Jack's Action Reflection

Action Reflection
Prepared by Jack Butler

The action I took explained that everyday kids fall victim to peer pressure. Below was a picture of a boy handing a bong to the person viewing the action. I chose this action because I felt it was the best way for someone to see what peer pressure is like. With this action I hoped to make the person viewing the action to think about whether or not they are susceptible to peer pressure. I think I was successful in doing so because the combination of the picture and the phrase “will you be next” makes the action seem as though the action is focusing on the individual viewing the action. One thing that I have learned from this project is that my decisions and choices I make, make all the impact in the world. For example when it comes to resisting peer pressure it is my decision what I want to do. The same goes for other justice issues. If I believe that something is wrong, it is up to me to stand up for what I believe in. Some may think that they are only one person and they cannot have an impact on the world. But every change in unjust society started with one person.

Nick's Action Reflection

Action Reflection

Prepared by Nick Goldsmith

The action I took for my social justice project was to create a poster. The poster contains a picture of peer pressure. This picture accurately depicts peer pressure and shows the negative and harmful influence it causes. In the picture, the girl is peer pressured by her two friends to drink. The girl feels confused and scared as to what she is going to do. In addition to this picture, I included a question and an answer to convey the problem of peer pressure in an accurate way. Also, I included a NGO that my classmates or anybody can contact to receive more information on adolescent drug use and abuse, on reasons for why adolescents use and abuse drugs, and ways to prevent drug use and abuse. I chose this action because I felt that if adolescents and children see my poster than they will follow its message. I felt that a poster is more proper in grabbing the attention of teens and children and society than a letter to a policy maker or a petition.
Upon completing this poster, I hoped that it would help people recognize that peer pressure is an issue in today’s society. Many people overlook the problem of peer pressure or label it as not being a big deal. However, peer pressure is an important issue that needs to be looked at. I felt that creating the poster was a success because so many Serra students stopped by the poster and read it. They now know that peer pressure is a problem in today’s society. I have given them the opportunity to tackle this problem. If these students realize the significance of the problem and decide to take action then my poster will be an even bigger success.
After this project, I see my role in the world completely different. Prior to the project I felt voiceless and unable to make any difference in the world. This social justice project has changed the way I view my role in the world. It has given me hope and optimism that I can change the world and that I do have voice. I now feel empowered and able to take action against the sins of the world. In the future, I see myself taking more action against social injustices by writing to my congressman or senator, writing a petition, or partaking in rallies. This project has made me realize and understand that I can have a prophetic role in the world.

Interview with Paul Zager

Interview with Paul Zager

Prepared by Nick Goldsmith

On April 12, 2010, I conducted an interview with marriage, family, and child therapist (MFT) Paul Zager in his office on 946 Irving Street in San Francisco. Mr. Zager is a licensed MFT who has his own private therapy practice and also works for the San Francisco Unified School District as a special education teacher. He attended Sonoma State University where he received his Bachelors degree in Humanistic Psychology. He received his masters from San Francisco State University for Counseling with a marriage, family, and child emphasis. Paul works with families and married couples but he specializes with children and teens that have school and family issues. It is with this specialization that Mr. Zager brings excellent knowledge and experience on child and adolescent peer pressure. Paul’s time on the San Francisco Unified School District also has given him first hand experience in seeing peer pressure occur in the San Francisco school system. When asked for the origin of peer pressure, Paul stated that the beginning of puberty is when adolescents start to become susceptible to peer pressure. He identified puberty as the slow process in which one’s identity begins to change. These changes happen mentally and physically to the child. The girl or boy in puberty begins to feel insecure because he or she does not feel like a child or an adult. They feel awkwardly stuck in the middle. This feeling is the basis for peer pressure. This awkward phase makes teens more dependent on each other for comfort and security. With this dependency, teenagers form groups or cliques. These groups are the ultimate source of peer pressure. Teens either want to be in one these groups or they want to remain in a group. Teens want to feel accepted by the group, so their feelings of insecurity vanish. It is this feeling of wanting acceptance that defines adolescent peer pressure. In other words, peer pressure occurs because teens want to feel accepted by the peers and their peers’ social groups in order to feel secure. Paul also added that peer pressure leads to conformity, drug use, experimentation, and that he has seen peer pressure occur as early as preschool. Lastly, Paul stated that popular social groups have strong influence over their peers. They often enable members of the group to use drugs and they set the social norms of the school.
When I walked into Mr. Zager’s office I was received very warmly. He introduced himself, shook my hand, and thanked me for coming all the way to his office for this interview. His positive and upbeat attitude continued throughout the interview. He responded to every one of my questions and gave me sincere responses. His attitude helped the interview go smoothly and helped me to ease my nerves.
Prior to arriving at Paul Zager’s office, I knew that teenage social groups or cliques were important factors in peer pressure influencing teenage drug and alcohol use. I wanted to learn more as to why cliques are so influential in leading their members and outsiders to experimenting or using drugs. Paul responded to my inquiry by saying that cliques resemble security. Outsiders of the group visualize group members as being without insecurities. This thought makes the clique popular and outsiders begin to idolize the group. The group most likely uses drugs and the outsiders begin to idolize the group members’ drug use. This idolization leads to experimentation. This experimentation can then lead to drug use due to peer pressure and other factors. A second thing I learned that I expected to learn was that insecurity is the biggest factor of peer pressure. When Paul told me this I was not surprised. A teen feeling insecure about them will most likely do anything, including drugs, to feel secure.
It was surprising when Paul said that the earliest age he has seen peer pressure occur is in preschool. It was hard for me to fathom that pre-school aged children could actually peer pressure other children. I thought that they were not mature enough to influence others and that they were incapable of feeling insecure. I definitely did not expect to learn this but was fascinated by it and has given me more knowledge on the subject.
I was glad that I conducted the interview. The interview gave me new information on the subject of peer pressure. I will use this information in my project, especially when I write the background for my social justice project. It also gave me a new perspective on peer pressure. This allowed me to have a better perspective on peer pressure and its influence on adolescent drug use. Lastly, It was really cool to interact with someone who has knowledge on peer pressure because his opinions were unique and substantial.

Interview with Daniel Becker

Interview with Daniel Becker
Prepared by Jack Butler
The interview with Dr. Daniel Becker took place in his office in Burlingame. Dr. Becker graduated with an MD 28 ears ago. He practices addiction psychiatry and psychiatry. He is also a psychiatrist for depressed people. Dr. Becker has been in this business for a long time and has a vast knowledge regarding the topic of peer pressure. During the interview I received information about; the different reasons people use drugs, how the use of drugs has changed over time, his personal experiences with peer pressure, what can be done to prevent peer pressure, and finally is it possible for drugs to be a part of a healthy lifestyle.

As soon as I walked in the door to Dr. Becker’s office I could sense the respect that he was showing me, so in turn I displayed the upmost respect towards him. I also got the sense that he was glad that someone was interested in getting his views on this topic, as though he was flattered. He gave me great answers to my questions so I felt that in turn I should do a great job of providing background to my questions then asking them clearly in a way that he would be able to easily understand what I was asking.

I learned that it could be difficult to write down the interviewee’s answers word for word. Going into the interview I thought that this could be an issue, and it turns out it was. However I was able to outline Dr. Becker’s answers in an effective and constructive manner. This way I could record exactly what it was he was saying, without taking a long time or having to ask him to repeat himself. I learned how effectively outline his answers in an effective manner.

One thing that I learned that I was not expecting to learn is that one may ask a question, seeking on specific bit of information, but instead receive much more important information that was not intended to be found. When asking a question you must be ready for anything, some people will give you a direct answer and others will ramble on about things that do not pertain to the question. Also If you feel the answer you received does not answer the question asked, feel free to ask again so that you get the information that is wanted.

I feel that because this is the first official interview I have ever conducted it may not have gone as smoothly as possible. I could have been more organized going into the interview. All I can do is learn from my mistakes and improve upon them moving forward. On the other hand there were things I did very well during the interview. I provided excellent background to my questions before they were asked. This allowed Dr. Becker to fully understand exactly what kind of answer I was looking for.

Narrative

Narrative: Dirty
Prepared by Jack Butler

Peer pressure is corrupting teen culture from the inside out. Is it something that always happens but its no big deal? Is it a big deal when a teen has to leave school and enter a rehabilitation center because their drug problem is slowly killing them? One may be thinking what a rehabilitation center has to do with peer pressure. This is the end result of peer pressure for an alarming amount of teens in America. This is what happened to Mike, comes from a white working-class family who was sent him to Center Point (a drug rehabilitation center). Meredith Maran tells Mike’s story through the book Dirty. When Mike introduces himself to the drug rehabilitation group he explains his drugs of choice are “crank, alcohol, weed, whatever.”(Maran 165) Mike has been at Center Point for two months now and is motivated to get his life back together. He wants to do good ”get a good job, all that kind of good shit.”(Maran 165) life at center Point is not easy, there are a lot of rules. Some of the first rules that are explained to new patients are do not touch the tv, do not touch the VCR, do not touch the refrigerator, if one needs to go to the bathroom they must ask first. And all new patients will receive a big brother. He will tell the new patient everything they need to know about the program. And the patients have a few unwritten rules of their own. “Don’t tell nobody shut up. Don’t call nobody a bitch. Don’t call no one niggah.”(maran 165) Rafael, one of the other patients’ tells the new patients’ the first month here is real hard, you are going to get angry and irritated with the program. Whatever you put into the program you’re going to get out.
Being at Center Point is not fun. They have many rules that the patients are required to follow that can cause patients to get frustrated. One day reality sets in for mike and he realizes what a bad place center point is. “It’s hella hard for me to stick it through and stay here. I hope I don’t run, man. No one should have to deal with this place. Therapeutic fucking community bullshit. It’s worse than jail.” (Maran 171) Clearly mike is not happy with his situation of staying at center point. He is sick of all the rules he has to follow, sick of jumping through hoops. Mike is now beginning to experience the consequences of peer pressure. The Experience mike had of being peer pressured at first did not negatively affect him. The negative side of the peer pressure he experienced is just now starting to set in. this is why peer pressure is not a good thing to experience, the consequences people face down the road. Society and mikes environment is what is causing the harm. That is the reason he tried drugs in the first place. With all the stress and growing up that young teens are forced to endure many teens are left feeling like they don’t belong or with no way of identifying themselves. Doing drugs can look like something cool, something that can give one something to identify themselves with. The general public does not see this as a problem because everyone has had to go through the pressures of growing up. Some people come out of it a mature adult, and others cant handle it. But that is just the way life is, the laws of life natural selection. There is no other option, no way around growing up.
After committing to the program for a long time Mike feels he has maid significant progress. So much that he thinks he is ready to go home and is more than ready to leave Center Point. However one of the Center Point staffers, Tess forces Mike to stay an extra three months Against his will. When Mike is pleading his case to leave he sais “See how much I’ve changed? All that bad shit was in the past. Doing drugs, having a fucked-up mind, making stupid decisions. If you’re trying to be clean, you should have the shit hat goes along with that. You should be acting normal.”(Maran 173) Clearly Mike is ready to leave Center Point. However he is being held at Center Point against his own will. The injustice he is suffering from is this rehab center messing with his free will. Mike believes that the reason they want him to stay is so they can take more of his money. The general public doesn’t see this as a problem because the view kids like Mike as just a bunch of screw ups who are probably better off in rehab. The rehab center is disguised as a good place that can be beneficial to the people who need it. However the motive that is fueling the center is money. If they were not making 5,000 dollars a month for each kid there would be no Center Point.
All drugs that people use recreationally just to get high is bad. Some drugs are worse than others and some are more addicting. Being addicted to a drug is extremely strenuous and a great injustice. One of the dugs Mike came to Center Point for was Crank. One of the most addicting destructive drugs there is. Once a person tries crank once they have almost reached the point of no return. “I felt like shit. It’s not cool. It’s not cool. Crank is the devil’s drug.” (Maran 175) mike may be thinking crack is the devils drug because of the way crank effects people. The first time you take crank all of your positive emotions are stimulated. After a few uses a person louses his ability to feel positive emotions naturally. The only way they can feel good feelings is by using the drug. This is how crank cripples people and they become a slave to the drug. Mike is suffering the injustice from this drug. This drug is true evil it sucks out all positive emotions from people. It may seem like a good thing at first because it makes you feel good, however that is just to get you sucked in an before you know it you’re a slave to the drug. That is what happened to mike. The general public does not recognize this as a problem because crank is thought to be a low end of the social spectrum drug. Meaning that it is only used by low life’s. What does society care if a bunch of low life’s are wasting there life’s away doing drugs.
Although Mike is suffering great injustices he is for the most part benefitting from being at Center Point. At first he was in an environment that was not healthy for him. He had accesses to whatever drugs he wanted. Now with the environment of a rehab center Mike is being given a second chance to get clean. Being at center point may be what mike needs to stay clean but it is not a fun place to live. There are many rules and after a while all the rules and regulations he is being forced to follow can get to a person. But he has to suffer through this all because at one point he was peer pressured. The negative affects of peer pressure are not apparent at first. You try a drug you don’t want to try, so what? It is not until later when mike becomes addicted and enters a rehab center when we see the injustice of peer pressure. After being at the rehab center for a long time Mike feels that his time to move on from Center Point has come. However the staffers at Center Point think otherwise. After mike demands, begs and pleads to leave they still decide to keep him at the rehab center against his will for an extra three months. This is an injustice because the rehab center is crossing the line by mussing with Mikes free will. Mike is able to make divisions for himself and if he wants to go home and see his family he has the right to do so. One of the dugs Mike lost his habit of using was crank. Mike refers to his drug as the devils drug because of its crippling ability. The drug took him to the point where he could no longer feel positive emotions. This is just awful and an injustice no one should have to encounter. It is rare that a person recovers from crank addiction but it just shows you how determined and strong Mike is. However mike owes his success to Center Point. They created a healthy environment for him. All of these things are injustices. But the one thing behind it all the source of the problem peer pressure. Without peer pressure none of this would have happened. Peer pressure is a serous problem that changes people’s life’s forever. In some cases peer pressure ends people life’s.

Background

Background: The Influence and Impact of Peer Pressure

Prepared by Nick Goldsmith

This experience is one of the many ways teenagers and children are affected by peer pressure. The great amount of influence and impact that peer pressure has on adolescents and children show that it is a social injustice. Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence that a social group has on an individual. There are many different types of influence that a social group can have on a teen or a child. Some of the more common influences are the social group encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. For example, the group may want a teen to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol in order to fit in with the group. This example shows that peer pressure is a social injustice due to peer pressure encouraging children and teens to partake in activities that involve drugs and alcohol. Every teen and child of the social scene are affected by peer pressure because those who are in a specific social group, outside the social group but are in another group, or those who belong to no social group are being oppressed.
Contrary to popular belief, the adolescents who belong to popular cliques are oppressed by the strong influence of peer pressure. These popular adolescents may exert a lot of peer pressure onto their peers but they, too, feel the tug and pull of peer pressure. These teens “set the social norms” (pg. 94 of my Social Justice book) of the school. They also feel the most pressure to follow these norms. The members of the clique constantly make sure that other members of the group are following the social norms. If a member fails to meet the standards of these social norms then they are “ousted from the group.” (Pg.96 Social Justice Book) This is the pressure that adolescent members of cliques have to deal with. Thus, this type of pressure often leads to “deviant behavior.” (Pg.225 Social Justice Book) Deviant behavior is when a teen or child decides “to engage in disruptive, risky, or delinquent behavior” (Pg.225 Social Justice Book) .An example is alcohol use at a party or vandalizing a piece of property. Popular teens in cliques are also pressured to spread their social norms onto those outside the clique. This is seen when teens in cliques set the fashion sense of the school. Teens outside the social clique will begin to wear the same fashion that teens in the clique wear. Thus, teens and children in a popular clique are being oppressed because they feel the pressure from the clique to adhere to their norms, to spread these norms onto others, and to follow norms that often leads to deviant behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse.
Most of the children and adolescents, who do not belong to the main social clique, often “form other not as popular social groups.” (Pg.45 Social Justice Book) These teens are being oppressed by peer pressure. They are pressured “indirectly by the popular clique.”(Pg.46 Social Justice Book) For example, if the popular clique views vandalizing as something cool, then those outside this clique will begin to vandalize in order to be viewed in the same light as the popular social clique or to grab their attention. A second way these types of teens and children are being oppressed is through the social group’s “enabling nature.” (Pg. 72 Social Justice Book) In other words, members of the outside social groups often enable one another’s behavior because their social group’s formation is built upon common attitudes and views. For example, a teen who loves to read comic books most likely will not be in the same social group as a teen who loves to play football. Thus, these teens find similar teens that like the same things they do. These teens will then enable one another to continue their likings of the same thing. This is seen with alcohol and drug abuse. Social groups often enable its members to use alcohol and drugs if that is a part of their “social identity” (Pg.227 Social Justice Book) This concept influencing alcohol and drug usage shows that peer pressure is a social injustice because drug use and abuse is against the Catholic Church and its teachings.
“Those who do not belong to any social groups are labeled as loners or outcasts.” (From interviewee, Paul Zager) Loners are teens and children who prefer to not belong to a social group. Instead they remain by themselves or have one or two other friends. These children and adolescents are oppressed by peer pressure because they choose to not follow or be influenced by the social norms of the popular clique. They also try to resist influence from other social groups by not listening or giving into their actions. However, “these loners and outcasts are susceptible to peer pressure through the actions of bullies.” (Pg. 231 Social Justice Book) Bullies bully loners and outcasts because they do not try or fit into these social norms. For example, loners may choose to not dress to the standards of the rest of the social groups. This result in them being ridiculed by bullies. Bullies are teens and children of different social groups “who feel inadequate about themselves.” (Online source) This feeling of insecurity leads to the person bullying someone who is inferior to them in social stature. Loners are inferior to them due to their actions against conformity. Bullying is a problem because “17 percent of students in grades 6-10 reported having been bullied "sometimes".” (Online Source-olweus.org) Thus, peer pressure is a social injustice issue because the loners resisting peer pressure leads to them being bullied.
The oppressors of this injustice come in two forms- bullies and members of the social elite. “Bullying is persistent unwelcome behaviour, mostly using unwarranted or invalid criticism, nit-picking, fault-finding, also exclusion, isolation, being singled out and treated differently, being shouted at, humiliated, excessive monitoring, having verbal and written warnings imposed, and much more.” (Online source- bullyonline.org) Bullying causes constant emotional and sometimes physical harm onto the teen or child being bullied. Children and teens should not be bullied just because they do not fit into the social norms of their school. Also, bullies should not inflict harm onto others just because they are socially inferior or choose not to join a social group. This is why the influence of peer pressure is a social injustice. Members of the popular clique are also oppressors. They “set the social norms” (pg. 94 Social Justice Book) of the school. All of those who do not meet these social norms are seen as inferior. Thus, emotional abuse is indirectly created. Children and teens who do not meet these norms often feel insecure about themselves. Most teens will virtually do anything in order to conform to the social norms. Teens may start in “partaking in deviant behavior in order to conform to the social norms of the school.” (Pg.149 Social Justice Book) This is a social justice problem because teens should not partake in delinquent behavior or use drugs in order to “fit in”.
The social systems involved with peer pressure are the school system and social group system. The school system, when it comes to popularity, is hierarchical. There are a few select people on top who are the most popular (popular social clique). Then there are a lot of people who are involved in different sub social groups. Lastly, there are a few people on the bottom of the social structure that are loners and outcasts. This system is evil disguised as good because the school social structure should not come in hierarchical form. Students should not be seen as more popular just because they follow certain social norms or partake in deviant behavior. The school system should be an equal playing field where all students are treated equally. If peer pressure is gone from the school system then maybe some equality can be achieved. The social group system is also involved. During adolescence, “teens feel pressure from their peers to drift apart from their family” (Pg.4), especially their parents. This is evil disguised as good. Teens should not be spending less time with parents due to peer influence. The general public fails to recognize these systems as a part of the problem because many people don’t see peer pressure as a major problem. They feel that peer pressure is something everybody has to deal with during their adolescent years. However, there needs to be a response to peer pressure because children and teens are using more drugs, in more emotional pain, and are giving up more of their identity now then in years before.
Teens, children, their family, and their parents are those involved in this problem. Those on the outside pay little attention to this issue. Thus, peer pressure must be combated on the family level and on a larger scale in the community. Governments do not have the power or resources yet to make regulations that would combat peer pressure. Politicians can only say words that have no meaning attached to them. Citizens, like the government, do not have enough resources so study the problem and come up with an ample solution. Luckily, many sociologists, psycholgists, and therapist are working hard to come up with theories to negate the influence of peer pressure. There is no clear cut theory yet to combat peer pressure but hopefully sometime soon a universal theory to stop peer pressure will arise.
Peer pressure is a social justice issue. In today’s society, more and more children and adolescents are feeling the influence and impact of peer pressure. More adolescents are partaking in deviant behavior which includes drug and alcohol use and abuse. More and more teens are feeling the emotional and physical harm of bullying. Today, teens are giving up their sense of identity and their cultural roots in order to conform to the social norms. These three implications are against the Catholic Church and their teachings. More importantly, these implications are harming our future adults at a more alarming rate. Thus, society needs more of a constructed response to combating peer pressure. If this is achieved, then societies’ children and teens will be able to partake in less risky behaviors, feel more secure about themselves, and will be able to retain their sense of identity.

CST #'s 3 - 7

CST # 3- Rights and Responsibilities

The Catholic Church believes it is very important that everyone in society has the right to the common good, personal responsibility, as well as social rights. The Church further believes that the government should protect and defend the basic rights of each person. During adolescence, teenagers are often disrespected and sometimes given less rights than adults are. Adults often feel that teenagers are lesser than them due to their age and their peer pressured behavior. Teenagers often act in ways that adults do not like. Their peers shape their actions. Thus, peer pressure should be mitigated so that teenagers are more respected by adults and are given more rights and responsibilities.

CST # 4- Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

Jesus Christ proclaimed that the poor should be treated with respect, dignity, and assistance. In accordance with Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church also proclaims that the less fortunate should be treated adequately. Teenagers and children form life long habits when they are young. Peer pressure sometimes influences these habits to be negative. For example, teenage peer pressure may force one to drink, which may lead to alcoholism, which then may lead to poverty. Thus, the poor should be treated well because many of them have been screwed over by peer pressure. This is another reason as to why the poor should be treated adequately.

CST #5- The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

The fifth principle gives labor priority over capital. The church proclaims that employees must be given rights. Peer pressure sometimes may force teenagers to accept unworkable conditions. For example, teens may be abused by their boss or adults just for being a teenager. Thus, peer pressure from adults must be limited so teenagers have workable conditions.

CST #6-Solidarity

The four gospels call for people within a society to live in harmony and peace based on just principles that include a respect for each person and their own unique cultural roots and ethnicity. Peer pressure influences adolescents and children to ditch their own identity and cultural roots in order to conform to the status quo or to another social group. This is bad because teenagers disrespect themselves by not respecting their ethnicity and their cultural roots. Thus, peer pressure must be ameliorated so that teenagers can retain their cultural roots and their individuality.

CST #7- Care for God's Creation

Humans are called by God to take care of nature and the rest of God’s creations. Peer pressure often influences children and adolescents to not care for God’s creations. For example, a teen may be pressured by a social group to litter or to put salt on a banana slug. Thus, peer pressure must be stopped in order to take care of the earth and the rest of God’s creations.