate this to future employers?

Good luck,
Tony Waters

]]> By: Tommikani95 http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/comment-page-1/#comment-2057 Tommikani95 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:30:23 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/#comment-2057 I graduated from Berkeley in 2008 with a B.A. in Sociology. There is no question that the smaller discussion sections run by G.S.I.' s(graduate student instructors) could be better. But the idea that Berkeley doesn't prepare you for the real world may not be an accurate statement. Several of my fellow learners and I collaborated on many projects,midterms and finals. Furthermore, the fact that Berkeley doesn't hold your hand is not a bad thing. You need to be a self starter in order to be successful. No one is required to tell you where the resources are. In the spirit of self determination, you have to find them on your own if no one is willing to serve them to you on a platter. That is the real world. I graduated from Berkeley in 2008 with a B.A. in Sociology. There is no question that the smaller discussion sections run by G.S.I.’ s(graduate student instructors) could be better. But the idea that Berkeley doesn’t prepare you for the real world may not be an accurate statement. Several of my fellow learners and I collaborated on many projects,midterms and finals. Furthermore, the fact that Berkeley doesn’t hold your hand is not a bad thing. You need to be a self starter in order to be successful. No one is required to tell you where the resources are. In the spirit of self determination, you have to find them on your own if no one is willing to serve them to you on a platter. That is the real world.

]]> By: Sour Grapes and Fake Names | Ethnography.com http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/comment-page-1/#comment-229 Sour Grapes and Fake Names | Ethnography.com Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:05:54 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/#comment-229 [...] week, Mike responded to one of my postings about the difference between the quality of education at Chico and Berkeley with a two word [...] [...] week, Mike responded to one of my postings about the difference between the quality of education at Chico and Berkeley with a two word [...]

]]> By: mike http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/comment-page-1/#comment-226 mike Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:22:46 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/2007/11/the-sociology-of-status-hierarchy-and-why-i-think-chico-state-is-a-better-college-than-uc-berkeley/#comment-226 Sour grapes. Sour grapes.

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