Yes there are group norms at SJSU. There are probably several different ones but I will name the few that stand out to me the most. Because I am a student, I will only talk about the student group norms. One of the norms is that we all are expected to go to class. As college students no one can legally force us to go to class, however as paying students we assume everyone who is enrolled will attend class. Another norm involves our communication. The way we talk with family and friends is much different from how we talk to our professors. “Most students address their professors more formally than they do their family members.” (Harris/Sherblom 47)
I do not really spend time with a certain group of friends, as I tend to hang out with many different people. However in my family, we have our values and morals which is what makes us the people we are. We already know what type of behavior and actions to expect from each other since we were all brought up believing and living by the same thing.
It is easy to identify these norms in my family because I lived with them for eight-teen years. With the SJSU norms, I learned quickly as a freshman just by observing behaviors and actions from my colleagues and people around me. It was easy to adapt to these norms because they already seemed normal to me and nothing was out of the ordinary from my typical behaviors and actions.
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Hello Pocahontas,
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read your posts. That was an interesting quote you used which stated that we spend more time addressing our professors than we do our family members. At SJSU, it is accurate to say that the norm is that we address our professors and our classmates respectfully.
You also bring up a good point regarding attendance. While some professors correlate our grade with our classroom attendance and participation, a lot of them don’t take it into consideration at all. However, I agree with you when you say that given the high fees we pay and the furlough days we have to deal with, you would assume that another norm at our university is that we attend classes to get what we can. It always makes me wonder when I hear friends or classmates talk about how they skipped a certain class for the umpteenth time!
Great job on the post – you raised some valid points.
Molly
I agree with Molly, we should be able to set our own schedule and go to our classes or miss our classes if we choose to. Of course if it effects are grade, I assume most would make an effort to go. But if it doesn't effect our grade as much I know plenty of students who choose not to go. Recently a student in one of my classes was sick, the teacher told her to go home because she can't afford to get sick. The teacher began to talk about how in America the norm is to go to work, school, ect. even if your sick. She doesn't believe this norm is valid. She insists if we are sick, don't come to her class.
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