Service-Learning Assignment Analysis

For my service-learning assignment I decided to fulfill my hours at Otto Middle School with Mrs. April Balogun as a part of the Communities in Schools (CIS) Program as a student mentor and volunteer. My primary duties included helping students with troubling homework assignments or projects, speaking to students on study skills to incorporate in the future, speaking to students who may need help with personal or school related issues, as well as assisting Mrs. Balogun with minor activity planning for the students. There were many sociological perspectives that I was able to apply throughout my service-learning experience which helped me in connecting sociology in a hands-on environment. Some of these sociological concepts included deviant behavior which was displayed when a student was known to have not been
In relation to deviance, sanctions were also observed as there was a constant need for enforcement of certain norms. An example of norms were the rules and expectations that Mrs. Balogun had labeled as acceptable within the CIS classroom. I met many students who were a part of a nuclear family which defines as a family that is made up of multiple generations within one home. Stigma’s were often brought up in conversation when discussing negative labels one may feel others initially categorize them as. Another sociological concept that I had witnessed was the feminist theory we had previously discussed. This focuses on the analyzation of the status of women in society with the intentions of creating an equal environment between both men and women. Association was another sociological principle that I discovered through the forming of Mrs. Baloguns “girl group” during the student’s lunch period. I define this as association because it is a group of people that bound together